Chicago’s Best River North Restaurants For Large Groups

Avital’s Interactive Meal

A great way to take your large group dining experience to the next level is to book our Chicago Interactive Meal. During this experience, your guests will be served a curated four-course menu along with 3 beverages (alcoholic or N/A alternatives). Sprinkled into the event are 3 interactive activities for your guests to enjoy, like Chicago foodie trivia, a cocktail-making class, and a flavor-twisting treat after dessert! The experience takes place at the restaurant of your choice in River North, within our vast network of partners.

All

$$+

Best for corporate events, like team building and client entertainment

Quartino Restaurante

Quartino Restaurante is a great place to take a large group because its menu is composed of delicious Italian dishes that are meant to be shared. You can serve up a charcuterie-style feast fit for a king by ordering off the Salumi (cured meats), Formaggi (cheeses), Spuntini (snacks), and olives menu, or you can order heaping plates of pasta for the table as well as house specialties like the chicken parmigiano and beef short rib with salsa verde. I

f you follow up with a few rounds of their exceptional espresso martinis, made with freshly brewed Lavazza Espresso, it’s sure to be an unforgettable dining experience! Quartino Restaurante also has great River North Private dining options if your large group requires a bit of seclusion.

Italian

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Best for big family events and birthday celebrations.

Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor is an upscale steakhouse that has come all the way from London to the US and finally has a Chicago location right here in RiNo. They offer great dining options for large groups, like the “Big Mike” room that can seat up to 22 guests at a massive oak table stretching the length of the entire space.

If you want to pull out all the stops, we recommend starting the night with a few of the chilled seafood towers for your guests to pick at as they sip their first cocktail, and then offering the choice between one of their famous char-grilled steaks or the refreshing East Coast swordfish for the entree. Sides like the vinegar-y chop house hash browns and garlic butter mushrooms are the perfect accompaniments to the incredible proteins you’ll be served.

Steakhouse

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Best for taking VIP clients or celebrating a special anniversary.

Avec

Avec is a Mediterranean restaurant serving small and large plates of delectable specialties from Southern Europe. Tapas-style dining is always great for large groups because it enables your guests to try all the best dishes on the menu and pick what they want to sample or pass by. Small plates like the salty and nutty endive and peach salad, the sweet and acidic hamachi crudo, and the citrus-kissed wood-fired calamari should be ordered generously and passed around. When it comes to large plates, there’s no reason not to order as much deluxe focaccia as your guests can stomach alongside a few pies of the indulgent spinach and guanciale pizza.

Mediterranean

$$$

Best for birthday parties and family events.

La Pizza & La Pasta at Eataly

Pizza is the ultimate food for sharing, and when you have the opportunity to split a perfect Neapolitan pie at La Pizza & La Pasta, the cheap neighborhood spot that sponsored your last three pizza parties at work is no longer going to suffice. This restaurant is set up perfectly to accommodate big groups and offers semi-private dining options for parties up to 125.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by incredible options when looking at the menu, we recommend ordering the Tartufata pizza with truffle cream, sauteed mushrooms, and truffled cacciotta cheese, and the Scapparriello with a creamy “burrata heart” (to start at least)!

American

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Best for team building events and dinner with friends.

The Evie

You may be drawn into the Evie for the magnificent views of the Magnificent Mile, but the phenomenal food is what will get you to stay. This restaurant makes group dining a cinch by offering multiple Prix Fixe menus for you to choose from, which helps keep your group dining budget in check and gives your guests great options so they can choose a meal that they’ll love. You can choose between a three, four, and five-course menu for your guests, and they also offer generous drink packages where you can choose between offering beer and wine all the way up to premium cocktails.

American

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Best for team building events and rehearsal dinners.

RPM Italian

This is a great option for you’re looking for a restaurant offering private dining in River North Chicago, as they can accommodate anywhere between 8 and 300 guests. They have a special party and private events team on-site to assist you with all your dining needs, and offer three and four-course plated menus or four-course shared menus.

