Attended the St. Louis Rams game last September. It was one of the first home games of the season so I was excited to be going to my first Bears game of the new year as I consider myself a loyal member of the "4th Phase". We were about 12 rows up in 443 - not many steps to climb at all. View of the northern side of the field was great from our seats. Couldn't see the south end zone area as well as we would have liked partly because the sun was in our eyes most of the day but mainly because it's so far away. The west side of the stadium definitely receive more shade and will be "colder" during the sunny 1pm games in the winter time. All of the seats are colored navy blue so it fits well with the team colors.
If you've never been to Soldier Field, they've got a memorial water wall that is really neat. It's on the north side of the stadium and you'll see plenty of shots of it when the Bears play on Sunday or Monday nights.
We ate at a bar called 'Wabash Tap' after the game and it was packed. There aren't very many bars and restaurants immediately outside of the stadium but the South Loop/Michigan Avenue area up the block has every type of dining one could ask for. Parking comes at a premium so you're best option is to take the CTA red, orange or green lines to the Roosevelt/State stop and walk to the stadium. Easy walk.