North Pond Restaurant occupies a 1912 Arts and Crafts shelter house on a small island in Lincoln Park's lagoon, accessible by a footbridge, and serves refined American cuisine in one of the most unusual settings in Chicago. The food is excellent — farm-to-table before the phrase existed, with a menu that tracks seasonal produce from local farms — and the location, surrounded by water and park, makes it unlike any other restaurant in the city.
The adjacent lagoon and footpaths are free to walk regardless of the restaurant reservation; the scene of herons on the pond edge within a mile of downtown is genuinely improbable. The restaurant is expensive and requires advance reservation; the surroundings are accessible to everyone.