Had a decent time at The Dock at Montrose Beach for a weekday dinner. We only waited about 5 minutes for a table on a Monday, even though it was pretty packed. Service was quick, and drinks were reasonably priced 16 oz Beers for $7.50 and vodka lemonades for $11, which is solid for a beach bar. The main downside was the food pricing. Apps were around $15, and most entrées hovered near $20. I got the shrimp tacos (just two tacos and a few chips for $20), and while they were okay, it didn't quite feel worth the price especially with extra charges for things like cheese on a burger. It's understandable since it's the only food option right on the beach, but still felt a little steep for what you get. On the plus side, the vibes were great. Live music added to the beachy atmosphere without being too loud, and there's plenty of bar seating if that's more your style. I'd definitely come back to hang out and grab a drink, but might skip the food next time. read more

See all

Enjoyed the extended summer nights. Ample parking. Vendor with food. Plenty of bench seating. I really enjoyed the area of hand made bird houses. So cool to see read more

Such a pretty view and perfect after going to the beach or playing volleyball. They're lots of outdoor seating but be prepared to wait as everyone wants a table. Love the live music and the different deals each day of the week. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

I've had the Dock on my list for so long purely for the views and beach access and it lived up to the hype! I didn't expect much from the good but I had a really great chicken sandwich. They were out of some draft beers which wasn't a big deal at all - it forced me to try something new and I ended up loving it. The views really sealed the deal for me, plus you get live music every night and the staff were super lovely as well. Can't wait to go back before the season ends! read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

the usual trap embedded in beach side establishments is pre-packaged food with a homemade price tag, the Dock flipped the script - the food was clearly made right in the back, hot crispy tortilla chips...sizzling charred pita bread....irregularities in the protein shapes...hardly salty potato-y fries...etc. YET the food lacked flavor! - the restaurant is gorgeous, open deck space with tons of seating all with views of Lake Michigan. there are specials and events each day, Monday with some quite Brazilians jazz band. all covers though, nothing original. - the atmosphere is quintessential for a night of fun drinks, very well priced cocktails between $10-$14 and plenty of drafts and canned beverages. I got the Montrose gin spritz, it was good but I could not taste the gun at all. so basically an Aperol spritz (not mad) - the blackened whitefish plate was quite pretty but the hummus was thick and bland and the fish despite looking super seasoned lacked flavor. looks can be deceiving folks - the fish and chips was good quality, bad quantity. beer batter was the perfect thickness and crunch! however, 2 pieces of fish is pretty ridiculous, needs to be in groups of 3!!! the fries were beyond bland and reminiscent of a in-and-out fry... no crunch or seasoning. - the popcorn shrimp was surprisingly a win, even though it is fried we could still taste the meaty shrimp. read more

See all

This place has an unbeatable location: right on the beach. Being from New Jersey, this place brings me back to days hanging out at the Jersey shore. The menu has all the right foods so you can have a cold beer, munch away, listen to live music, catch some rays, and pass away the day. Make no mistake, everything on the menu tastes great. I love this place! read more

See all

We played summer volleyball at Montrose this summer and the Dock called to us with its siren song each week. We finally decided we deserved to dine at the Dock and it was a great season end cap. The food was fresh, hot, and delicious. The beers were cold. The music was good! The prices are higher as you should expect for a beach bar, but the views and vibes are well worth it! We brought 8 people and waited about 45 min for a table. Not too bad considering we could frolic the beach while we waited. They texted us when the table was ready. Definitely go to the dock if you're looking for an epic beachside dining experience. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Caprese panini - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Outdoor seating in front of a Sandy beach as far as your eye can see, and all that entails in terms of your viewing pleasure. Live music from 7 to 9. On a clear summer day it doesn't get any better in Chicago IL. If there's a wait take a walk at the beach - you won't be disappointed. The food is not bad and pricing is not ridiculous. Shout outs go to the steak tacos(tons of meat), blackened white fish, and the quesadilla. Enjoy your summer. read more

See all

Awesome beach atmosphere and some pretty good dishes. Must do in Chicago, especially on a beautiful night. Live music every night (some exceptions at beginning of the season). read more

See all

Tremendous vibes and great live music. The perfect place to hang after a volleyball game

