Winey Beach Cafe

It’s a small place but very comfortable place with good vibes, i think they are good for a small restaurant.

I’d love to see winey beach thrive and improve so I’ll give it 4 stars for the atmosphere and drinks.

I’ve been here about 6 times in the last 2 years after many years of just passing by. Their hours are few, and I wish they were longer. Their food isn’t incredibly unique, but it is hard to find similar good food for miles. The $ 5 mojito I had was way better than some $ 20 Chicago mojitos! Delicious crab cakes. Great desserts and fish tacos with potatoes (special). The service is good and quick, and the chef comes out to check on people often. Very nice. Why didn’t I discover this place sooner?

I’ve eaten here years ago and didn’t care for it-​thought I’d give it another try which was a bit mistake.
Fresh from the freezer seafood options (crab cakes and fish and chips); black beans and rice with half a can of green olives dumped on top – who does that?
Worst part was recieving a steak that was raw – not rare. I did receive another that was cooked appropriately only to have that sandwich come with the supposedly sauteed green pepper and onions raw-​with tons of seeds in the green peppers to top it all off. Who doesn’t clean seeds out of green peppers before serving them?
It’s too bad because Whiting is a great small town and having a nice local restaurant would be a plus-​this place is NOT good. The atmosphere is cute, but the food is terrible.

Wonderful little place with friendly service and very delicious fare. Enjoyed the jerk chicken particularly. Delicious food and that garlic pretzel bread was unique and very tasty. Not a huge variety of selections nor a place for kids, but perfect for dinner on a date night.

Hello food snob, this is food snobette– your 5÷29÷08 still applies. We were looking f I r a place like this – small, quiet, good food, reasonable price. We have been all over Chicago and the South suburbs. Who would ever guess we would find this gem in Whiting. Having grown up on that town, I was delightfully surprised. I had the jerk chicken and my husband had the whitefish. Both were delicious along with the sides. Enjoyed the service and the quiet atmosphere. We were the only party in the restaurant for a while which made it more enjoyable. Try it, you’ll like it. Good cuisine at a reasonable price.

We had dinner at WBC tonight for the first time. Based on our experience, it will probably be the last time. Here’s why:
— oily, bland bruschetta in a generous portion
— pervasive bleach/​cleaner odor
— gnats
— WLUP as background music — where’s the Jimmy Buffet/​Florida Keys sound?
— an obnoxious solo diner who decided to shout conversation across our table to the hostess/​server at the counter behind our table — incredibly rude of both parties
— an odd flavor on anything with a grill mark, either from oil or cleaner, can’t tell
The food was VERY lightly seasoned… Could have used more lime, or even the option of lime or lemon wedges served on the side to give the diner an option. Pour less oil on the bruschetta and pass the savings along to us in the form of a lime wedge.
Scallops advertised as seared were not seared but sautéed.
Fish tacos advertised as fried whitefish but was grilled.
Extremely small portion of jerk chicken.
As the menu states, you will wait a long time for your food. The honesty was appreciated. But when gnats are landing in it once it is on the table? Definitely needs more lime…
$ 60 for three people is pricey in downtown Whiting, and we did not feel like we got our money’s worth. Decide for yourself but take heed if our unfortunate experience.

Fantastic little place we discovered. Stopped here as we were too hungry to wait until we got into Chicago. Fish tacos were excellent with very fresh ingredients. and my girlfriend had the battered cod which had an excellent lime aioli that balanced the fried fish well.

I could eat here three times a week. The atmosphere is fun and light, the food is amazing, and the drinks don’t disappoint. I have had most of the menu and it’s all been delicious. I am not a fish eater, but the white fish there is phenomenal. If you don’t see something on the menu you think you’d like, just ask what the staff recommends. They are all super friendly. There is a different food/​drink special every day. And the most exciting part is they are now open Sundays for brunch!

This place is amazing! The atmosphere is is delightful as the food tequila lime shrimp is definitely the way to go if you like seafood also the mahi is very good jerk chicken is also good I had pretty much everything from the menu and I could not complain about one thing everything was worth going so here in Whiting stop by and tickle your taste buds!

We went back to Winey Beach the night before Valentine’s Day for another great dinner! I had the Beach pasta, it was wonderful! My husband had Jerk Chicken and red beans with rice, which was wonderful! They have high chairs, which was great since we had our 10 month old with us this night! Prices are good and food is wonderful! The Rumchatta cake was amazing!

It’s another one of those places– I have never had a bad meal. BFF lives pretty close by, so it is one of our places we like to walk to (great drinks!). I love the dip they put out before dinner– awesome. And absolutely adore the Jerk Chicken– BFF loves the fish tacos– and the homemade fish sticks are tasty!

