John’s Dock

Dining: The deck on the water is ideal for a nice dinner outside. It is a little bit run down and dirty and should be in better condition than it currently is. The food is decent quality. The cod and the burgers were great. I don’t really have anything bad to say about the food itself. The fact they use plastic silverware fits with the condition of the exterior.
Service: We have witnessed several great servers helping others while there, but the last two times, we had servers that were inexperienced and lacked the necessary people skills to have a job involving interaction with others. We had to wait more than one would expect for our food on both occasions. The kitchen output capacity doesn’t match the demand on busy weekend nights.
Beach Bar: This area is nice but seems a little dirty much like the dining deck area. With a little work it could be so much better. It makes me question the cleanliness of the kitchen when I see the outside in such condition.
Overall: I would only go to this place for the live music outside and the deck on the water. Without these attractions it wouldn’t be my choice to go to.

Our food was great. The cod tasted fresh. The view is very nice on the river. Our experience with the servers was great. Quick and accurate, especially for a party of 8. We certainly would recommend it.

Super slow service. When we walked in it took three servers and what seemed to be either the owner or manager walking by us three times before my boyfriend addressed one of them to ask if we were suppose to seat ourselves which we were told yes. We sat down, took over 5 minutes to get a drink, 20minutes for soggy yet hot cheese curds to be delivered, we had to ask where the cheese curds were. During all of this I overheard a conversation with a customer and the manager/​owner about how they had been waiting an hour for their food and then the child’s meal had come out 20min after that. We’re still waiting for our entrees…

Very slow service. Took almost 2 hours to get our food. 45 mins to get a side salad and appetizer. 30 mins to get drinks. Food was not worth the long wait.

I really had a good experience here — the atmosphere is great, the location is even better and although there was only server here, he was on top of things and very friendly. The daily specials are great and make it worth the visit! I especially enjoyed the crispy sweet potato fries. This is a great place to enjoy summer in Racine! I recommend it!

Was a beautiful warm day and they only had one server. She was very sweet but on days like that another should be around to help. Drinks weren’t too bad, but I asked for a side salad and it came out with old iceberg lettuce. Ordered the sweet and spicy chicken and the chicken breast was maybe 2 oz, on stale bread and doused in sauce. Its a cool looking place but food was awful.

It literally took an hour and a half to get our fish fry order on a Friday night. Drinks before hand took 25 minutes to receive. The restaurant was very slow, so being extremely busy could not possibly be a valid excuse. No legitimate explanation from the wait staff either.

If your not in a big hurry this place has some good burgers. It’s not slow don’t get me wrong but you can’t rush good food.
Ive only been a handful of times but every time I go I get a burger and its real good.
They are truly hand made and their a good size too.
It’s a casual beach bar atmosphere, I think that’s what they or he was going for.
The fries have an interesting seasoning on them, almost tastes like it has a hint of cinnamon. The fries are good too.
I’m going to stick with the burger though the Reuben was highly recommended.
Also as an added bonus the owner and staff actually care! I had no issue at all but you can tell that their is some real attentiveness and genuine care that goes into this place.
Great job and good luck John’s Dock!
I’ll see you again!

Awful Bloody Mary. Our waitress said they had award winning bloody mary’s, but it was the worst Bloody Mary I’ve had. Food was ok and service was not that great.

10 people in place. 30 min to get our food. Outside dining is the only reason we would come back. Can’t mess up a bottle of miller light on the deck in the sun!

We went for a Friday Fish Fry, all you can eat. What a mistake. Party of 5. At least my wife and I won’t go back. None of the food we ate was fresh, all was frozen. I had to return the potatoe pancakes (which were on the «premium» list of sides) because they were tasteless and by appearance came out of a bag from Sam’s Club or GFS Market. They brought me dry, hard sweet potatoe fries as a replacement after the rest of my meal was consumed. The fish was okay, sized about the size of my thumb. Started with the 5 little nuggets and the server brought 4 more. The $ 11.00 price did not automatically include bread and butter. Getting the meal to the table was slow and service after that was slow even though the restaurant was partially filled.

The deck was fun. Service was terrible. We wait 55 minutes from the time we ordered until our food was delivered. Other people that came in after us were served and leaving when our food arrived. The waitress told us that the kitchen messed up our order. We will never go back for food but maybe a drink.
Very disappointed!

Stopped in last weekend for lunch having never been here before. Pleasantly surprised. Food was excellent. I had the perch, wife had a Bacon Cheeseburger Wrap, and both kids had the Cod from the kids menu. Everyone really enjoyed their meal. Portions were generous. The gentleman behind the bar (think it was John) was very nice and provided excellent service. We are definitely fans and will be back.

Best grilled chicken salad i’ve had. love the atmosphere. great place.

4 stars equals 2 thumbs up from the Captain and the 1^st Mate
Whiskey Burger Boom, Sam Adams beer battered fries Boom. Grilled shrimp with garlic lemon butter BOOM.
And a very acceptable selection of drafts.
Would I do it again???
Yep

Another time I would have liked the half star option. I would have given them 3.5 stars. The location gave me mixed feelings. They usually have docks and marinas in the not the nicest part of town. Old industrial, decaying residential,.
In spite of parking looking like the place was packed, there was ample seating in the dining room, while many preferred the outdoor or barroom dining.
Between the hostess seating us and someone taking our drink order, then our food order, we had three folks waiting on us. I think they were new. Looking at the side dishes on the online menu, the server forgot half of them! And the fish fry wasn’t even on the menu on the table, it was on the board as you came in. (We missed it). We thought it odd there was no cole slaw, but that was our server’s omission, along with the corn on the cob, cottage cheese,…
What I DID get was pretty good. The pieces of fish were so small, I was looking for those dipping sauce packets like they have at McDonalds for the chicken nuggets. The fish was very tasty, and all you can eat. I suppose the size cuts down on waste. Potato pancakes were also pretty good. Side salad seemed like something I’d have at home, and the Italian bread seemed like plain ol’ white bread.
I see other reviewers had good things to say about other items. While I wouldn’t drive 25 miles just to eat here again, if I was in the area, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back and try some other items. And maybe carry a printed menu with me!

My favorite place on a sunny afternoon. They have a great live band most days over happy hour. I am a small eater and the kids menu provides the perfect size dinner while I enjoy a drink.

John’s Dock is one of three restaurants on the water in Racine, which gives it a small monopoly and explains how it stays in business. The view from the deck is enough to make this place a hot spot, so I hope the owner is wondering why it isn’t. I’ll shed some light here: spider webs everywhere, old and dirty patio furniture, slogans on uniforms that play on the phrase «staph infection,» soggy wings served in a tire, frozen microwaved chicken breast, the interior is not appetizing, and the bathrooms are dirty. My point is that I want these things to change. I want John to leave his dock and visit some restaurants that are doing it right. This is not rocket surgery, just good business practices. Bön voyage, John!

I really enjoy this place. It’s right on the harbor near downtown so its perfect for a stroll after-​wards. I come a lot for lunch and a Bloody Mary. The Bloody Marys are perfect and the bartenders are very forgiving when you spill it by accident. Whoops!
I
love the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and the Chicken BLT. They both are amazing! I had them with the French fries and it was definitely enough for 2 people to share.
The bartenders are very friendly, the atmosphere is great, and the décor is nice. If it busy be aware that you may wait quite awhile for your food because the kitchen is very small. I usually won’t order food on the days it looks too busy unless I’m willing to wait.

Place is great. Reasonable prices, crappy service, excellent views and the best buffalo chicken sandwich I have ever eaten.
We have our boat docken in Racine Riverside and walked over. They had a band later that day.
Cool place