We had our wedding reception Fall 2021 at the Crystal Ballroom. We fell in love with this venue right away when we visited and heard the sweet story about how the owner renovated it to surprise his wife for their anniversary. The decor reminded me a classic elegant movie. The planning process was a little stressful, but Amy was super friendly and really seemed to want to make us happy. The food was tasty, but I wish we could've tried more of it before choosing our menu. (We could only try 2 entrees and none of the super long hors d'oeuvres list. They also didn't have photos to look at, which would've been a decent alternative to trying the food.) On wedding day, the servers took away my plate before I ate any of it, after I specifically asked them not to. And they also told my grandmother there were to to-go boxes. I understand if I wasn't the bride, but that was pretty frustrating considering the amount of money we spent on the reception. read more

The Crystal Ballroom & Lounge - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I came here for an event and was pleasantly surprised not only by the event space, but by the food! The ballroom is gorgeous- I love the antiques mirror wall. The food was yummy- the risotto was my favorite. Although I usually don't like pesto, I enjoyed the pesto here. The desserts- WOW! What a spread! The key lime, fruit Tarte, tiramisu cake, and the eclair were my favs! But the brownie bite, cheesecake, caramel, and pana cotta were also great. Also- there is street parking as well as a public garage around the corner- I think it's $2 for 1 hour or less, $3 for 2-3 hours, and I'm not sure what the prices are above that. But very reasonable for Chicago area. read more

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Our venue for the 'Be My Elite Yelp Community Event' just happened to be here at The Crystal Ballroom & Lounge which was beautiful as expected! Cool facts that I adored about the ballroom is that the owners got married here in 1969, the venue used to be a hotel (The North Shore Hotel), it also used to be military barracks, and its age being 102 years old. Good Lord, I aspire to look as good as The Crystal Ballroom & Lounge if I reach 102 years old. One of the nearest parking garages (525 Church St) was easily accessible to the ballroom, and affordable costing $3.00 for 2 hours, or $5 for 3 hours which Kesha C (Yelp Chicago North Shore Community Manager) mentioned in her message about the event. The venue fit our 90s/Valentine's themed event where some Yelpers dressed up in relation to the 90s, and some dressed up entirely. I ended up wearing a denim jacket, an MTV (Music Television) t-shirt with stonewash jeans, and glittery high-top sneakers which had a fashionable retro-like vibe. Like Toni Collett stated: "A life without glitter is no life at all.", hehe. I must say the wait staff was amazing! On top of there being a buffet, there were also staff coming around with drinks and appetizers on a tray. Out of what I picked out from the buffet, I really enjoyed the pesto pasta which nearly had me going for seconds. Along with our event (Be My Elite Yelp Community Event) itself, coming to The Crystal Ballroom & Lounge was the highlight of my day off from work that I surely enjoyed. Thank you, Crystal Ballroom staff for your collaboration with Kesha C (Yelp Chicago North Shore Community Manager) and CM's (Kate M, and Mirella K). ~Blessings~ Thomas G read more

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Everything was Wheelchair accessible Was here for an event and was blown away with everything! The food was amazing! The desserts were all out of this world! The staff was beyond incredible. I'm in a wheelchair and one of the staff was practically my personal assistant! He helped with everything! Due to being in a wheelchair the street parking wasn't really an option since I use the passenger side so we just used garage parking around the corner. If we ever need to host an event this will be it! We will definitely recommend anytime anyone is looking for something like this! read more

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A very well organized event.Had a lot of fun as they had many activities like cookie decoration,face painting and bracelet making. The food was awesome..pasta,risotto and very cutely decorated pastries. The venue is very spacious for holding an event and would definitely recommend this place to my friends and family. read more

