I have been a member of the Village Newcomers Club (also known as the Village Club) for three years…read morenow and I just love it!! They offer so many fun activities and joining is a great way to meet people. We moved from Texas to Winnetka, IL about 3 years ago and we have made many friend through the club. I started attending their book club and then tried other things they offered. I have made some lifelong friends. They offer a lot of different social activities like book club, coffees, members meetings, adult socials, girls night out, family socials, a moms and tots group and a whole lot more. I highly recommend them!

I joined the Village Newcomers Club because I was looking for a local book club, but I quickly…read morebegan to participate in a lot of the other activities, as well. There's something for anything - adult social gatherings, girls nights out, coffee mornings, newcomers coffees, family events, wine tastings, toddler playdates, an annual holiday party, etc. There's always something going on. I've lived in the area for seven years but have met so many wonderful people through the VNC. The club covers the entire New Trier Township (Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Kenilworth, Northfield) and I've met people I wouldn't have otherwise met. Whether you've just moved to the area or looking for more ways to socialize, this is a great way to do it.

A great little bar where no one is a stranger and everyone are friends. This bar has long pours…read moreand the best price you'll ever find.

I absolutely love this place one of the best times I ever had in my whole life I can't even tell…read moreyou what all we did that day I hope they still have visitors day the third Sunday in July and the third Sunday in August cuz I've been trying to talk someone into taking me back there for years it's not like people think it is there's so much going on when I was there it was like a carnival penthouse Playboy Cherry magazine all the pornstars but the girls in the costumes and the whole show itself was amazing something I'll never forget and when I ran across them pictures again I'll post one

Let's see,,,,,no ice available on campground. Pool lounge chairs are a joke, All in all the place…read moreis becoming worn out and needs a major update.

Fun,family friendly,lots of kids for my 9yr old daughter to play with! Loved the out door…read moreconcessions and free activities!! Such a welcoming place. I would love to have a sponsor and become an active member!!

You have to be a member to get in or you can get in if you come as a guest with someone who is a…read moremember. Members pay dues but you enjoy, a variety of good food and drinks at a really reasonable cost. A bottle of beer is $2.50. They have slot machines, darts, a full bar and lots of space for a variety of games or activities. I saw various groups of people playing dominoes, cards and just relaxing and enjoying a conversation. I ordered the ribeye steak it was juicy, tender and cooked as requested. The chicken wings were a little bland of flavor and salty at the same time. I saw a couple of pizzas come out of the kitchen and they looked promising. This was more of a family community hangout spot that looks like it hasn't changed or been upgraded in over 25 years. If I return it will be to enjoy the conversation of friends.

We've been living in Aurora for five years now, and are getting to the point where we're digging…read morepretty deep for finding new places to go (causing a major hit in my Yelp review writing activity). One night when looking for a place we've never been, the Phoenix Club popped up tagged as "Nightlife" only a few blocks from my house. I was sure this was some kind of mistake, as there couldn't possibly be a bar in the middle of my neighborhood that I never knew about. I called, talked to Greg (a bartender) who invited us to come down to check it out, and we joined that night. Since then, we have become total regulars around the Phoenix Club and spend an absurd amount of time there. The Phoenix Club served as our gateway to a bunch of other local clubs, which I'm also reviewing on Yelp, so check our my profile if you're into that kind of thing. These clubs all work similar, but have small differences. HOW TO JOIN: You need to fill out a membership form and have two full, non-spouse, members in good standing sign for you. This is pretty easy, we had a bartender and a person sitting at the bar both willing to sign for us. Dues are $60 a year, and to get your key card and membership number you need to attend a general member meeting which is held on a Wednesday at 7:00. (The third Wednesday, I believe, but this is posted everywhere.) FOOD AND DRINK: The Phoenix Club has a full bar, with several beers *and* a root beer on draft, along with bottles of every common beer. Pizza, appetizers (various fried foods), and ice cream are always available. A full menu is available during lunch hours (11:30 to 1:30 Monday through Saturday) and both Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00 to 8:30. Tuesdays have a rotating special, like a taco buffet, chicken buffet, meatloaf, etc, from 5:30 to 7:30. On some Tuesdays the full menu is also available. A fish and steak fry is held on Fridays from 6:00 to 8:00, where you can get probably the biggest/cheapest steak in town. On Mondays with Bingo, a food special (typically something simple, like sloppy joes) is served at 6:00. EVENTS: Bingo is held on most Mondays and is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. This is a good time to check out the club, and find people to sign for you. When it's nice out, they do outdoor bowling which is incredibly fun and comes with unlimited draft beer. There's something that's accompanies most sports games and holidays, and prior to most Bears games there's tailgating in the parking lot. Their meat raffle ahead of Thanksgiving is also the best one in the Aurora area. GAMBLING: The Phoenix Club has slot machines, which apparently limits the amount of other shenanigans they can do there. Regardless, there's a daily drawing where $1 is added each day, and a random member number is drawn. If you were at the club the day before and signed in, you win that cash. (As of this writing the prize is around $450ish, as this is pretty hard to win.) On Wednesdays at 8:00, there's a series of 10 individual drawings for $500 each. You must be present to win, and the tenth drawing goes until there's a winner. They do a bingo ball drawing on Fridays, where you buy a bingo ball for $5 (I believe), and if they draw your ball you win. You do not need to be present for this. Most days when the club is busy there's also a 50/50 in the evening, along with random drawings for things like jerseys and similar. CLUB FACILITIES: The Phoenix Club has a large bar room, with a bunch of TVs, a huge dining area with TVs and a projector, a game room with a pool table and a few arcades, and a large basement that can be rented. There's also a decent sized outdoor patio, but if you don't smoke it's not a great place to hang out. WHY WE LIKE IT: Prices on everything are great, and the drinks are STRONG. The bartenders here do not mess around. Their menu is basic, but absolutely everything is good, and they're really flexible when it comes to customizing menu items regardless of how weird what you want is. (My favorite non-menu thing is ordering a rueben wrap but get it with italian beef instead of corned beef.) The club also feels like it's the perfect size, in that it's not so tiny you feel weird being there not knowing anyone but it's also not so huge you're just lost in the shuffle.

