Last Updated on August 6, 2022

When visiting Kenosha, Wisconsin, you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a place to eat!  There are restaurants and cafes to suit all budgets including some fun and unique options!  Here is my guide to just a few of the restaurants in Downtown Kenosha! Where would YOU go?

Disclosure: Thank you to Visit Kenosha for hosting my stay (including meals).  However, as always opinions are 100% my own.

Updated: January 2022

Downtown Kenosha Restaurants

For Family Fun

Choo Choo Charlie’s $

🗺5414 13th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140 (next to the train station)

Choo Choo Charlie’s is very much aimed at the younger audience. Who wouldn’t want their food being delivered by miniature railway!?  When sitting at the bar, the train goes by right in front of you.  The other ‘line’ comes to a stop in the centre of the restaurant where the servers then deliver the food from that point.

The food is good value for money and offers a typical ‘fast food’ menu.  I had chicken strips, fries, a fruit cup and a free refill lemonade (large size only)!

Like This? There’s another railway restaurant in the Wisconsin Dells!

Waterfront Warehouse $-$$

🗺3322 Sheridan Rd, Kenosha, WI 53140

The Waterfront Warehouse offers burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, pastas, salads and a whole range of ‘topped’ fries!  The warehouse styled decor is really cool, I loved all the wood, brickwork and exposed lightbulbs!

I had a B.L.T.A…a regular BLT but with the addition of avocado!  BLTs are never going to be good enough again now I’ve had one with avocado, AMAZING!

For the Larger Budget

Wine Knot $$

🗺5611 6th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140

The Wine Knot is predominantly a wine bar, serving over 50 types of wine by the glass!  Ironically, I actually had a cocktail, the Blood Orange Martini is very nice! The food menu is very fancy, serving mainly seafood or steaks. I had a ‘full’ steak and spinach salad with hard boiled egg, crispy onion straws and beets (minus the cheese *shock horror, visiting Wisconsin when I don’t actually eat cheese!!*) which I thoroughly enjoyed! The meal also came with warm bread and iced water. The staff were brilliant, very attentive and always making sure the water was filled!

I loved their outside seating area. The outside of the building is covered in ivy and there’s lots of flowers. A nice place to watch the world go by!

To Enjoy the Coffee Culture

Harborside Common Grounds $

🗺5159 6th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140

I found the Harborside Common Grounds to be a perfect place for a coffee break half way through my 10,000 Step Self Guided Walking Tour of Kenosha! It’s located right on the harbour and has a lovely outside patio area to watch the boats coming and going!  If you visit before 9.45am, they have a great bacon and egg breakfast sandwich where you can choose your bread, cheese (argh!) and any extras that you want.

During my stay, the iced coffees and smoothies seemed to be a very popular choice, it was busy all day! I recommend the Spring Cherry Green Tea, very nice!

The Buzz Cafe $

🗺5621 6th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140

A cafe by day and a wine bar by night! The menu at The Buzz Cafe contains a lot of organic, locally sourced products and fair-trade coffee. An item on the menu that surprised me the most was the Pineapple Detox smoothie which was AMAZING. But why was it surprising? Because along with pineapple chunks, coconut milk and agave syrup…it actually has charcoal in it! I couldn’t really taste it (I’m not even sure what it tastes like saying that!) but it did give the smoothie a slight grey colour!

Along with my charcoal smoothie, my breakfast consisted of: a matcha green tea (I like having a hot and cold drink at breakfast!), a sausage, egg and syrup toasted bagel and a handful of french macarons that I saved for later! Veryyyy tasty!

For the Sweet Tooth

Elsie Mae’s Canning & Pies

I first discovered Elsie Mae’s Canning & Pies when I was given a mini cookie dough pie during my first visit! Their pies are all homemade and the fruits inside them are sourced locally and from Farmers Markets! The downtown location has closed since my visit. However they still sell the goods at the markets and in several businesses around Wisconsin and Illinois. (Tenuta’s Italian Grocery stock Elsie Mae’s products in Kenosha).

I pigged out and went for their ‘Pie Shake’!  You pick a flavour of pie (I went for cherry…with the cherries coming from a farm in Michigan!) and then a flavour of ice cream and then they are blended together in yummy goodness!  It’s then served with a garnish of pie, a big thick straw and a spoon…for any extra large pie chunks!

(The blending of the pie!!)

Sandy Popper’s

🗺5503 6th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53140, United States

Sandy’s Popper is a gourmet popcorn shop. I tried the Silly Rabbit flavour which is brightly coloured popcorn which comes in a bag of mixed: apple, blueberry, cherry, grape, lemon and orange flavours!

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