In Palatine, Agio Italian Bistro recently renovated its patio and opened the space for private events. Suited for meetings of 20 or events for 36, the Italy-inspired space is decked with French doors, overhead lighting, greenery, stone floors, curtains, and candlelit walls. Local artist Kurt Luhrsen designed a wine mural for the wall. For private events, staffers can prepare a three-course meal served family-style with items such as veal Parmesan and gnocchi alla boscaiola.
Cru Cafe & Wine Bar reopened in June, where chef Richard Roettgen, formerly of Girl & the Goat and Alinea, has created a menu with American and Mediterranean fare including grilled salmon skewers, a lobster sandwich, and duck breast with polenta, grilled broccoli, and hazelnuts. Inspired by a vintage French wine bar, the space has French chandeliers, antique mirrors adorned with poems and quotations, and walnut floors. The entire venue seats 150, and a private event space with a marble-top bar and chesterfield settees seats 25. The venue is owned by Debbie Sharpe, a former caterer whose repeat clients included Paul McCartney.
Open since early 2012, Red Violet revamped their menu in July. Consulting chef Gene Kato, formerly of Japonais, brought in modern Chinese dishes including the Lucky Purse, a five-spiced Atlantic salmon with soy-butter sauce. Specialty drinks include the Red Lotus, which has a base of Japanese sake and comes topped with a rosebud. With red and purple hues and Chinese antiques, the sleek venue has a patio, a lounge that holds 102, and a bar. The upper level holds 141. On the lower level, a private dining room has a round table that seats 12.
A 30,000-square-foot combination of restaurant, winery, event space, and concert hall, City Winery opened a Chicago location in August. The restaurant has 175 seats and can hold 350 standing. The concert hall seats 300. The private barrel dining room, complete with audiovisual equipment for meetings, can seat 30. The winery seats 45, while the concert hall seats 320. The entire mezzanine can seat 175, and a smaller mezzanine dining room can host dinners for 18. The restaurant is also decked with a private wine garden, which can seat 150. Billed as the city's sole fully operating winery, the venue offers 18 wines on tap and a menu of Mediterranean-inspired small plates such as eggplant, tomato, and feta panini; main courses include burgers topped with broiled goat cheese, tarragon, and apricot-fenugreek ketchup.
Trenchermen came to Wicker Park in July. Inside the North Avenue Beach House, the 5,700-square-foot space has a few areas suited to corporate functions. The semiprivate dining area can hold 25, and the main dining room seats 80. Gatherings can also take place at the bar, which holds 60. Co-chefs and brothers Michael and Patrick Sheerin can prepare custom menus of anything from passed hors d'oeuvres to prix fixe plated dinners. Their menu items, which change seasonally, have included pickle tots (dilly potatoes wrapped in chicken breast with red-onion yogurt) and braised pork belly with sugar snap peas, coconut, vanilla, and rum. Popular cocktails include the Heart of Darkness II, made with rye, yellow chartreuse, amaro, and smoked bitters.
Untitled opened in June in River North. Inspired by speakeasies and old-time supper clubs, the ornate venue has several areas that can host private events. With tufted leather walls and velvet booths, the library has seating for 48 or can hold 110 for cocktails. With a raw bar and booths, the dining room seats 100 or holds 120 for cocktails. The parlor seats 36 or holds 50 for cocktails; a sliding door leads to the lounge, which seats 80 or hosts receptions for 150. The lounge is decked with vintage factory carts and steamer trunks. An area known as Backstage can host 140 for cocktails, while smaller groups can reserve the Stage Right section, which holds 36 for cocktails. Menu items include bison burgers and selections from the raw bar, and the drink menu includes throwback cocktails and champagne.
Perched on the rooftop of Hotel Lincoln, The J. Parker is the first cocktail-driven spot from the Boka Restaurant Group. With a patio that seats 124 and indoor seating for 52, the space is available for indoor or alfresco events; the whole space can host receptions for 175. Mixologist Erin Hayes devised a cocktail program that changes every three months to represent different parts of the world, including Mexico, Cuba, and Spain. A beverage highlight: Seasonal punches are made table-side and will serve groups of six to eight. Chef Paul Virant uses local, seasonal ingredients to prepare items such as rainbow trout, grit cakes, and dry-aged beef sirloin with herb and lemon butter.Â
Clad with a raw bar and a seafood-focused menu, the Savoy, which opened in Wicker Park in July, has offerings such as salmon rillette, oysters, and maple-jalapeño glazed salmon. Curtained off from the main dining room, the Absinthe Lounge can host seated events—including group absinthe tastings—for 20; its standing capacity is 30. With a total standing capacity of 120, the restaurant can also be sectioned off to host events for larger groups.
