Not a fan... Over priced for everything. The fish tasted like it came out of the freezer and do not order a burger!!! The only save and grace was how nice our waiter was. read more

Disappointed and angry. The atmosphere is nice and the staff are excellent at least that is how my review should read. I visited Apache Trout for the second time and my Mother who suffers from Alzheimer's had this restaurant stuck in her head from her last visit in May. I was happy to bring her all the way from Detroit to Traverse City. Our waitress was nice Katie was her name unlike our previous experience we were not impressed with the food. My bill was $129.32, I figured in a tip of 15% which would have been $19.40. I gave Katie $149; I took my Mother to the car and ran back in to use the bathroom and as I reentered I notice Katie and the manager Terry rushing towards me okay... Katie says that I did not pay my entire bill that I owed her $0.32 I am thinking WOW!!! she really wanted that tip money it is not that serious; I grabbed a $20 out my purse and just gave it to her because I really had to use it and $0.32 is not that serious. So in all I paid $129.32 plus a tip of $39.68; once I reached the car I told everyone somethings not right and we discussed and came to the conclusion she didn't see the other $20 the first time; but either way I can guarantee the way she came rushing out that door she assumed that the people of a different ethnicity had stiffed her by $.32 and her tip. She jumped to the wrong conclusion without first counting because I opened the bill in front of her at the door and said what am I missing -what do I owe you and I counted the money and I saw the 2 $20's, she said $.32. I am just hurt and disappointed because she assumed I stiffed her and the way the manager came at the door she expressed her supposed distain loudly. I called and talked to the manager he said she counted it wrong and to comeback and get the other $20.. I let her keep it because the way she acted it was apparent she may need it more than I. read more

This is a clear 4.5 - but yelp doesn't give you that option. I had the pecan crusted whitefish with the cherry Amaretto glaze was some of the best fish I've had in a very long time. Cindy had a mahi special and the only reason they didn't get a 5 was because they were out of the cheese polenta cake on the dish. Laid back atmosphere - welcome to northern MI. Outside tiki bar was very pleasant although the service was marginal. read more

Sooooo delicious! No wait - we were seated right away. Our waiter Andy was superb! He was very attentive and knowledgeable about the menu items. He suggested items off the menu, brought our food and drinks right away and was friendly and professional. The food was amazing!! I would highly recommend the Brie & goat cheese appetizer. Soooo creamy and delicious! The lobster and shrimp bisque was melt in my mouth savory and had chunks of lobster. The Scallop Risotto was tasty and the Seafood linguine was a large portion and had large shrimp and chunks of prosciutto. Cheesecake to finish it off and it was great! Wonderful dinner sitting by the water! read more

I have been here numerous times but on Friday I was very disappointed. In the past, I would have given this a 4/5 rating then. Not this time. I ordered the calamari and it tasted like it came straight from the freezer section of Gordon Food Service. Bland and no flair of any kind. Marinara was just as tasteless. I'm a fan of bacon wrapped meatloaf and by their description this was a specialty. Between the over processed mixture of meats, lack of any kind of seasoning and the canned gravy, I'm would not have thought this was a dish worth naming after the restaurant. Don't even get me started on the boxed mashed "golden potatoes". I would have given our waiter a 4. He was very friendly but a bit slow on following up on the table. read more

Was looking for somewhere to go out to eat to celebrate, and she suggested this place. She has the salmon, and loaded fries. The loaded fries are absolutely fantastic. She also said the salmon was very enjoyable. I tried the Loaded Mac and Cheese, and it was sensational. I was also in the mood for a salad, so I tried their side Caesar salad, and even that was wonderful. The lettuce seemed fresh, good dressing, very tastfully done. Many restaurants like to skimp out on salads, but this one was memorable, despite being a bargain in terms of price. The atmosphere is very pleasant. Lovely view of the lake, nice-looking bar scene. Saw guests dressed anywhere from jeans and a t-shirt to a full suit. Fantastic experience. The staff was very helpful, despite the fact that we came in towards the end of their night. 10/10 read more

We had a quick dinner here in the late afternoon. The place was right on the water with nice views. Inside was nicely decorated, exposed beam and post construction, large fireplace, large windows. I had the slab of prime rib - very good - big. Could of had more fish on the menu - some how it reminded me of an upscale TGIF's. I suppose I would pass it up next time. But - like many restaurants in TC, it was totally packed as we left - diners were lined up waiting for tables. They do have some tables outside if the weather allows. Worth a trip - I have done mine. read more

Wow, there seems to be some heat from the locals about this place! I am sure that if you had been there many times it would be just another place in TC. The 3 times I have been here have all been great! Yes, they are expensive but I am always on vacation so it doesnt matter. Yes, I have ONLY sat on the patio overlooking the bay so I can't comment on the inside. Yes, the parking is retched. All that being said, it is surely no Rainforest Cafe tourist trap. It is a pretty good local restaurant with a great view of the bay, decent food and a small problem with price inflation. Still worth trying, even if just for the views on a summer night. read more

I asked a few locals where to eat and they told me to try here. My experience was average...but I love to be outside and the weather was terrific so that was a plus for me. I loved the outdoor seating and the food was good. It looked like people were starting to just pour in as we sat down...but our service didn't suffer any at all. I enjoyed myself and would probably visit again. read more

Nice view, ho hum food. Slow service many nights. I'd suggest drinks on the patio, and find another place for dinner.

