A first glance at the eerie blue neon sign and darkened entrance to this Lincoln Avenue establishment suggests a hole-in-the-wall dive bar or an obnoxious oonce-oonce dance club. Fortunately, Lennox Lounge is nowhere close to being either.
What you will find upon walking inside is a subdued (and dark) ambience accentuated by mostly candle lighting and super-sized leather booths lining one side of the bar. This is not a place to come for the ultimate Chicago party, nor is it a place to come watch the game; in fact, the two smallish TVs over the bar are rather new additions. It's more of a spot where post-grads who have moved on from DePaul staples like Lincoln Station (which, coincidentally, shares the same owners) can mingle with 30-somethings who aren't quite ready to limit their social outings to wine tastings and the opera.
The limited menu offers little variety. You have pretty much two options: small plates (read: glorified appetizers) and grilled paninis. But it gets the job done when needed. Stick with the hummus, goat cheese or calamari and you'll do just fine. The standard fare of drinks is served, including a dozen or so beers on tap. They also offer a solid martini menu with options like the Lennox Cosmopolitan (Grey Goose Le Citron, Cointreau, lime juice) or Mandarini (Absolut mandarin, grenadine, sprite), but who needs all that fruitiness when you're trying to look sophisticated? Our advice is to grab a friend or three, snag one of the uber-comfortable booths (they seat four comfortably and you can usually get one before 10 or so) and order a basic Grey Goose martini from the attentive wait staff–dirty, with bleu cheese-stuffed olives, of course. It's the grown-up thing to do.
Centerstage Reviewer: Matt Wood