If you prefer to set the menu yourself, we recommend ordering generously off the bread service menu (the whipped ricotta and honey blossom is always a crowd pleaser) and following up with a combination of plates of housemade pasta, chicken or eggplant Parmesan, and sides like spicy broccolini and garlic whipped potatoes.

Italian

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Best for upscale corporate events with a strict budget.

Ema

Ema is the place to go if you’re looking to enjoy a delectable spread of mezze, small plates, and all the hummus and dips you can eat. This style of dining is perfect for large groups, as everyone can fill their plates with exactly what and how much of each dish they desire. You can’t really go wrong ordering off this delectable menu, but house specialties like hummus with lamb ragu, pan-roasted Romanesque cauliflower, and grilled octopus with fingerlings and preserved lemon definitely deserve a spot on your table.

Mediterranean

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Best for birthday parties and family reunions.

Parlay

Parlay describes itself as “a lively ultramodern sports parlor and dining establishment.” This is a great choice for your large group dining experience if terms like “high energy atmosphere”, “elevated bar fare”, and “100-inch video wall” get you excited. There are ample booths, couches, and barstools available for your group to take over for the night.

The menu is full of crowd-pleasing classics like Mac and cheese bites, baby back ribs, and pizzas. The Green Marges Sausage Pizza is particularly unique with pistachio pesto, cured lemon, and jalapeño. Order up a few pies and more than a few beers, and your event is sure to be a hit!

American

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Best for celebrating your birthday.

Maxwell’s Trading

This is one of our favorite large group dining Chicago restaurants because it has one of the most unique private event spaces in all of Chicago! The “Maxwell Upstairs” space can accommodate up to 72 guests and features a private entrance, outdoor patio, and a turntable where the host can play their own record collection for the night.

Order up “griddled-breads and dunks” to start the meal, and your guests will enjoy dips like savory Japanese eggplant with confit tomatoes and truffle oil French onion dip. Everyone can choose their own entree off the “substance” portion of the menu, and don’t skip on dessert, or you’ll be missing out on an incredible Melon Verrine with honeydew and matcha meringue.

Asian-American Fusion

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Best for a chic party or product launch event.

Weber Grill

Weber Grill Restaurant has branded itself as the “Best Chicago Restaurant for Group Dining”, and we can see why! They view grilling as a “lifestyle shared with friends and families from all generations” and offer a generous group dining menu with dishes that serve 8-25 people.

Appetizers like grilled caprese bruschetta, steak skewers, and sticky ribs will whet your guests’ appetite for the main event. You can then choose from an individually plated or family-style menu, where your guests will be able to select their barbecued meat of choice and enjoy sides, salad, and dessert as well.

BBQ

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Best for casual team building events or family celebrations.

Maggiano’s Little Italy

Maggiano’s Little Italy will charm you with its devotion to Italian hospitality, and elevated classic Italian-American dishes. Take advantage of their family style menu, which provides you and your guests four flavorsome courses with many options for customization. Maggiano’s was created with large group dining in mind, so take advantage of their experience by booking your event here. Their group-friendly menus make it the perfect place for large groups to celebrate a special occasion.

Italian

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Best for extra large group celebrations with 100+ guests

Yardbird Table & Bar

Yardbird is an award-winning restaurant and bar with roots in Southern hospitality, and the best bourbon list you’ve ever seen. The restaurant is large and has multiple private event spaces, meaning if you book well enough in advance, they’ll certainly be able to accommodate your big group. Yardbird has plenty of room upstairs for private parties, including a bourbon room.

We recommend ordering one of each of the mains for your group and sharing everything. Their famous chicken dishes are especially popular for sharing, and their weekend brunch is a hit for groups looking to celebrate together. There’s no dish on the menu that doesn’t make our mouths water!

Southern

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Best for casual group dinners with family, friends, or coworkers