Illustration of a glass-enclosed rooftop restaurant overlooking the city at sunset (illustrative, not the actual restaurant)

Menu Guide · Chicago

Cindy's — Menu Guide

By Firoz Khan · FK Digital Media

Cindy's is the rooftop restaurant at the historic Chicago Athletic Association hotel (12 S Michigan Ave, an 1893 club building by architect Henry Ives Cobb), sitting under a glass atrium on the 13th floor. The view is the headliner: Millennium Park, the Art Institute, and Lake Michigan — guests watch Cloud Gate (the Bean) from above. The kitchen is operated by Boka Restaurant Group, which took over the hotel's food & beverage operations in March 2025 (NRN, May 2026). One honesty note up front: the current official site publishes menus but no prices, so this guide describes the current menu and anchors prices to dated sources, clearly labeled. Everything is written in our own words.

At a glance

Location
12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603 (13th floor, Chicago Athletic Association hotel)
Chef
Kitchen operated by Boka Restaurant Group (opening-era chef Christian Ragano; current chef unverified)
Cuisine
Contemporary American / comfort food / seafood
Price level
$31–$50 per person average spend (OpenTable 2026; current menu prices not published)
Reservations
Recommended; bookable via OpenTable (booked 93–158 times daily, late Sep 2026)
Phone
+1-312-792-3502 (official site, October 2026)

Hours

Per OpenTable (2026), consistent with the official site: Monday–Thursday 11:00 AM–11:00 PM; Friday 11:00 AM–midnight; Saturday 10:00 AM–midnight; Sunday 10:00 AM–11:00 PM. The official site splits service into lunch (M–F until 2 PM), dinner (5–10 PM), and weekend brunch (Sat & Sun until 2 PM). Dress code: Smart Casual.

Lunch (current menu — prices not published)

From cindysrooftop.com, fetched October 2026. The site lists dishes without prices:

  • East Coast and Pink Moon oysters with seasonal mignonette.
  • Grilled cheese & tomato soup (sourdough miche, fontina).
  • Caesar salad with little gem lettuce, parmigiano reggiano, and garlic streusel.
  • Smashburger — two 3 oz patties with caramelized onion, aged cheddar, dijonnaise, house pickle, and fries.

Dinner (current menu — prices not published)

  • Bar Harbor mussels with lillet blanc, tomato, and herbes de Provence.
  • Duck pot pie with muscovy duck confit, mirepoix, and thyme.
  • Branzino with lemon beurre blanc and spinach.
  • Half smoked chicken with piri piri sauce and ramp relish.

Bar snacks & the signature burger

  • Bar snacks (2:30–5 PM): the "Not So Secret" Secret Burger — the signature dish, with pimento cheese, gouda, bacon jam, B&B pickles, and salsa macha aioli — plus local cheese & charcuterie and oysters on the half shell (dish names from the official site; prices not published).
  • Older-era guests also praise the fish fry and herbed spätzle.

Dated price anchors (spring 2022 menu)

The only published prices we've verified are from a spring 2022 official dinner PDF — dated, for era reference only:

  • Traditional rigatoni Bolognese $42; roasted pork chop $45/$90; chicken shawarma $25/$50.
  • Porterhouse au poivre for two $160; queso fundido $16; fried potatoes $14.
  • S'mores baked Alaska $10; strawberry éclair $10.

What we'd order

If we had one visit here, this is how we'd play it:

  • The signature: the "Not So Secret" Secret Burger at bar-snack hour — it's the dish the room is known for. (Current price not published; check the menu in person.)
  • For the view-first lunch: the smashburger with fries.
  • For dinner: the Bar Harbor mussels or the duck pot pie.
  • Time it right: come at sunset — the glass atrium faces Millennium Park, and the Bean-from-above view is the real draw.

Planning your visit

  • Year-round rooftop: the enclosed glass atrium plus open-air terrace makes Cindy's a true four-season rooftop — unusual for Chicago.
  • Book ahead: the OpenTable listing shows 93–158 bookings a day in late September 2026 — weekends go fast.
  • It's in a historic hotel: the Chicago Athletic Association building dates to 1893 (architect Henry Ives Cobb); the hotel is part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection.
  • No awards verified: we found no Michelin stars or formal awards for Cindy's as of October 2026 — we say nothing more on the subject.

Official links

About these prices

Cindy's current official site publishes menus without prices (checked October 2026). The $31–$50 per-person figure is OpenTable's current average-spend band. The dollar figures above come from a spring 2022 official dinner PDF and are era anchors only — not current prices. Menus and prices change frequently; always verify with the restaurant before visiting.

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