Sadly was here for a funeral luncheon. Food was delicious. Room was set up nicely. Service was…read moregreat. If you need a catered event or a banquet event definitely give them a try. Good polish food.

Service was terrible, we were served a family style portion and staff never returned to table to…read morereplenish food. They instead went to serve a party in the next room. The food roast beef and green beans were good but the pasta sauce tasted like ketchup. Also a language barrier.

Pinstripes is usually where we think to get our bowling on, which is a little fancier than the…read morebowling alleys I grew up going to and loving. It's also tough to get a reservation at Pinstripes, especially on a cold or rainy day. Fortunately, there's another solid option in the North Shore: Wilmette Bowling Center. This one reminds me of the bowling alleys I visited often growing up and again in college. I did bowl thru the years, although you would never guess based on my (lack of) skills. They don't take reservations so you have to take your chances that you may have to wait. My youngest attended a birthday party here recently and had a great time! It was busy with other people bowling on a winter day, but still felt like chaotic than pinstripes, which always seems crazy to me being such a big venue. He also seemed to enjoy the pizza. In fact, he told me he wasn't going to eat at the party because wanted to eat sushi with us after, but came home with evidence of pizza (and cake of course) all over his face because he said he couldn't resist it.

Which pizza is better, New York or Chicago? I grew up in Wilmette, but live close to NYC. Even…read morebringing up the question sparks heat. If they ever have that contest between the two, Wilmette Bowling Center pizza can represent Chicago. The crust is to die for and the pizza itself is made to your specifications. I'd just let them pick for you if you're undecided on what kind to get. They take great pride in their pizza and it shows. This place should be on the National Register of Historic Places. It's old school style and history with all the modern amenities. You can't manufacture the vibe of this place. You can tell they take pride in it because it's spotless, the employees are responsive, accommodating and good natured. Definitely one of the unique cool features of the North Shore.

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.

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.

I am a League Secretary that moved our 16, four man Teams, to Classic Bowl to Thursday nights, last…read moreyear! Management and Staff are very accommodating to our League! The establishment is extremely attentive from the cleanliness to the maintenance of their equipment. I'm personally excited to start our 2nd year in a couple of weeks. We return the same 16 Teams as well as all of our bowlers! I have been in charge of many bowling Leagues for well over 30 years, I have never seen the dedication by each and every staff member to promote League Bowling as well as Open bowling for family's, groups and individuals. This has to be credited to Rina Davis, the Operations Manager! Rina, thank you for a job well done! Sincerely, Wayne Sherman League Secretary of Skokie Men Strikeforce Invitational League

This is your classic bowling alley. They play fun music and have a lot of lively crowds. They also…read morehost leagues here too. The restaurant connected, Boba Burger, is sooooo good and I would highly recommend! They have some fun deals for late night playing too! It's always a good time here.

I was lucky enough to work with Jeremy at Sound Investments and his team, Michael and Michael this…read morepast weekend. They went above and beyond anything I could have hoped for. They impressed my client to the point where she was in awe. I will never go anywhere else for my A/V needs and would refer them a thousand times over!

I am not an event planner, not even close. But I did recently decide to undertake planning a…read morefundraiser in the West Loop, which left me in need of sound equipment (microphones, speakers, etc.). Thankfully, a PR/event planner friend recommended Sound Investment. And based on my experience, I would too! Reasons why I like Sound Investment: 1) From the get-go, they were such a pleasure to deal with. Quick response time, easy back-and-forth of info, and NO drama! This is key...for someone who doesn't organize events for a living, I heart anyone that makes the process easier! 2) Their guys were well dressed, polite, friendly and eager to help (and very easy on the eyes, which is always nice). 3) They set up quickly (about 30 min) and took down their stuff just as fast. They offered to hook up music if we had any, and their soundcheck was quick and unobtrusive during the set up process. 4) They offered helpful advice and insights re: flow of the crowd, best sound, etc. Priceless! It helped our event go off without a hitch. 5) PLUS, they gave us a discount because we're a nonprofit! How great is that? All in all, I would *definitely* recommend them to anyone who needs sound/video equipment for an event!

Michelle was great to work with and this place is definitely amazing. My family and I really…read moreenjoyed celebrating my 30th birthday here. Everything I need it was provided already tables, chairs, music, and the kitchenette. Would definitely rebook again!

Came here for a wedding party. The food was excellent and the beers were too. Loved the Red Dragon…read moreale.

I hosted an event at River Room on April 28, 2023. We enjoyed a wonderful experience working with…read moreAdam and his entire staff. From the moment we toured the space and met with Adam to the clean-up the next day, every aspect of our event was handled with great detail. Adam thoroughly answered all of our questions, gave us guidance for vendors, and provided the highest level of customer service throughout our event planning and execution phases. The venue is amazing as it has beautiful views of the Chicago River and a great vibe with how they decorated the space. We had 200 guests attend our 80's Prom themed fundraiser. The venue layout is perfect for designing a cool themed event and it's super spacious with plenty of room both inside and outside on the patio deck overlooking the river. All of our guests raved about the venue...we can't wait to return next year! Thank you Adam and River Room staff!

I have ordered from Mrs. C's catering many many times over the last 15 years. The food is…read moreabsolutely delicious and always a HIT at my parties. The menus options are extensive and employees are eager to accommodate your specific wants and needs. Food is always hot and delivered and set up by their professional staff. If you want amazing homemade favorites at resonable prices, look no further.

Everyone has been talking about the food. I hired Mrs. C's for a back yard barb que, they brought…read morethe grill and cooked all the meat fresh. My friend from Highland Park said their potatoe salad was the best she had. My Vegan friend said there pasta veggie salad was a meal in itself. They served chicken, burgers and Italian sausage. And although they packed up in the dark, the next morning there was not a scrap of evidence that anyone had been there. And there where 121 guests for dinner. I used them in the past for a celebration of life at the Knights of Columbus in Arlington Heights as they were one of their vendors. Veggie Trays, mini sandwiches, etc. The feedback from that was why I hired them again for something completely different. Both occasions have made them my vendor of choice. Thank you Tom and Gina along with your crew for making me look so good!