About this vendor
A Swanky, Jazz Era Experience to Remember
Offering an authentic Chicago supper club experience, Tortoise Supper Club in Chicago, IL is a restaurant and wedding venue that hearkens back to days gone by. Its jazz-era ambience easily enhances any celebration! The team of professionals here would be delighted to host your special occasion.
Tortoise Supper Club is a Chicago family owned and operated establishment with only one location. Welcoming rehearsal dinners and other events leading up to the big day as well, Tortoise Supper Club is a hidden gem eager to be shared with you and your guests! The venue is tucked amongst the city’s beautiful skyscrapers and incorporates touches of Chicago throughout its interiors. These details showcase the charms of the city and pay homage to the past, which help to create a memorable backdrop for weddings and events. They take the utmost pride in pouring their heart and soul into the level of hospitality they provide to their guests, as well as their cuisine and beverage program.
The Main Dining Room can accommodate up to 130 guests for a seated gathering and up to 150 people for mingling style events. In addition, they can host groups as large as 220 for a seated dinner and 300 mingling. A number of other spaces are available for guest counts of additional sizes.
Their ambiance provides that of a swanky, old-Hollywood, jazz era supper club complete with white tablecloth service. There are secret stories and subtle touches of Chicago history within its walls, including caricatures in the Lounge featuring famous Chicago rogues and scoundrels, a swanky/jazzy Chicago themed mural in the Main Dining Room hand-painted by NY artist, Pauline de Rossi de Sales, the original mahogany wood accents in the foyer sourced directly from the beloved, Pump Room, as well as a 1919 Steinway Concert piano, gifted to the owner's grandmother on her 10th Birthday and featured during their live jazz on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The team behind Tortoise Supper Club is dedicated to hospitality and offers a thoughtfully curated beverage and culinary program. Tortoise is known for their famous prime rib, steaks, including their mouthwatering beef wellington, and the freshest seafood, all the while, everything within the kitchen and bar is made in-house with the freshest ingredients! The food crafted by their expert chefs is made from scratch, helping to ensure their high standards are met. They love to celebrate Chicago and all that it stands for, and it's important to them that they are providing a true, Chicago style experience for their guests. At this venue, the team is also dedicated to making your event stand out from the rest. Additional add-on entertainment is available to assist in personalizing your event, tailoring it to your every desire.
Tortoise Supper Club is a venue surely to leave a lasting impression on your guests for not only an evening, but for a lifetime!
Details
Guest Capacity
- Up to 300
Settings
- Restaurant
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Cakes & Desserts
- Other Desserts
- Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Planning
- Food & Catering
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Engagement Party
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Bachelor Party
- Bachelorette Party
Pricing
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.017 reviews
Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Tortoise Supper Club is highly recommended for hosting events like rehearsal dinners and welcome parties, with reviewers praising the delicious food, professional staff, and beautiful ambiance. Kelli, the event coordinator, received accolades for being helpful and assisting in seamless event planning. The venue's Chicago location near iconic landmarks provided a picturesque backdrop for ceremonies and celebrations, creating memorable experiences for guests.Review photos
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We held our rehearsal dinner and welcome party at Tortoise Supper Club. Both events were absolutely perfect! We had a seated dinner for a small number of guests in the Red Room. Everyone loved the menu, from the bread to the pie, and dining in that cool space. For the welcome party, we used the lounge, which made for great mingling, passed hors d'oeuvres, and a wonderful ambience with a live jazz trio. Our guests gushed about what a great time they had! We can't imagine holding our events before our wedding anywhere else. Kelli was also super helpful throughout the planning process and gave us confidence that everything would go off without a hitch!
Response from the Vendor on 11/16/2024
Caitlin, thank you so incredibly much for your wonderful feedback. We couldn't be happier that you and your guests had such a special time during your visit! It means so much that you entrusted us with your celebration and we hope you had simpl...
y the best weekend! Thank you so much again, and we are eager to welcome you back again soon!
We had the most fun, delicious, Rehearsal Dinner at the Tortoise Supper Club! The ambience was perfect with amazing 5 star service by all who worked the party of 60. The help from their event manager, Kelli, was so excellent and invaluable in planning the event. We rented the Main Dining Room, with cocktails first in the lounge, and everything went off perfectly smoothly which allowed us to completely relax and enjoy our own party. I cannot recommend this warm, friendly, super professional place enough, for any event you might want to have there!
