Perch on the Porch at the Crow's Nest was a fun throwback dining experience - yum! Server was super friendly and the place was busy, so they're obviously doing things right! read more

A fun excursion up the road, on the road, in an older roadhouse setting. My wife experienced their catering at an event and loved the perch, so off we went a few days later. They have a fish & chicken buffet, but based on other Yelpers' reviews, we decided to order off the menu. My daughter & I both enjoyed our blacked whitefish - HUGE appertain with medium spicy blackening. My wife and daughter's boyfriend both got the perch and also felt it was pretty good, albeit a tad rubbery on this night. White wine, gin & tonic were all decent, but not outstanding. Service was "nice," but nothing special. Very nice people in a quiet setting. Will likely return but not necessarily race back. read more

Crow's Nest was a little gem after the Tunnel of Trees drive and we got there right on time before the Friday night rush! It was "fish fry Friday" so they had a great special for $29 for all you can eat buffet including a walleye, fried perch, and Korean beef. Everything we got was really great and the vibe was super cute, but most of it was fairly deep fried and not the healthiest, but still delicious. I'm knocking off a star because the fried chicken didn't have any true flavor to it and that was really a bummer. It was super juicy but lacked flavor so I felt like I needed either hot sauce or a lot of salt and pepper. The mushroom soup was my favorite, but I will say that this is a great little spot and I'd come back to try new things! read more

See all

We worked with Crow's Nest catering for our wedding, and we were so happy with how it turned out! They helped us with creative appetizer choices, had great service, and provided great bar and cocktail service. The staff were awesome and made everything feel so smoothly run. We highly recommend them for your event! read more

Best Pan Seared Perch ever! All I could eat. Chef brought more out to our table as it was finished. Homemade tarter sauce. Yummers. On top of that, there were salads, soup, fresh green beans, mashed potatoes, pork loin with fresh homemade chutney and shrimp scampi with linguini. Oh my... Then let's not forget about the dessert. We sat out on the porch with beautiful flowers decorating the tables. Ask for Perch on the porch buffet read more

See all

Went on Friday night for perch on the porch buffet. Had a reservation seated right away and item on the buffet was excellent. We will be going back read more

Great food and atmosphere with service that rivals all of N M Worth the travel time! read more

Calamari was excellent...I normally wouldn't order it that far inland but had a hunch!

We had been wanting to try the Crow's Nest for a while, based on word of mouth and several website visits. It seemed like a charming little place that was a local treasure of sorts. We saved it for a special occasion and it ended up being...ok. My husband was torn between perch and BBQ ribs but went with the ribs because they were listed under "specialties." I couldn't choose between whitefish or steak but the server couldn't give me much info on how the whitefish was seasoned (no details on the menu) so I went with the NY Strip. After our adequate meals (service was friendly and responsive despite a few snags) we asked for a dessert menu (again, it was a special occasion) and were told there isn't a menu but the restaurant offers a complimentary dessert each night, which seemed like a sweet touch. The night we were there that dessert was a wee brownie that my husband insisted was a 1/4 of a Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie. I assured him it was not (the sprinkles were not a match) but the quality was definitely comparable. This wasn't disappointing (hey, it was free and a nice gesture) just perplexing, because it seemed like a nicer eatery. We'll try again another time and hopefully have a better experience. read more

Great throwback up north ambiance Server was a pro Had the perch which was outstanding as was the soup A great evening Many had perch on porch buffet It looked wonderful will return read more

Gem in the "ruff" - ruff being middle of nowhere, "red country." Can't help but mention considering the political signs in the actual restaurant entrance area. Regardless of political preferences, excellent service and top notch food. Will return when we are in the area. read more

Doesn't get any better than perch on the porch. Fun, family run restaurant with great food and service.

Great food, great service! Love going there, especially for the perch. The owners are great people!