The food is just ok, the service is ok as long as you're on beach time of course.. but they will charge you full price for "specials" that are listed on their menu and add on extra things you didn't order. I asked for a printed copy as they don't show or give you one unless requested, which is how I found out. This is my second time here this year and the first time wasn't great at all. Hopefully they will get it together soon as they just opened for the season, it takes a while to iron it out I guess. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - The Twisted Tea was a special that should have been $7 each and the "WC Cranberry" was not mine - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

You want to feel like your on vacation but in a major city? This is one of the best places to do it. Montrose beach is massive and the views north and south from the dock are awesome. The menu is pretty solid. I got the fish tacos which were good. They also came with chips and pico which was a nice surprise. Food is one to two dollars more than it should be which is fine for the ambience. read more

Great lil spot right by the beach. The food is good and they are dog friendly which is awesome. The waitstaff provide excellent service and great recommendations on food and drinks. Always feels like summer there read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - First Bloody Mary of the season...yum - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Seems like a pretty basic concept - don't wait list people for a table if the kitchen is closing soon without warning them first. WTF?!? They were packed and the hostess put my wife on an hour wait list for a table when the kitchen was getting ready to close. She didn't even bother to mention that detail though. After waiting 45 minutes, my wife went to check the ETA and was told by the same hostess that the kitchen had already closed. We've been good customer, have spent decent money there over the past few years, are considerate to the staff and always tip well. Don't think we deserved to be treated like that. Thanks for wasting our time - likely not coming back. read more

My buddy and I wanted to go to a beach bar & found this gem of a bar. My buddy had the fish & chips that he stated that they were terrific & about $18.95. I worked on running up my bar tab and chatting it up with the locals. The staff was genuinely friendly & if you are visiting the lakefront on a hot summertime day, this is a great place for day drinking and beach bumming. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Exterior view of the bar looking towards Lake Michigan - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Horrid service and poor management. Did not feel welcomed by the 2 immature hostesses.

Sinead our waitress is lovely! Drinks were tasty! Band was chill and fab! Beach location wonderful. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Band Dizzy rodio! Very good. Atmosphere chill! Drinks fab . Sinead waitress lovely. - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We visited around 12 noon on a beautiful day. It was in the mid 70's and not a cloud in the sky and a light breeze. They had all of the umbrellas in their stands but all were closed. We asked if we could open the umbrella at our table. The server said the were not using the umbrellas this day. We heard many other customers request to open the umbrellas. But they refused. There was no reason they couldn't accommodate this simple request. The food was ok but overpriced. $60 plus a tip for 2 sandwiches and 2 beers. read more

Great place to dine at on July 4th. Decent food, quick service, and live music. What we ordered: Quesadilla: Yum! Exactly like how you expect it to taste Fish and chips: Small portion but the fish was good The Dock Burger: My favorite from the night! Came with fries as well I also got the captain white mojito (recommend) and day at the beach Overall, love the atmosphere here. It's a great laid back spot to hangout with a group of friends read more

See all

Having a place like this around is really lucky! Beautiful location with views of the lake and the skyline. Far enough from the city to get away from the noice. Also makes it a little harder to park but we usually walk! Prices are great, and the food is amazing! Like it's really good. Live music on a large stage most night! Service has been great every time! Defiantly a place to check out! read more

The portions were a heaping amount and great for after a day at the beach! Our server, Ivy was extremely helpful and offered assistance in their crazy good menu! We went on a Monday and there was even a live band! Wow! If that's not a Monday spent right then I don't know what is! Mmmm fried cheese curds! read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What a great location for a restaurant. On an amazing mid 70's day we took a trip to the beach to get our feet wet and spent more time than we planned and wanted a bite to eat. Grabbed the Dock Burger (spicy), a BLT, and a hotdog (dog was cold but our server took care of it right away) Food was tasty, service was great, view was lovely. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Live Music | Vibes | Tacos Live Music - We showed at 7 PM on a Wednesday and the band was preparing to go on. There was a lot of rain from 5:30-6:30 pm, therefore they may have gone on earlier if not for the rain. The music was a cover band that played a lot of funk and oldies from the 70s/80s. Vibes - The place had great vibes. You have an amazing view of the sunset, the beach, and the water. The co-ed beach volleyball league was going on and many of the teams came over to the restaurant for post-game libations and food. Overall, it was a great low-key fun vibe which was a nice oasis from the city. Tacos - I had the chicken tacos which were really good. They have 3 tacos in the basket and they were very filling. Monica had three tacos as well and only got through 1.5. Additionally, we shared sweet potato fries which were pretty good. Pro-Tip. There was surprisingly decent parking on the street. The actual restaurant is about 400 - 600 meters from the street. You have to park on the street and walk over to the restaurant. So plan accordingly. Pro Tip. The GPS location for the restaurant is not very good. It takes you to the docks where the boats are located which is .5 miles from the restaurant. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - The view from the table - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

