Had an okay time the last visit to this lakeside bar and grill. It's got to be the most popular place to go in Winthrop Harbor because it's busy, as far as when it's summer when everyone comes out here. The Tropics has the typical beach goer type of theme. Even though it's not next to a beach, it is located next to a lake. You can even pull your boat up and get something. Basically there's a lot of lakeside bars like it. It's best known for the drinks and live music. This of course gets pretty crowded in summer. Always some event going on. This is popular for banquets and whatever. Last time we got drinks and food. They were pretty busy so we didn't order a lot. Got the Blue Lagoon cocktail. It's about $8 and made with Blue Curacao, lemonade, and Tito's. As far as the food goes, it's mostly greasy fried stuff so we tried our best. We got the Chips And Salsa. It's about $5 for a pretty good amount. The rest of the menu is fishy and meaty. Great views of the lake. It's got a lot going on. There's live music and whatever. read more

The Tropics - Blue Lagoon With Chips And Salsa - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

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Beautiful view. Dog friendly. However I found the manager to be be argumentative. He did comp. the food. But it wasn't worth going back for the credit. I'll go there for a drink but my days of dining there are over. I used to go frequently. read more

Very pretty outdoor dining area which is great for now. There is a beautiful view of the marina. Full bar and menu . I had the sliders you pay extra for cheese . It comes with chips or slaw or else an upgrade price. My friend had broasted chicken which she said was dry She liked the slaw. I ate the chips. There was a fun band playing and people were having parties. read more

The Tropics - Outside dining by the Marina - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

While the service was friendly, the manager's confrontational response to a simple inquiry about our broasted chicken order left a bad impression. We had requested white meat, but instead received two wings and two breasts. When we asked about this, the manager stated that "all white" includes 2 wings. He was very dismissive and confrontational even though we were just inquiring why we were charge for "all white meat". Due to the negative condescending interaction, I'm unlikely to return in the future. read more

We were able to enjoy our cocktails & food on a beautiful night on the deck. There's a lot of food & drink options to enjoy with friends after a day of charter fishing. read more

The Tropics - tropics Mai Tai - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

Location and ambiance at The Tropics are fantastic. Getting to sit and overlook all the huge boats docked in the harbor was very cool. Food was delicious and service was decent. Based on previous reviews I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of service. We were immediately greeted and our waitress took our drink orders. Food came out quick. Only issue was paying our check took forever. That was very slow but not slow enough to have me not return. Would definitely go back again! read more

Tropics Restaurant never again. Party of 6, gonna cost a pretty penny. Out of chicken breast, after several choices of not having finally ordered taco salad. Everyone else's food was ready the server comes out says the are out of beef, are you kidding me! Manager/ owner NEVER came out to talk to the table. She was sitting at the table next to me, shame on you!!! read more

10/10 would recommend for a private event. Tim is unbelievably accommodating, laid-back and easy going, but extremely professional. We looked at a lot of venues for our event, and the service, value, and location of The Tropics was better in every possible way than anywhere else we had looked at. The food was great, the drinks were constantly stocked and cold, and the views are unbeatable. Everything went perfect, absolutely zero issues, and everyone had an amazing time. read more

Great spot on the harbor with waterside seating and live music. Our server was excellent and our grouper bites and fried clams came out surprisingly fast. Ice cold beer and a very tall glass of ice water was very welcomed on a 95 degree day. Sometimes parking around here can be a problem but I did notice quite a few cars (boaters and beach goers) parked half on the street and half on the grass since the dedicated lots were full and they were turning folks away. Great place to walk around and watch the boats coming in and going out on the lake. read more

This restaurant has lakefront seating on the marina. The interior is tiki and beach themed. The bartender served drinks and waited tables and did a phenomenal job on a busy day! My grouper bites were delicious with just the right amount of breading. There is a wide variety of tropical drinks. This is 4.5 stars very close to 5, will be back. read more

The Tropics - Tiki Bar - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

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Just walked in, was told kitchen was closed by servers. Then 2 minutes after as we used the restroom, heard chef asking servers to place in orders as kitchen would close soon. So sad that staff is not trained to take customer even if last minute. We heading back to kenosha or racine for the marina and food. Management hello? Do u not want an amazing spot for people to come to? read more

The Tropics - Hours - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

Service was awful, the food was barely edible. The view is amazing but that is the only good thing about it. Asks for frozen drinks and was told no, doesn't make sense since half of their drink menu has frozen drinks. read more

Staying at a transient slip at the Harbor for a few days. We scoped this bar out on our first night. Food was decent pub grub, with good service from Megan. We checked out a town bar yesterday, scoping out where to watch big ten football today. I decided that The Tropics had better food options and more tvs. We arrived as the game was starting and the owner refused to change the channel so we could watch the game. We grabbed an appetizer and went back to our boat to watch the game on streaming service. We were planning dinner at the end of the game, plus multiple rounds of drinks. I guess they didn't want the business. Unfortunately there aren't many other options around. read more