wow! this was arguably the best social club in aurora just a few years ago, and now, while not the…read moreworst, slowly trying to be.. membership has steadily declined and now seems like they will let just about anyone join. definitely a new "breed" is slowly taking over. this club is simply being poorly managed and lacks leadership to be successful as it was in the past. opening after covid lead to higher food and drink prices. Now a membership gets you the same prices as any local restaurant, a poor selection of beer and limited hours, leaving it unattractive to being a member and a couple hundred members have not renewed their memberships as . it is suppose to be non-profit based. it has video gaming machines, and if like most of the other bars having them, makes the club 5K-9K a month. this club is in serious need of updating along with new management. one has to wonder where all revenue from members dues, gaming money, and raffles is going. perhaps, their over paying the managers for a poorly run club. a leading cause to why membership is dwindling. only due to the many good employees and volunteers club has been able to stay afloat.

Attended a bridal shower & I was the designated driver. Quite a nice friendly local haunt to stop…read moreby & hang with the locals. All on tap & selections also in bottles great bartender too. Quite knowledgeable. When back to Aurora, could easily stop by for a little hydration too. Cheers!

Practically next door to the Phoenix Club, St. George Citizens Club (or St. George's as most people…read morecall it) is a small club next door to St. George Byzantine Catholic Church. The unique link to the church makes St. George's the host of a few different church events, and the catering company that operates out of their kitchen cooks food that is way better than what you'd expect out of an Aurora-area social club. HOW TO JOIN: You need two people to sign for you who have been a member in good standing for at least the last two years without their membership lapsing. I believe this year the membership fee was raised to $40? Once you apply, you wait for a letter in the mail then you go in and pay your dues and get your key card. They'll buzz you in and give you the form without a key, and if you're looking for members to sign for you I recommend asking around at the Phoenix Club (potentially during a Bingo night, which is open to the public over there) as many people are members at both clubs. FOOD AND DRINK: St. George's has a full bar, but all of their beer is bottled. This makes drinking here slightly more expensive than other clubs that have beer on draft, but we're talking the difference of 50 cents or so per beer. The food served at St. George's is on a completely different level, because it's made by Oh! Chefs, an independent catering company that shares the building. They serve food Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 to 8:00, then on Saturday from 4:00 to 8:00. They also have rotating daily specials like cheaper pizza, cheaper burgers, etc. EVENTS: St. George's has a partition that divides the bar into a larger party room which they open up for the various events they hold. Everything gets posted to the St. George's Facebook page and covers fairly typical things involving local sports, holiday parties, and stuff like that. GAMBLING: Gambling seems fairly limited at St. George's, potentially due to its relationship with the church? Who knows. There aren't any slot machines, but there are pull tabs and two different dice rolls you can do with the bartender. One is 50 cents and you can win free drinks and the other is $1 and has a cash prize. I don't really fully understand how these work, but I think it closely mirrors Yatzee rules. They also do 50/50's and other raffles during events. CLUB FACILITIES: St. George's is on the small side, and it can be difficult to get a seat at the bar if you go during "prime" evening hours. At events when they open the partition seating never seems to be an issue. WHY WE LIKE IT: The food is seriously high-quality stuff. Most other clubs have basic things like sandwiches and fried food, but the menu here could just be its own restaurant. They also make their pizzas completely from scratch, which is kind of unheard of for clubs which typically just throw a frozen pizza in. Also, because it's among the smaller clubs, the atmosphere is always very chill even when it's full.

Quasi-top secret club of altruists. Love this place!read more