We have only great things to say about the Ravenswood Event Center. Many of our wedding guests…read morecalled REC the "best venue ever". We used the Atrium & Loft space, but guests were also able to browse the car show room which made the wedding even more special for everyone in attendance. Carly and the team are beyond amazing - very approachable, helpful, and incredibly responsive. The food was delicious, the day was stress-free, everything was beautiful, and we couldn't have imagined a more perfect wedding. A few other points worth nothing: - The bartenders provided through REC made delicious cocktails. - The fact that REC doesn't require purchase of alcohol packages, but instead allows for BYOB directly from a liquor store allowed us to save so much money. - We had REC cater desserts for us (cupcakes, cookies, shooters) and guests kept complimenting how delicious they were. The dessert package is incredibly affordable. You really can't go wrong with REC!

The backdrop of antique cars and vintage signs are very cool and provide a unique ambience…read more The location is very easy to find and access for out of town visitors, and requires the pensive to stray only a short distance from the comfort of the expressway. The bathrooms were clean and findable. Improvements: more flexible seating and a more natural location in the flow for the vendor's add-a-bar. We were there for a video game conference. We were parched and needed a spot out of the ring a ding flash flash and furries. We couldn't find it.

What a fantastic venue tucked away on a residential street in Lincoln Park - perfect little outdoor…read morecourtyard area for the wedding ceremony and the inside has nice separate spaces for cocktails and reception. The food was truly the star here - hors doeuvre's perfect little bites but must be careful not to overdo it because the family style portions were huge! Delicious beef and amazing pasta with some sort of ricotta/spinach concoction - definitely had no room for dessert! The tiramisu was sampled and super divine. Most importantly their mimosas were the best ratio - smidge of OJ and lots of bubbles lol Really intimate unique space

My husband and I got married here in early October and can say everyone had a great time! We booked…read moreour date 10 months in advance but I do recommend to book earlier if you have a desired date. As we live in the area, it was easy to plan the initial tour and then the menu tasting after we booked our date. We did not have a wedding planner or coordinator, but Salvatore's made it easy with their wedding packages and quick communication. In house catering and bar was the reason we booked with them to keep it easy for our wedding day. Definitely worth it! We had 95 guests in attendance and it was comfortable for everyone throughout the night. Friends and family could not stop raving over the food and the drinks! The entire staff was friendly and providing great service throughout the night. As a bride, the only downside were the bathrooms as they are quite outdated and tiny, so beware if you have a gown! Aside from that, it was an amazing wedding that all of our family and friends will remember.

Exceeded our (extremely high) expectations at every step, turn, and touchpoint!…read more We worked with the AMAZING Teddy and Sarah and from the start knew we were in the right place, space and best of hands. First of all, Firehouse is charming as all HECK. This isn't your drab hotel ballroom where partition walls, lighting rigs and bunches and bunches of flowers can barely start to cover the lack of character. This space has personality and soul, every last inch. Classic Chicago neighborhood setting, we didn't want to leave the beautiful courtyard space. Everything about the venue is built to make your guests feel at home, comfortable and intimate to the party. Did we mention the firepole?! Best entry ever for a groom to make. We can't recommend enough - Teddy and Sarah listened to all our thoughts/concerns/ideas and custom built a space and flow that complimented the night in every possible way.

DO NOT consider a winter wedding here, and absolutely DO NOT expect transparency or flexibility…read morewith any hiccups in their formula. Also, they apparently blocked my account on Zola -- I can't find them in a search when I'm logged in anymore. Thankfully I was able to leave a review without being logged in, and am also sharing here. TLDR: they can't accommodate winter weddings, despite including those months as available on their website, and they aren't transparent about their inability to do so. They can only provide half a venue, with 40% decreased capacity, but still expect you to pay full price. I was appalled by their poor communication and business practices throughout our experience trying to book them for our January wedding. -- -- The issues started when booking a tour -- their availability is challenging if you work a day job, and we were also limited with my partner's 24/48 shifts for the city. But I rearranged my work to accommodate their schedule. The day of the tour we received a vague cancellation with 3 hours notice, saying they would work with our schedules to get a new tour on the calendar. They very much did NOT work with our schedules, declined several options I requested that would work without us making major concessions on our end, and only offered a small window later than their once-a-week evening slots. We were once again rearranging our schedule to work for theirs after their cancellation. When we finally had the tour, I'll admit it's a gorgeous venue. We were excited about booking there, but concerned about how they'd handle January events. Since their website includes Jan in their off-peak season rates, I figured they had a plan for accommodating cold weather (they have a tent for the yard, but it's insufficient for temps under 30 degrees and that's a heavy gamble for evenings in January). They didn't seem to have any ideas outside using that tent. They do have an upstairs to the venue that reflects the ground floor footprint, so I asked if they would include these in the base rate (they're usually an add-on expense) because we were losing space in the yard. They said they would "compromise" by including just one of the rooms, but would reduce capacity to only 70. We had been straightforward that our guest list was 80-90, and their website advertises up to 120 guests for a buffet or cocktail reception, which was our plan. I understand they don't do a ton of events in the winter, so I thought maybe they just didn't have a well-designed plan for colder months and we could find a way to work one out. But they refused to work with us to expand capacity beyond 70 guests AND made no concessions on price. I have no idea what they would have done had we moved forward and temperatures were too cold for a tent (leave our guests shivering? cut our guest list week-of? at the door?) -- I asked and and they couldn't answer. On top of it all, they made me feel like I was a problem for having these concerns. At the end of the day, I can't believe that a venue would expect clients to pay full price for half a venue and 40% decreased capacity, especially in a season they admit having little to no bookings. They clearly do not want business in their winter months, but will jerk you around for a month pretending they do.

