Racine Restaurants for Harbor Views and Supper Clubs

A table in Racine can sit above a marina with the lake behind it, inside a supper club open since 1954, or under the exposed brick of a Main Street steakhouse, and the Racine restaurants worth planning around mostly sort themselves by those situations. The best way to choose among them is to start with the evening you want rather than the cuisine, because the harbor, the downtown blocks and the drive-out dining rooms each do something the others cannot.

This guide sorts the places by occasion, with straight-line distances so you can judge how far each one sits from the water. Dinner usually comes after an afternoon of Racine's lakefront, museums and parks. Hours and menus change, so treat every day and time below as a prompt to check the restaurant's own page before you go.

Harbor-view dinner: Reefpoint Brew House

The short answer for a dinner with water in the view is Reefpoint Brew House, a brewpub on the causeway beside the marina. It pours dozens of beers, many of them local, and the menu runs from smoked barbecue and seafood to Sunday breakfast and brunch plates such as a brisket Benedict.

A Travel Wisconsin roundup of boat-up restaurants in 2015 pitched a patio dinner here with the marina below and local taps in hand, and reviewers still talk about sunset light and boats on the water. Visitors also mention that the menu rotates seasonally and that children were happy with the food. Live music plays here, so ask about the noise level if you want a quiet table. If you are staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Racine Harbourwalk, you can reach Reefpoint on foot, and Festival Park sits about 0.3 miles away if a show or fair is the reason you are down here.

Italian: Salute downtown, Infusino's on the west side

Racine's Italian answer is really two answers: a downtown dinner at Salute, and a family pizza-and-pasta evening on the west side at Infusino's.

Visitors mention generous portions, good bread and a romantic seating area to the left of the entrance. Some reviewers say the pace between courses can stretch and that the pizza crust is not always consistent, so go for the pasta and the unhurried evening rather than a fast bite. Salute is about 0.4 miles from Reefpoint and about 0.1 miles from the steakhouse down the block, which makes it easy to pair with the Racine Art Museum about 0.1 miles away, whose galleries of glass, furniture and jewelry fill an afternoon.

Visitors mention a pan pizza they rate above everything else, a Tuesday fried chicken special, and a dining room that was quiet at 4:30 and filling by the time they left. A Racine County pizza roundup credits the pizza with a crispy golden crust, and the family also runs a pickup-and-delivery pizzeria on Washington Avenue for nights when you would rather eat at home.

Steakhouse dinner: Butcher & Barrel

Reviewers mention the deviled eggs, the mushroom flatbread and the risotto, and one praised a host who warned the table that a party of 20 was about to order so they could place their order early. The cooking has a name on it: reviewers credit Chef Drew, and an online dining page lists Drew Kohlman as executive chef. One visitor noted that the online menu differed from the printed one at the table, so treat any dish you read about as a guide, not a promise. Its site has listed Tuesdays closed and dinner service only, and parties of seven or more are asked to phone ahead, which is worth doing for a birthday.

Supper club with the lake in the window: HOBNOB

Travel Wisconsin describes the room as overlooking Lake Michigan, and an online write-up praises the amber lighting, polished wood, plush booths and a baked French onion soup that regulars treat as the dish to order. Visitors describe the supper club rhythm clearly: cocktails at the front bar while a table comes free, a dinner that runs 90 minutes or more, and a warning that weekend walk-ins are unlikely and a booking a week ahead is wise. Its site has listed Monday closed, online reservations, and private dining rooms are advertised for groups from 2 to 100. Come hungry and unhurried. This is the evening to pick if you want the old Wisconsin ritual rather than a quick table.

Fine dining north of town: Sebastian's

Milwaukee Magazine singled out the sauces, including béarnaise, and described large eclectic wall art and traditional service, while the restaurant's own page mentions an award-winning wine list and a relaxed patio. Visitors mention that Friday has weekly specials, one citing walleye with potato pancakes, and another recalls bone marrow and a prime ribeye at a romantic dinner. It has the feel of a place for an occasion rather than a casual night out, and reviewers describe a cozy, romantic room, and Milwaukee Magazine called its service traditional. From here, O&H on the same avenue is about 1.4 miles back toward the city, which makes a breakfast stop before or after easy.

Mexican: Los Mariachis and Mexico Lindo

The menu mixes steaks and grilled chicken with pork chile verde, barbacoa tacos, ceviche and panko avocado tacos, and weekends bring traditional menudo. Visitors mention the soft-serve margaritas, served in rotating swirl flavors with a side shot, as a draw for newcomers, and a vegetarian reviewer called the avocado tacos perfect. Reviews are mixed, though, with one diner unhappy about the fajitas, so lean on the tacos and ceviche that other visitors mention.

Downtown, Mexico Lindo is about 0.6 miles from Reefpoint and is a downtown taco stop. Visitors describe a busy, cramped room, paid street parking, and waits that can run long on busy nights, and the venue's accessibility information lists the entrance as not wheelchair accessible. The wider field of Racine Mexican restaurants, from taquerias and more, rewards a second night.

A kringle detour: O&H and Bendtsen's

Racine's Danish history is the reason a flaky, oval kringle is a bakery counter staple here, and it is worth leaving a dinner plan alone for one stop. Racine was described in 1920 as the most Danish city outside Denmark, and Wisconsin named kringle its official state pastry in 2013.

O&H Danish Bakery opened in 1949 under Christian Olesen, and its Douglas Avenue shop opens early with kringle in flavors such as almond and cinnamon roll, filled donuts, bread and coffee, about 4.0 miles north of the harbor. Visitors praise the pastry case and one reviewer found the sandwich bread less impressive, so go for the sweets. On the west side, Bendtsen's Bakery has been making kringle since 1934 on Washington Avenue, about 2.2 miles from the harbor, and the bakery has said it is closed Sundays. Reviewers call the pecan hand-made and rate it highly, though a few mail-order customers report crushed pastries, so buy at the counter. From O&H, the Windpoint Lighthouse is about 2.5 miles away on the lakefront, a natural place to eat a slice.

Choosing by evening

Match the night to the room. For the water, Reefpoint. For a walkable pair of dinners and a gallery, Salute and Butcher & Barrel on Main Street. For ritual, HOBNOB. For an occasion, Sebastian's. For a family pizza night, Infusino's. For tacos, Los Mariachis. On a short visit, take the lake: Reefpoint, then a walk toward North Beach, about 0.7 miles away. Whichever table you pick, the marina view, the supper club booth with the lake in the window or the brick wall on Main Street, Racine rewards the diner who picks the evening before the cuisine.