We got so lucky when we came here, it just stopped raining and the band was able to come on! The food is okay, but the chips were stale. The prices are reasonable for being on the lake, and I liked how intimate the venue felt! I'd go back for another relaxing night out... but probably sit further away from the stage. The band was definitely projecting out to the beach. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

The food is decent. The service isn't terrible by any measure, but I was asked 3 times in the span of 5 minutes, by 3 different bussers/waiters if I was done with my plate when there was still a decent amount of food left. Given the atmosphere of the place, I would have liked to be able to just sit and enjoy my food a bit slower, especially when it wasn't the busiest on a cloudy Monday (several open tables). Come here for a quick bite before the beach. The servers are nice. Just be mindful that they can be a bit rushy/ "too helpful". There's a balance in customer service, which I know of cause I've done many customer service jobs. I know it can suck and people can be hard to read or nail down, but it is what it is. This isn't me being a Karen about this. I'm just pointing out that maybe you should balance excellent responsive service with giving the customer a chance to take things in. read more

I have walked by this place so many times whenever I'm at Montrose and didn't check it out until recently. It's one of the two restaurants on the beach. This place has live music which seemed pretty cool. I've walked by when they had a band playing Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and they were actually pretty good. However, the band they had on the night we dined here was not so good. We didn't know how good the cocktails would be so we played it safe and just got a Blue Moon and White Claw. For food, we ordered the dockamole (their version of guac) and the steak quesadillas. The steak quesadillas were pretty good actually, I would get these again. The guac on the other hand was horrible. The chips were so stale like they had been sitting out for 2 weeks and the guac had no flavor whatsoever, it was as if you just mashed up avocado and didn't put anything else in there. I'm thinking the avocados were not ripe either, because even though it was so bland at least it would've tasted buttery if they were ripe. Unfortunately we probably won't be returning. The restaurant has a lot of potential but the food needs work. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went here for a quick bite after visiting the montrose beach and was surprised at how packed this place was! We were seated very quickly and waitress and services were prompt and the food was ok. I would recommend checking out this place if you just want a quick drink read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - a glass of lemonade on a wooden table - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What an amazing spot to have a nice dinner and listen to live music. The only down side is the parking is difficult.

Last Friday night, June 2nd, we arrived about 6:00 PM and The Dock at Montrose Beach sat us immediately. It was a beautiful evening and we felt pretty lucky to be able to sit down right away, given it was packed - packed for fun that it is, and fun it was. Making it even more fun, and us more lucky, was our server, James - I think he goes by AJ or RJ. Point is, James knows what he's doing and does customer service like he invented it. My wife had been longing for a Dock's pina colada since last year. Unfortunately, The Dock discontinued the pina colada, but James ran with it and made it happen, coaching the wife into a coconut option that was even better. And when you make things better, no apologies are necessary. What more could you ask for. Then James pulled another rabbit out of the hat when he coached me thru how to best order fish taco's. What started out as a lovely evening was transformed into an epic experience all thanks to the wisdom of James' customer service leadership. Thank you James. read more

Trendy and casual, almost always busy, perfect summertime beach view outdoor bar and eatery with daily specials, good drink selection, and great live music. I've lived in the area for years and eaten here maybe 3 times, but always enjoy the experience. Kid and dog friendly, and always lively! Lovely stop if you're biking Lake Shore Path or are nearby enjoying the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary. read more

