The Pavilion is located within Indiana State Park. The location is right on the beach. There is sitting outside with gorgeous views of the water. You do need to pay $12 to get into the park. The food was ok, but I thought it was overpriced and quality was average. Unfortunately, when we went there was only one person running the show because the rest of the staff called off. She was able to manage it by herself. The Pavilion is located by a couple trails as well, if you like to explore. read more

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Wish I could say something about the food but didn't get to try it. We arrived and there were several open tables, a gentleman walked past us a minimum of 10 times saying to give him just a minute (we gave him almost 15) then when he finally came over to seat us he stated it would be a 35 minute wait for a table and the kitchen was really behind. We chose to leave and as we were leaving a patron stated they had ordered their food over an hour earlier and hadn't received it yet. read more

To get to the restaurant, you would have to follow the signs to the Indiana Dune State Park entrance and pay a hefty $12 parking fee. The entrance to the Pavilion is deceiving because it appears upscale which is contradicting to the menu options. Eight of us dined in on a summery Saturday evening so it came with a nice lakeside, sunset view. We had the mixed greens in Athena with steak skewer, grilled chicken sandwich with fries, and kid's meal with chicken tenders and chips. The steak skewers did not look appealing but thankfully had better flavors and textures than its appearance. The grilled chicken is rather small in which there was definitely way more bun than chicken. The sandwich is typically served with chips but one can substitute the chips with fries for a $2 fee. The chicken tenders were surprisingly a large portion for just $8 but the skin was not crispy. Nonetheless, the main priority is to have my girls fed and this meal with mediocre American fare did the deal. They ate both of the carbs and proteins without issue. read more

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Went for a sunset dinner with some friends, and the rooftop was a great place to watch it! The atmosphere was lively and the food was fantastic. Drinks were a bit overpriced for such a small size but everything else was incredibly affordable. We had one vegetarian in our group who also commented that unless you ordered the steak nachos without steak, there were very limited meatless options. I also don't believe this restaurant had an elevator to the rooftop. read more

Great rooftop view and perfect place to watch the sunset. Food and service were pretty good. Typical type food for bar & grill. Our service was goo read more

The Lookout - Wine Bars Near Me - Chesterton, Indiana

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Waited for over 2 hours. Wait time was significantly longer than expected. Never got a table. Very busy and crowded, overpacked. music is not great. People are dressed more formal during the evening in rooftop area. read more

The Lookout - The Pavilion -- Floor 2 - Wine Bars Near Me - Chesterton, Indiana

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Celest and Myra KILLEEDDDDD it! These girls were actually running around the bar/ seating area to make sure guests were happy!! Loved every moment of their service read more

What a mess this place has become. We have gone there 3 times for a drink over the past few weeks, every time within their published business hours. Two of those times, the rooftop closed early. The other time, they were closed for a special (loud) event. One of the times that they closed early, the manger said that they just weren't busy enough to stay open that night. I've worked at restaurants myself, and one of the things I learned is that you stay open when you say you are open regardless of the crowd. People travel to see you and count on you to be open when you say you will be. It's pretty simple. The facility did not announce that it was closed any of those times. They don't use their Facebook page or answer their phone. So customers have to just drive ALL THE WAY UP THERE to find out. Disgusting. It may not occur to the people running this place, but the facility really really out of the way. And it costs $7 to enter the park. So people spend a half hour to an hour traveling up there, pay the money, and then find out that the staff just don't feel like working any more that night. Unprofessional and rude. How is the management at the state park putting up with this? It's supposed to be an amenity that we all pay for through our taxes (and entrance fees). read more

1st floor is new owners. Food is delicious, staff is friendly and service is fast! Beach concessions with a bar and daily specials! The Italian beef is world famous! The cheeseburger is also great. A 7 oz brisket blend patty! $5 20 oz drafts of domestic beer! They claim the "coldest beer on the beach"! Check them out!! read more

The family enjoyed eating dinner looking out at Lake Michigan. The Cobb Salad, chicken salad croissant, and beef sliders were tasty . Looking forward to returning to go to the rooftop. read more

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Ambiance was outstanding. The atmosphere was offset by mediocre food served on paper with plastic utensils, serve yourself water, purely digital ordering and an automatic 25% gratuity with an added default to a 5% tip. Really? Who gets the gratuity and the tip? It is not high on my places to go back to. read more

