I had to make a yelp account because there seems to be zero accountability in the management here. Great bar, but the bouncer was honestly either already drunk or on drugs. He was messing with everyone in the line, but when it came to me, the only asian guy in a line of 10, he decided to go even further. He grabbed my ID, and didn't even glance at it before declaring that it was borrowed from my "brother". He then read my name out loud to the line, asking for my "brother" to come claim his ID. I thought it was a joke, but he continued asking me to confess that it was not my ID. At one point, he twitched out. He then proceeded to continue to call out my name in public, until one of his coworkers came over and asked him to stop. He then claimed that he thought I was underage because I had a "babyface", which honestly did not explain why he he made up an imaginary brother to call out, or even continue this charade. He gave me back my ID, and I went inside. Later when I was leaving, I explained what had happened to the bouncer in charge. He claimed he would talk to the other bouncer about it, but walked away before I could even finish telling him the whole thing. The service and music inside was good, but this experience really ruined the rest of the night for me. Unless management terminates this particular individual, or at least gives him racial sensitivity training and a drug test, Celeste will be looking at a pretty large liability. This occurred on a Saturday night, so hopefully management will look into who was manning the door and rectify the issue. Edit: Upon review of other posts, it appears that issues with bouncers being incessantly rude and unreasonable is a common occurrence. Seems like management likes it this way, so what's the point? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ read more

I'm actually feeling pretty blown writing this review - I love Celeste and have so many fond memories of late summer nights pre-COVID there. I was so excited to check them out today in a more relaxed environment - we decided to make a dinner reservation with 2 friends who were visiting the city at 8 pm. Given it is hot outside, and we weren't dressed in club or disco attire since it was 8 pm - my partner showed up wearing a tanktop. It's 85 degrees out! Having a dress code is totally understandable, that was our mistake, however, from the moment I walked up to the door the door guy/ security/ host greeted us with hostility. I told him our reservation time, he told us no one had checked in under our reservation yet (our friends were waiting for us at the bar) and looked my partner up and down and informed him he couldn't allow him in - turned around, and walked away. There was no need for his rudeness whatsoever. We live 2 blocks away, we would have easily gone home and quickly changed, but instead after being shocked by that interaction we decided to call our friends out and to go drink at a spot next door. I immediately told his employee next to him there was no need to be that condescending and rude, it's not 1 am full of drunk people stressing out a security guard, it's literally 8 pm and empty, we can take a deep breathe & treat people with kindness. Totally shocked! Wtf Celeste ! read more

Celeste is such a disappointment. What a shame. It really is a beautiful venue inside and has so much potential. The staff is poorly trained (which is the fault of Management) but on top of being so disorganized, the staff is downright rude. Are you ready? Cue "Sabre Dance." My sister called well in advance to make a reservation for our large party. When we arrived at our reservation time, the doorman checked his list and sent us up to the 2nd floor. There wasn't a greeter on the 2nd floor, so our large party stood around awkwardly until finally someone told us we were in the wrong place, that we should be upstairs one more floor. We went up to the 3rd floor, but that was blocked off for a private party, and it wasn't for OUR private party. Upstairs to the roof? Nope. Closed, and a couple bouncers sent us back down to 2. Back on 2, someone finally apologized and said we'd be taken care of. We were sent back down to the 1st floor where a different staffperson sat us in the back at a table marked Reserved. Finally settled and ready to order drinks, we were approached just a few minutes later by a DIFFERENT staffperson who coldly told us we couldn't sit there, that it was reserved for a large party. We told her we'd just been sat there by someone else on the staff, that we too had a reservation for a large party, and that we'd now tried all 4 floors to no avail. She asked what time our reservation was, and we answered, "9:30pm", to which she said, "I don't even know what time it is," to which we replied, "9:40..." HAVE I LOST YOU YET? Yeeeaaahhh... WHAT A NIGHTMARE! We traipsed up and down the stairs and never did get seated at a table that was supposed to be ours. Everyone working there was utterly confused and unapologetic (except for one person who offered help although unsuccessfully). Needless to say-- We all walked out without ordering so much as a glass of water, and I can say with confidence that I will never be back. There are far too many classy and well-managed establishments in Chicago and ON THE SAME BLOCK for Celeste to compete. read more

