Special lyrics were written for Judy Garland's 1961 version of the 1922 Fred Fischer song, "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)": "We'll meet at The Pump Room/Ambassador East/To say the least/on shish kebab/and breast of squab we will feast/And get fleeced".

In the spoken word introduction to the Monkees song "Don't Call on Me" (from their 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.), Micky Dolenz makes reference to "the elegant Pump Room...high over Chicago" against a background of drunken patter, clinking glasses and lounge piano.

Near the end of the title sequence of 1983's Doctor Detroit, Fran Drescher's character, prostitute Karen Blittstein, arrives for an outcall at the Ambassador East, the limousine pulling up in front of The Pump Room's false windows.

Upon learning of his inheritance in the 1986 film, Running Scared, Detective Danny Costanzo (Billy Crystal) tells his partner Ray Hughes (Gregory Hines) that he's going to dine at The Pump Room.

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel's distinctive lobby doubled as The Pump Room in episode four (1988) of War and Remembrance when Rhoda ends her adulterous relationship with Palmer Kirby.

Jazz singer Erin McDougald was the youngest headliner in the history of The Pump Room; she was introduced on live radio, to new general manager Bill Borden in 2002, by WGN talk show host Rick Kogan.

[13] While McDougald was in residency, her performances attracted famous guests in the audience, including poet Maya Angelou, Dennis Farina, Bob Dylan, and John Malkovich.