North Shore Steaks & Seafood

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Relaxed Elegance at the North Shore

Inside American Place Casino in Waukegan, Illinois, North Shore Steaks & Seafood sets a different pace from the gaming floor. The room is built around what the restaurant itself calls "unique, relaxed elegance" — an evening destination where the focus shifts entirely to the plate and the glass.

The Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, earned for 2025, signals that the wine program here is taken seriously. It's a recognition that carries weight, and at North Shore it shows up in the thoughtfulness of pairings built into special events as well as the dedicated wine menu available every service.

What's on the Table

The American cuisine here leans into steakhouse classics done with care. Openers include jumbo shrimp and crab cakes; the prime steak section runs to ribeyes and New York strips. Desserts extend to New York-style cheesecake and tiramisu — familiar names, but framed within a menu that also reaches for something more ambitious on occasion.

That ambition is clearest in the VIP event menus. A recent one opened with a caviar table featuring Midwest American paddlefish and American sturgeon with proper condiments and bellinis — a confident, locally-rooted touch. Entrée choices included a Fire & Ash Ribeye Cap Steak with mushroom duxelle, shaved brussels sprout tart, celery root purée, and porcini demi, alongside a pan-seared, lentil-crusted seabass with roasted root vegetable hash and fine herb velouté. Dessert brought a double chocolate ganache sphere or a gluten-free pistachio mousse tart.

Sip & Savor Events

North Shore also hosts multi-course wine pairing dinners that move well beyond the standard steakhouse format. A Taste of Italy evening paired five courses with Italian bottles — Prosecco with an antipasto salad, Orvieto with heirloom bean stew, Valpolicella Ripasso alongside beef ragù over pappardelle — finishing with spumoni. These events show a kitchen and sommelier team willing to stretch the American dining format into something more theatrical and wine-forward.

Dinner service runs Wednesday through Sunday, evenings only, dine-in exclusively.