Late Nights at Tippling Hall

On a cold Thursday night, I bundled myself to meet up with a special group of people in my life: the Yelp Elite of Chicago. Every month or so, Yelp hosts an event for the best of the best on its website, which provides real reviews from real people for businesses and restaurants in cities across America. This special event was held at Tippling Hall, the newest late-night hot spot in Chicago's River North neighborhood. I had heard nothing but good things since its opening and was excited to check it out for myself.

The Vibe

Tippling Hall has a super chill vibe and relaxed atmosphere while serving up great food and drinks. The wait staff all wear shirts with comical quotes on them like “We have ‘liquid courage' on tap” and “We have ‘drunk texts' on tap,” which is not hard to believe once you see the extensive beverage list.

The establishment takes the happiness of their customers very seriously, which is evident from the friendliness of the staff, who go out of their way to make sure you have exactly what you want. During the course of the Yelp event, I felt extremely well taken care of, a big plus in my book.

The decor of Tippling Hall is esthetically pleasing, with hanging lights in the entrance, comfortable benches and chairs in the dining room, and wall decorations that add to the relaxed yet cool ambiance. Even the hallway to the restrooms is cool with colorful graffiti paintings along the walls. To remind customers of the great city they are in, a large mural of Chicago that looks like it was cut from a cement block somewhere in the city, covers the entire wall on one side of the dining room. If that doesn't remind you of Chicago, perhaps the local celebrities will – during my evening I spotted one of the Chicago Bulls players, Jimmy Buffet, enjoying some drinks with friends.

The Food

Throughout the course of the event, waiters came around regularly with trays of food available for party goers. The food items offered were all samples or smaller versions of Tippling Hall's most popular menu items. My list of delicious bites you must try when you visit include:

Bacon Wrapped Dates – OMG. Salty bacon wrapped around a sweet date? Why hasn't anyone thought of this sooner? I don't think I said no once when this tray floated past me… {Smoked Manchego, Mustard Chili Sauce}
Crab Cake – I attended university in DC and fell in love with crab cakes while I was there. These cakes were perfectly cooked with a large amount of crab in each bite {Poblano Cream, Almonds, Caramelized Cauliflower}
Tarte Flambée Flatbread – A perfectly grilled flatbread with cheese, onion, and bacon. Topped off with a healthy portion of earthy arugula that was excellent {Bacon, Onion, Fromage Blanc}
Grilled Pear Flatbread – This flatbread might have been my favorite of the two flatbreads they offered as samples. The warm blue cheese with onion marmalade was absolutely one of the best bites of the night {Onion Marmalade, Blue Cheese, Walnuts}

The Drinks

I love a party where you are greeted at the door with a drink. Luckily for me, a staff member stood by the door with a tray of drinks and I could get my night started right away. Throughout the night, we got the chance to sample some of Tippling Hall's signature draft cocktails. My favorites are below:

BBQ Daisy – a barbecue version of a margarita, this cocktail was simultaneously smoky and sweet {Olmeca Altos Blanco Tequila, Chipotle, Lime, Combier Memphis BBQ Bitters}
Big Nose Gets Lei'ed – The fruitiest drink I tried, this one stood out because of the tropical combination of flavors. I really enjoyed the hint of grapefruit, lime, and melon {Mallorcan Melon Tea-infused Cruzan White Rum, Grapefruit, Lime, Pineapple, Grenadine}
Derek Smalls – This drink was smooth, cooling, and immediately transported me to summertime {Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka, Cucumber, Mint, Lime, Grapefruit Bitters}

Tippling Hall as quite an extensive drink menu. They feature draft cocktails, shaken and stirred cocktails, frozen cocktails, coffee drinks, bloody marys, beer by the draft, bottle, or can, wine (including wine by the inch), sake, and cider. If you can't find something you like at Tippling Hall, than you must not like to drink. The back of their menu also shares several hangover cures. How fun!