People give places like this a bad wrap for what should be expected. They are in high demand and have limited capacity. If you don't plan ahead and make a reservation, don't be mad when you can't get in. They are sourcing premium spirits and making lots of juices/cordials in house and then using them in drinks that for many have at least 5-6 components, there is a premium to pay for that. I've always enjoyed my visits here. I like hanging in the Deco Room on the second floor. I have always been treated politely by staff. They have a well thought out cocktail menu with a adequately trained staff to execute it. Great place to go for some cocktails in a nice lounge style setting. read more

Let me start out by saying that I don't live in Chicago but I visit often. As a NY'er I appreciate an exclusive and well appointed nightlife experience. Something that Chicago lacks since most places are cookie-cutter and generic. I visited Celeste twice during one weekend trip and overall it was a really great experience. I'll summarize it by saying I appreciate Celeste because it is well designed with a focus on simple elegance that's not over the top. The food and drink menu is finely curated. The staff is somewhat polite and refined (it's partially a nightclub, so a little attitude comes with the territory). And most of the crowd was hip and well behaved. Although I enjoyed my experience at Celeste I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. "Why?" you say? Well, it may be too cool for most people in Chicago (but that's a good thing in my book). read more

Went here for dinner the atmosphere is artistic and cool. Can be considered romantic. I would of liked to hang out in the garden patio its seasonal so it was not open. The pork is tasty very good steak fritted were a bit salty but most people would that that it was perfect. The menu had less options then I expected but looked good. read more

Don't get me wrong, this place is SUPER fun. Its a really cool place to go dancing and the atmosphere is very classy. However, Im literally never bringing my credit/debit card back here if I ever go again. This isn't just an isolated incident either, I've seen many people talking about the same thing. In fact, I had such a great night that I went online to see what other people had to say about Celeste and was reading the comments, and people were saying that there were a bunch of un-approved charges on their card. Which totally made sense to me because my fucking card was declined when I tried to buy some pizza later that night. It's just like if the drinks are soooo expensive anyway, for someone to try and tack on way more charges, that feels like a major slap in the face. This place is super fun but if you want to not get screwed over, because Im sure that the people working there build a culture around fraudulently charging drunk people, bring cash. Or better yet, drink before you get there. And if you can, get there before 11/1130 so you skip the cover. read more

So unique. They only play old school disco music but it is as a nice change of pace! The bouncers were very kind and let us in with no problem. The crowd is very diverse! There were older couples, young college kids and everyone in between, just dancing and having a good time! No judgment. The bar didn't have that great of drink options and it was almost impossible to get there but then I realized there are 3 other floors! A resteraunt on the bottom and the top has an adorable rooftop bar. The decor was so cute and I loved it! I don't go out a lot but if you're looking for a place to dance your heart out I would def reccomend! read more

I went here with six of my friends for my boyfriend's birthday, and we had a fantastic time! The waitress was amazing, and even offered a special ginger ale mixed drink to my friend who wasn't feeling too well that day. We all got the burger with fries as well as the shake and fries for dessert and it was all very, very good- exceeding my expectations! Very happy that I chose to go here to celebrate such a special day- we will all definitely be going back! read more

I'm prefacing this by saying that I've only been here twice and i love this place!! Three floors, good crowd and tasty cocktails- what else are you looking for in a late-night spot? However my question is this - if anyone working here is reading this-why does a jack and coke cost $15? read more

Celeste was meh all the way through, we started with the nachos they were actually quite flavorful! Then we had our cocktails(three sips and you were done). The entrees were nothing to wow about I have a burger and my boyfriend had the eggplant dish both kinda meh in flavor, the only thing that saved my burger was the fried kale. The strawberry ice cream was delicious...but only when you'd actually get a bite of ice cream and not pound cake. The service was actually the best part of the meal...I'll return but it's not like I'm rushing to get there. read more