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My husband I had had the pleasure of hosting our wedding ceremony and reception this month at The Crystal Ballroom. We had booked back in August of 2021 with Amy. She left several months later but Jessica who took over was just fantastic. Jessica and the whole team made it very easy to make all the decisions needed ahead of the wedding, then arranged everything so the rehearsal and day of were everything we could have hoped. Everything looked absolutely beautiful and they did a great job with the decorations we had brought the day prior. We each were given our own suite (really a small one-bedroom apartment) to get ready, and Jessica had it stocked with drinks and snacks, brought us a steamer and anything else we asked for. We were able to use the rooftop terrace for a lot of photos with the wedding party and family. We also walked less than 10 minutes to the lake with our photographer and did couples photos there, so the location was very convenient for that (we did all the photos before the ceremony). The ceremony was set up beautifully and the team swapped the ballroom to banquet incredibly well during cocktail hour. The bartenders were fast and made fantastic cocktails, including two unique signature cocktails we created. They even went out of the way to track down Ecuadorian aguardiente to use in one of them, which was highly appreciated by his family who had traveled from Ecuador. The food was stellar, with many guests complimenting it. During our tasting the chef gave us some suggestions that ended up changing what we originally were thinking but in such a delicious way. He even did an off menu plantain appetizer for us for cocktail hour. During dinner no one's wine glass was ever close to empty as the staff seemed to be everywhere all the time. The cake (included in the package) was absolutely gorgeous. Overall we would highly recommend the Crystal Ballroom for anyone's wedding. They are just the nicest people (many of our guests commented on how friendly the staff were), and go out of their way to make everything very easy and low-stress. Thank you Jessica and the whole team for an amazing day! read more

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This place is a hidden gem. I'm not too familiar with Evanston so when we pulled up it just looked like a regular building but when you stepped inside it was amazing. The staff were so friendly, asked about how the night was going, if we needed anything and kept the place spotless. Their food was great, so hats off to the chef/cook! The ambience was very fancy and inviting and the bathrooms very clean and updated. There is a parking garage or street parking but the garage seems to be cheaper. read more

Went here for an elite Yelp event tonight and it was a blast! Met a lot of wonderful people who share the same yelping passion as you is so wonderful and a breath of fresh air. My bf came with me and he equally enjoyed it. CM Kesha was too cute! Additionally, the Yelp staff who organized this event was wonderful! Now...onto the important part, the food and the drink. Everything was pretty yummy. I definitely think there were some dishes that stood out while others I was in different about. The pesto pasta had a creamy sauce that literally melted in your mouth. It was that yummy. The same goes for the gluten free Parmesan risotto, that was super good as well. Regarding the chicken parmesan, both my boyfriend and I were indifferent to it. Was it the best we ever had? Nah. Was it the worst we ever had? Also nah. Hmmm, the deserts were delicious. Love how they kept up with the Valentine's Day theme due to the sprinkles but for some of the treats, the sprinkles were a little hard. Overall, it was a fun experience and the food was pretty good. I would recommend this place for anyone that is needing a banquet hall to hold an event. The staff was friendly and the customer service was superb. Never had to call a server as they were always ready whether it's be handing out appetizers or picking up dirty plates and dishes. So far, I would recommend! read more

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We had the most beautiful, fun, and stress-free wedding reception thanks in part to Crystal Ballroom. I came across Crystal Ballroom in December 2020 while frantically searching for a reception venue after our original venue cancelled our date for September 18, 2021 due to COVID. That's when I met Amy who was very helpful with setting up a venue tour and tastings for an out-of-state couple planning a wedding from 2000 miles away. Originally there were some planning details missed in email correspondence, but that all got cleared up by the day of the wedding. Speaking of that, one of the definite perks of the venue is a dressing room for the bride's use all day to get ready. Amy was there bright and early offering coffee and mimosas for myself and bridal party. Amy and the staff did an amazing job decorating the ballroom and lounge-- it fit my vision perfectly. I loved the cocktail hour and dinner--- the food was incredible and the servers and bartenders were very professional and attentive. Crystal Ballroom worked with all of our vendors to make sure my husband and I and all of our wedding guests had an amazing time. We definitely had the best party/wedding ever. Our only complaint is it went by too fast... read more

