Celtic Grill

Culled from: Drury, John. Dining in Chicago, New York: The John Day Company, 1931, pp. 125-126.

Note: The Newberry Library holds the personal papers of author John Drury.

CELTIC GRILL Lobby Floor, Hotel Sherman

As well known and historic as the Hotel Sherman's College Inn, the Celtic Grill today is the noontime lounge of His Honor, Mayor Anton Cermak. Almost every day he comes to his favorite table in the southeast corner of the room and there lunches with many of his cabinet officials and others. Its easy accessibility (it is located directly across the street from the City Hall), and the excellence of its cuisine, have been the factors responsible for bringing the city's chief executive and his aids here.

Celebrities from other fields come here too. Thornton Wilder, the novelist and now a member of the faculty of the University of Chicago, is seen here often; it is a favorite dining place for Will Rogers when he is in town; and Rod La Rocque and his wife, Vilma Banky, the popular stage team, ate here almost every day when they were playing in Chicago.

Large, elegant, quiet, with walls of unfinished oak paneling, quaint and comfortable chairs, leather-covered wall-seats, convenient electric lamps for newspaper reading, and no music, the Celtic Grill is an ideal place in which to lunch or dine and talk over a business deal or the day's events.

The Celtic Grill contains that famous Maxfield Parrish mural, "Sing a Song of Sixpence," painted on the west wall. As for the food served in the Celtic Grill, it is of the first order and a la carte only. In season, there are many game dishes to tempt your palate. The room is open for breakfast, luncheon and dinner. Prices are not exorbitant.