We recently hosted a rather large event here on their Disco floor. From the booking of the event, to the final details, everything was incredibly well communicated and smooth. They were able to completely cater to our company, including our logo in the decor, our choice of music, and were extremely attentive throughout the event. I would highly recommend them for any corporate or private event! read more

Super crowded. No room to actually dance, other than standing right where you're stuck standing. Music was the same techno beat stuff... all night long. Highly overrated! read more

New Years Eve 2015 sucked. Why? Well because we were ripped off. We paid $200 per person (total $1200) for hot heavily passed appetizers, a table and an open bar. What we got was a table, severely watered down drinks, cheese, pepperoni, an itty bitty bag of popcorn and beef jerky. Yes, I said Beef Jerky. When we spoke to the manager about the non-existent "heavily passed hot appitizers" we were told he would take care of us. You know what he meant? He meant more jerky, peppers and nuts. The mixed nuts and peppers were brought to us as our consolation prize for being suckers and buying their New Years Eve package. There were absolutely no passed appetizers, let alone hot or heavy unless you consider passed hot appitizers as passing by a table to get cheese and pepperoni where the pepperoni making progress included heat and the caring a heavy batch of cheese and pepperoni to the table "heavy." We spoke to the manager again, he said "they" were suppose to send us more food. Who ever "they" were, "they" didn't. Someone else working there said we were getting chicken or something. Guess what, we didn't get that either. So the run down after paying $1200 was we left hungry, got watered down mixed drinks, cheese, cold pepperoni, bread, nuts, itty bitty bag of ok tasting popcorn, warm peppers, 1 bottle of Grey Goose and music. Save yourself, DO NOT go to the Celeste for any party they host. They lie about what you get, you will be disappointed and they serve crap drinks. Furthermore, management is a complete joke that will placate you with hollow meaningless words like they "will take care of you." What they really mean is the Celeste will take care of taking money out of your pocket and give you gas station food in return. What a way to start the new year. Me hungry, Celeste negatively yelped. Oh, I forgot to mention there was a small but uber underwhelming balloon drop and our table of 6 got 2 party hats and 4 horns. I guess that was something for everybody. I would have liked heavily passed appetizers, but call me crazy for wanting what we were told we were paying for. To be clear before we paid them we confirmed with them that there would be heavily passed appetizers. Liars. Yelp, please allow for zero stars because this rip off place doesn't deserve the 1 I'm forced to give it. I'll be contacting the them for some type of refund. I'll keep you posted. read more

Celeste - Beef jerky - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was not impressed whatsoever. I went as a part of Chicago's restaurant week. The food was so not worth the price. Paying $44 for a subpar four course meal was not what I was looking for as a college student visiting Chicago. I had the scallop crudo as my first course and I am pretty sure the scallops were frozen. My girlfriend had the frisee salad which had a delicious vinaigrette but nothing more than a couple clusters of bacon. The only highlight of the night was the second course gnocchi. It was flavorful but had very little sweet potato. I had the steak tartare which was nothing special and was quite bland. As the third course, I had the lamb chops, it was tasty but I expected them to do more than add a brown sauce and some collard greens on the side. My girlfriend had the parpadelle which I would NOT RECOMMEND. I swear I have made more complex pasta dishes in my dorm room. Putting butter and pepper on pasta is not a high-end meal. In addition, my server ordered the wrong third course for my girlfriend and she had to wait over 10 minutes for the pasta dish to come out while my lamb chop got cold sitting on the table. For dessert, they gave me vanilla ice cream loaded with oreo crumbs and whipped cream. After looking at practically every restaurant week menu, my girlfriend and I thought that Celeste's looked the tastiest and were willing to drop money on a nice dinner out while we were visiting Chicago. After the experience, I regret not reading reviews beforehand because it was an utter disappointment. I strongly advise against going here during restaurant week as it is way overpriced for a meal that should have cost half as much. read more

