seeking good venue for discussion group (cafe or bar)

Hi All,

I could use some help locating a bar or cafe that is hospitable to group meetings on weekday afternoons.

The criteria:
*relative quiet is a premium (the meetings are academic-y so we need to hear each other talk rather than just see each other slurp martinis)
*thus, private room would be so nice
*no charge for the gathering is a must (we are teachers and students, though of course we'd order drinks / snacks)
*public transit accessible in some form, ideally blue line or red line, though neighborhood is generally flexible

Thanks so much for any suggestions you might offer!

I would recommend narrowing this down just a little--I get that you're flexible on neighborhood but would recommendations for places in Lincoln Park or Hyde Park or Albany Park be equally useful? Maybe you want to put some boundaries on it (above Division, below Foster, etc? Also, the size would help (10? 30?) Will likely make a difference in the recs...

Having said this, Northdown Café is a few blocks down from the Paulina Brown line stop (two stops up from the Belmont red stop so an easy change) and I know they have a back room, I don't think they charge to use it, and they're open from 11 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily. They have food and a very good craft beer selection. If this is geographically desirable, I'd suggest giving them a call to see if they can accommodate you.

Northdown Café & Taproom
3244 North Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
http://www.northdownchicago.com/

Thanks so much! That sounds great.
As for your helpful suggestions: we are usually about 10-15 people; we draw from around the city so it's probably best to be no more south than Bridgeport and no more north than Boystown, but the overall flexibility is partly an experiment with what kinds of people we get in what location, and if folks can help me generate multiple suggestions it would be ideal to vary the venues.

Panera has a meeting room in most of their locations that is available at NO CHARGE to groups during slow periods.

Just bumping in case there are a few more suggestions to be gleaned from this wise forum. Thanks!

The room upstairs at the Bristol might be work, the Gage downtown has a lot of private and semi-private space, and I think Longman & Eagle has a room that you might be able to reserve. While I don't think any of these spots charge for the rooms, they might have minimums. If your meetings are on weeknights, particularly during the slower winter months, I'm betting most places will work with you.

Need for such a venue has arisen again so I'm back to pick your brains. We like Blue Line and Red Line neighborhoods; need to be able to hear ourselves talk; would love to drink alcohol and eat snacks but need a venue that's cool with those proceeds at a less busy time (i.e. a Monday at 4pm) as the only fee. Thanks!

Late afternoon, Osteria La Madia is pretty quiet yet still serves food and drink ... if you agreed to an end time before their evening rush, they might agree. We used to go there when our team was smaller to work when we wanted to get out of the office and they were very hospitable. These days they've improved the menu and the service and are doing a very nice job. On Grand. two blocks from the red line.