Cafe Brauer

we could and that we would just need to get approval from the coordinator at Café Brauer. They made it nearly impossible to work without outside vendors - they wanted them to get 5mil worth of liability insurance vs. the 1mil that they require for preferred vendors. We also found out as we began signing vendors, that they require 10% of the sales from these vendors which felt like double dipping. It ended up not being a massive deal because we found vendors within their preferred list that worked with our budget but we would have preferred to support out friend's businesses. While the F&B package is on the higher end, we saw the value in all that you got - linens, tables, glassware and silverware, F&B, 2 signature drinks, wine table service, champagne toast, complimentary valet and coat check. The day of went mostly smooth but they did mess up my mom's meal (specifically asked for gluten free - it wasn't) and we also had gluten free desserts and they didn't separate these from the rest when the dessert table was put out so our gluten free guests didn't have any dessert. Again, beautiful venue and the food and drink was amazing! I cannot imagine having our special day anywhere else at the end of the day. Molly answered all of my thousands of questions and really put me at ease when I was super stressed coming in for our final walk through.

responsive, kind, and always kept us up-to-date on venue restrictions during the scary, unexpected times during the Covid-19 pandemic. The have a specific vendor list which felt limiting but they are great options and I was super pleased with the vendors I worked with. Cafe Brauer allowed us to serve an additional appetizer and bring in late-night food for our guests which was another plus!

had to worry about inclement weather. It was the perfect size for our 150 guest count with a sizable dance floor and 5-person band. You have to choose from an approved list of vendors for catering, floral, live music, etc. which was honestly kind of nice since it narrowed the searching. The only thing is that you do have to use Brauer for your beverages, which ends up being quite expensive if you want to serve wine with dinner (it’s an additional cost above the bar package that you use for the rest of the night). Overall excellent choice if it’s in your price range! Our guests are still raving about how beautiful it was.

My guests walked away raving about the timeless elegance of the space, the kind staff, and the outstanding food (Tigerlily Catering). Natalie worked with me to design the space in a creative and safe way. She was always available by email or phone. I am looking forward to planning another event at Cafe Brauer in the future.

e Brauer, Natalie Kay worked with us to make our wedding happen. She was incredibly responsive and worked with us on every little detail on our accelerated timeline. Moreover, she accomodated all the COVID safety regulations we wanted to enforce. The entire wedding went off without a hitch and was more lovely than I ever could’ve imagined. We got so many compliments from people all night long. Everybody had an amazing time and so did we. Thank you, Natalie and the Cafe Brauer team!!

average but I suppose no place is perfect. It still holds a great value when looking at the big picture. If it's in your budget range book it!

through was amazing. Our Captains, Maria and Carlos, were also a great team to work with. They were so professional and accommodating throughout the night. I look forward to working with this team again and planning many more weddings in your space! Thank you again!

lso so helpful the day of the wedding, making sure everything was perfect! We also used their catering service - Tigerlily Catering and would absolutely recommend them. We had a brunch wedding and our guests still rave about their amazing waffles and food.

ing the catering and linens) - she was effectively our wedding coordinator too (communicating directly with our bakery, DJ and florist to make sure everyone arrived on time on the Big Day and was on the same schedule). (Kelly also stepped up as our Wedding Therapist on occasion, which was much appreciated! Ha!) Kelly was informative, responsive, conscious of our needs/wants (including budget), and did everything with a smile. The reason we (i.e., me, my husband, my mom, my MOH, etc.) were able to enjoy our wedding day as much as we did was, hands down, because of Kelly. I was confident everything would go off without a hitch, and that was the best wedding gift anyone could have given me. Everything else was phenomenal too!! The venue itself is simply enchanting. We loved that it gave out-of-town guests, especially, a true taste of historical Chicago. We also loved the indoor/outdoor element: the loggia, where cocktail hour is hosted, is outside (and has an extraordinary view of the Chicago skyline!!) but is covered. We got lucky with a beautiful June day, but had it rained, we wouldn't have had to relocate = awesome. And there are skylights and windows throughout the main ballroom, which makes the entire event space feel very airy and open. We had a beautiful view of the sunset over the Chicago skyline during our dinner... Can you say SWOON? And frankly, we ended up spending less on flowers, linens, etc., because the venue itself was already so beautiful. The fact that it's easy to get to and near a lot of great attractions (the Lincoln Park Zoo, Old Town) was a bonus. We decided to go with Tigerlily Events (on-site) for our catering, and I would 100% recommend this to anyone holding their reception at Cafe Brauer. The food was AMAZING. My husband is from Kentucky, so we went with a southern theme: fried catfish, fried chicken, collard greens, hoppin John, etc. Our tasting was wonderful, largely thanks to Chef, who was so creative in making our vision come to life. And in the end, our food was undoubtedly the element of our wedding we received the most compliments on. No one went home hungry, that's for sure!! The one downside of the venue is that they have an "Approved Vendor List" for caterers, DJs and florists. I actually ended up appreciating this, because (i) it reduced the amount of time I had to spend researching vendors; (ii) there are vendors at all different price points on the list; and (iii) because Cafe Brauer has previously worked with all the vendors on its list, I knew I was choosing from a high-quality selection. Plus, you can still bring in your own decorations, wedding cake, etc. But I know this type of restriction may not be for everyone. Overall, though, I'd give Cafe Brauer 100 stars if I could! Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend :)

