Rooks Lounge

The Rooks Lounge is located inside the Medical District Marriott, which is within walking distance to many of Chicago’s hospitals.
The menu has a variety of options all at reasonable prices. I ordered the Poached Pear Spinach Salad with chicken. It was presented beautifully but the spinach was drenched in dressing. I would suggest ordering your dressing on the side for any salads here.
I also ordered the Risotto which was delicious! I will be going back to Rooks specifically for the Risotto. It was piping hot, layered with crispy melted cheese, in a huge dish (dinner size portion) all for just $ 4!
There is plenty of seating here, and I haven’t seen the place get too crowded. The Marriott/​Rooks has valet, be prepared to pay.

Jim
Was great, his knowledge of local events was amazing,
The atmosphere at the bar was a relaxing after a long day at the hospital

I stayed in the adjacent hotel during the week and would come down to the restaurant in the early evenings for a glass of wine and a few appetizers. The wine list was nothing particularly special. The wines offered by the glass were essentially wines you could find at a local grocery store chain. But the appetizers were outstanding. The crab cakes were beautifully moist and flavorful, the pork popsicles were beautifully cooked with just the perfect amount of char. Unfortunately it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been there, so I don’t remember all the details from the other appetizers I had. But if you’re staying at the UIC Marriott or anywhere nearby, make sure to check it out!

Rooks Lounge is located within the marriot on Rush’s campus just north of UIC.
I don’t often eat in locations like this unless there is no time to go anywhere else. But that being said, we ate breakfast and lunch here while sitting for a financial seminar over the weekend.
Breakfast Buffet looked rough… so we didn’t get it. Can’t give it a grade because we steered clear of it!
I ordered the breakfast sandwich. B+ It was a warm tasty egg, bacon, cheese on toasted white bread. Hard to screw up and I did enjoy it.
I did have to reduce stars due to the waiter disappearing for 20 minutes and making us late to our seminar. We had to physically get up from our table to get him to take our order and then to pay our bill. We were one of three tables.
For lunch we had and hour and figured it would be tight to try to go elsewhere. Also, a manager or someone came into the seminar and told everyone that if they at lunch at the hotel their parking would be validated.
Sooooooo, everyone (50+ people) ate at Rooks Lounge. Well, you would figure if they are going to invite that many people to eat all at once they would prepare… Nope.
So, orders were screwed up, meals were forgotten, drinks were never delivered. Just kind of poor planning and preparation. I don’t know, I was annoyed. Food was ok when It came out. I had the Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad. B+
It wasn’t the greatest dining experiences I’ve ever had, but it is also a Hotel Restaurant and Lounge so maybe my expectations are too high!

Great little spot. We were pleasantly surprised especially since it was hotel food. We tried a couple of the salads and the crab cakes, which were very filling.
Service was quick and pleasant, and ultimately the restaurant wasn’t one I’d visit if it were in my town. If you’re in Chicago, staying at the Marriot or nearby and are too tired to catch the train to go into town this will do.

We were staying at the Marriott and decided we were just too tired on day 3 of our 4 day trip. We had already had picked up pizza on the way home so we just went down stairs for a bloody mary for myself and my husband just got a beer. Jim, the bartender was fantastic. We discussed a few minutes on what a Bloody Mary snob I am and he made a fantastic bloody mary. The man definitely knows his job. There also was a waitress that was briefly there that talked to us and played with our daughter. (We were the only ones there) Definitely a nice little lounge for a hotel.

Friendly service from a knowledgeable bartender. They didn’t have either chocolate vodka or dark crème de cacao, but he does make a mean chocolate martini. And he gives good advice about the neighborhood. Take some time to get to know him.

great hotel lobby bar. not 506, but great all the same.
jim, the bartender was awesome. everyone was real friendly — real good vibes at this spot. stop in for a pop before you hit up the shuttle and go to couscous!

4.5 stars, if that were a possibility.
I ate here for the first time today. 3:30 «lunch», we were the only group in the pleasant dining area. I had chicken soup with lovely presentation. Longer, wide noodles, kindof hard to finish gracefully, but veeery tasty. Comes with large white bread balls already soaked in the soup. I asked for wheat bread instead, my request was granted.
Pace of the meal was a little slow considering we were the only ones there. The bartender served us and did a really excellent job. I doubt we looked rushed, and we certainly gave him no indication that he needed to pick up the pace.
One of the people in the group had the French Onion soup and found it to be a bit too salty.
Validated Parking, this is the only option I’ve found with this type of food in the area that validates.
The rest of the menu looked tasty, I can’t wait to come back!

I love this lounge! I go here often. Many intellectuals from the Medical Center gather here after work. They usually have an excellent bartender, nice cocktails, small but lovely lounge area, TV, just great. You can also eat in the lounge as it is connected to the restaurant. This is an ideal place for a meet and greet. You have to do the valet parking, but the bartender will validate your parking ticket. Fantastic!