This year saw the opening of many significant event and meeting venues in Chicago. Here's a look at the best restaurants, party rooms, hotels, corporate event venues, conference centers, and private rooms to open in 2016. These new and renovated Chicago venues suit groups large or small for private and corporate events, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, weddings, and more.
Open since November, Conrad Chicago is a 20-story hotel that has 10,000 square feet of event space—including 10 meeting rooms—on its 19th and 20th floors, and can host events for 10 to 200 guests. With floor-to-ceiling windows, each room is flooded with natural light. There are also expansive foyers and a two-story atrium to host receptions. On the 19th floor, the restaurant Baptiste & Bottle serves American fare (think bourbon cocktails and sharable flat breads) and seats 160 guests. On the rooftop, Japanese restaurant Noyane seats 200 guests.
Open since July, Life Creative is located in Event Creative's headquarters near Union Park. The 20,000-square-foot venue is billed as a co-working and maker space; it holds corporate events, off-site teambuilding activities, and other functions that require a creative touch. For the "maker" crew, there's an in-house carpentry department, a CNC router that can carve designs, design software, and other amenities. The co-working space is decorated with props that have been used at Event Creative events—think an elevated "L" track replete with a miniature train car, and massive letters that spell out Wine. The venue holds standing receptions for 350 in its co-working space. A circular couch that holds creative meetings seats 36, while the media screening room seats 40. Finally, a "floating conference room"—a lofty space with couches, a pool table, and a foosball table—seats 20. The venue plans to add GIF booths and beacons soon.
The Kimpton Gray Hotel opened in the financial district in August. With 293 rooms, the hotel will have 13,000 square feet of meeting and event space. On the top floor, a 2,800-square-foot ballroom will have floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking downtown Chicago. The room will hold receptions for 280 guests. The hotel will also have a rooftop lounge with a private dining area on its 15th floor, and a library lounge on the second floor. On the ground floor, there will be a restaurant, a Starbucks, and the fast-casual Protein Bar.
Revival Food Hall opened in a landmark building in the Loop in August. At 24,000 square feet, the venue has 15 fast-casual food stalls that showcase neighborhood restaurants. Vendors include Antique Taco Chiquito and ramen shop Furious Spoon. There's also an on-site coffee roaster, a full bar, and a bakery, as well as a record store and a "reading corner" with books for sale. The venue hosts standing cocktail receptions for 600 guests. Furniture, which is made by local artisans, is used for stationed and passed-appetizer events; the space doesn't facilitate traditional seated dinners.
AgencyEA opened Savage Smyth in June. In River North, the 16,000-square-foot venue has two levels. Its upper level is a rooftop space with skyline views; its interior space is surrounded by windows that bring in natural light. Each floor can hold 300 guests, giving the venue a total standing capacity of 600 guests. Amenities include a freight elevator that allows for direct floor access and load-in of large elements, built-in coat check areas, in-house audiovisual systems, and a private entrance.
The highly anticipated LondonHouse Chicago, Curio Collection by Hilton, opened in May on the New East Side. In a renovated 1923 building, the hotel has 452 rooms, a three-story rooftop bar and restaurant, a spa, a lobby bar, and 13 total meeting spaces that include ballrooms and boardrooms. One of the event spaces, the Juliette Grand ballroom, measures 3,737 square feet, and can hold cocktail receptions for 500 guests or theater-style seating for 350. On the 21st floor, Étoile is a 1,346-square-foot private dining room that seats 100 at rounds; it has a terrace that can hold receptions for 50 and has river views. Hosts also have the option to rent the space underneath the rooftop cupola, which holds intimate dinners for 10.
The 85,000-square-foot Venue One North Shore opened in May. Located in the former Berto Center, the event space is intended to serve corporate headquarters in the area, including Kraft Foods and Allstate. It has both indoor and outdoor spaces, and can seat 1,200 guests for dinner or hold 1,500 for receptions.
In August, the Lakewood, an event space from Paramount Events, opened in the West Lake District. With an on-site kitchen, the venue is outfitted with rustic wood ceilings and polished concrete floors; the sleek space serves as a blank canvas for holiday parties, meetings, weddings, and social functions. The Lakewood holds seated dinners with a dance floor for 300; without the dance floor, the seating capacity is 330. It seats 150 classroom-style, with a breakout space for 30 guests. The venue also hosts cocktail receptions for 600 guests.
High-end Chinese restaurant Imperial Lamian opened in River North in March. The main dining room seats 120 and offers a view of the open kitchen, where chefs make hand-pulled noodles. The private Imperial room seats 30 guests and has a 96-inch projector for presentations, while the semiprivate Ming Room seats 40; the Ming and Imperial rooms can be combined to seat 70 guests. On the private-dining menus, popular items include Jasmine tea-smoked ribs and Wasabi crispy prawn.
On the 24th floor of Hyatt Centric the Loop, Aire opened in May. The rooftop bar and lounge has contemporary decor and 360-degree city views. It also has open-air fireplaces and shade umbrellas. The menu offers small plates and specialty cocktails as well as beer, wine, and champagne. The venue has 90 seats or can hold standing receptions for as many as 200 guests.