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On September 18,2021 we held our daughter`s wedding reception at the Crystal Ballroom and Lounge. We were thrilled from the beginning because the old hotel is seeped in history and it has retained its past glory and magnificence. We were very pleased with Amy, the manager and the fine staff that planned and carried out an extremely well orchestrated event. Many thanks to their excellent chef and his fine kitchen staff. The service was outstanding and all of our guests were impressed with our lovely venue and well trained staff. Sincerely, Jane and Stephen Kenyon read more

Hubby and I had our wedding over the weekend on August 8th 2015 at The Crystal Ballroom and Amy, Alberto and Matt had worked with us for nearly a year now to help us create the perfect event for our wedding. Amy, Alberto, Oscar and Matt especially (on his first week on the job), knew instinctively how to set up the room to maximize the room space, efficiently time our reception from start to finish, craft a delicious dinner menu and create an enticing space to dance. I know this is something that many people don't even think about. But remember, the ceremony may last 90 minutes; the speeches 30 minutes; even dinner 60 minutes; but in the end, it's the overall experience that we had that created those most talked about memories. Matt's careful attention to detail and the staff constantly checking in on us says a lot about their attentiveness and wanting to put their best foot forward to make us happy. Thank you for helping us consummate the wedding of our dreams. Nina H. Evanston, IL read more

The Crystal Ballroom is the most perfect wedding space. It has a great cocktail area and the ballroom is so gorgeous! I liked that it didn't need a ton of decoration-just some flowers and we were set! Our wedding reception ran so smoothly and the ballroom was so wonderful to work with. When we first signed on to hold our reception at the ballroom, we were dealing with Matt. Responses from him sometimes took a while, but nonetheless it worked out. He left suddenly in August, right after we had our tasting. Unfortunately, he didn't really leave those notes behind, and I don't think he left things in order for Liz. But Liz, she is amazing and makes working with the ballroom such an amazing experience! Her email responses were prompt, she answered every question I had, she offered us to re-taste salad dressings since the one we liked wasn't written down. She really put a lot of work into making sure the day ran perfectly. The food was perfect! We received so many compliments from people, and the food is what originally drew us to this place. it was delicious and such a great selection. The bar was wonderful and the drinks kept coming! The staff was prompt and so polite. Everything was perfect as could be! Thanks Crystal Ballroom! read more

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We had great experience working with Amy. We had our Baptism at the venue: everything turned out perfect. I'm really picky and detailed person and I was really surprised that nothing went wrong at the day of our event. Wanted highlight that staff of the venue take care of all the decorating, placing party favors and etc. It saves a lot of time. We were welcomed to come in at anytime before the event for any reason. Great bonus is that we could use both projectors, mic and piano free of charge (we were not expecting that, but that made our event special): I was ready to speak to my guests and from nowhere came Amy: "Please use microphone" (nice!!). Also wanted to note that Amy did NOT try to upsell anything. We do a lots of events and we have experience with other venue bookings: as usually planning doesn't not match result. I would highly recommend to book your event at the Crystal Ballroom: the place as affordable, and meets your needs! read more

We walked in, looking for a venue for the biggest day of our lives, and Liz and her time made us comfortable immediately. They were involved in the planning, were helpful all along the way, and we got nothing but compliments about the venue, the food, and the service. Thank you for making the experience pretty stress free, so we could focus on other important things, like relaxing and enjoying our friends and family. read more

