If I think about it, "glamorous" is actually somewhat of a good description of Glamour Petergof Friday night parties. I don't think there is anything close to this place in the (Northern) suburbs of Chicago. Petergof even appears better than a majority of downtown clubs when compared on sound quality, setting, and music. This place is large and open - similar to old Crobar, except wider and without the second level. Lighting is nice - there doesn't appear to be too many moving lights but the colors really make it look much more upscale. There is no strobing either, which is good for this place. Also, their go-go dancers are really good-looking girls, unlike at some other clubs.
However, this place has not as diverse a crowd as most other clubs. Petergof crowd is over 80% Russian and Ukrainian. That could be good and bad - good if you are one of them and bad if you are not and you accidentally push someone. But security seems very good at this place - as soon as there is any trouble, they pop out of nowhere.
There is a lot of parking right in front of Petergof nightclub (it is actually a banquet hall, but they turn it into a full-scale nightclub on Fridays if the restaurant is not rented out for a big private event), thanks to the location in suburbs. One of the annoying things there is the fact that later at night there are a ton of people outside smoking right in front of the door. They block the entrance and get mad if you try to get through. Security tries to get everyone to move but the situation returns within a few minutes.
Layout Inside
Inside this place is beautiful. It is very open and has a LOT of space. First when you come in, you are inside a "smaller" room (might be 40'x40') that appears as a lobby. There is a separate set of speakers and dj decks there, but the dj seems to always be missing, which might be ok since nobody stays there for over a minute anyway. Out of that lobby there are a few ways to take. To the right there is a nice cafe-looking room - there is a separate rather large bar there and the music is much quieter so you can easily keep a conversation there. Back to the lobby... To the left there are bathrooms - don't know about the women's bathroom, but the men's one is actually really small. If you go straight, deeper into the building, you get to the main room with a large dance floor. This room is huge. There are private tables with white couches all around it (bottles are not that expensive here, by the way) and a rather small bar for such a large room in one of the corners by the entrance. There is a nice purple ambient color in that room, music is loud but doesn't hurt your ears. The dj is playing from a large stage with lighting effects. This is probably the biggest club I've been to around Chicago, looks like it might be even bigger than Vision in downtown. Of course it is much cheaper to have so much real estate in the suburbs than in the middle of a city, but still - Petergoff nightclub looks like it had a ton of money invested into it.
Drinks and Food
The bartenders make your drinks the way you want them, if you ask for it to be strong - it will be strong. However, I was also told by a few people that the bartenders get pretty drunk there themselves.
Food in this place is great! I tried their sushi and it was on the same level with a nice Japanese sushi restaurant. When considering food, remember that Petergof in Northbrook is actually a very nice banquet hall/restaurant. And they gave us food after 12, so their kitchen stays open rather late. Bottom line: I suggest trying their food.
Summary
Petergof nightclub in the Northern suburbs of Chicago is a beautiful place. It has good food, great interior, and music. But, a portion of the crowd is just not nice... This place, more than any downtown club has visitors that are rude and aggressive. But if you don't get too drunk and start bumping into people (or yelling if someone accidentally bumps into you) or hitting on girls that came with other guys, you should probably be ok. Its just far from all other party spots.
