Pre-wedding brunch restaurant in Oak Brook, Illinois

March 21, 2013 1:53 PM

I'm planning a nice pre-wedding brunch on a Saturday in May for a friend who lives in Oak Brook, Illinois, but I live in LA and don't know any restaurants in that area. Any suggestions from Chicago MeFites?

There will be about 10 women at the brunch. It doesn't have to be in Oak Brook, but it would be best if it wasn't more than half an hour away (or so). Ideally we'd love to have a private room, although that's not required. We're looking for somewhere nice-ish, but it doesn't have to be crazy upscale.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

posted by McPuppington the Third to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Oak Brook has an expensive outdoor mall and many nice restaurants. If you google "Oakbrook mall" you can find a list of them. Also, Lombard is the next town over and they have even more restaurants, like the Capitol Grille for example. If you google "Yorktown" (that's the name of the mall area in Lombard), you can find more restaurants. As far as non-chains, maybe someone else has a good answer, I unfortunatly don't!
posted by katypickle at 2:29 PM on March 21, 2013

Best answer: Also, at the Oak Brook Mall, both Wildfire and The Clubhouse are excellent and upscale with private dining rooms, if I remember correctly. But still reasonably priced.
posted by katypickle at 2:32 PM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: There is a Wildfire in Oak Brook. We had a family luncheon at one of the other locations and it was very nice, warm, and accommodating. And our bartender was very good. It's not quite as steak-centric as the website makes it seem, so there is something for everyone (mainly American bistro fare). They cater to a lot of events and parties like this.
posted by theuninvitedguest at 2:33 PM on March 21, 2013

Best answer: There is a Pappadeaux Seafood Restaurant near Oak Brook Mall, just down south in Westmont IL. The Clubhouse is also a very good suggestion. Both have private rooms.
posted by lstanley at 3:42 PM on March 21, 2013

Best answer: I'll third Clubhouse, the service and food were better than the typical Sunday brunch.
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:55 PM on March 21, 2013

Best answer: There are a couple of hotels in Oak Brook that probably have "luncheon rooms" available, if that's more your aim. Oak Brook is one of the nicer areas in the area, so I doubt you can go wrong with anything you choose. Same for Oakbrook Terrace and Westmont. In fact, there is a place called Standard Market in Westmont that has an attached restaurant that is pretty interesting. Also a very cool store.

Lombard is nice enough, but unless you are dealing with a known restaurant, I'd be wary. Not that it's shady or anything like that, just that it's big enough that the quality can vary. Same with Villa Park. There is no reason to go further than that because there is almost everything very nearby.

The name of the mall is Oak Brook Center. It's very nice, but it can get crowded if it's a particularly nice day. Reservations are obviously a must.

Butler National Golf course is nearby and probably has the same kind of facilities.

Or for a really bizarre experience, check out the Hyatt Lodge on the campus of McDonald's Hamburger University. It's a beautiful hotel on a beautiful property that surely has the facilities you are looking for.
posted by gjc at 5:02 PM on March 21, 2013

Or for a really bizarre experience, check out the Hyatt Lodge on the campus of McDonald's Hamburger University. It's a beautiful hotel on a beautiful property that surely has the facilities you are looking for.

It is really a beautiful place; a group of us were looking for a brunch place that wasn't too expensive and called them. They don't do an actual brunch, but we were able to sit in a semi-detached private room and order from the breakfast menu. The food was delicious and the setting was wonderful. They don't take reservations, but they did set aside a large table in the separate room.
posted by la petite marie at 7:34 PM on March 21, 2013

Response by poster: Thank you all so much for your help! The rehearsal dinner is at the Clubhouse, but otherwise that would have been a perfect suggestion.

Thanks for the suggestions!
posted by McPuppington the Third at 11:31 AM on March 22, 2013

Brunch? If it's not supposed to be fancy then I'd say Chicago's Chicken and Waffle house. It's delicious, and a change of pace for most people.
posted by garlic at 11:41 AM on March 27, 2013