Tour Port Edward
Visit us in Algonquin to tour this unique restaurant.
Learn more about our tours below, and be sure to get in touch with us to reserve your table today.
Take a Virtual Tour
Indoor Dining on the Water
Floating in our indoor harbor is the 25-foot Porpoise sailboat. Built by naval architect John Deering in 1934, this fine wooden craft spent her youth gracefully gliding through waters of the Great Lakes. Ed would later sail the Florida Keys before ultimately making the Porpoise part of the ever-expanding restaurant.
The “Porpoise” is living out her golden years as a very special dining room for our guests. Her cabin, which seats up to four, is available for your special dining experiences.
Porpoise reservations are accepted only by phone. A reservation for the Porpoise includes a souvenir photo to remember your experience and relive your memory. Reservations for each calendar year are opened in October and fill up quickly. However, be sure to ask as there are often available dates and times throughout the year. Two seating’s nightly for the Porpoise with varying times depending on the day of the week accomodate up to four diners. Phone now to reserve 847.658.5441.
Intimate Windmill Setting
The old 1920s Windmill, between the lobby and the Salem Lounge, was saved from destruction by founder Edward Wolowiec. The cozy booth in this secluded alcove is an intimate setting for “popping the question,” a romantic dinner for two, or a convivial semi-private setting for four. The Windmill makes for the perfect area for birthday and anniversary celebrations. Advanced reservations are recommended as this is a popular “hideaway” at the Port. Phone or ask about availability during your next visit.
This is a cozy room to enjoy a little privacy and still enjoy music from the bar.
Ask about our Windmill when you call for reservations.
The Secret Room
Port Edward’s Salem Lounge overlooking the beautiful Fox River was inspired by the House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts. That house had a secret room which prompted the inclusion of our own hidden room. Look and see if you can find it during your next visit. Our Secret Room includes cozy seating with dual bench seating as a table furnished from a hatch of a World War II Liberty Ship.
Please note, food and beverages are not served in the Secret Room, but you are welcome to climb the ladder to access the intimate, unique experience.
New Deck Dining
Overlooking the Fox River, our largest seating area and the home of PortEdward’s famous Friday Night International Seafood & Sushi Buffet and Award-Winning Sunday Champagne Brunch Buffet.
As you enter the ramp to the to the New Deck are a pair of ship’s binnacles manufactured by Kelvin Bottomly & Baird Ltd, Glasgow, London, circa 1935. The binnacle houses the ship’s compass with a magnetic needle turning freely and pointing to the magnetic north. The two metal balls on the side of the binnacle red (left) port and green (right) starboard adjust for magnetic error compensating for the ship’s metal anchor, fasteners, cleats and other metals that could interfere with navigation. In the corner of the main deck is the engine room telegraph from the famous English passenger ship, Queen Mary. The telegraph was in the ship’s pilot house and chain driven to the telegraph in the engine room which would respond to the directions given by the officers in the pilot house. On the wall is a display of Nantucket whaling harpoons and lances near Ed Wolowiec’s original painting, titled Hauling In The Nets. Above is a display of authentic wooden lobster traps, circa 1960, donated by a retired lobster fisherman that Port Edward had done business for years. Behind the lobster traps is a wooden roof gutter from an old house that was torn down across the street. During World War II, all metals were directed to the war effort to build tanks, ammunition, aircraft and military equipment home building supplies were made of wood where possible.
Salem Lounge
Surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows providing a spectacular panoramic view of the Fox River, the Salem Lounge was inspired by the House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem’s obsession with witchcraft motivated the building of secret rooms to provide safety for the owner’s sisters hiding from hysterical “witch hunters”. There are also three dormer windows nearby containing stained glass designed by Edward and skillfully crafted by a notable master, Art Nesser. As you enter the lounge from the lobby an original 1920’s windmill sits on your right. On the starboard side of the lounge is the Old Salem Shanty (the crew calls this area the OSS) with tables made of hatch-covers from WWII “Liberty” ships and the seating fashioned from old church pews. Along the wall are authentic ship carpenter’s tools with old metal flare guns separating the booths. Look high up above and there rests an old sign of King Neptune imported from England. A glass cased ship model, brass portholes, and a ship’s telegraph are hung from the ceiling, further enhancing the lounge.
Topside
Up the stairs from the lobby is Top Side with a panoramic unobstructed view of the Fox River. On the opposite side is a great view overlooking the Porpoise and New England harbor live fish pool. The suspended ladder leads to the Widow’s Walk. In the days of whaling, the houses facing the harbor had railing surrounding the top of their houses. Families waited for their loved ones returning from whaling voyages of two to three years and at times some were lost at sea. Thus the Widow’s Walk. Sharing the Widow’s Walk are wooden kegs that oysters were shipped from the east coast to Port Edward in burlap bags in the early sixties. Look high on the opposite wall and notice a ship’s chandler setting that provided ropes, tools, hemp, tar, nets and other essentials of that era. The heavy beams and timbers are virgin cuttings of long leaf yellow pine, no longer commercially available and were salvaged from the former Stark Piano Company warehouse in Chicago and an old cheese factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Regency
Mermaid Room
Lobster Cove
The original 50′ x 70′ building on the corner of Algonquin Road and Harrison Street was the Anchor Lounge before Edward started his transformation of what was to become a landmark in the Fox River Valley. After several makeovers, the Mermaid Room features a newly remodeled bar. The Mermaid Room is busy with dining, parties, meetings, receptions, and banquets. Abutting the starboard side is Lobster Cove, quaintly decorated with ship hatch covers, church pews, and brass portholes including rope and dead-eye rigging that separate each booth for added dining privacy. The Regency Room has a serious collection of shallow and deep water hard hat diving helmets, Portuguese whaling harpoons, lances, and even the jaw bone of a sperm whale. Hanging from the ceiling are oars used in lifeboats from “Liberty” ships.