10 New Venues in Chicago for Summer 2021 Meetings and Events

Since opening in April, the art deco-style The Penthouse Hyde Park is the newest event venue in the Hyde Park/Kentwood District. It features an expansive 2,600-square-foot rooftop terrace with lake and downtown views. Found on the 13th floor of the former 1920s Piccadilly Hotel, there is also 2,500 square feet of ballroom space with 20-foot arched windows. While keeping its vintage charm, it has been transformed from a dingy ballroom with tan and brown tones to a grand ballroom space with glamorous finishes, including modern black-and-white floors. It can host 170 guests with a dance floor, seat 200 for a sit-down dinner or accommodate 300 for receptions. Other highlights include the two-story VIP suite equipped with a full kitchen and bathrooms ideal for special occasions, from receptions to corporate events.

The Forester, a Hyatt Place Hotel, which opened in April, is the first hotel to open in 92 years in Lake Forest, Ill. Look for plenty of little details throughout the 156-room hotel, such as the check-in desk, made entirely of white oak (Illinois' state tree). For special events, the lakefront hotel has several options. The Lupine Room is located near the hotel’s lobby with access to the outdoor patio. The space can host as many as 186 guests in the 1,676 square-foot area. The Aster Room has beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows and is the most significant space with 2,232 square feet, large enough to host as many as 250 guests for special events. The 378-square-foot Blue Stem Room can hold up to 45 guests for smaller gatherings such as board meetings or intimate receptions. The prefunction space is 400 square feet and ideal for registration or coat check and is situated just outside the Blue Stem and the Aster Room. Oaken Bistro + Bar is also suitable for events with 4,500 square feet of flexible space.

Morgan's on Fulton is located in the heart of the Fulton Market District in the West Loop neighborhood. In May, a new all-season retractable roof enclosure was unveiled. Owned by hospitality designer James Geier of 555 International, the new space features views of Fulton Market and the Loop. The roof deck boasts 6,000 square feet, including The Penthouse, with 1,500 square feet of space plus floor-to-ceiling windows, private cabanas and an ambient sound system. The greenhouse-inspired structure is suitable for a sit-down dinner for 160 guests or a 250-person reception. The Loft is a 3,460-square-foot area with exposed brick, mango wood floors and plenty of natural light. It can accommodate 100 for seated dinners or 165 for receptions. Geier has also launched an in-house catering business this spring called Morgan’s Catering, helmed by executive chef Mitch Cavanah, who has worked at the Peninsula Chicago Hotel and GT Fish & Oyster.

The Gold Coast neighborhood welcomed award-winning restaurateur Rodrigio Ferrari Millicardi's 6,000-square-foot, 160-seat Mansion on Rush on May 15. Billed as a Japanese fusion restaurant with Latin flair, it’s located on Rush Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood, situated just north of the high-end designer shops on Oak Street. The new glamorous restaurant serves sushi, seafood and steak. There are two executive chefs—Alberto Padilla, formerly of La Scarola, who is in charge of hot plates, and Chris Traynor, who oversees the cold selections, such as the raw bar, sushi and caviar. The 40-seat Champagne Lounge is the restaurant's exclusive VIP lounge with velvet seating and marble tables for exclusive private events. It has its own menu serving up its premier Champagne by the bottle; craft cocktails; and the signature caviar menu including Sturgeon caviars, roes, vegetarian options and a select variety of nigiri and maki sushi. The design-forward space paid close attention to its detail, from the tambura tide stone raw bar and plush seating to the VIP restroom that features kryptonite and platinum accents. Another ideal spot for entertaining is the Veranda. Full buyouts are available.

The highly anticipated Pendry Chicago opened on May 26 within the historic 1929 art deco Carbide & Carbon Building, designed to resemble a Champagne bottle. The new hotel was formerly St. Jane Hotel and before that the Hard Rock Hotel. The reception parlor features artwork by Amsterdam-based artist Arnout Meijer. There are 364 renovated guest rooms and suites, including the Pendry Suites with expansive views, a private bedroom and a six-person dining area. For meetings and events, it has 13,000 square feet of space suitable for every type of gathering. The Billiard Gallery is adjacent to the lobby on the ground floor and is ideal for smaller groups of up to 40 guests. The 3,120-square-foot Grand Ballroom can accommodate 70 for conferences or 350 for receptions, while the 936-square-foot Michigan Ballroom can hold 100 in a theater-style configuration or 100 for receptions. This unique space has a 40-foot outdoor terrace for guests to take in incredible views of Michigan Avenue. On the second floor, there are several rooms ideal for smaller corporate meetings. There are four Gallery Rooms that are 399 square feet with 10-foot ceilings that can host 18 guests in various configurations from classroom style to theater style, or a 714-square-foot space that can hold 90 for receptions. Today, Pendry Chicago will unveil the 3,000-square-foot Château Carbide, a 24th floor indoor-outdoor rooftop bar—which pulls inspiration from the Côte d'Azur—for events up to 100 people.

