Another dinner at the Berghoff is planned before they close:

see: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=512951

Posted the same question on the Berghoff topic in the Midwest forum, but might get some more input here now that I found this topic. Has anyone been lately? I'm wondering how early to get there for dinner on 2/23. I land at MDW at 12:30 and have nothing to do for the afternoon. I'd rather do stuff around downtown Chicago, but I know they aren't taking reservations anymore and I want to get there early enough to be sure to have a seat for dinner. Any recent experiences?

As with any popular restaurant where I don't have a reservation, I always get there right when they open for dinner, it has been a very very rare instance where I've been turned away.

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The Orange Line from Midway drops you close for a couple bucks each way. Maybe take in the Field Museum's POMPEII before dinner.

Sweet Willie:

Do they actually have an opening time for dinner, or can you get served at 3 pm if you want?

Their website just says "M-Th: 11am - 9pm "

OUCH ! scratch my idea then. I thought they had separate lunch/dinner times.

This may affect the second dinner at Berghoff Do.

They do serve the entire time, but IIRC switch from lunch to dinner menu. The restaurants that I"ve seen do this seem to make the switch around 4.

One of my colleagues and I went out for an early lunch last week and he thought that because we were going at 1130 there wouldn't be a line. There were easily 30 people standing outside, with the interior waiting area full as well.

What do you suppose are the odds that there will be an announcement in about two weeks that, "due to popular demand" the owners have come up with a way to keep Berghoff's open?

It would be a nice way to have ginned up probably millions of dollars' worth of free publicity.

I think you'd lose money unless you have some free prime space for the greedy daughter's catering business.