Nice place to stop by, watch boats, and watch the people that drive the boats and enjoy the boats. The food is above average, not overpriced like you would expect at a yacht club or something, and the service is friendly and spot on. A number of cold beers to choose from on a hot summer day. Yacht Rock music in the background. Overall, a lovely experience. Bang Bang shrimp are tasty. Grouper bites were fresh, but a bit bland. read more

The food options are endless and are delicious. The service was great and the owners and staff were very attentive and we treated great! Will definitely tell others and will go again very soon. read more

We're invited with a work group for a meal here . I really enjoyed everything we ate and also the drinks . It was a large group and every meal came out at the same time , and I heard no complaints . Appetizers were smoked salmon dip , boo boom shrimp , and cheese curds . All delicious. I had the burger sliders for my meal and enjoyed it as well . Nice place right on the water with friendly service and good food . read more

The service at the Tropics is very disappointing. I spent $50 on take out pizzas and wasn't allowed to sit on the nearly empty veranda and have a beer. I was told that the area was reserved for eat in only. I asked if they thought they'd fill the 40 open seats in the 20 minutes it would take to prepare the pizzas and again was given the party line. The manager was incredibly rude, chastised me that he was running a business and the servers needed their tips. I told him I would absolutely tip the waitresses, but he stuck to the party line... rules for the sake of rules. It's to bad, I always enjoyed sitting out there watching the boats come in and regularly spent $100 or more at every visit over the past 5 years. Where has customer service and civility gone? Disappointed on the Lake read more

Food was good, standard fried food, burgers, onion rings. A few good fish selections, mostly fried. Six or seven beers on draft plus bottles. Great view of the harbor, boats, lake. Outdoor and indoor seating. Service was slow, but we were there on a Friday night so that's understandable. Our waitress was very nice, seemed to be experienced. It would be a meh if it wasn't for location and view. read more

Read some great reviews on Google about Tropics. Sadly disappointed, just a burger. Can make a better one at home.

They lie and say they allow dogs. Every time I go there and wanna sit outside I'm told that there's no seating available when I have my dog.

We went here with friends with the intention that they were going to introduce us to the best broasted chicken. I will admit their broasted chicken was phenomenal. It came with giant wedges of broasted potatoes and Cole slaw and we were able to get nice cups of honey for the chicken. My husband had a burger that he liked a lot. It was cooked to order and it came with fries. They had slot machines in the back of the restaurant towards the bar and it was very casual. We will go back! read more

Decent food, but nothing to rave about. Nice view of the marina and a close enough go to.

This place is very poggers and I had a very poggers time. The food is poggers and the drinks were poggers. The waitress was very poggers as well read more

The Tropics - Mudslide and Strawberry shortcake frozen drink - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

Awesome! It was great. Service was fast, drinks were like Florida. Definitely going to be back there for summer!

The Tropics excels as what it is: a tropical-themed restaurant at a marina located in a state other than Florida. In other words, it does ridiculousness well. Two examples: the decor and drink menu. That it is so spacious means that there is even more space to decorate with nautical, tropical, and generally cheeky (though family friendly) items. And it offers over nine specialty alcoholic frozen drinks. Unfortunately they were out of ice cream this afternoon (thus docking my review from five to four stars) and thus couldn't make me a Mudslide or a White Russian, but my back up choice of a piña colada nevertheless ($4.50) hit the spot. Their menu is quite extensive: lots of apps, salads, and sandwiches. I was torn between the grilled ham and cheese and the chicken salad (both $6.95 with fries, chips, or cole slaw) but ended up just getting the nachos and salsa ($3.95) and my icy alc. The boyf got the burger and fries ($7.95) and reported that the burger was fine (and successfully cooked to order, which is always a plus). The fries were crinkle cut from a bag: no Comet Cafe fries here. The boyf and I rolled in on our bicycles at noon on a weekday, so we were the first patrons of the day. I thus cannot attest to the scene of The Tropics when it's more lively. But if we're ever in the mood to drive someplace for some evening amusement, I wouldn't hesitate suggesting that we drive the 12 miles down from Kenosha to patron this place again. The marina is a great place to explore and the water is beautiful. read more

The Tropics - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

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We took my mother in law there for her 90th birthday. We were a party of ten. When we arrived, we were the only table that had anyone seated. Our waitress brought water right away. But after that, everything took too long. There was a food runner working her butt off, but our waitress was nowhere to be found. Forever to take drink orders, forever to take appetizer order, forever to take food orders. Appetizers arrived room temperature. Food was not hot. The food runner delivered our food and the waitress never checked on us after that. When we were all finished, one of our party asked for a to go box. Our waitress didn't bother to ask anyone else. Some of us wanted boxes. The food runner brought them. We couldn't get extra napkins, or silverware or straws. At the end of our meal, we waited 30 minutes for our check and my husband finally went to the bar to get it. We were in that restaurant for 3 hours. The bill came to $360 with tip.She's lucky my husband paid. I would not have left her a $60 tip. She did nothing to deserve it. We will not go back. read more

I came here for the first time and it was very good. The drinks and food was good as well. The view was outstanding. Being in the Marina we sat next to the east windows where you can look at the boats there. read more

