Honoring the memory of the celebrated Chicago sportscaster, Harray Caray’s Tavern on the Navy Pier has all the air and class of its iconic namesake. The interior is decorated with crystal, baseballs and bats, monuments to a life dedicated to Chicago sports. The exterior is a fun with a large area for outdoor dining and a bar with plenty of TVs. This is the type of place I really loved to visit to watch the White Sox play.
The food here is pub grub to the core, with giant burgers dominating the menu. The burgers are huge, and cooked excellently. They cook burgers to order, and I tried one prepared medium-rare and one medium-well; both were right on the mark, the ideal cook for the meat. The tavern burger is a delicious and simple menu of sirloin beef atop cheese and sautéed onions and mushrooms. It’s spectacular; exactly as you would imagine it. The Mexicali burger is just as amazing; it’s also a sirloin burger, and topped with pepper jack cheese, guacamole and chipotle aioli. Despite only a few different ingredients, it’s an entirely different burger. Altogether, Harry Caray’s does a superb burger, definitely worth a visit for Lake Michigan’s beautiful vistas.
The bar also has a number of other items on the menu, still mostly bar foods; from a number of pizzas to appetizers like humus, chicken wings, nachos, soups and salads. The actual specialty menu itself is actually Italian pastas and comfort foods, but they don’t seem to be the focus of the menu. There is rigatoni, linguine, and meatloaf. There is also an interesting chicken stir fry dish as well as a sizable menu of steaks and good seafood, from fried shrimp to tilapia, Atlantic salmon to beer-battered cod. The fish definitely make you feel like you’re on the ocean…but none of them come from Lake Michigan, for sure.
The atmosphere of this place is what makes it special; it really can’t be beat. Harry Caray’s Tavern is the perfect place for the sports nut in your life. It doesn’t matter what they like, the lakefront dining and extensive beer and cocktail menu is impossible to resist. Really, that seems to be what attracts people to Harry Caray’s; bragging rights. You get to say you watched Chicago sports from the Navy pier. I’m all about that. Some places are about the atmosphere moreso than anything else.
Harry Caray’s is more a novelty than anything else; you’ll proudly be able to say you watched the Cubs, White Sox or Bears on THE Navy Pier. Still, great effort is made to ensure the food is good. Come visit this place. You’ll be glad you did.
Recommendations
- Let’s be honest. If you’re reading this, you’re probably considering going here to watch a game. Do it. It’s worth the visit.
- Of all the things on the eclectic menu, the burgers are the best. Give one a try.
- Also, try to come out if the weather is good. Nothing replaces a porch dining experience here.
Another Food Critic 
Thanks for posting this.. It’s been a pleasure to read 🙂