You won’t find many chic spots in Chicago’s financial district, so the new Crocodile Lounge is a welcome addition for those looking to add some glitz to their after-work gimlet.
Owner Darryl Petty has updated the former Mercury Lounge, which closed last year after a small fire. The interior at times can seem lounge-by-numbers (a few cushions and candles and voila! Instant lounging), but it still has a sexy vibe.
Crowd: A diverse mix of after-work cliques and dates wearing sleek suits, casual officewear or jeans and T-shirts.
The look: A coppery exterior opens into a long room. A wood-topped bar is spruced up with some swerving burnished metalwork. Cushioned, mustard-colored chairs and low tables are clustered atop a faded oriental rug. Farther back, a faux-crocodile skin banquette and chairs surround glass-topped tables. The basement-level bathrooms, with shoddy stalls and low ceilings, leave something to be desired.
Suds under the sun: Grab one of the many tables in the asphalt beer garden.
At the bar: Nothing on tap, but bottles ($4-$6) include Blue Moon, Hacker-Pschorr and Stella Artois. The Crocodile cocktail ($9) is a Midori and vodka martini.
To eat: The menu offers mostly appetizers, including chicken wings, calamari and crabcakes, plus an assortment of pizzas.
Sounds: A DJ booth perched over the front window pumps out jazzy hip-hop grooves Thursday through Saturday nights. Management plans to schedule a live jazz quartet earlier in the evenings on Thursday and Friday night.
Crocodile Lounge
221 W. Van Buren St.
312-427-9290