Response from the Vendor on 09/04/2024
Lucia, thank you so very much for your very kind review! It makes our hearts so happy to hear that you and your guests had such a fabulous time! We are so grateful you chose to host the kickoff to the wedding weekend with us -- we are honored t...
o have been a part of this special time in your lives! We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back again soon -- cheers!
I held my daughter's graduation dinner from law school at the Tortoise Supper Club on June 1, 2024, and it was absolutely amazing! We were coming from out of town and Kelli was so accommodating with my special requests and answering all my questions. We had a private room which was beautiful, with great ambiance. We were assigned our own servers who were outstanding - helping us set up our special touches and the service during dinner was top notch. The food was absolutely delicious, everyone raved about how good it was! They even had someone come and sing to her for her birthday and graduation while we were dining. I would definitely recommend the Tortoise Supper Club for any special event of just a night out!
Response from the Vendor on 08/01/2024
Yevette! Thank you so very much for your very thoughtful feedback! It was such a joy working with you and celebrating your Daughter and this exciting accomplishment! We are so very humbled to hear that you and your guests enjoyed your Tortoise ...
experience. It means so very much to us! We are looking forward to welcoming you back in the future. Thank you!
Any questions?
We held a 65 person rehearsal dinner and 160 person welcome party at Tortoise and couldn't have been happier with the experience! The wait staff was incredible and always made sure our guests had a drink in hand. The food was delicious and we received many compliments about how great it was for such a large group of people. The staff was extremely accomodating during the planning process as well as throughout the evening of our event. We will definitely be coming back for anniversaries and special occasions!
Response from the Vendor on 07/11/2024
Audrey, thank you so much for choosing to celebrate your Rehearsal Dinner with us! We were honored to be a part of your wedding weekend festivities! Your kind words have touched our hearts, and we couldn't be happier to hear the kickoff event w...
as enjoyed by all! We are looking forward to welcoming you for years to come, as after all, you're family now! Congratulations!
We had a small 18-person dinner and ceremony at the Tortoise Supper Club in April 2024 to celebrate our wedding and couldn't have been happier with the experience. They clearly have extensive experience with weddings and events and made the process really easy. Great food, beautiful atmosphere, and above and beyond service. And in addition to the restaurant itself being beautiful, it's also in a great location for outdoor photos, right near the river, the marina towers, the Chicago theater, etc. We would highly recommend.
Response from the Vendor on 06/26/2024
Annie, thank you so much for your very kind feedback! We are humbled to hear that you and your guests had such a fantastic experience! It was a pleasure and honor working with you on such a special celebration! We look forward to welcoming you ...
back again soon. Let us know if you need anything at all -- you're family now!
The TSC is out of this world, family owned and TLC to the max. My husband and I hosted our Dec 2023 wedding ceremony and reception here and from our first interaction with Kelli - our wedding and event coordinator @ TSC, to our on site tasting, to the actual wedding day they were on top of it regarding pricing, communication, the execution of the actual day of the wedding.
I've been a pro photographer for over 20+ years and I can't imagine a more epic and intimate space for our guests. We rented the red room for the ceremony and dinner and the lounge for the party until 12am. Even though the restaurant was open for other diners in the main dining room the whole place felt like it was ours with the way it was partitioned for our guests.
If you are looking for an affordable venue in the HEART of downtown, look no further. This place is a gem! The only thing I'm sad about is that we won't be in town for restaurant week as we planned and executed this wedding dream from Philadelphia which made the day in Chicago for our wedding that much more special.
Do yourself and your guests the favor of a true venue with Chicago / old world flair - you will NOT be disappointed and you will feel like you are transported back in time to the jazz era, great food and great servers with Tortoise for the whole time you are there! They will always have our heart and an A+ in Hospitality from our family to yours! Provecho!
Shout out to Jorge and Luke too! They deserve a raise - they took amazingly great care of my husband and I the whole night including making sure we ate our delicious dinners and kept our drinks full!
Response from the Vendor on 01/09/2024
Kate and Marco, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for entrusting us with your special day! We couldn't be happier to hear that you and your guests had such a magnificent time -- as you deserved! We are thrilled that from start to finish...
, both during the planning and the execution, you had a celebration that not only will be cherished for years to come, but that embodied everything important to you and your wedding day. We are so grateful for our beautiful couples, as celebrating these milestone events with you, mean the world to us. Congratulations to you both, and we look forward to seeing you, celebrating your anniversaries with you, for many years to come! Cheers!