This place is so not worth the wait. It's new on the scene and you can tell. We waited at the door at around 11 which is totally normal for the area. The door people were extremely rude, ruder than normal for Hubbard. They kept assuring us it would be less than 5 minutes in order to keep anyone from walking away. The bar had 3 bartenders and they were slow moving. I wasn't impressed by the menu or the beer selection (other than the fact that they have Three Floyd's on tap). The exclusive "upstairs" is just the area where the tables are for dinner but they made it sound like the VIP. I was thinking about making this the second stop for my birthday party next month but now I am definitely reconsidering. For $12 there are plenty of other spots on Hubbard to grab a cocktail. read more

If I'm being honest, the service I received during my group meal for 12 people was a 2, but everyone has a bad night. My rating is based on my overall experience. After bringing my issues to the attention of management, I am blown away by how much they took everything I said to heart and went above and beyond to make it right. I've been here in the past and had a lovely experience, and I'll certainly go back thanks to their superior customer service. Shit happens, I get it. Sincerely apologizing and handling it appropriately goes a long way and deserves to be recognized. read more

We hosted a celebration dinner for 23 people on Sat. night at the Deco Room at Celeste. First of all, Cassandra was an amazing partner in planning our event. From recommending an amazing florist (Oliver Dogwood), to helping turn my vision for the evening into a reality - she was just wonderful. The art deco space is beautifully breathtaking. Perfect for cocktails and mingling, followed by small tables of 6 & a family style dinner. At first I wasn't sure about the family style - but it worked out great - so many choices. It was easy to accommodate our gluten free and vegan friends with a varied menu. Everyone commented on how good the food was - it was really delicious. Becca was our coordinator on site Sat and she was wonderful - from making sure everyone got out from the rain to loading our playlist. She made sure we did not feel rushed, but kept the evening moving. We had special craft cocktails - and a lovely champagne toast. I did upgrade to some nicer wine from their sister restaurant, Beatnik on the River. Overall - this just exceeded all expectations - the locale was beautiful - the food and drinks were great - and the laughter and love - well, that was ours. Thank you Cassandra and Becca! read more

This is a wonderful cocktail lounge. The bartenders are attentive; they listen to you and understand that they are there to actually create good drinks. I popped in on a Tuesday night around 8:30 PM and enjoyed a delicious concoction with bourbon, milk, honey, and nutmeg. When I asked for a cheese plate that was not on the menu, they immediately found a way to offer one. The interior is well designed with the requisite soft exposed bulb lighting that you expect at such places. The door staff are welcoming rather than acting like snobby gatekeepers. read more

Now i know how John Travolta felt when he was on the dance floor for Saturday night fever. Minute I walked in , lighted dance floor disco ball ,dance music, had to buy a drink served in a disco ball. FUNN FUNN AND FUNN. read more

As someone who works with a ton of venues, it's hard to find a place that nails it from start to finish, but everyone and everything at Celeste always exceeds my expectations. I've been coming here for years and the team always makes me feel like a VIP. Each floor is completely unique (that garden tho!) and the food is always so good! Celeste is the PERFECT place for a girls night out, date night, or to host an event (Kelsey and Megan are amazing!) There's seriously no other venue in Chicago like it! read more

I had my first experience at Celeste last night and will most certainly be back. I had a reservation for dinner in the Deco Room at 10:00pm but we really wanted to have drinks on the rooftop, which is seated on a first come, first served basis. We were greeted at the door by Troy, the nicest host I have ever met. He suggested that we go up to the Deco Room, order drinks, and then come back down and see him for access to the rooftop. The Deco Room bar is the best bar of the three floors as it's the least crowded and has the most extensive drink list. I got the bartender's choice of tequila drinks, which tasted like alcoholic vitamin C-in the best way possible. The decor and atmosphere are simply lovely, evoking Gatsby-esque grace and glamour down to the very last detail. Once we were able to get up to the rooftop, with a personal escort by Troy, we enjoyed another cocktail outside overlooking Hubbard Street. The crowd was well dressed and pretty tame and respectful for Hubbard Street. Gentlemen-this is a good place to look for the ladies as the crowd is about 85% stylish women. I truly enjoyed my time at Celeste and enjoyed the refreshing break from the usual extremely clubby places on Hubbard. I would love to come back for dinner as well sometime as I have heard great things about the food menu here as well. read more