Everything is just great! Cocktails, appetizers, sandwiches, dinner, dessert and the service. Have tried about half the menu and cannot wait to go through the rest. My favorite so far is any of the seafood fare. The owner/​chef usually comes out to ask how everything is. You can’t go wrong no matter what you order. There is always a drink and dinner special. The only negative is it is only open Wednesday thru Saturday.

What a horrible experience. How is this place still open? The burger was just okay. The table next to us had lettuce and tomato on their burger but ours came without and we asked for the burger to be cooked medium and it came out very well done. The fish tacos on the menu said «fried cod» and came out grilled. The scallops were drenched in vanilla syrup, I almost asked for waffles because when are scallops ever paired with overwhelming sweetness? Such a disappointment. Will never return. Gag!

The tequila shrimp were good seasoned well yet a little
came with whipped sweet potatoes which were yummy and a mango salad which i enjoyed.
My guy had the steak which he enjoyed that came with squash/​zuchini mix that was bland. The drinks were awesome they have a full bar and our mojitos were made to perfection. he also ordered a margarita which was just as good. All in all it was a good visit.

I stop there during every Whiting Cruise Night…
This place ROCKS !
The food is always a 19 on a scale of 1 to 10, and the customer service is great !

Okay, since then I’ve worked around to getting there during their hours twice.
I’ve had:
1. Baby lobster tails.
2. Jerk burger.
Amazing. Lobster tails were fresh and meaty. The Jerk Burger was burger-​elite amoung the ranks from some of the top burger places in Chicago. Pretzel roll, amazing silky beef, spiced just right and some of the freshest most flavorful jalapenos I’ve had to date (had to have come out of her garden). They even manage to make beans and rice out of this world.
Service is always great. Quality control is #1 here — everything is beyond fresh. It’s like something Rick Bayless would serve his friends and family. Eat here. Phone first.

If you haven’t visited Winey Beach Café recently, I’d highly recommend you give it a try! When they first opened we weren’t very happy with their food but over the last 6 months or so we’ve made several visits and everyone was extremely happy with their food and the prices are extremely reasonable. They give you complimentary won ton like strips with a yummy cream cheese spread, their drink menu is stacked with delicious Caribbean inspired drinks to get you going, we had Mojitos ($ 5). I’ve had the apple bacon wrap a couple of times but I usually get the Cuban sandwich ($ 9), delicious! You can pick your side, this time was sweet potatoes but you can get fries or several other choices. My husband had the Cuban chicken, a nice sweet sauce and lots of little sides on the plate. In the warmer months, they open the doors and you get the nice breeze and a sidewalk view of Whiting.

I had been wanting to visit this restaurant in Whiting, IN for the past year. It did not disappoint! First off they bring you a plate of delicious fried chip strips with a cream cheese chopped bell pepper dip. I ate the whole plate almost by myself. My date and I had the jerk chicken appetizer, a little small as they give you 6 boneless pieces the size of a chicken wing, but they are very delicious as they come with a dipping sauce (bbq/​soy sauce marinade). For dinner my date had the tequila lime shrimp, she said they were good and they looked very big, she also commented on the fresh taste. I had the grouper, which was cooked perfectly and seasoned great as well. All dishes come with a grilled corn on the cob, cuban beans and white rice and a coleslaw which I was not a fan of… especially after the waitress had mentioned that we would have a side of plaintain but surprising it showed up with the cole slaw. But we did mention this to the waitress and she took it upon herself to let us have a plaintain side to go at no charge. The drinks are very fairly priced. I had a Landshark beer (excellent) and it was only $ 3! They décor is cozy enough but I would recommend going right at 7pm otherwise if you show up at 8pm there might not be many people around. The bathroom was nicely decorated and clean (felt like a home bathroom). My only other concern was that our main entrée took about an hour to arrive after we had initially walked in, but they apologized about the wait.
Definitely worth a visit or two if you are curious! Food is excellent, the fish is fresh and the drinks are cheap! Hopefully more restaurants of this caliber pop up in Whiting, IN in the near future.

I really like the Winey Beach and get here so seldom. The drinks are just perfect for a hot summer evening. $ 4 for a Bahama Mama — ya can’t beat that!
They serve a complimentary crab spread with these great little fried pieces of won-​ton wrapper. We had crab cakes. They are fried crispy and golden but not as flavorful as they could be. I liked the aiole that accompanied them.
Mom had fish sticks. Not my taste but she said they were good. I had the tequila shrimp and it was a great choice. The shrimp were grilled, large and tasty. They came on a plate that was a little too small for all the sides. The rice and beans were good, a little bland. There was a sauteed spinach and a fruit and vegetable relish on the side.
The service here is warm and friendly. John Sopo usually stops by the table and his wife Cheryl bar tends.
I love to visit in the summer for the rum drinks but it is fun to have a mini Caribbean visit in the dead of winter.