The wait for the shoreline seats can be insanely long, but the first come first served seats in the bar still gets you some great good. Had fresh fish basket. Very knowledgeable waiter. Great for kids. read more

Within an hour of eating here, I got very ill. It might even have been worth it if the food was amazing, but it was middle-of-the-road. Super friendly staff though. read more

Excellent and juicy ribs that fall of the bone, service, and views!

Great trout and whitefish dishes. Really nice atmosphere. No reservations, expect to wait but well worth it.

Horrible Service. Took a hour n half for our group of 5 to get our food. We had to bring the servers attention. The manager never came over. Server said we would get 20 percent off our Bill's. Did not happen. Food was good. Poor service made the experience bad. Would never go back! read more

Definitely very average in spite of the hype. We dined here early October on recommendation of hotel clerk and another local. Hubby and I opted to eat at the bar to avoid hour+ wait for table. The best part of the meal was the hot spiced cider with apple flavored whiskey. ($12). Just needed to be stirred because all the whiskey was on top. Food wasn't good. Hubby tried panko crusted whitefish sandwich (since whitefish is talked about as a staple in upper Michigan and UP), figured it should be really fresh. Not at all. So fishy it was literally inedible. Mentioned it to the waitress who told us she doesn't eat whitefish because it's fishy. I said nobody would eat whitefish if it was that fishy all the time. She didn't offer to change out the meal so we asked for it to be done. Replacement chicken sandwich was overcooked and dried. Sweet potato fries were overcooked/burned. I ordered pecan encrusted chicken breast salad. Chicken was way overcooked to the point the crusted tasted burned so I took it off but the chicken was dried out. Rest of the salad was good. This place looks nice and has a nice location but is definitely not worth the price for what we ate. If we had waited an hour or more for a table it would've made the experience even worse. Located on the water but you may not get a view anyway. There is a nice outdoor seating area in front of the restaurant on the lake but only for drinks. No food is served there. read more

I ordered the trout and wasn't impressed it was covered with a sauce that overwhelmed the trout below what I would say is gravy. The bartender was also very rude and seemed to be only interested in serving the locals instead of an out of Townes. Really expensive to be treated like that. read more

I love this place. I love it when there is music outside. Food is very good, take your time and enjoy the views. Love the cheddar Mashed potatoes. We went there this trip to Traverse City after eating twice at The Boat House. What a difference, the food was cooked just right, the staff was friendly, the prices were reasonable and the atmosphere was great not super loud like the Boat House. I highly recommend you check this place out. it was about 1/5 the price of the Boat House and the View is actually BETTER! read more

On Friday, June 24th we visited for the second time, but the first time with our family. We were a party of ten and we requested a table near the open doorway leading to the view of Traverse Bay. There were no tables available but a large party was getting ready to leave so we waited. Moments later, the manager helped clear the table and accommodated us. All our meals were extremely satisfying and delicious and our server, Kate was outstanding! We look forward to our next vacation to the Traverse City area and dining at Apache Trout Grill and we will definitely request Kate as our server. Thank you very much! read more

I ate here with friends for birthday - partially because of the good reviews and also because of the great setting. It's a very nice place and the main dining room has a great view of the bay. Our service was great and all four of us enjoyed our meal. The roasted brie & goat cheese dip was good but definitely more goat cheese in flavor. The avocado eggrolls are delicious! read more

This place, in my opinion, was just a tad underwhelming. My spouse really liked it though. I had the shrimp tacos. They were a little too saucy, and they were filled with too many unnecessary toppings I thought. K had the Lake Superior Whitefish Sandwich. It was HUGE. It looked pretty good. We also had the shrimp cocktail, which was pretty good - but as long as it's cold and fresh, it seems like that would be hard to mess up. I think I would have liked this place a lot better if I felt like my dish wasn't so thrown together. I would give it another shot. The service was great, and the view was outstanding. read more

High quality food. Everyone at our table of 6 was impressed with the food. Very tender fish dishes. I had the macaroni and cheese with chicken; billed as the best I'll ever eat. They were close - I'd call it the 2nd best I've ever eaten (and I've eaten this dish a lot!). Almost like a macaroni and cheese goulash or even stew with all the other items added to the dish. K.N. had the goat cheese salad and was very impressed with the quaility of the goat cheese. Great view, clean dining room, and the wait wasn't too long. Based on our visit, I'm suprised their overall rating isn't higher. read more

I've been twice and just find it to be a local version of Chili's/TGIF/Bennigan's whatever. If they would strip the restaurant of all the kitsch it would be much more welcoming and relaxing. The food is ok nothing to write home about. I've had the burger and the white fish sandwich. The white fish was very tasty. Otherwise kinda forgettable. read more