Do not go there!! - Went there on a Saturday night. The downstairs bar was completely empty. The dance floor above only had a few ppl there. My drink had a bug in it. The bar area looked disgusting and unclean. The bouncer was extremely rude and disrespectful to customers inside and outside. The place is a total disgrace. read more

Disco may look cool, but don't be fooled. The place is empty and not any fun. Security was a hastle to get through only to enter a mostly empty club. And this was at 12am too. Not a fan of this place. read more

I keep a list of "Places to Try in Chicago" for enjoyment and when looking for event space. When I have friends in town or plans fall through, I happily turn to my list. This happened last Saturday night and next on my list was Celeste. I was more excited to see the space for an event I'm planning in January than for the evening. To cut to the chase, I am incredibly disappointed in Celeste. My friends and I never made it through the door as the bouncer, Mathew, seemed to only allow his buddies in. There was absolutely no order as we waited 60 minutes in line, first in line I'll add. The reason we left line, besides the insulting bouncer team, was because I decided Celeste does not deserve money from me or the companies I represent. If you're looking for a night out or an event, I recommend any Lettuce Entertain You restaurant over Celeste. read more

Even though the staff tried their best, this really was one of the WORST meals I have had. Every food item was over salted, the service was slow, and the coffee was weak. This is on top of the food being on the more expensive side. The only saving grace was the cocktails seems good, well constructed and executed. Go for drinks, skip (run in the opposite direction) of the food. read more

Excellent hospitality, tasty cocktails, unique late night food selection & great atmosphere. What else could you ask for? Celeste is a staple of River North nightlife for good reason. Can't go wrong with anything on the menu, from the legendary fried chicken to the amazing house cocktails. Management and staff go out of their way to please. Oh, and don't forget about Disco, the club on the upper level and if you're looking for a rooftop to have a drink they have you covered there too! If you haven't been make sure to check it out! read more

Only bar in River North that plays decent music and stays open til 4/5. It's nice to hear music that's not on the lowest common denominator radio. Want Bieber? Forget it. Finally I doth have to travel to Wicker or Logan or a club to hear hip music. 3rd floor is disco on weekends and a blast. But entry is difficult if you don't reserve or know someone... Hungry? Fried chicken is 9 out of 10. Bet. read more

Fancy shmancy. The upstairs dining area is beautiful and reminded me of Paris. Cocktails are tasty and strong, but the food is portioned pretty small so beware if you're hungry but don't want to spend a ton on dinner. read more

We stopped by to continue celebrate my birthday. We got there and there were enough seating area for us to sit, so we sat while we waited for a server, never saw one. My husband and friend decided to go get drinks by the bar instead. After almost an hour, a server finally showed up and asked us to move from her area since we were not ordering drinks from her. Fine we stood up and danced for a while (awesome DJ btw). My friend and i decided to walk to the restroom, and here where I'll say: CAUTION! between restroom area and bar area there's a door...a glass door that's open. On the right there's about a 6" wide glass panel, where the room is so dark dimmed, and it was fully packed, I did not see that panel so I literally ran into it. Thankfully that my glasses hit that panel else I would've split my eyebrow there! I got hit pretty hard that it immediately created a huge lump on my eyebrow area. We talked to the bartenders there right after the incident and was given a towel w/ ice. But I would suggest the place to tape the edges of panel with a warning alert so nothing like this will happen again. My husband went to the restroom later that night, and since I had told him about the panel he almost ran into it as well because again you cannot see this panel in dark dimmed area. Beautiful place though, but wished that I did not had that incident, spent the rest of the night sitting down w/ a iced towel. Also wish the server was more available to accommodate my 15 guests I had with me. read more

Went here on a busy Friday. The bartender Eric was slammed. In the weeds. He is a master mixologist I waved some money in the air and he came over to me. No whistling necessary (very nice now days). I asked if he had titos and he said they do. I told him I understood that they were busy but would love a titos and soda with a splash of tonic and lemon lime and he made me one of the best I've had in a long time. Truly a great place and excellent craft cocktails. I had 9 titos and sodas. Will be back soon. read more