We had an awesome experience with Tortoise Supper Club and working with Kelli, the coordinator, to host our rehearsal dinner and welcome party. I found TSC just by looking at Google Maps for places near our wedding venue. My partner and I checked it out on a date night and were super impressed by the food, ambiance, and staff. We held a rehearsal dinner for 20 followed by a welcome party for 125 on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. Everyone raved about the food, drinks, and the vibes, but also the professionalism of the staff - these folks know what they are doing. I highly recommend holding your event here, it was super special.
Response from the Vendor on 09/26/2023
Lauren, thank you so incredibly much for your very kind feedback! We are thrilled that you had such a lovely experience! It was our joy and pleasure to welcome you for such a special time in your lives -- an honor. Thank you for entrusting us w...
ith such a special event! We hope to welcome you back again soon!
We absolutely loved our experience with Tortoise Supper Club! We hosted a rehearsal dinner at TSC on a Friday night in June for approximately 60 guests. Kelli, the events manager helped me coordinate the evening —including contact with the florist who created beautiful flowers and an AV company who set up a screen for us to loop a slideshow throughout the evening. Everyone raved about how delicious the food was—we chose the filet, chicken and scallops, the signature chopped salad with dressing on the side, the signature tortoise bread service, and the Tortoise pie. The passed canapes were also wonderful--mushroom risotto bites, the goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers, meatballs and bruschetta bites—all delicious. We are glad we reserved both the main dining room and the board room—that gave us plenty of space for the dinner as well as a welcome party afterwards for a little over 100 people. The lovely jazz music playing in the background added to the beauty of the evening. And finally, a shout out to the staff at Tortoise Supper Club. They were amazing—they were professional, friendly, joy-filled, and made sure everything moved along seamlessly. All of our guests commented repeatedly on how wonderful everything was. We highly recommend the Tortoise Supper Club!!
Response from the Vendor on 09/26/2023
Kelly, thank you so much for your generous feedback! We couldn't be happier to hear that you had such a wonderful experience! It was such an honor and pleasure welcoming you! We hope you had an incredible rest of the wedding weekend -- it was a...
joy assisting with the kickoff events! We look forward to welcoming you back again soon!
We had our rehearsal dinner here, and everything was amazing. The food was excellent, the staff was professional, and Kelli, the coordinator, was the best of anyone I worked with throughout the whole weekend. She is organized, knowledgeable, and responded quickly with an answer or a quote!
Response from the Vendor on 05/16/2023
Kathleen, thank you so much for your generous feedback! We are so happy you enjoyed your celebration with us to kick off the weekend's festivities! It was an honor and pleasure. We look forward to welcoming you back again soon!
We hosted our son and daughter in law's wedding rehearsal dinner at the Tortoise Supper Club. We arranged it long distance and Kelli was wonderful to work with. The canapes were among the most delicious I have had. The service was beyond amazing! I highly recommend the Tortoise Supper Club as a place to enjoy a special event.
This review is shamefully overdue - especially given how fabulous of a time we had at the Tortoise Supper Club for our wedding reception dinner in November 2021.
My (now) husband and myself live in California but wanted to host our reception in Chicago (where all of my extended family live). We were doing all of the planning ourselves and were unable to visit any restaurants or venues in advance of our event - very stressful! The Tortoise Supper Club was one of our top choices from the get-go - the photos on the internet had such character and we loved the unique feel. Kelli from the Tortoise Supper Club made planning every detail SO EASY! She gave amazing recommendations and answered all of my many questions. I have never planned any event before and her upbeat attitude and quick responses always put me at ease.
The night of our reception dinner was a dream come true. The restaurant looks even better in person than in the photos online and the jazz musician trio gave such a lively backdrop to the entire evening. We reserved both the lounge (for our cocktail hour) and the red room (for the sit-down dinner) for our event. The fireplace with the red lacquered walls of the red room made for some amazing photos!
For the food, we went with various platters and passed appetizers for the cocktail hour (held in the lounge area). Dinner was the Steinway package - every course was delicious. One of the benefits of holding our reception in a restaurant was being able to accommodate all of our guests' dietary needs and restrictions. Plus we didn't need to gather anyone's entree choice in advance - they all got to decide the night of (which made planning everything even easier).
The service was top notch. We had the team of Chimi, Luke, and Victor making sure that our evening ran along smoothly. They were so attentive - our guests needed for nothing!
I truly could not recommend the Tortoise Supper Club enough. We had guests reaching out to my parents for weeks and weeks after the event just to share what a great time they had.
