River North has three restaurants with a dog menu in this directory — and not one of them mentions dogs on its own website. Every dog menu here is reported by the press. That is the single most useful thing to know before you walk a dog to dinner in this neighborhood, and it is why each listing below says who is doing the talking.

Dog menus, all of them reported

Barrio — 65 W Kinzie. Time Out and Choose Chicago report a dog menu of steak, burgers, chicken and a dairy-free "woof-cream," with a share of proceeds going to PAWS Chicago. Barrio's own site mentions neither dogs nor a patio. Opens at 4pm on weekdays and 11am at weekends, with weekend brunch until 3pm.

Nonnina — 340 N Clark. Time Out reports a Puppy Menu — ground beef or diced salmon with rice and vegetables, a housemade biscuit and a Pumpkin Puppuccino — and NBC Chicago adds risotto dishes and a peanut-butter-and-banana dessert. Nonnina's own site says nothing about dogs. Its terrace is glassed in, with windows that open and radiant heated floors — so ask where a dog may actually sit, because the city's dog-friendly-area rules are written for outdoor space. Closed Sundays.

Siena Tavern — 51 W Kinzie. do312 reports a puppy menu, and Choose Chicago calls it a "puppy ciao" menu of grilled meats and dog-friendly ice cream. The restaurant publishes nothing about dogs, a patio or outdoor seating. It is 21 and over after 10pm on Friday and Saturday, per its own site. By contrast, Bar Siena, listed separately, publishes a priced Puppy Ciao menu on its own site.

Why a dog menu is a question, not an answer

Chicago Municipal Code 4-8-031, the rule that lets a restaurant have a dog-friendly patio at all, says a dog there may be given water but not food. A dog menu and that rule cannot both be fully true on the same patio. These listings record both facts rather than pretending to resolve them — ask when you order. The mechanism, and why a bar can sometimes do what a restaurant cannot, is in Why a Chicago Bar Can Let Your Dog Inside and No Restaurant Can.

A daytime drink

Jake Melnick's Corner Tap — 41 E Superior. do312 says dogs join in, and Time Out reports two big patios; the bar's own site says nothing about either. It opens at 11am or 11:30am every day, so a daytime walk can end here. Time Out's listed closing times are out of date — use the bar's own: 10:30pm most nights, 11pm on Friday and Saturday.

Off-leash: Ward Park

Ward Park Dog Friendly Area — 630 N Kingsbury, at A. Montgomery Ward Park beside the north branch of the river. Like every Chicago Dog Friendly Area it needs a Park District permit and tag for every dog, renewed each year (the Park District lists $10, Animal Care and Control $5 — confirm when you apply). Three dogs per person at most, no puppies under four months, no dogs in heat, no food inside. The surface and fencing have not been verified. The Dog Parks and Runs page has the rest.

Vets, and one clinic open to everyone

The Anti-Cruelty Society — 510 N LaSalle, with its main campus at 157 W Grand. Its veterinary clinic is open to the public, not just to adopters, and covers spay and neuter through wellness care, by appointment only. The adoption center is open 11am to 6pm and closed on Tuesdays; adoption fees are not published. See Rescues and Shelters for how a shelter like this differs from the city's open-admission shelter.

Companion Animal Hospital River North — 749 N Clark. AAHA accredited. Open 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 6pm on Saturdays, closed Sundays. Its urgent care means during opening hours — it is not a 24-hour hospital.

At night, go to one of the city's 24-hour emergency vets, and call on the way.

Daycare, grooming and supplies

PUPS Pet Club — River North — 316 W Illinois. Grooming, daycare and boarding. Daycare is weekdays only; at weekends it is grooming by appointment and boarding, and boarding runs every day of the year. Parking is paid street parking only, and it offers transport within a mapped local zone. Prices are not published.

Petco River North — 440 N Orleans. Grooming, with walk-ins as availability allows. Its "vet care" is a vaccination clinic, not a full hospital. Petco's page does not say whether your dog may come into the store with you.

Staying here with a dog

The Langham, Chicago — 330 N Wabash. Up to two dogs or cats, 35 lbs maximum, with a non-refundable cleaning fee of $150, or $300 for stays of seven days or more. Pets must be leashed in common areas and are not allowed in the restaurants, the Club Lounge, the spa, the fitness studio or the pool. It does not publish whether a dog may be left alone in the room. Hotels and Stays compares the rest.

Living here with a dog

Hubbard221 — 221 W Hubbard. Publishes its terms: a $500 one-time fee per dog plus $30 a month, up to two pets, no weight limit for dogs and no traditional security deposit. There is a dog run and a pet spa. Breed rules are not mentioned — ask.

Wolf Point East — 313 W Wolf Point Plaza. Up to two pets, each with a completed PetScreening profile, and a long published list of restricted breeds, including German Shepherds, Great Danes, Rottweilers and pit bull terriers, and any dog with those breeds in its lineage. Its fees sit in a cost guide that could not be read. For the dog: washes and grooming areas, a dog run, a terrace and an indoor relief area.

Luxury Living Chicago — 405 W Superior. An apartment-finding service that says it helps renters find homes for themselves and their pets at no cost to renters. It shows no brokerage name or licence number, so ask for both.

Chicago has no breed ban — Illinois law bars one — but a landlord can restrict breeds, as Wolf Point East does. Pet-Friendly Apartments explains what renting with a dog usually costs.

The full, current list

For every River North listing, browse the River North tag, which updates itself as listings are added. Other neighborhoods on one page: Lincoln Park, Logan Square and Irving Park.