Food: 2/5 stars. The food downstairs is maybe a three but the food upstairs is a one. It tastes like store bought Costco dips on paper plates and a lacking menu. Service: 2/5 stars. A lot of people like to praise their waiter/waitress even if they had to wait. I'm not going to g to do that. If service is bad it's bad. It might not be their fault it's bad (maybe they are short staffed) - but it's still bad service. This place is only open a few months a year- so the only people they can seem to find to work there are students with little to no experience. Ambiance: upstairs 4/5, downstairs 4/5. This is the only reason to go here in my opinion. Unfortunately this also means is crowded as all get out to the point of annoyance. Overall- it's sad to see a place with soooooo much potential fail miserably. read more

Wife and I had a couple drinks as the sun set. Went on a Monday, the upstairs outside deck was closed (is open Thursday to Sunday). We sat on stools inside facing lake Michigan windows. Wife had a Dune Bug: melon liqueur, coconut rum, banana liqueur, sweet & sour mix and pineapple juice, she really liked it. I had a preferred margarita. We sure enjoyed sipping our drinks and watching the sun set on the lake. read more

Went on 9/11/22 for the first time and I was very disappointed by the horrible food. The reason I didn't give them 1 star was because we had a good waiter and my Bombay Sapphire Gin and tonic was very good. It was only $7 and wasn't weak, but it had much more ice than anywhere else I've gotten a G&T. I ordered the $12 Beach Burger Medium with sautéed onions and American cheese. I was surprised at the reasonable price. Most places charge $14-16. When the burger arrived, I lifted the top bun and the burger was black and as small and flat as the cheapest burger at McDonald's. Tb There were no sautéed onions, so I asked for them and they brought me only about a tablespoon of onions. Also, it looked like they put a slice of American cheese on it and then pulled the cheese off, so there was cheese stuck to the outer edges of the burger. With the bun on, it looked as if it had cheese on it. Instead of medium, the burger was well-done and very dry. I added some of their "fancy sauce" but it was runny and so I couldn't use much because it was causing the bun to fall apart. The sauce was very blah. They give you a lot fewer fries than other restaurants and they were overcooked to a dark brown. I'm a 120 lb woman and I was still hungry despite eating everything. I asked if they had dessert and normally they don't but that had small parfaits left over from a wedding the night before. It was good and $5 seemed reasonable until I realized that the newlyweds had probably paid for the desserts and then the restaurant turned around and charged me for it too. Not that I expected it to be free, but it was small so I think $3 would have been reasonable considering that it had already been paid for. My order came to $24, not including tax. With a $4 tip and tax, I paid $29 and was still kind of hungry. I recommend eating your dinner elsewhere and just going here for a drink or two while you enjoy the view. read more

The view from the Rooftop was spectacular. We LOVED the ambience, watching the waves. And the service was fine. However, the menu was extremely limited. And the portions were tiny. We each got a taco; each tortilla measured approximately 3 inches in diameter, and had about two tablespoons of toppings on it. My steak taco was overcooked, my one friend's chicken taco wasn't great, and my other friend's beef taco lacked flavor. After we finished our tiny tacos, we enjoyed the view a bit more, then headed to a restaurant a few miles away and ate an actual meal. read more

Music is quite bad. Drinks are in plastic cups and watered down. To get to the restaurant, you must wait in the normal line to get into the state park. Great view though read more

A very relaxing atmosphere. Right on the beach with a great view of the water. The food was very good, especially the appetizers. Will be returning again. read more

Food and drinks are tasty and the views are amazing. It's a great place to watch a sunset. The Sunday evening live music is also great. read more

The Lookout - Sunset - Wine Bars Near Me - Chesterton, Indiana

Zero stars. Overpriced cafeteria food. Nothing like it was last summer. Never going back.

We waited forever for our food. The service was terrible! At one point, we saw her sitting and chatting with her friends inside while we were waiting for the rest of our order which another server bright out, but the ticket showed to a table next to us! The chicken wings were very fatty. Definitely cooked and hot, but fatty. The hamburgers were like hockey pucks, the buns were soggy and flavorless. The one good items was the fruit bowl listed as a salad, but could be a good appetizer. It was. The Dunes drink was fruity, but liquor-less. The peach mimosa was ok. My fries were hot, but only because they forget then with my dinner. The fries that came with my family's meals were cold. The only great thing about this restaurant is the beautiful sunset while in the outside seating! read more