It is beautiful. The ballroom, foyer, library, and lounge made our wedding day look amazing. The food and beverage staff was wonderful...but that is where it stops. This venue's look is not worth the heartache. This is a dated list of what happened to the Bride and Groom: Our wedding was on September 24, 2016 Oct 12-2015 - We signed the agreement with our event coordinator and were truly excited. Jan - June 2016 - We met multiple times, had our tasting, and felt great that everything was coming together. We were about to print our invites and finalize all the venue pieces July & August 2016 - All contact stops. All emails and contact attempts go un-replied. By the end of August we are officially concerned and worried something has happened. September 6-2016 - We receive an email from Liz, the new event coordinator telling us the old coordinator left and she would be taking over (who openly admitted to having zero wedding planning experience and ensured hiring a last minute Wedding Planner was not necessary). WE FIND OUT THE ORIGINAL PLANNER LEFT IN JULY AND THEY DID NOT CONTACT US UNTIL 2.5 WEEKS BEFORE OUR WEDDING. According to the original coordinator, he was not authorized to contact us after his departure per Crystal Ballroom company policy. Banquet Event Order was copy and pasted as placeholder content was still in it. Most of the details were left out. So bad that the day of the wedding the pastry chef was not expecting our cake delivery. Our first meeting with the new coordinator was on the 8th. At which point she told us at the very end of the meeting that she was not going to be at our wedding as she was on vacation that day. A long list of questions went unanswered and there was no time to make adjustments. The rehearsal was unorganized as the coordinator spent that time inquiring on ceremony details that should have already been asked and figured out in the 2 months prior to the rehearsal. The morning of, the event coordinator (who did cancel her vacation day to be there) spent the AM not present during the setup of the venue. When she did approach the bride, she refused to setup the ceremony as agreed upon due to the aisle candles "Being too difficult to rearrange for the reception." The bride was humiliated and was forced to beg the coordinator (in front of her friends and family) an hour before the ceremony was set to start.... The head table was missing 2 chairs and the Matron of honor had to ask for her salad to be delivered because she never received one. There were three people with celiac disease at the venue and they were originally not delivered the correct bread. During the dinner, Liz approached us with questions on "How the cake should be cut and served" The cake stand and custom-made topper were not used. Even though it was laid out in the decorations document. After the wedding, vendors we contracted discussed with us the difficulties they had working with the Crystal Ballroom coordinator. They locked all the DJ's cases and equipment up and at the end of the night, he was not able to get them because the coordinator left with the keys, forcing him come back the next day to pick up his equipment. When we picked up our decorations the next day, the staff used our personal boxes as garbage cans. We found food chunks, wrappers, and trash in our decorations boxes which we then needed to clean ourselves. In closing, our pictures and the guests' comments were that of a perfect wedding. But for us, we will always have these memories of stress, trouble, frustration, and humiliation (they made the bride beg). We urge you, just because it looks beautiful, the Event Planners will ruin your planning memories, cause added stress as well as expenses. Be warned.... read more

Hidden Gem in Chicago. My first impression when visiting this venue space was Stylish, Classy, and Elegant. The venue is honestly one of a kind. The entrance, lounge, and ballroom were both chic and upscale. My Fiance and I visited the location this last weekend and we both knew this is the one. Keep in mind we visited more than 10 other venues and contacted many many more. We met with Amy. She was very thorough and pleasant to meet with. She also was very flexible with our idea's with a Indian/Pakistani wedding. Amy explained how the owners of the property were married at the same venue in 1960's. I like how there is history in the place. We placed our date on hold (summer of 2015) and going next week to claim it. I will update my review after our event takes place. My Fiance and I are very excited and have high hopes for our event. This venue will catch on soon and will no doubt be in high demand. read more

We had my daughter, Emily's, wedding at The Crystal Ballroom last weekend and it could not have been a more beautiful wedding or better experience. Liz, the contact at The Crystal is incredibly organized and has remarkable attention for details. She was always accessible and we always felt that we were a priority We looked at many venues and The Crystal was the most beautiful room we had seen. It's not massive and was just the right size for our event. I love the fact that only one wedding can happen at a time. At some big hotels there are multiple events at once making it feel a bit like a wedding factory. Here you really feel special. It does not look or feel at all like a cookie cutter banquet hall. There are two terrific suites for the bride and groom to get ready. Full kitchen, bath and plenty of room for getting dressed. The food is really amazing. We served salmon which is so difficult to get right at a catered event. The pastry chef is unbelievable. She made additional desserts that we served along with the wedding cake. We cannot say enough good things about The Crystal Ballroom. So many guests said it was the best wedding they had ever attended. read more

