Gilt Bar
Candle-lit? Check. Super moody? Check. This River North hideaway beckons with its dark leather booths and soft, sexy lighting. There’s limitless spots where you can sink into seclusion with your date while you both enjoy their inventive menu of shareable eats and carefully crafted drinks. Make sure to try their tenderloin steak tartare and save room for dessert, or at least a digestif.
Geja’s Cafe
We can we say? It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Focused on fondue with a side of sexy, Geja’s Café in Lincoln Park isn’t just a fondue place, it’s a fondue place with live acoustic guitar. The cozy curtained booths and candlelit tables have set the scene for an intimate dining experience for over 50 years. As to be expected, everything is cooked in a sizzling fondue pot right at your table. From the creamy Swiss gruyere cheese start to the velvety Belgian chocolate finish, it’s a romantic classic for reason.
Maude’s Liquor Bar
An upscale, Parisian-inspired cocktail lounge and restaurant, head up to the relaxed, dim, and inviting bar on the second floor. The dark atmosphere and soft amber lighting here make it one of Chicago’s best hideaway spots for date night. Cuddle up in one of the booths and sip on one of their well-executed craft cocktails—we’re partial to their Old Overholt Boulevardier—or one of their delicious wine pours.
Nellcôte and RM Champagne Salon
Make it a date night double header in the West Loop. Start off at Nellcôte, inspired by the French villa where the Rolling Stones famously recorded “Exile on Main Street”. The décor here is opulent enough to make Marie Antoinette proud and the European-inspired small plates deliver on all counts. Afterward head to RM Champagne Salon, Nellcôte’s tucked-away sibling next door, for petit fours and bubbles galore. The luxurious, European-inspired setting couldn’t be cozier, thanks to its fireplace and lovely chandeliers.
#ChicagoInsiders
Shannon Boland is a member of Concierge Preferred’s Concierge Advisory Council and chef concierge at LondonHouse Chicago. Fresh off an engagement of her own, she’s one of our go-to #ChicagoInsiders for planning the perfect night out with your main squeeze.