h giving them 5 stars is that some of the signage I provided wasn't put out (the late night snack sign in particular), and our place card table was set out at the ceremony entrance instead of being setup after cocktail hour (so guests were grabbing their place cards when they came in for the ceremony). Our guest book was also placed on the far side of the welcome table, behind the flowers and candles, so a lot of our guests missed it entirely. The other drawback to this venue is the lack of a bridal suite or room to wait in beforehand (they use the upper balcony as a staging area for the bridal party, which unfortunately doesn't hide the bride very well unless you have partitions setup, which they were happy to provide). Overall, this was one of the most unique wedding venues I've ever seen, and it set the perfect tone for our celebration. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone looking for a wedding venue in the Chicago area that is cool and different, yet upscale and beautiful. And with it being in Lincoln Park, the photo opportunities are endless, and the view of the skyline on a clear day is priceless.

finitely on the more expensive side but can be very doable and comparable to similar options in the city. We also saved money on decorations and flowers because Cafe Brauer has so much of its own character. The view can't be beat (even in the rain) and it is in the best location the city has to offer. Now we would just like to be invited to a wedding there so we can enjoy it as guests!

The views of the zoo's lake and the city skyline was the perfect backdrop for our ceremony and reception, while their patio loggias made for an intimate, cool setting for cocktail hour. Being in Lincoln Park, there are so many beautiful places for photos in the area, making our day-of schedule easy to plan and maintain. There is an approved vendor list for this venue. On the plus side, it narrows your focus on who to pick. On the downside, you're limited and have fewer vendors to source within your budget. You also have to use their in-house caterer for beverages, and the minimums are high and could be difficult to hit -- especially if you're having a small wedding. Parking is limited, but valet is an option at a cost. You do get added benefits going with the in-house caterer, like free valet, but i's countered by much higher per plate costs than you'll find with other companies. Lastly, over the course of our planning, my rep changed twice, and one of the times I wasn't even notified that the rep had left the company. We ultimately ended up working with the sales director, so communication and service improved. Overall, it's a beautiful venue, and you can make it work with a tighter budget and a smaller guest list. Certain things will just be more costly due to their vendor restrictions.

work with and left us confident that things would run smoothly. We appreciated that there was a service elevator available to guests that needed it, although wish it was a bit nicer. We loved that there was valet available as an option (and included because we used their in house caterer: Tigerlily) since parking in that neighborhood can be a nightmare! That said, it all comes at a price. There is a strict list of approved vendors, mostly we considered this a positive because it made planning much easier to have a short list of well vetted vendors to pick between, again giving us confidence that things would run smoothly. However, some vendors flat out told us they charge more for Cafe Brauer clients because they have to pay to be on that list. For us, the venue was worth it, but I was surprised to find that out. My only major complaint has to do with vendor meals we purchased for our photography team that they never received. They were told their meals were given to someone else... we still don't know who ate them. Maybe someone from the venue? Or someone from the approved vendors? At least 3 vendors felt entitled to meals that did not let us know in advance. If we had known ahead of time , we gladly would have ordered more meals for our vendors! So my advice is to explicitly ask each of your vendors how many meals they expect.

ed vendor list but it ended up being such a valuable asset-- all of our vendors had so much experience and knowledge about the space and utilizing the venue to its maximum potential. It also kept the planning process from getting too overwhelming. The aesthetic of the venue was classic and classy and truly perfect for our glam vintage vibe; we are still over the moon with how well everything went!!

