Summer House

Summer House Santa Monica is a California-style restaurant on North Halsted Street in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Despite its name it has no branch in Santa Monica; it is run by the Chicago restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You.

It opened in Chicago in 2013 with chef-partner Jeff Mahin in the kitchen, and the brand has since added restaurants in Las Vegas, at Disney Springs in Florida and in North Bethesda near Washington. The menu in Lincoln Park is led by chef Ben Goodnick and draws on simple ingredients from local growers and sustainable suppliers. Early reviewers singled out the sausage pizza, garganelli tossed with broccoli rabe and an airy pineapple sorbet.

Brunch and lunch bring an egg sandwich with sausage, a breakfast burrito and a crispy chicken sandwich, and yellowfin tuna turns up as poke on nachos. Rosé is poured all day from a rosé cart, including the house's own Summer House Rosé, alongside beer and a full bar. At the entrance, a counter called The Market sells cookies, pastries and other baked goods, with an oatmeal cookie studded with dried apples among the favourites.

Inside, white and tan surfaces, light wood and plenty of plants fill two large dining rooms, one of them under big skylights, with greenery hanging from the high ceilings. The look points to California, and in a city with long winters that is much of the point. A bakery counter at the door means many people come for a cookie and leave without sitting down at all.