Castaways Bar & Grill

Castaways will always have my heart. Even though I’ve been here a few times over the years and my love of loud music and packed crowds has changed, I still love coming to this place.
It’s one of the best parties of the summer in Chicago every day and the best part is it’s right off the beach.
The drinks include a heavy pour so you definitely get what you pay for and then some.
I always recommend Castaways to friends who visit Chicago for the first time during the summer and always will.

Great location. Good ice tea. Kinga our waitress clearly hates her job, doesn’t want to be here and it showed

Great Lake-​Geneva based bar. Its in a great location, and fun crowd.

What an unexpected gem. I’m a crew captain for Clif Co. And I just spent the week providing complimentary Clif minis to the volleyball players and beach goers at north ave beach. The staff at castaways, specifically Neal, Moody, Graham, and everyone else were beyond welcoming. Awesome food great staff and service. They really hit it out of the park. THANKS! I’ll be back for sure.

the guys and the ladies just dont care about you… they keep talking with each other and took sonething like 10 minutes do bring check. the view to the beach is great and the food is «honest».

Nice friendly place with beautiful lake view. A place to relax and take your time. Service is casual and friendly, but don’t come here if you are on a time line. This is a great place to linger with friends. When it comes to the food remember where you are and order accordingly. Ask the waiter for recommendations. Our waiter, John, was very helpful and friendly. Have a burger in paradise here. Drinks are on the line of ballpark prices. Food is reasonable. You will enjoy a Great Lake view.

We visited here on a busy Sunday afternoon. Our visit was strictly for the view and a refreshing slushy alcoholic beverage for sister Sunday fun day. We decided to order appetizers popcorn shrimp and hummus w pita and cut veggie sticks. The food was good tradition beach bar food nothing special. The drinks were good nothing to rave about. The host staff was more concerned w their own gossip than welcoming their guests. the wait staff was hard to locate assuming if you knew the wait staff you received better service as we noticed w the group next to our table ordering round after rounds of drinks and shots. Our water glasses came with no ice which we thought was odd considering it was cloudy but still warm out. The cleanliness well your at the beach its run down looking building on top of the beach bathing house so it’s not the cleanest of places. And the bathrooms hold your breathe it’s awful smelling and very dirty from dirty tampons to diapers left on floor and food packages and dirty toilets but like I said it the community beach what can you expect. I do feel if your dining upstairs paying extra $$$ you should have separate bathroom facilities than the beach crowd. For two appetizers and 2 drinks our bill shared w tip came to $ 45 total. We felt like it was a overpriced Applebee’s w great view but dirty. Wish I could give it better rating but cleanliness and poor service with average drinks and bar food not worth $ 45.

One of my favorite places to come with friends in Chicago. The food and drinks are great and the view from either side of the boat is awesome. It’s got an amazing atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this place for a small get together or party. Sometimes they have B96 or Kiss FM dj there which makes it even better. The servers are approachable and friendly. The last few times we’ve been there our server Morgan was attentive and entertaining.

So this is honestly the only option you have on the beach! So they really are the monopoly! I can honestly say that as far as food goes it’s just ok, a little overpriced and maybe they should have a better station with add ins! There was basically no ketchup and I got the last mayo. I guess I understand it was extremely packed when we went so there may or have been enough staff to refill items! The bar was great! The whole place has the cute ship theme! It was adorable, the music at the bar was also great. Since they are the only option, it’s not the worse but it’s also not the best!

Pros: great views, proximity to the beach, people watching, surprisingly decent food.
Cons: service, service, service. It is pretty bad — friendly, just very very slow and disorganized.
It can also be pretty tough to get a table on a nice day, but thats no fault of Castaways just a testament to the popularity of the place… and the music can be a little bro-​tastic but that kinda adds to the Castaways charm, IMO.

Great view and atmosphere. Which is ultimately what you come for because the drinks are weak, and the service is very poor.
My date and I came for a late lunch on a Friday and were served a sandwich where the bun was made with the ends, or butt of the wheat bread loaf. When we mentioned it to waitress, she told us how she has worked there for 3 years and has never seen the kitchen do that before, and said «I can’t believe they did that». Then, proceeded to do absolutely nothing to make it right for us. Very disappointing.
If you go, I suggest you order anticipatory drinks given the 10+ minute average it will take them to reach your table, and the lack of potency.

Yesterday we went to Castaways and found a table, sat down not knowing it was going to be cloudy and rainy when we were there… Not even a couple min our server Alex (girl server with glass’s) was at our table recommending what drinks were good, what appetizers to get just really being amazing to every table I saw her at! She’s outside in the rain in the cold and screaming kids and seemed never to fade her once! She had the best attitude the whole entire time we were there! Smiling laughing! THANKS ALEX FOR THE AMAZING SERVICE DOLL! We deff will be back to see you!

