1959 Kitchen & Bar

Minimum menu. No fries come with a burger. Would go back but could be better.

Had high expectations to enjoy a Second City pre-show meal.
I knew the menu was limited but believed the convenience of eating in the 1959 would be a great thing.
If this were a volunteer server or a non-profit restaurant I would think the experience is worth the lack of service and food quality.

The server was totally unaware of the menu.....explained things wrong, then over-billed.
Even though the theater itself serves the beer I ordered at dinner on tap, I was presented a can of that beer and not even offered a glass from which to drink.

The Kale salad lacked the ingerients on the menu......it was a bowl of rough kale, that is all.
The salmon was of poor quality; probably farm raised wirh plenty of skin and gray meat.

The vibe is good. The restaurant is nicely laid out.

If you want a meal before the show, there are many other great food spots in this food lovers town; go there instead.

The cauliflower kung pao was delicious! As was the chocolate pudding dessert.

We were in from out of town for a Second City Show and ate before the show. Prices were very reasonable and food was yummy. A bit crowded before show so we got there at 6 and just in time with reservations.

Show has good food too so save room for beignets at show.

Very disappointed. It’s a stretch to call this a restaurant. It’s a bar-pure and simple. Noisy, subpar service, limited menu. Not recommendable as a restaurant.

We really enjoyed 1959 before our Second City show. They got us in and out quickly to enjoy the show. The Kung Pow cauliflower was one of the best things I ate during our week long vacation....and that is seriously saying something.

Had a casual dinner and drinks; and played a card game before seeing a show at Second City Theater.

Dinner before going to a show at the comedy club. Nice place!

We made reservation as we were attending a Second City Show and didn’t want to rush around. Very limited menu... server recommended Cauliflower app and then returned to tell us they were out of it. The beets were meh... salad was plain. Burger was actually good. We would not return, especially now knowing there are many options to eat on same block w far better menu selection.

Great entrees, nice wine and lovely dessert. We had dinner at 1059 before seeing a show at Second City. The whole experience was great fun and will make a great story of our trip to Chicago.

great artisan inspired basics, fries, burgers. Peaceful eating in quiet convivial space.

Please bring back the specials menu!

No vegetarian options,cauliflower entree made with beef bones :( and vegetarian pasta entree was not available!

We ate early so we didn't have server problems as others have mentioned. Overall it was a great experience. The cheeseburgers are fabulous.

Family dinner prior to 2nd City show.

Extremely limited menu. Service both slow and not very good. Bartender got drinks mixed up. Food was average at best. Prices high relative to value of food. Would not go here again.

We chose 1959 due to its proximity to Second City comedy club (same building). The 1959 menu is EXTREMELY limited. It’s mostly a bar (we are not big drinkers at all) and the food offerings are limited and a bit funky. My wife normally likes very plain fare and she was very disappointed in the choices. She ultimately chose the chicken strip appetizer which was dry and spicy. On the plus side, our waitress was very nice, attentive, and accommodating. But overall, I don’t think we will return to 1959 if we’re in the area again.

We came for dinner before a show at Second City. Sustainable food (yay), but really limited menu.
Our waitress was only moderately interested in helping us. The restaurant gets crowded due to it's proximity and good Yelp reviews, however, it didn't live up to the hype.

Very limited menu. Service was fair at best. A cool idea being right at Second City but it seems like they really weren't even trying to make this a nice place or experience. A decent place to grab a drink but not much more.

I chose this because I thought they would get me in and out in time for the 11:00 show. However, when we arrived for our 9:30 reservation, we had to wait 20 minutes to have our order taken and it was absolutely deafening. (I laughed when your survey termed it “energetic.”)

However, the food came quickly and it was delicious. We got out in plenty of time and the noise level dissipated the closer it got to show time. As a result, I would recommend it, but with the cautionary note about the noise.

Good food but incredibly small portions and overpriced for the amount of food that you get. Drinks were good but also overpriced. That would have been okay except the service quality also dropped off midway through our visit.