Tortoise Supper Club was such a classy place for us to host our Rehearsal Dinner! The food tasted amazing and our guests loved their specialty cocktails. We had about 35 guests in the Red Room and it was the perfect size and environment. We worked with Kelli to plan the event and everything went so smoothly! She was very easy to work with and accommodated everything we needed.
We held our small (16 person) wedding reception at the Tortoise Supper Club and we couldn't have been happier with our experience! Kelli was so kind and accommodating as we went through several date changes and different requests. Her attention to detail (not to mention excitement!) is unmatched, and we felt so cared for on our wedding day. The entire waitstaff was also great to work with, as were owners Keane and Megan, who went above and beyond to open the restaurant on a day they are normally closed for our event after we had to reschedule. We were welcomed to the Red Room early the morning of the wedding to decorate, and the staff was kind enough to clean up our decor and put aside menus and corks for us to collect the next day. The meal was fantastic, and our vegetarian/gluten free/vegan guests and vendors told us it was some of the best wedding food they've ever been served. We'd choose Tortoise Club again in a heartbeat; thanks to all for making our wedding dreams come true!
We hosted our rehearsal dinner at Tortoise Supper Club and were so happy with it! They were a more affordable option than a lot of steakhouses we were looking at in the city and their events team was so responsive and great to work with. The on-site staff were exceptional, as was the piano player during our cocktail hour. We had about 40 guests and the lounge/Red Room space were perfect for our group. Most importantly the food was FANTASTIC and our guests had great things to say about the selection. Overall, we had a wonderful experience and highly recommend TSC for a rehearsal dinner in Chicago!
Response from the Vendor on 07/30/2019
Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback, it is certainly appreciated! We are delighted to hear that everything went fantastically and everyone enjoyed themselves! It was an absolute pleasure working with you and an honor to be a part...
of your big weekend. Congratulations and we hope to see you again soon!
Best,
The Tortoise Club Family
Our rehearsal dinner was sophisticated, glamorous, and delicious! Ever since it opened, I knew I wanted to have my rehearsal dinner at Tortoise because my family has sentimental ties to the historic Pump Room and when it renovated some years ago, Tortoise bought some furnishings and wood work from the Pump Room and incorporated those pieces into the lobby of the Tortoise Club. The rehearsal dinner was everything we wanted it to be- our family style menu and the ambiance of the Red Room made for the perfect intimate and upscale meal on the eve of our wedding. Becky was a great to work with- she was flexible and informative; the wait staff was professional, cheerful, and attentive; and maybe most importantly, the food was stellar. Our guests left raving about Tortoise Club's style, panache, and legendary mashed potatoes!
Response from the Vendor on 06/20/2019
Hi Kacy,
Thank you so much for your kind words. It was genuinely a pleasure working with you and your family and an honor to help celebrate! Congratulations! The Tortoise Family wishes you nothing but the best. Don't be a stranger!
I can’t begin to express how pleased we were with the planning, food, and service provided by Tortoise Supper Club. Our vow renewal was perfect!!
I had the entire restaurant filled with candles and all of the rooms were stunning. However, the restaurant is beautiful without any decorations. The entire staff paid attention to every detail. They were professional but also personable. Our guests can’t stop raving about our event.
We looked at numerous venues in the River North area and are so happy we selected Tortoise Supper Club.
I recently had my wedding at the Tortoise Club and was blown away by the entire experience! I heard from so many guests how much they loved the venue and the amazing food as well as how they felt so taken care of by their servers. We had an unfortunate situation happen to us 6 weeks before our wedding (our original reception venue closed unexpectedly) and Tenae at the Tortoise Club did everything she could to make sure the Tortoise Club was everything we wanted and more. We loved working with Tenae and Keen and everyone at the Tortoise Club and they made us feel so special and at ease on our wedding day.
Contact
350 North State Street, Chicago, IL
Interested?
Meet the team
Kelli Varnava
Events Director
Bringing your vision to life while surpassing your expectations; it's what Kelli is all about. Whether planning a celebration for your upcoming rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, engagement celebration, post-wedding brunch or your main event, she is eager to customize any event, so you can sit back, relax and savor the true, authentic, Chicago supper club experience.
Kelli's TSC Favorites:
Savory: Baked Shrimp Scampi Dip, Chilean Sea Bass, Buttery Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach
Sweet: A tie between the Tortoise Pie & Peanut Butter Pie!
Fun Fact:
Kelli became a Mrs. herself in Fall of 22'!
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Kelli Varnava
EVENTS DIRECTOR
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Tortoise Supper Club's photos