I helped host a banquet and meeting at the beautiful Crystal Ballroom last weekend for an arts organization (The American Guild of Organists) . I and everyone in my group could not have been more pleased. Liz, the event manager, was knowledgeable, patient, efficient, and helpful. Thank you, Liz! The entire staff was excellent, the food was absolutely delicious, and the place is really lovely! Highly recommended! read more

We had Cherry Preschool's Silver Jubilee celebration at the Crystal Ballroom and it was a roaring success! Liz is fun to work with and helped with us with every detail. She was great and even let us to think creatively on how to fit everyone into our sold-out event. The ballroom is beautiful and needed very little adornment. The food was delicious and the staff was attentive throughout the event. All in all, I would recommend the Crystal Ballroom to any non-profit looking for a beautiful space for a special event. read more

The planning began around February 1, 2016. We transitioned to Liz Crompton September 1, 2016. From the moment the bride and groom met Liz, they knew they would have an awesome day. My spouse and I met her during the tasting. We knew that we were in good hands. She executed the day of rehearsal and wedding day on September 9, 2017 without a beat. The ballroom was so beautiful with lighting, tableware, etc. The vendors were well thought out along with the ceremony. The appetizers were awesome. When the main event for food, I was like wow the salads, main course, and special requests were all delicious. Thank you Liz for making our day perfect. read more

Just had my wedding there. It was amazing! We worked with Liz the entire time. She was super responsive and always had great ideas and suggestions. Unfortunately she took a job elsewhere a couple of weeks before the big day. However Alberto and Martin were there to cater to any hiccups we were presented with. From the time we arrived until we left they were there making sure everything ran as smoothly as possible. The venue itself is amazing. The kitchen was clean and the food was delicious. The bartenders were all attentive and able to make whatever cocktail our guests asked for! read more

Working with The Crystal Ballroom was an excellent experience from top to bottom. The space was perfect for my Sunday morning work event. Working with Liz was seamless. The event I hosted was two hours long so it went by in a flash. Heard nothing but positive things about the food (delicious) and the space (gorgeous). Would absolutely reserve for an event again. read more

Cannot say enough good things about this venue. The American A Cappella Alliance hosted a 160-person event on Friday night, and Liz and her team were on top of every possible detail. The space is gorgeous, the food is delicious (actually delicious, not just "delicious for banquet hall food"), and the staff is top-notch. Thanks to the whole team! read more

As beautiful as this venue is, I highly recommend NOT choosing this as your event space. As a Bride, the planning with the Crystal Ballroom event staff became an unorganized nightmare. Please see details below. -We signed the event agreement: October 2015 -Wedding date: September 24, 2016 -Our event coordinator resigned at the end of July 2016 and the Crystal Ballroom failed to inform my husband and I until September 6, 2016...2 weeks before the wedding -Our emails throughout part of July, August and beginning of September went completely unanswered which included inquiries regarding payment, decor and logistics questions, etc -The new hire contacted us via email on September 6 (she informed us that she had zero experience working with weddings) -The venue misplaced all of our wedding plans and details which resulted in a last minute meeting on September 8th to re-plan our wedding vision. At the end of this meeting, the new hire, Liz, informed us that she was taking a vacation day on the day of our wedding and the FOOD and BEVERAGE manager would now be overseeing our wedding....day-of coordination, decoration set-up, ceremony, room flip, cocktail hour, reception and eod procedures. (After bringing me to tears the new hire cancelled her vacation to be at the wedding) -The rehearsal was unorganized and seemed as if there was noone leading it -An hour before the ceremony, I, the Bride was humiliated as I had to beg Liz to set up the ceremony décor as originally planned. -The head table was missing 2 chairs and place settings -The Maid of Honor was never served a salad -The guests with celiac disease had to request gf bread -The pastry chef had no idea that 16 cakes were being delivered that morning -During the wedding reception, the coordinators approached the Bride and Groom at the head table asking questions regarding how to cut the cake and who to serve it to -The event coordinator left the venue with the keys that unlocked the closet where the DJ's equipment was stored, causing him to have to return the next day. -The event staff used our personal decoration boxes as garbage cans. We had to empty food chunks, beer bottles and garbage out of our personal belongings. This is an overview of the stress we had to deal with in the 2 weeks leading up to our special day. I would not wish this on any Bride and hope this review provides some insight as to what we went through with this venue. What a shame... as mentioned before, this venue is beautiful. read more