It's the view, man. You could serve cardboard and I'd still come for the view. Fortunately, the food is tasty, though not terribly creative. That said, it's well prepared and relatively quick to the table. The fish tacos are tasty, and the salads are enormous enough to feed a family of four. Service is good, although they have to be nudged to seat 2 ppl at a 4-top, and there are only 4-tops closest to the view. In fair weather, the door windows open to let the breezes in and you can sit out on the terrace to take in the bright blues and torquoise of the water. Lovely. read more

Terrible. Outside of the service staff and the lakeside location (the only two reasons I could stomach giving this place a 1* instead of 0*) I'm not too sure this place has many redeemable qualities. We went two nights prior and were told it was a 2.5 hour wait, we passed but presumed the food would be good given the wait time. We went back around 2:30pm on a Tuesday and found there to be only a 10 minute wait. We picked up a few drinks from the bar as we began our short wait. After we were seated we began with the calamari, which I would not recommend ordering. The rings were fine but the tentacles were fatty and not prepared properly for consumption. For our meals we had the seafood linguini and "fresh never frozen" scallops - our waiter seemed to mention the fresh never frozen line about 5 times when explaining the meal. We still had high hopes as we waited for our entrees, writing off the starter as a one off (given the other reviews). Needless to say we were once again disappointed. Too salty were both our mains. The linguini more a soup than a pasta dish. The risotto (which accompanied the fresh never frozen scallops) may have had an entire wheel of cheese dumped into it given how stuck together and stringy it was. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to my greatest enemy or my greatest friend because I couldn't subject anyone to this torture. You'd enjoy yourself more at the McDonald's or Culver's about ~10 minutes away. read more

This has been a family favorite for years... It's solidly good food and a great view... It's not going to be the best food you've ever had, but it is great. I've always stuck to the fish... read more

Awesome place for lunch or dinner! Right on the bay so great views as well. Service is always good, a definite favorite!

After hiking the sand dunes, what a wonderful time it was to finish the day at apache. Extremely friendly staff, and stunning food. As a chef myself I have to say very impressed by the fish. One thing I would say is maybe the cheese on the children's menu maybe slightly to much for what our kids were used to. But overall very impressed read more

We had a large party of nine for lunch and enjoyed a cocktail outside while waiting for our table and enjoyed sitting by the water. Once seated, the ambiance was nice and the food was good but our server was borderline rude...the only time she smiled is when she brought the check. It was an overall good experience but Apache should not hire servers who don't like to work with people...it left a bad taste in our mouths. read more

I will never understand the popularity of this place. Yes, they're on the bay and their outdoor seating in the summertime is fun, but the food is totally underwhelming. I haven't ever had a memorable meal here and I've been many times in the 10+ years I've lived in Traverse City. Yet . . . people park all over the place to eat here in the summer. Their menu selection is very limited . . . steaks are tough, fish has little to no flavor . . . yes, the sweet potatoes are good, but I go out to dinner for more than sweet potatoes. I'm sorry, folks, this just isn't the place for me. Don't waste your money or your time when there are so many more great restaurants in Traverse City. read more

This has long been a favorite place for my family, we spend a good portion of the summer in TC and have for 30 years. We have actually not even tried to go here for several years because there is usually a significant wait. The view is second to none and the food is always fantastic. Prices are on the higher end, but portion sizes are as well. From age 2 - 90 we all always leave happy. Went early (5:00) on a Saturday and only had to wait about 15 min and that was well worth it. read more

Great food. Best butternut squash soup.

The brunch is so good here. It's expensive but absolutely worth it. The loaded mac & cheese is one of the best things on the buffet, and the carving station has perfect prime rib every time I go there. The service is top notch and the people are friendly. read more

Twin Charred Filets AMAZING!! Ahi Tuna and Calamari- not so much!! Wonderful service! Great place! Get here early!!!

From the hostess to the bartender at the tiki bar and our server, Andy -- the staff here is professional, friendly and helpful. The food was some of the best we have had. Nice wine list. Great views of the bay too! read more

Apache Grill was busy when we went but there is great outside patio with a small bar. Drinks were great and there was also live music. The wait seemed short with the music and great view. The food also didn't disappoint! Best fish I have had in a long time. If you are looking for a nice dinner while in Traverse City we would recommend! read more

So it's been a few years since I visited the Apache Trout Grill and I feel like things have changed. This was the first place I stopped at when I last visited TC. I walked away completely disappointed. The food prices have gone up and the quality and quantity has gone down. For example the salad used to come with a little mini muffin - not anymore! The place seems stuffier too. What was once a casual environment is now filled with people who look like they are ready to board their yacht after lunch. Not the fault of the establishment obviously but to me this was a totally different vibe than in years past and something I did not enjoy. Higher prices, smaller quantities and dining with people dressed like Caddyshack villains - I'll pass from now on. read more

This place is always packed and consistently serves wonderful food! My husband loves their macaroni and cheese it's definitely not to be missed. I loved their meatloaf and their short ribs too! Their Sunday brunch is also divine! read more

Fantastic! Easily my favorite local hang out. Crowds up with fudgies, on weekends. We usually take boat over, and have a few free beers on the doc while we wait on a table. Get the brie for an appetizer. read more

Great food and decor by the bay. A little pricey but very tasty. The parking lot is small and hard to maneuver with all the patrons.