Waterfront Café is a genuine urban oasis near Edgewater. This spot is worth a visit for the atmosphere and live music from local performers on a lakefront stage.

Downtown doesn't get to have all the fun. The Dock at Montrose features American fare with a few tacos thrown in for good measure.

The Lakefront, an upscale tavern at Theater on the Lake, opened in 2017 and offers brunch, lunch, and dinner menus from chef Cleetus Friedman (City Provisions, Fountainhead). The restaurant’s Skyline Patio, open seasonally, seats 80.

North Avenue Beach was reborn when Castaways opened, providing tourists and surburbanites a base of operations during summer weekend. It's a great place for a private event.

Off the bike path at Ohio Street Beach, Caffe Oliva serves Mediterranean-influenced cuisine. It’s run by the same folks as the Dock on Montrose.

The menu from executive chef Octavio Reynoso at this Navy Pier restaurant includes beachy favorites like jumbo lump crab cakes, Alaskan red king crab legs, and “colossal” white shrimp with potato gnocchetti, mushrooms, and thyme butter sauce.

This spot off 31st Street Beach opened in 2013 and offers music and a family-friendly menu with hot dogs and other sandwiches.

Jazz and a Friday seafood buffet keep packing customers in at this Hyde Park hotspot. The fried catfish is popular with patrons.