Palmhouse619 popped up on the border of Chicago and Evanston in March. The 10,000-square-foot former vacant paint shop turned event space boasts an open floor plan with 6,500 square feet of usable space for corporate gatherings, weddings, nonprofit dinners and galas. The room features exposed brick and double bow truss ceilings with a 21-inch-by-17-inch peak with skylights. It has two bars, including a 35-foot quartz bar with front-facing tiles recycled from the building's ceiling during the renovation and a smaller circular bar found in the Parlor, ideal for a welcome cocktail. It has a full commercial kitchen and catering partners, including Peckish Pig and Green Spoon Kitchen, and options to bring in outside licensed caterers. Palmhouse619 can accommodate 300 guests with a dance floor and up to 460 for sit-down dinners. It can hold as many as 880 for a cocktail reception. It has two private suites; the main suite is entirely ADA accessible, has a vanity area and a three-piece washroom. The second suite has a lounge, flat-screen TV and a wet bar. While the venue can accommodate stylish parties by night, it is ideal as a co-working site by day for creative professionals.

The 5,300-square-foot Apolonia opened in the South Loop on April 16 by chef and owner Stephen Gillanders, who also owns S.K.Y. in Pilsen. The 100-seat restaurant is open and airy and features 18-foot ceilings and a private dining room that can accommodate 20 guests—not to mention it's nearby the 2.6-million-square-foot McCormick Place Convention Center and Wintrust Arena. The restaurant is open for brunch, lunch and dinner with a menu that focuses on European-Mediterranean cuisine. Start with shareable standouts that include chilled oysters, black truffle puff bread and cured meats and cheeses, as well as appetizers such as yellowtail crudo and tarte forestière. Main dishes include an assortment of pasta, seafood and meat dishes. Full buyouts are available.

The 4,000-square-foot restaurant Venteux—helmed by executive chef-partner Donald Young, the youngest chef to earn a Michelin star in Chicago—opened on the ground floor of the Pendry Chicago on May 26. The low-lit interiors were designed by Studio Munge and feature a room bathed in burgundy, luxe velvet banquets, umbrella lighting and unique gallery walls. This vibrant 175-seat French restaurant’s shellfish bar can accommodate four guests; the brasserie can hold 84, while the bar can host 18, and there are two private dining rooms—the Bordeaux room seats 15 and the Burgundy room, which seats eight. These intimate spaces feature milk-glass chandeliers with gallery walls curated by Grace Zeppilli of Canadian art consulting firm GZ Art Co. The cafe has tropical palm-splashed walls and floor-to-ceiling windows that look out to Michigan Avenue. It can hold 26 guests while the outdoor patio can accommodate 20.

Avli on the Park opened in April in the Lakeshore East neighborhood, joining the family of modern Greek restaurants that include locations in Lincoln Park, River North and suburban Winnetka. The 13,000-square-foot restaurant has an airy, open floor plan, featuring incredible views of Lakeshore East Park through floor-to-ceiling windows. Other highlights include a U-shaped bar and two-sided stone fireplaces. For private events, the restaurant can accommodate as little as 10 guests for intimate gatherings or as many as 500 in the entire venue. The main dining area can hold 180 people, while the rooftop—which features heated cabanas for year-round enjoyment—can host 120 guests.

Sable at Navy Pier is Curio Collection’s 100th property. The hospitality brand opened its 223-room hotel at the iconic Navy Pier in March, minutes from famous sights such as Cloud Gate, the Magnificent Mile and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. KOO designed the hotel to reflect the naval history of the location with a nautical theme featuring blue-green hues inspired by Lake Michigan, along with weathered brass and ship-building materials. Meeting planners can expect six meeting and event rooms spanning 4,286 square feet of total event space, including the 3,459-square-foot Great Lakes Ballroom that can accommodate 220 guests without a dance floor, 175 with a dance floor and up to 250 for reception-style events. It is located on the second floor and has 893 square feet of prefunction space. Other highlights include the on-site restaurant Lirica, which serves up Latin and Iberian-inspired small plates and cocktails with views of Lake Michigan. In addition, it has a private event space, a 150-seat patio and a 22-seat bar. Steps from the hotel is the Offshore Rooftop and Bar, the Guinness Book of World Records' “World’s Largest Rooftop Bar.”