Millennium Knickerbocker Chicago, is pleased to announce the recently refreshed illustrious Martini Bar is offering guests a delicious new menu and Tipsy Tea experience. The hotel is a historic Chicago location with an unmatched address, featuring the most impressive martini selection the city has to offer; the Martini Bar has a 1920s-style and pays homage to the hotel’s notorious speakeasy heritage. The Martini Bar revealed a new look and feel in April 2019 and now has added a new menu featuring light, fresh fare. A new projector big screen showing the latest sporting events is offered on the weekends for guests’ enjoyment as they sip on their choice of over 100 martini varieties.
“We are thrilled to add a new menu to honor the hotel’s storied past and elevate the iconic Martini Bar,” said Niek Mestdagh, the hotel’s general manager. “As soon as guests walk through our lobby doors, they are encouraged to relax, unwind and travel back in time all while enjoying one of the city’s best martinis in hand.”
The new menu features an array small plates, salads, big plates, boards and platters and of course, dessert. Guests can share the smoked salmon sliders or sweet potato bites to start, then try the wild mushroom ravioli or the Knickerbocker burger. The chef’s cheese board or charcuterie platters are great for groups looking for a sampling of food, and guests can top off the night with the mango mousse coconut pave.
In addition to the new menu offerings, the Martini Bar has introduced a new twist on their classic afternoon tea, infusing the experience with adult beverages and appropriately naming it Tipsy Tea. Guests can add champagne service to their afternoon tea in a classic Chicago style. The Martini Bar’s traditional afternoon tea includes a selection of freshly prepared finger sandwiches, warm scones with clotted cream and preserves, a variety of homemade cakes and pastries, and a choice from a range of teas. Guests also have the option of experiencing Asian Afternoon Tea, inspired by the company’s Asian heritage, which includes a selection of freshly prepared finger sandwiches, a variety of dim sum, skewers, and Asian-influenced delights, a variety of homemade cakes and pastries and a choice from a range of teas.
The recently refreshed Martini Bar celebrates the property’s deep-rooted history in Chicago. In the 1920s, when Prohibition was in effect, American gangster and businessman, Al Capone, had his brother operate a speakeasy and casino from the hotel’s penthouse. In 1952, Millennium Knickerbocker hosted the California delegation of the Republican National Convention, with its leader Governor Earl Warren, who later became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Richard Nixon who became the nominee of the U.S. Vice Presidency. During the same presidential campaign, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, stayed at the hotel, who went on to become the 35th president. In the 70’s, Hugh Hefner and Playboy Enterprises purchased the property and operated Playboy Towers on-site until 1979. Other well-known stars to have walked the hotel’s halls over the years include The Rolling Stones, Muhammad Ali, and Daryl Hannah, all leaders of their industry.
For more information on Millennium Knickerbocker Chicago, please visit www.millenniumhotels.com/en/chicago/millennium-knickerbocker-hotel-chicago/.