Come see the dunes and skip the restaurant. The food is slightly better than grade school cafeteria food. The service was awful. It took 45 minutes to get our food after placing our order with our waitress, who never checked up on us during that entire time. If you're simply looking to sit on a beachside patio and enjoy drinks, this place meets those needs. But that's about it. read more

The Pavilion has only been open for a short time, but the remodel has been incredible! I went today and we sat outside, as there is indoor and outdoor seating. I think that this would be a good restaurant to go to before or after the beach, as you do have to pay a 7 dollar admission fee (a slight inconvenience). However, the food we had was excellent! We ordered the ricotta dip, chicken tenders and chicken caesar salad. We also ordered a Philly cheesesteak to go. The bread with the ricotta dip was awesome, but I think that the dip had some sort of blue cheese in it, which I did not enjoy. The chicken tenders were your standard tenders, but the real stars here were the chicken caesar salad and the Philly (not pictured). The salad was fresh with a delicious dressing and juicy chicken and the Philly was everything you could want in a cheesesteak. While we did not get drinks, the ones that came by our table looked delicious! When we come back, I will make sure to enjoy a beverage as well as visit the rooftop. Overall, the service was standard for a restaurant not being open for long and the food was above average. If you are willing to pay the admission fee, this is a great restaurant to visit! read more

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Food was fine, service was excellent and the view is out of this world. I loved the drinks on the roof and will certainly come back.

I thought it was supposed to be a little more upscale but the food was more casual it was still good and service was great everyone on the floor pitched in to make sure your experience was good. The view of Lake Michigan was great. Would have liked to have sat outside but it was very windy. Definitely will try it again. read more

If I were Keith Lee, I'd give this place 1/10. Pricing was definitely high for low quality and quantity food. The bowl tasted like everything came out of a PF Changs t.v dinner from the freezer in Walmart. It's also not even a bowl. It comes on a plate. Im starting to wonder if this menu was designed just for how it sounds and not actual execution. The "beach burger" was a tiny smash burger with cheese, sautéed onions, pickles( which I don't like), and I'm guessing horse radish aoli? I wouldn't know because it doesn't even tell you what's on the burger on the menu itself, as well as it had no taste at all. The truffle fries were good. You can absolutely go anywhere else in NWI than here and have a better food experience. Don't recommend the "beach" If I were Keith Lee, I'd give this place 1/10. Pricing was definitely high for low quality and quantity food. The bowl tasted like everything came out of a PF Changs t.v dinner from the freezer in Walmart. It's also not even a bowl. It comes on a plate. Im starting to wonder if this menu was designed just for how it sounds and not actual execution. The "beach burger" was a tiny smash burger with cheese, sautéed onions, pickles( which I don't like), and I'm guessing horse radish aoli? I wouldn't know because it doesn't even tell you what's on the burger on the menu itself, as well as it had no taste at all. The truffle fries were good. You can absolutely go anywhere else in NWI than here and have a better food experience. Don't recommend the "beach burger," and I don't recommend the "bowl." All in all, don't waste your money here unless you like wasting money. and I don't recommend the "bowl." All in all, don't waste your money here unless you like wasting money. read more

Food was mediocre for the price....but you are paying for the view. Our sever was amazing....considering it seemed there was a shortage of employees. read more

Me and my bachelorette party stayed in Indiana for the weekend and this restaurant was by far the best food we had during our stay. The staff was absolutely amazing, and our waiter was hilarious. I highly recommend anyone to eat here! read more

The Lookout - Wine Bars Near Me - Chesterton, Indiana

Honestly I've had better food at a street vendor. Chicken was bone dry, fries were dry and over cooked. Lettuce looked old. Honestly no redeeming quality with our meal that I could see. read more

This restaurant opened in May 2022 and is within the Indiana Dunes State Park. (NOTE: In order to get to the restaurant, you must pay the park fee of $7 for Indiana residents and $12 for non-residents.) The atmosphere is fantastic. There are both indoor and outdoor seating areas with the outdoor directly facing the beach. The service was friendly but quite slow, and the verdict on the food was mixed. The fish in the grouper sandwich ($15) was not crisp but soggy, but the steakhouse burger ($13) was excellent. There was a $2 upcharge to substitute a healthy salad for fries. Prices are a bit higher than other restaurants in the area, but you are paying for the beach ambiance. read more

Stopped in there over the weekend and the food was not really good. The chicken salad was not fresh and the prices seem a little high. The parking is not real convenient and paying to enter the park and walk a long way to a so-so restaurant is not pleasant. read more