❤️ this place...perfect for pre-show dinner. Traveled from San Francisco to celebrate a big bday & stayed with my fabulous friend who lives a block away from Second City...She’s also a super scrabble player!

Ordered Burger well-done came out as rare as could be. Didn't want to wait for another one so dealt with it. Fries do not come with the burger so ordered fries. they came out halfway after the burger was done very late. The fries were excellent though. Pretty good selection of craft beers

This was a great place to eat before a show. Good food, good drinks, very nice staff and the decor is lovely.

Wasnt set up for a date environment and the menu didn't match what was represented online when I made the reservation on this app. It was a very basic cheap bi-fold, paper menu with basic bar favorites and nothing I would consider decent dining for a date or couple wanting a good meal. More like a happy hour Pub scene so we left and went to nearby Sushi Restaurant.

Made a reservation and was not given a table. They said they gave all the tables to a larger group despite my month old reservation. We were given bar seats. The bartender was kind, but we were disappointed overall.

We had extra time before the improv show so we played a board game that was available ! Great way to pass our time

We had a reservation for 6:00 and were seated right away. Our waiter, Alex, greeted us with water within 5 minutes. He was very knowledgeable about the menu and venue and took his time answering our questions. The food was great and we had time to chat with Alex before our show at 2nd City. We would definitely recommend it and will return the next time we visit Chicago!

Amazing food and Julia was soooo much fun!!! Would definitely go back!!!

There was no one else dining when we arrived and we were able to let our kids play board games while we talked. Food arrived promptly. The Brussel Sprout dish tasted great, but they over fired them in the fryer and they were basically ash, but the server removed them from the bill which wasn't expected. Flavor was good, but mouthfeel and presentation was lacking. It was a nice surprise they were removed from bill. Drinks were solid and we'd go back if in the neighborhood again.

Chuck he was an incredible bartender. He made my mother a custom vodka cocktail that was coconut E and had lime in it. And he made me a delicious piece go sour with fresh eggs! How weird! And then I had a witches something and it was also very tasty. Very artsy I felt like I was at a mixologists laboratory

Loved there's a special drink of the day with a great price. Loved how there were board and card games, especially while waiting for our show to start

We grabbed dinner here before heading to Second City and had a great time. The cocktails were a bit off, just way too strong and not balanced. The food was fabulous and came out super quick! The server was great but she was clearly swamped and didn't have enough staff on that night. I think knowing that most of your clientele is going to a show, they should be aware and try to offer to drop checks and get payment much quicker to show times. We kind of had to run the show on that one a bit. [pun intended:)] Overall we really liked the spot but probably wouldn't rush to go back. Solid option before seeing a show when the weather is crap and you don't want to have to spend too much time outside in Chicago's hideous spring, I mean winter , weather.

Some of the food was over-cooked; maybe the normal cooking crew was not in the house that night...

Was a fine visit with decent food. Noise level was very high - I had reserved a table with low seating but when I arrived, I got the high seats in spite of a low table being open - was specified in the preferences when I made the reservation but it didn't seem to do any good

While the food was delicious, some of it arrived luke warm. Our waitress was almost non existent, so we did our best. They have games sitting around and we helped ourselves to a game of Cards
Against Humanity and played the whole while, very fun. There was a large group of men nearby so it was very lively. Despite the hiccups, we would recommend and will also enjoy again for ourselves.

Overall great place!

Our waiter was terrific. We spoke and he was very congested. We appreciated that.

Service was outstanding and quick. We had wings (spicy and Cola BBQ), both were very good and came out of the kitchen very quickly. This was a pre-show meal and the staff got us in and out with plenty of time for the show.

It was my husband’s birthday. We had gotten tickets to see the Moonsharks, and have supper at 1959 before the show. I had made a special note when making our reservation via Open Table, requesting a special birthday dessert....but apparently that was either not communicated, or the staff simply failed to act on it. I ordered the bread pudding (which was delicious, just like the rest of the meal), but I was disappointed no one even told my husband happy birthday.