Ask a Buffalo Grove Facebook group where to host a baby shower and you'll get fifty answers in an hour — which is exactly what happened, so I kept the tally. If you're planning a shower, graduation party, birthday brunch, or any 30-people-and-a-cake event around here, this is the town's collective answer, organized.
The repeat winners
The Continental in Buffalo Grove came up over and over — “they do great with parties,” “you would not be disappointed.” Saranello's in Wheeling is the brunch-spread favorite (locals quoted about $43 a head, all-inclusive, as of this fall). Cooper's Hawk and Wildfire in Lincolnshire both earn “amazing to work with” reviews for their party rooms, and Walker Brothers in Lincolnshire is the sentimental favorite — multiple people said “mine was there.”
The pleasant surprises
Biaggi's in Deer Park — “nice room, not too expensive, classy, great to work with.” Lou Malnati's in BG has a proper private room that's hosted everything from bridal showers on down. Prairie House gets praise for room and prices. And Original Bagel & Bialy hosts casual private-room brunches that one host called flawless — the sleeper budget pick.
The Italian-room circuit
This corner of the suburbs does the private-room-at-an-Italian-place genre exceptionally well: Enzo & Lucia and Sorelle in Long Grove, Gianni's in Palatine (wonderful brunch), Francesca's in Arlington Heights, and Osteria Trulli Pugliese at Hintz and Buffalo Grove Road — “like an escape to Italy.”
The budget playbook locals use
Park-district banquet rooms. Plum Grove Banquet Hall through the Rolling Meadows Park District rents an open room where you bring your own food and decorations — simple and genuinely affordable. Most area park districts have a version; call yours first if the budget's tight.
Something different
Broken Earth Winery in Long Grove, for when you want the photos to look like nobody else's shower.
New to the area and collecting places like these? That's basically our job description. Start with our Buffalo Grove guide — yes, the town U.S. News just ranked #1 in Illinois — and everything for sale nearby. We'll handle the house; the Continental can handle the shower.