See all

I don't usually expect much from beachside cafes. I've been to them from LA to Miami and they're often overrated with meh good. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the Dock at Montrose Beach. A good spot to hang right on the sand and water on one of Chicago's most popular beaches. Great city views on an urban beach cafe. They have live music nightly and this Wednesday mid week night the place was jammed. Comfortable large table and stage views from any angle to watch a great reggae band. Cool little bungalow bar with some seating. The service is good. Our server Matt was friendly and knowledgeable and patient even though he was pretty busy. I had a BLT which was tasty and better than most beach cafes, my buddy had fried cheese curds also pretty decent and not greasy. Some decent bar food on a beach cafe which can't be easy. Most of all great music good beverages with a bangin' view of the city. They should be open daily through September with live music going on all the time. read more

See all

This establishment got great location with fun and active crowd throughout entire summer, yet still only three stars after 300+ reviews. I was like, whaaaaa? Now I know why. I went there solely aiming for their shishito pepper that we had last summer. It was so good but the item's sadly taken off from the menu. I decided to support our local business so I stayed. 25 exact minutes I stayed. During the 25 minutes, at least 5 different servers walking pass by my table like I was invisible, at least 4 songs were sang by the live band including an intermission, at least 3 tables came after me and already got their service. Finally I asked one of the servers for my server, well if there's any. And yes! I did have a server, who happened to be one of the 5. But I was just too confused to bother. So my friends, if you are minority or just by yourself, you might want to bring your business to somewhere else. If you insist to dine there, make sure you bring some little snacks. Because honey, it could be a long long wait. Oh by the way, some little thing to share at last. The host told me if I wanted water, I wound have to go get it at the entrance myself. It was empty when I came. It was still empty when I left. read more

The food is pretty good. I like the steak quesadilla. It's a little overpriced but that comes with being on the beach. The service could be faster and bit better. It's only open during a certain season and even then a lot of times they are not open due to some reason. They also never answer the phone and have the same off season voicemail always so it's hard to check when they are open. Last week we went and they had a power outage so we're only serving drinks and salads. We ended up leaving but we had called to check how busy it was but as I mentioned we got the voicemail like always. The reason you go is because it's close to the beach and outside when you want to be outside! read more

Awesome food and wait staff!!! We had great cheese curds ( so lightly and delicately fried.) the best part was the staff: Mady, (server fun and cheerful - beach goddess siren with a touch of dark) Kiki ( bartenders who actually made me a gin mojito and it was Good) and Kira ( sweet Midwest volleyball player gonna be actress/model). Don't know the chefs name, but the fish tacos were yummy. Beautiful view. It's been lightening and spitting rain, but they made it a really FUN time. We'll be back. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Empty beach post lightening - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We had a good time at this restaurant. The waitresses were all nice and they got my dog a bowl of water. This is a dog friendly restaurant. They were very fast to ask us what we wanted and then give it to us. It was faster than expected. It's along the beach and there is outside seating which is nice. There is also music and space for a live band, though there was no live band when we were there. The food was very good and the portions were large. We enjoyed that the waitresses became best friends with my dog. We'd definitely return. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Fun atmosphere, fast service, live music, you can't go wrong!! Walked here from our Airbnb while in town for a wedding, it was a lovely spot for lunch. The salad was so good and my boys loved the fish and chips. Definitely a perfect lunch or dinner restaurant if you are near the beach. Lots of adorable dogs to pet and say hi to! read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Seaside salad - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

I recommend this place for smaller groups as there can be a wait for a table. The staff here are fast and efficient even if there is a longer line for a table. They have hand sanitizer on every table and the tables are spread out. The drinks and food were good. You pay a little more, but it's for the beach view and ambiance. I had the fish tacos and my table shared the pierogies. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Pierogies - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Went here a few days ago and spent around 60$ on 2 burgers and a blt. Had to take my daughter to the Immediate care center where we met another lady who also came down with food poisoning from the dock. Now I have also been sick and cannot get out of bed. If I could give zero stars I would have. Clearly, there is something unhygienic going on there. We should be given our money back. Never will go again read more

Nice Beach Bar. Stopped in after a Lake run. Good beer Specials , and the food was pretty tasty. They have live music nightly, it's worth coming back. read more

The Dock At Montrose Beach - Smoked Chicken Sammy - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came to eat at this place, food is average. After finding out who the owner is, explains why people are rude and racial profiling. Ambience is great until you are a person of color. Also there seems to be a lot of policing on the parking lot and again the owner seems to be policing the area, I am better off eating from the street vendors. Not worth the drive and stop if that's how you greet customers. read more