Lovely location. Patio overlooking the lake is great. Next time will stick to appetizers or burgers and drinks. Shrimp basket was so so. Grouper basket was unimpressive but supposedly a big seller. Fries are terrible, not cooked enough and barely lukewarm. The pizza looked good, maybe I'd try that read more

I hesitate to post details of a negative experience based on one visit, so please take these comments with a grain of salt. As other patrons have said, the fact that the business chooses not to do individual checks is very inconvenient and for that fact alone it probably rules out future dining at The Tropics for us. Our waitress seemed unhappy to be doing wait staff duties- I got the impression that she didn't like her job and perhaps felt it was beneath her. This did not make the service horrible but it was definitely lack-luster. Our party was surprised that certain food and drink listed on the 'pre season' menu were not available. We were berated by the server to order off the pre-season menu, but when we did, we were repeatedly told 'we don't have that'. The Taco salad that we ordered was supposed to come with avocado but was served without avocado. When we asked about this, our server said bluntly 'we don't have avocado'. No attempt other than that was made to either apologize or otherwise try to make us happy. As a side note- this dish was heavy on 'Taco' and very light on 'Salad'. Perhaps they could re-name it 'seasoned ground beef served in a fried shell'? Otherwise the food was quite ordinary and lacked character- certainly not a lot 'Tropical' about it; unless you mean the touristy areas of the tropics that are for all intents and purposes, not tropical. One member of our party ordered an exotic cocktail and it came in a plastic 'go cup'; nothing remotely like the illustration on the menu. I can only assume that The Tropics keeps the lights on because of having a somewhat captive audience in the boating crowd. As another reviewer said- there are places in the area serving better food at a better value that I'd suggest giving your business to. read more

A lovely place to enjoy lunch outdoors on a beautiful day. Server Cheynne was very attentive and the two salads we had were very good. One was a green salad with tuna and the other had grilled chicken. The view of the harbor was wonderful and it was fun watching the yachts come and go. read more

Great atmosphere and great food! The have excellent pizza! They also have a fun view of the boats!

Very quaint - staff is friendly, atmosphere is interesting. Right on the harbor so the view is usually just boats but this adds to the environment. Food selection is good for the area read more

They obviously put some money in upgrades. Food was great. Service excellent. Beer cold. Get here early and try to get Jackie. Wonderful server. read more

Excellent Hamburger's and Onion Rings. I had the Cicero Burger. It's stuffed with bacon, onions and cheese. Very juicy and delicious. This burger will satisfy your hunger after a day of boating. Omg! Take three for the next three days. Very reasonable for the size of the burger. I also heard the Italian Beef was superb, too. My new hunger spot after boating. They have Guinness Blond on draft; smooth and light. Recommended. Open to the public at North Point Pier Winthrop Harbor read more

The Tropics - Guinness Blond - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois

Nothing special other than an incredible outdoor dining area to enjoy some pretty magnificent boats. Food is nothing extraordinary. Typical bar food is good. Wouldn't suggest anything other than burgers, wraps, etc. A few people in our party ordered sea food and were very disappointed. Wait staff is distracted and in a hurry. Table arrangement can get a little helter skelter if they're accommodating a large party. We continue to patronize this place but we know exactly what to expect and go with the flo. If you are an edgy person this may not be the place for you. read more

We love going to the tropics!! They have tons of seating indoor and out. It's beautiful watching the boats go by. My favorite dog friendly restaurant in all of IL!!! The food is good and very affordable. The drinks are delicious my favorite is their Bushwacker. Perfect place to go on a date or with a family. We love it here even had my sisters bridal shower here...the owner is so friendly and accommodating and a dog lover!! read more

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The sausage was so dry it was almost jerky. I liked my fries, were overdone but like them extra crispy. It was so dry I went through two sodas. Staff and setting is great! read more

We went after reading about the restaurant in a newspaper special. The place is in need of cleaning - restrooms were filthy, trash on floors and deck was littered - and updating. Decor may reflect their travel but it's outdated. Food had obviously been swept off tables onto deck - flies were swarmed the trash. Sausage burger was great flavor. The cod was undercooked and the appetizer was just like a frozen reheated potato popper. Not impressed. No need to go back. read more

A good view over the lake, but a SERIOUS fly problem. Im not talking a couple flies, but HUNDREDS of flies that bite swarming at you and attacking everyone and every bit of food. The food is a like 4 out of 10. A member of our party ordered a lobster grilled cheese and the lobster was not fully cooked. Luckily, she only took a bite. I had a burger and it was not that good and tasted old and fake. The fries that are not swarmed by flies are good though. **UPDATE** Later that night, I got sick from my burger and luckily, I had medicine because I am prepared and it didn't ruin my vacation. read more

After a day at the beach, a postal employee recommended we try The Tropics before leaving the area. Cute little cafe right on the edge of the Marina and lake. Our server/bartender was incredibly sweet and went the extra mile to ensure we were happy and comfortable. I ordered the fish basket with onion rings and a raspberry tea, it was very good! We enjoyed the views and the food, definitely a place to stop and try! read more

The Tropics - Fish basket and onion rings - Bars Near Me - Winthrop Harbor, Illinois