The List
5 Best Waterside Restaurants in Chicago
Fultons on the River
If you weren't able to book that beach-resort vacation this summer (sand is so overrated, we say), these waterside restaurants are the next best thing.
Read on for reviews and ratings, and let us know your favorite options for H20-adjacent dining in the comments.
Fin fans are lured to River North’s “solid corporate seafood cousin of Disney’s Orlando place” with its “excellent variety” of “fresh” fish, “tender steaks” and “classy decor” featuring a “big bar” and a “beautiful setting on the river”; the less-enchanted cite “inconsistent service” and “pretty standard fare”, saying it’s best “in the summer if you can sit outside”, while wallet-watchers recommend lunch as “more affordable”; P.S. the Bridge Bar addition upstairs serves craft cocktails and upscale bar bites.
“Lots of young, beautiful people” come to “eat and be seen” at this “swanky”, “pricey” River North Japanese with “excellent sushi”, a “variety” of “inventive” entrees and “lethal signature martinis”; “service is what you’d expect” (some say “aloof”), but most maintain it’s “managed to stay trendy” while providing “consistent” fare “for quite some time”, plus the “neo-Asian decor” is an “architectural dream” – especially the “sexy downstairs bar with a river view.”
“Request a table by the window” at this “elegant” Streeterville seafooder to best appreciate the “beautiful” “skyline” and “shimmering” “lake views”; though it’s “expensive” and perhaps not for the “typical Navy Pier tourist”, it’s an oasis of “calm” for those heading to the “Shakespeare Theater” or attending a “business conference”, though service is sometimes “not up to par.”
With a “wonderful setting” “under ‘the bean’” in Millennium Park, this “friendly”, “stylish restaurant” serves up a “view of the ice skaters in winter” and a “delightful” “patio scene in summer”; but while some park here for “tasty” New American fare, including “the best burgers”, spoilsports who skewer “inconsistent”, “good-to-pedestrian” eats and a staff that “can’t handle the lunch crowds” label it “for tourists.”
Bistro One West
1 W. Illinois St. (bet. 1st St. & Riverside Ave.)
- Phone:
- 630-444-0600;
Reserve Online
Vets from the Loop’s Trattoria No. 10 are behind this upscale New American in St. Charles that feels anything but suburban thanks to its loftlike, exposed-brick digs in a former factory; a spacious patio on the banks of the Fox River featuring live music in season and a 100-label wine list round out the savvy, yet family-friendly, experience.
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2 Comments
Add a new commentOct. 2001
Including Park Grill as a waterside restaurant is a cheat. Even Cite (70 stories above the water) would be more honest. How about Drake Brothers? And if you can include St. Charles, there are other Fox River spots, in Algonquin, Geneva, etc.
Jan. 2004
Even closer to the River than Fulton Market and Smith and Wollsensky's is The Bridge House Tavern on Clark and the Main Branch.
It is the only one that is right at River level. Great view of passing boats, Ducks, Geese and barges. Food is very good . It is hard to leave there. It is sooo serene.
New owners and new menu- I am 2 for 2 there so far, both Lunch visits. Quite good.