rounded by nature. The venue also requires very little décor which helps with cost (but don’t get me wrong it’s still pricey). We had our ceremony on the south loggia, cocktail hour on the north loggia, and reception in the great hall and everything was perfect. We did have one small hiccup with our main contact leaving and not sending notice during the planning process, but Christine with Tigerlily (who we chose for our caterer) quickly jumped in and made us feel at ease. The food with Tigerlily was tasty and we got a ton of compliments from guests saying it was the best wedding food they’ve ever tasted! They were flexible as we worked towards finalizing the contract and helpful in making sure we understood everything needed. I highly recommend Café Brauer and Tigerlily for your wedding!

orth loggia, and reception in the hall. Everything was beautiful, and the space needed little to no decoration to be lovely which saved quite a bit of money. The views of downtown are great and there were many lovely places to take photos nearby, meaning we had more time at cocktail hour with our guests.

struck when we tried to do something unique - we tried to bring the Pittsburgh Cookie Table(google it) to Chicago and it was an epic fail!!!! They didn't make any effort to figure out how to set it up yet they had repeatedly assured us that they knew what they were doing. They had me in the kitchen in the middle of the reception "trying to make it right" - a little late for that!!!! Simply beware - unfortunately for me, their incompetence was an embarrassment. If you want to do anything unique, don't trust them to carry out without very specific instruction!!!!

g views inside and out. It was the perfect space for our wedding reception. This is the perfect spot to really capture the beauty of all that Chicago has to offer. It was a dream come true.

ditional decor, but make it your own by putting on unique personal design touches and it becomes breathtaking. We knew when we booked it we had a great venue, but what we didnt know was how wonderful the people we work with would be. Christine the venue coordinator was truely an angel. She is such a fantastic person and I now call her my friend. She was always there to listen and offer friendly advise to any of my questions or difficulties. She offered solutions that benefited us in ways we could never have dreamed of. She helped us not only stay on budget, but also helped us to spend less than we had planned. Her assistant Angela was also a godsend, another wonderful new friend. On the night of the reception she was amazing, making sure everything ran smooth and was up to the highest standard and that our guest were happy and having fun. Always with a warm and personable attitude. We choose to go with Tiger lily as our caterer (the zoo's in house caterer) after meeting with Chef and Christine to discuss dinner. Chef was extremely personable and listened to everything we were requesting. He then put together a wonderfully tasting and well presented dinner that was just exactly what we were looking for-people are still raving about at the dinner that was served! The wait staff and bartenders were also extremey pleasant, always helping with a smile on there faces and never a complaint-even though there were MANY a spill while dancing that needed quick attention throughout the night! We had a fun fantastic night that was truly magical!

in Chicago.

y as well. So, a generic hotel ballroom was out. I started searching for venues and found that getting something downtown, within our budget, and that met our other requirements was difficult. Also, a lot of the options were already booked a year in advance. A friend recommended Cafe Brauer, so we set up an appointment. Within two minutes of walking in, we both knew. My husband's face lit up when he saw the beautiful architecture in the Great Hall. What really sealed the deal was the view of the city skyline from the North Loggia (where cocktails are usually held). You're in Lincoln Park, so there are trees and flowers everywhere and it feels lush, but you're only a 10 minute ride from downtown Chicago. The Great Hall has an enormous, domed skylight and beautiful chandeliers. We knew that even if it rained or was foggy and the view from outside wasn't great, the inside was beautiful enough to compensate. It really felt special and paid homage to 1920's architecture (something Chicago is known for). We did visit a couple of other places the same day, but that only confirmed that Cafe Brauer was the right venue for us. Fast forward to our reception: Our guests were blown away. We embraced the vintage feel of the space and incorporated 1920's styling into our centerpieces, cake, and clothing. It really came together. Guests loved the view of downtown during cocktails (the weather was perfect), and couldn't get over the beauty of the Great Hall. All in all, for the price, I don't know if you can find a better value in the city. A couple of added bonuses: part of the rental fee is tax deductible (since it's part of the Lincoln Park Zoo), and the tables and chairs are included in the rental price

ave had the opportunity to spend are night at Cafe Brauer. We recommend using the entire facility...ceremony on the south loggia, cocktail hour on the north loggia and reception in the hall.