1. The Bad Apple opened in Lincoln Square in August. With a private room that seats 40, the neighborhood spot offers a beer list with more than 50 options; brew also shows up in menu items such as the Black ’N Blue burger, slathered in Belgian ale blue cheese. Available for full buyout, the venue seats 180.
2. Open since July, Wicker Park’s Division Ale House offers pub fare that ranges from traditional cheeseburgers to pasta with beer-and-cheese sauce. Known as beer towers, 80-ounce pitchers with built-in taps and ice cores are the house specialty. Full buyouts can accommodate 100 guests inside, a patio seats 26, and a semiprivate space seats 25.
3. A 15-minute cab ride from O’Hare airport, Sheffield’s River Grove location opened in July. The 6,500-square-foot space seats 200, and a garden seats an additional 60. Available for full buyout, the venue can accommodate 300; a semiprivate indoor space seats 15. Menu options include BBQ pizza, buffalo chicken rolls, and hand-cut fries.