A true 10/10 experience! My two year old had a BLAST at the one hour tots class. He was able to…read morechop veggies, mix Rangoon filling, wash dishes and... EAT! It was a fast paced class to keep kids' interest, but everything was clear and perfectly tailored to toddlers. As a former early childhood teacher myself, I was highly impressed! I'm sad to know their brick and mortar is closing at the beginning of next month because I want to sign my son up for a thousand more classes! If you can squeeze in a class while they're still open, it's absolutely worth the money!

My brother and sister in law sweetly got me a gift certificate for classes here for my birthday…read more Their thought was I could use it for virtual cooking classes with my 10 year old son. I reached out initially to them via email and Kallie replied since they hadn't posted their fall schedule mid summer but she promised to email me as soon as they released. A month later she sweetly sent me an email notifying me (I was impressed she remembered!). Unfortunately being west coast based, the live class times were too early for us on weekends and my son wasn't keen on an on demand class. I wasn't too sure what to do with the gift certificate and Kallie explained that although their focus isn't on retail sales there were some items they stock and she sweetly took pictures and my gift certificate was able to cover some lovely items (including recipe cards for my son's gluten free diet). I was so impressed how Kallie went so above and beyond that if we were living in Chicago would be frequenting this spot often given their exemplary level of customer service.

We have been to this location several times for various different events…read more This is a total of four buildings that were previously factories that are now connected together and used for events. It's actually really nice to move through the different levels as they have kept some of the industrial decor and feels. Our favorite event that we have attended here is The Other Art Fair

We had our 130 person wedding at Artifact this past July and I can't say enough wonderful things…read moreabout our experience. We worked with Maya and she was responsive, helpful, and so kind. We ended up changing our flow of the day a couple times after deciding to do a buyout, and everyone was so understanding and flexible. We got to make wonderful use of the space, using both the north and south sides throughout the evening. They have great rain plans, TONS of room, clean, wonderful bathrooms. Day of was incredibly smooth and Maya worked fantastically with our wedding planner. We especially are grateful to Artifact's bar staff and night manager Pete, who took amazing care of us and our guests the entire night. We can't imagine having our day anywhere else - and our family and friends have been simply gushing about how beautiful the venue was. The light alone is insane - it just was the perfect dreamy, cozy, effortless venue that we cannot recommend more to prospective couples!

I love coming here for lunch or happy hour! One of my favorite go-to dishes is the Orchard Salad;…read moreit's always fresh & delicious. Their happy hour Monday through Friday from 4-6 PM is a great deal, and you can't beat the views! It's such a beautiful spot to relax, enjoy a drink, and take in the lakefront atmosphere. Definitely worth checking out!

I came here for a site inspection for work, and stayed at their restaurant for lunch and it was a…read moregreat experience! Anna gave us a wonderful tour of the event space and then we had lunch, also with great service. We both had salads for lunch and they were full of flavor and presentable. (Great with allergies) lastly, the views were beautiful of Lake Michigan!

I got married last year but we're back in the city for our one year anniversary and I thought it…read morefitting to leave a review. First of all this space was everything I could have dreamed of, the greenery with the courtyard and industrial vibe inside is perfect. We did the elopement package so we only had a small group of people and they give you the option to add on hours as they have available. We did a 3 hour time block and it was perfect for us to do the ceremony, dances, pictures and cocktail hour. Robyn and Michelle are also incredibly professional and so easy to work with. Robyn got the brunt of my random late night emails about details and questions leading up to the day, she was quick to respond, kind and very accommodating. I interacted with Michelle more on the day of and she was just as helpful and friendly. She helped our family set things up, controlled the music on my phone and was there for any questions we had. She also helped my family clean up after the ceremony. 10/10 would recommend this place to anyone who is dreaming of an intimate and relaxing wedding day!

The Lytle House was the perfect venue for our summer wedding…read more The owners, Michelle and Robyn, stood out from the rest from day one. They got to know us and helped guide us through the entire process. Our goal was to keep things fairly simple, but high-quality. They took our general ideas and helped craft the perfect atmosphere for our wedding reception. The day of the wedding reception, Michelle knocked it out of the park getting the flowers, photos, sound system, and other decorations all set up. We also hired Michelle to handle our photography and she did a phenomenal job with that, as well. It was a blast watching our guests walk in and say, "Wow... this place is incredible! I had no idea this was here!" The Lytle House really is a special hideaway in the city, and we'll be recommending it to friends and family every chance we get. - Vanessa and Matt

Always down for anything food. Especially, when the venue is amazing and you can get great pictures…read moreby the water. Not to mention the bonus of valet parking. So nice to meet so many foodies, restaurant and bar owners. The energy level was high, the DJ was doing his thing, the food was amazing and the drinks flowed nicely. This was my first masquerade and I had the time of my life! Will do it again next year.

I love raw spaces that you can transform for events and Rockwell on the River is that exactly, I…read morerecently attended a bar mitzvah here and was super impressed with the space. It's absolutely massive so I'd recommend for a large party, although it looks like you can divide it into a smaller space if necessary too. This space was beautifully decorated for this particular bar mitzvah and do think very high centerpieces are best due to the high ceilings. It was february so everything was done inside, although they did connect a heated tent for the kids cocktail hour. I'm headed to another event there in August where they plan to use the outdoor space for cocktail hour and I hear river boat rides are even an option. Super cool! I'm sure they have lots of catering options to choose from, but this particular party used limelight and i thought the food was better than the average bar mitzvah/wedding. I would definitely consider this venue for an event. I don't love planning downtown events due to the long drive from the suburbs, but since this wasn't as far it took us about 45 minutes to get there from Glencoe on a Sat evening and then another 25 minutes home later that evening.