We were married this past summer at Evanston Crystal Ballroom. We had the marriage planned out years in advance and secured our date early - but to be honest it was tough communicating at first with ECB because they had switched event coordinators and this had not been communicated to us. However, once we started working with Liz, things got much easier. She was helpful, pleasant, and forthright. The venue itself is incredible - they offer two suites for the bride and the groom the day of which was super helpful. The bridal suite is especially nice, with a rooftop as an amenity to hang out and take pictures. The alcohol selections were great, and reasonably priced. The food was excellent - scallops and mushroom gnocchi are great dishes. The cake company (Baking Institute) they work with leaves some room for desire, but that is not the fault of the venue. The ballroom itself is gorgeous, and the staging room - the library - was a favorite. The flow of the day was smooth, and we had to do zero cleaning. They flipped the room from the ceremony to the reception in under an hour, and we appreciate the help and support with holding our belongings until the day after the wedding. Overall, we are glad we were married at ECB and would recommend to couples. read more

I recently planned our company Holiday Party at the Crystal Ballroom and was so impressed with the beautiful venue and excellent service. The decor is so elegant with the beautiful chandeliers and mirrors. The food was exceptional in presentation and flavor.Everyone was commenting on how delicious the food was. Our captain Alberto was very attentive along with his staff. They were very easily found throughout the entire evening. Amy the catering director was also constantly checking in with everyone to make sure that we had everything we needed.She was very helpful with the menu selections and I knew I would have nothing to worry about.I was able to enjoy the evening knowing that everything was taken care of. No detail was overlooked. I was very impressed that when I got up after dinner to go to the dance floor, I returned to my seat to find my napkin neatly re-folded and in place. The entire staff was friendly from the valet to the coat check person. I would highly recommend the Crystal Ballroom for any festive event. This is truly an exquisite elegant venue! read more

My fiance and I went to visit the venue as a potential option for our wedding. Amy, the wedding/event planner is AMAZING. She greeted me with wedding magazines and knew our names from e-mails. She was enthusiastic and accommodating in every way. The venue was beautiful and had so much character, however is was not perfect our perfect match. However, we wish we could take Amy with us to plan our wedding. I would have complete trust in her. read more

5 STARS! We just had our wedding here over Labor Day weekend. It was perfect in every way. The venue is incredibly beautiful and the entire team at the Crystal Ballroom was wonderful. Liz and Linda helped us plan our event and the entire staff put it together. Even though we got a bit off the original time schedule, the guests never knew because the staff worked seamlessly to adjust and keep all the elements in place. Thank you Crystal Ballroom for giving us the best day of our lives!! read more

Our wedding was at the Crystal Ballroom on 9/24/17 and we have to say this venue is BEYOND THE BEST! We initially found the ballroom over a year in advance of the wedding and were working with Matthew. While communication with Matthew wasn't the best we loved the venue so much we decided we would sign a contract. Eventually Matthew left and Liz took over which was probably the best thing to happen because Liz was/is a rockstar. Her communication was excellent and she was very easy to work with. There were a few changes that took place (chair rental price, no more use of game room), but in the end it did not matter because everything else could not have been more perfect. The food was excellent, the staff was attentive, and Liz bent over backwards for us. This venue will always have a special place in our hearts and we could not be more pleased with the outcome. Thank you Liz and Crystal Ballroom! read more