Saturday night, River North for a group

My beau and I are having a small Saturday-evening wedding at Sable and have the private room there until 8:30 p.m. There will probably be 10 of us or so who will want to continue the party elsewhere afterward (the bar at Sable might be an option, depending on how packed it is). Any suggestions for a good, non-sceney spot for drinking and gabbing within walking distance of State and Illinois? Is Fado any good? Is Pops for Champagne only for the Sex and the City crowd? American Junkie sounds totally dreadful, from what I've read; Rock Bottom Brewery feels too suburban/chainy. I'd love a few recommendations. Thanks!

Hi I think The Berkshire Room would be a good option. Great cocktails and not sceney. As you mentioned, the bar at Sable is also a good place. Fado is nice if your group can tuck into a space, though it is loud. Pops for Champagne on a Saturday night may be too Sex and the City. Rock Bottom had a recent renovation and is much improved, but wouldn't recommend for your celebration. American Junkie is a hot mess - stay far away. You may also want to look into Hubbard Inn and Untitled.

Congratulations and have a wonderful time!

The Berkshire Room
15 East Ohio
http://www.theberkshireroom.com/

Congratulations on your impending nuptials.

I always have a tough time predicting how crowded various places will be, but you might consider the bar at either The Board House or Bin 36.

Clark Street Ale House? Non-sceney, within walking distance, & has an outdoor area.

Question mark is because this will either be (1) perfect or (2) totally wrong, depending on various factors.

chunker wrote:Hi I think The Berkshire Room would be a good option.

If you love cocktails this is my pick as well. The beer and wine list is thoughtful, but limited.

Thanks for the input, everybody! We wound up at the Berkshire Room, which turned out to be perfect -- they have some semi-private spaces off to the side of the main bar area, and our group wound up in one of these.

The Continuous Negroni is delicious, a couple of folks in our party got drinks they really liked by opting for Dealer's Choice, and my husband (still getting used to saying that) loved his Old Money (barrel-aged, bourbon, aperol, walnut liqueur, and allspice). We were there from around 9:30–midnight, and while the place was buzzing it wasn't insufferably sceney -- just fun. Thanks to daveandrews3 for setting up the reserved space for us. I think we'll all be back.

The Berkshire Room in the Acme Hotel
15 E Ohio St
(between Wabash Ave & State St)
312-894-0800

watson wrote:Thanks for the input, everybody! We wound up at the Berkshire Room, which turned out to be perfect -- they have some semi-private spaces off to the side of the main bar area, and our group wound up in one of these.

The Continuous Negroni is delicious, a couple of folks in our party got drinks they really liked by opting for Dealer's Choice, and my husband (still getting used to saying that) loved his Old Money (barrel-aged, bourbon, aperol, walnut liqueur, and allspice). We were there from around 9:30–midnight, and while the place was buzzing it wasn't insufferably sceney -- just fun. Thanks to daveandrews3 for setting up the reserved space for us. I think we'll all be back.

The Berkshire Room in the Acme Hotel
15 E Ohio St
(between Wabash Ave & State St)
312-894-0800

Thanks for reporting back. Sounds like you had a great time. Congratulations to you and your husband!