Good for drinks, food is just ok. Gives a nice view of the beach and the city. Can be very crowded though… esp on holiday weekends.

Tourists on bikes. Stopped here for great view and cocktails. Great beach scene with volleyball games!

Had some time to kill this afternoon and thought what better way to do it than with a water view?
We decided to come here for the view. Decent frozen drinks. I can’t comment of the food but it looked good. Upper deck had a really nice View of the beach with good music.
It’s just a beach bar so it’s nothing extravagant, but a nice way to kill an hour or so.

Just happened to be riding rental bikes (yes the blue DIVY’s like a tourist) past this place and stopped for a look. The upper deck seating was a great view of the beach and the skyline.
The wait staff met us right away and was very attentive the entire time. Basic food choices like wraps, sandwiches, burgers and salads were on the menu.
Lunch was about $ 10-​$ 12 dollars a person for standard food from a beach restaurant. Actually it was better tasting than most of the over priced stuff I’ve eaten from navy pier.
I would stop again after hours of riding from DIVY station to station, fat guy jogging, or beaching it. I wouldn’t make it a destination stop.

Came here on Sunday before heading to the beach, and they had hot dogs for $ 2. The service was pretty quick, but it wasn’t all that crowded. The hot dogs were fine, though not as easy to carry out as I would’ve liked. The prices for other items seemed reasonable, but I didn’t want to waste beach time waiting for a complicated food order.
This seems like a better alternative than packing, hauling and dealing with bringing a cooler to the beach, especially when the prices weren’t as wallet-​gouging as I would expect. Though, maybe the prices change at the height of beach season.

It’s good for what it is.
A bar on the beach where you can get a decent burger and some drinks.
Short walk from the zoo.
The music is ridiculous and loud but oh well.
I ordered the Castaway Burger. It was pretty good. I like my burgers medium rare and it was well done. Granted, I didn’t tell the waitress I wanted it medium rare but she never asked either. The sweet potato fries were good.
Girlfriend ordered a veggie burger. It was really good. Had beans in it which gave it a nice taste.
We ordered some frozen drinks. Margarita & a Daiquiri. The only flavor of frozen Margarita they have is Mango. Kinda lame. Had hardly any alcohol in them. Just get beers.
The highlight of lunch was getting to watch two chicks pulling each others hair and throwing some punches at each other. We had a nice view from the second floor over looking the entrance. After it went to the ground some bouncers came out and broke it up. Then the Chicago police showed up and arrested the wrong girl. Good times.

This place kind of has monopoly on North Ave Beach when it comes to food and drinks. There is no other option if you’re looking to sit down and relax while enjoying a day on this beach.
It’s very over priced and the food is average. The staff was friendly and prompt, really the only stand out positive aspect of this place.
Bathrooms were awful, they are shared public restrooms with the beach goers.
Three stars due to price and restrooms.

VIEW TO A DRINK
Phil Stefani is one lucky man not only does he have many Chicago restaurants but he has the best location in town. Castaways is prime real estate in Chicago because it has fantastic views of the water, beach and downtown.
The biggest bonus is that you can grab a drink here. When I go to a tropical island the first thing I do is head down to the beach looking for adult beverages. Castaways feels like an oasis in my own backyard. This place is my local island getaway without having to jump on an airplane.
I love bringing my out of town guests here after we visit Lincoln Park Zoo. It is just a nice way to sit and relax, after being touristy. We will always take some great photos with Johnny Hank in the back… sorry Sears Tower but you’re too far away. I highly recommend you grab a table on the south end because it offers everything you need for these fantastic photo opportunities.
The weekends can get a little crazy. There is usually live music, so you can get your groove on while you drink. This place will probably be packed so be prepared to wait in line or be stepped on.
If you like volleyball there are a ton of people spiking and digging in the sand on North Avenue Beach. Castaways provides a great view for people watching. I always enjoy seeing the people who think they are Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Crash and Burn!
I am not a huge fan of the food. It’s okay. It is similar to bad catering food. I’m not sure if that is how they approach the menu but it doesn’t feel special. I really don’t come here to eat but I’ve found myself and my guests ordering some food to fill in a growling stomach. I don’t want to bring my review down by reviewing the food. This is not why I come here. I come to Castaways to forget my troubles, watch the water and grab a few drinks. It is a vacation without TSA forcing you to take your shoes off. I’m kicking off my flip flops here because I want too.
So next time you’re looking for a quick escape from reality, head on down to Castaways and remember what Bob Marley said, «Don’t worry bout a thing cause every little thing is gonna be alright!» This place embraces free spirits, so leave the suit at home and wear a Hawaiian shirt with some Bermuda shorts because vacation starts now. Yeah Mon!