BellyQ—a new spot from chef Bill Kim, Cornerstone Restaurant Group, and basketball star Michael Jordan—opened in August and can host anything from business meetings to karaoke parties. The largest event space, the Ogden Room, is separated from the main dining room with sliding panel walls and can host dinners for 48. The more intimate Chef's Quarters has a drop-down projection screen and can seat 16. Inspired by a minimalistic garden, the interior of the Karaoke Den is decked with a series of moving translucent panels decorated with galloping horses. Guests sit in custom wing-back chairs, and the waitstaff wear handmade leather aprons. The venue focuses on Asian barbecue, with menu items including goat milk feta cheese and rice noodle pancakes from a wood-burning oven; chilled soba noodles; and tofu hot pots. Staffers can prepare custom menus for groups.
The chef's office at the JW Marriott Chicago, in the center of the kitchen that services the Florentine, is undergoing renovations. This fall, the space will reopen to host private events such as football viewing parties for clients. Chef Michael Reich also plans to host interactive dinners that allow guests to help prepare meals. The intimate space will accommodate small groups and can seat 10 guests. There will be a 42-inch screen on the wall behind the table.Â
Chicago’s highly anticipated Virgin Hotel—the world's first from the brand— opened in January. In a 27-story Art Deco building, the downtown hotel has three event and meeting spaces: the Manor seats 108; the Sandbox seats 73; and the Founders Room seats 12. The property has 250 rooms and suites and amenities such as two restaurants, a rooftop bar and lounge, and a rooftop gym. A spa is scheduled to open later this year.
Scheduled to open in March, Loews Chicago Hotel will occupy a new-build, 52-story tower in Streeterville. The venue will offer 29,000 square feet of meeting space, 400 guest rooms, a spa and fitness center, and a rooftop terrace that—according to hotel reps—is the city's largest. Called Rural Society, the hotel's restaurant is run by the Garces Group and chef Jose Garces. It will serve Argentine cuisine.
The Betty came to the West Loop in January. The 5,000-square-foot tavern has living-room-inspired design from Studio K and serves handcrafted cocktails, craft beers, and menu items such as rib eye steak with frites and pan-roasted chicken. The venue seats 180 in total. There's also a raised lounge that can host private cocktail receptions of 50 or seated functions of 32.
Ovation is a modern, industrial-style loft space on Fulton Street. A collaborative workspace for musicians and DJs during the week, the space became available for private events in September. It seats 200 or holds 250 for receptions. Amenities include a DJ booth, a programmable video wall, and chauffeur service in a 1959 Rolls-Royce.
From the team behind Pure Kitchen Catering and City View Loft, Hub Studio Loft hosted its grand opening in January. The West Loop timber loft spans 10,000 square feet and has an industrial look with exposed brick walls. With an open floor plan, a sound stage, and skyline views, the venue seats 150 and has valet parking. A fully landscaped green space, set to open later this year, will hold alfresco cocktail receptions.
Whirlyball opened in Bucktown in December. The game of Whirlyball combines bumper cars with elements of lacrosse and hockey, and the venue hosts tournaments as well as meetings and events. The largest private event space seats 250 guests and offers views of the city skyline. Four private meeting rooms seat 20 guests apiece, or combine to seat 80. A private, four-lane bowling alley holds as many as 50 guests, and another private space—located just off one of the Whirlyball courts—seats 56.
The Sugar Factory opened in Rosemont in November. The 9,000-square-foot venue houses a brasserie, an ice cream shop, and a retail space. It is available for private events of as many as 300 guests; for smaller functions, the Chocolate Lounge holds 75 for receptions. Menu items include savory dishes in addition to desserts such as the King Kong Sundae, which has 24 scoops of ice cream. The staff can arrange for custom cakes and cupcakes for events.
Oak & Char opened in River North in October. With a rustic interior featuring linen lamps and overhead fixtures inspired by clouds, the venue holds 50 people for semiprivate dinners; the bar holds 75 for cocktail receptions. There’s also a 24-seat private dining room that has a 110-inch video wall suited for presentations and videos. On the menu is Midwestern fare such as cider-brined pork collar and roasted acorn squash.
Rockit Ranch Productions' latest venture is the Duck Inn. The Bridgeport venue, which has a menu from chef Kevin Hickey, opened in December and is available for buyouts and semiprivate events. The main dining room seats 40 for family-style dinners. The bar area holds cocktail receptions with passed appetizers for as many as 50 guests. In the summer, an alfresco space will open to host "Backyard Parties," which will serve smoked ribs, sausages, and the venue's signature Duck Fat Dogs. A beverage offering for events is the Bathtub Punch: Developed by executive bar director Brandon Phillips, the drink is served in a tabletop bathtub decked with a rubber duck frozen in an oversize cube.
Evanston’s Crystal Ballroom & Lounge, originally built in the 1920s, underwent a complete renovation in 2014. The two-story ballroom holds 300 people for receptions or seats 220 banquet-style or 200 classroom-style for meetings. An in-house chef prepares menu packages for events, and items vary from filet-and-seafood duets to a sliced-to-order streusel station.