22 bucks for fried chicken. That really all that needs to be said. 15 bucks for a mixed cocktail. The service is as bad as the prices. 15 minutes to get a menu is a joke. Another overpriced restaurant in the loop. read more

This bar is the perfect blend between douchey and swanky (dwanky). If you every want to grab drinks with Jean Ralphio, go here. To access the rooftop, find the secret service detail on the first floor (suit and earpiece). All in all, this place was built for ladies with bellybutton rings and men with deep cut v's. Enjoy! read more

I completely agree with the comment below on this being a friends and family establishment. One the staff even acknowledged that there are multiple (sounds like 4?) owners so getting in is basically a matter of who you're related to. Shame that this is the case since once you get inside it's actually a pretty cool place for a few above average drinks (given that you're on Hubbard of course). read more

There are too many places in Chicago to deal with a place like this. We had a going away gathering on the rooftop for a colleague. It's a beautiful space. But you need more than looks to run an establishment. Clearly this place is only about asthetics. The wait staff could not keep track of the tabs, guests were being told the roof deck was already full and could not come up, everyone was being eyeballed at the door for exceptionally long times before being let inside. Some guests were even told they could not come inside due to their shoes and wrangling a manager to get them in was an ordeal in itself. I'm not sure who Celeste thinks they are, but there are too many amazing spots on Hubbard and Kinzie alone to be treating anyone like this. read more

This place is great for a rehearsal dinner! We had originally booked elsewhere and got bullied out of the space a few weeks before our wedding, but Celeste was there to save the day at the last minute. They provided amazing atmosphere/decor, delicious food and drinks, extremely fast service, and made the entire process easy and smooth from start to finish. We were also able to rent a TV and microphone for speakers/slideshows during the rehearsal dinner, which was a nice addition. After dinner, most people ended up downstairs at Disco for some more drinks and dancing. A perfect night. Highly recommend Celeste to anyone planning an event. Thank you! read more

Walked by this place numerous times and didn't realize it was Celeste until it was time for dinner. Very cute restaurant with 3 floors of entertaining from bar, to restaurant to rooftop. Very trendy, wine was great and the menu was smaller with more specialties. Great for a nice dinner and cocktails. Head upstairs to the rooftop and enjoy a cocktail! read more

Classy and sophisticated but if you don't look and act like a character from some random soap opera prepare for a whole lot of pretentious bullshit attitude. At first they wouldn't let anyone who was waiting in line in because the two dudes in the front apparently looked too much like nerds I'm assuming. They were given multiple excuses as to why they couldn't go in from there being a private event to needing reservations. But once the aforementioned nerds left they let everyone else in no questions asked. My advice, if people want to offer you money to buy drinks LET THEM IN. read more

Spent New Years Eve at Celeste. It was incredibly disappointing. We bought pre-paid tickets at $200 per person. The package was supposed to include hot heavy past appetizers, select mixed drinks at an open bar with music. We wanted to eat first then have a few drinks. We called to see what food they were serving. When we called to get the definition of what the appetizers were we were told there would be a variety of appetizers served hot without any specifics. We deduced that their would be ample food. What we got was GAS STATION food.1 sandwich bag of popcorn for six people, pepperoni and cheese slices, bread and some kind of pork dip that looked like vomit. We complained to the manager no less than four times, and he said he would take care of us each time. He further admitted that the event was not advertised properly. Over the next few hours we received three small bowls of peanuts and beef jerky. Really? Beef jerky at a New Years Eve Party? WTF. If must have been really hard for such an arrogant manager to walk down the block and stop in the Shell Gas station mini mart to buy popcorn, peanuts, cheese, bread and beef jerky. I will never, Ever, EVER go to Celeste for any reason. If Jesus Christ himself was there I would ask him to meet me at the Shell gas station mini mart... Celeste and Shell are the same thing. read more

This place was so great! The food was delicious and the atmosphere was chic and romantic on the second and rooftop floors. A little pricey but the drinks are super good! read more