Delicious food and excellent service. Really cool old school vibe neighborhood vibe. Recommend sitting on the covered patio in summer

Excellent perch during their "perch on the porch" nite. Sides were all great as well. Only downside as with most places up here, they were short of help and had a huge crowd, so difficult to keep the buffet full. read more

A fairly unremarkable dining experience but decent for the locale. Dinner started with a flavorless cheese dip and prepackaged breadsticks. The salads had a nice range of greens - really a nice start to dinner. The perch was lightly breaded with a nice tartar sauce. Sadly, they were out of whitefish. Liver and onions was well seasoned. Loved that we saw the chef head to the garden to pick fresh summer squash to serve as our veg. We should have stopped after dinner. The server pushed dessert and the creme brûlée. What a mistake. A mushy top (no caramelized crust to crack through) and a lumpy pudding consistency. Strawberry shortcake had bites of cake with very sweet strawberries. read more

See all

Another delicious dinner!! My wife enjoyed the dinner special walleye with morel sauce I loved the perch. Superb service was provided by friendly Jessica and the owner Jana came to our table to make sure we were satisfied with our service and meal read more

Shana and Bob are certified 'Rock Stars' when in comes to preparing over the top food, wedding planning and catering!!! We were so fortunate to have them cater our daughters wedding this summer in Boyne Falls. We couldn't have pulled off what our guests are calling 'the wedding of the century' in a very remote and beautiful location without the passion, expertise and professionalism both Shana and Bob provide! Shana proved to be truly amazing under somewhat difficult circumstances due to the logistical challenges of the remote location and a rainy-warm evening. She came through in so many amazing ways that we were blessed to have her remarkable skills and staff before, during and after the wedding. Shana'a unwavering positive personality is a one of her key attributes! Bob's skills, expertise, staff, meal preparation and presentation was extraordinary! He and his staff served 275+ guests with amazing apps, pan fried perch, grilled beef tenderloin, salads and corn bread pudding (a must have). Lastly, their staff that provided amazing bar and food service, valet and many extra touches made for a wonderful wedding and very memorable evening for our family and guests:) We would give the Crows Nest the highest ratings in all areas! Thanks so much!! read more

The food was really good!! The staff was right on top of everything, from opening the door when we arrived to visiting the table multiple times to make sure we were okay. It had a very hometown feel to it. The staff knew most of the customers and took time to get to know the tourists (like us!). read more

Haven't been in this restaurant in years but just had a great dinner the other night. The perch was perfect! (and lite portion for $17 (I think) is great idea) Roasted potatoes were so fresh and good. Ratatouille was a nice change up for a side dish and really good. I will agree with other reviews that servers are not totally on top of their game, but I can let that slide. Just glad I rediscovered this place. read more

Ate here for the first time tonight. To be truthful, I had low expectations for a restaurant "in the middle of nowhere." Wow, was I wrong. Enjoyed their "Perch on the Patio" evening. Found it included a buffet with gorgeous salads, sides, beef brisket and a dessert table. The perch couldn't have been fresher or more delicious. The service was outstanding. Both our waitress and the chefs manning the buffet table were friendly and highly efficient. So glad we finally discovered The Crow's Nest. We'll be back often! read more

Crows Nest is an up north classic... missing perch on the porch during COVID and hope it will return soon. Family owned and run with always a friendly smile and very welcoming atmosphere. The food is consistently terrific, whitefish Grenoble a perennial favorite, Steak Ann is always prepared perfectly. Salads are always fresh. Love the perfect size deserts too! Cute bar area with a tv. large wine menu by bottle or by the glass. The restaurant (and restrooms) are always CLEAN... (even this year with help so difficult to bring in)! read more

What a find. Our group of 4 all had a stunningly good experience. The staff was excellent and the food was as good as any restaurant in Northern Michigan. Steak, perch, bluegill and chicken were all outstanding. We will defiantly make this a regular outing. The four of us all agreed that we cant wait to get back. read more

We rolled into our rental in Cross Village late on a Saturday and didn't have time to shop for dinner. I called Crow's Nest and they had dinner for six ready for take out within 30 minutes of my call. The staff was friendly and the food was delicious. read more

Nice, nice, nice staff! Perch on the Porch is on Tuesdays and it is pan fried while you watch. The sides, salads and desserts are amazing (when we went, we had perch, jerk chicken, mac and cheese, veggies and a delicious spinach salad with shrimp). Very family-friendly! read more

Just had an excellent dinner @ Crow's Nest. Food was exceptional (had great perch dinner w/spinach soufflé as one of the sides), prices reasonable, and excellent service by Shana. Dinner prices even include dessert - you can't beat that!! I felt confident that they were following Covid protocols. I would highly recommend this restaurant. read more

This restaurant is a charming little spot out of the way of town and me and my family always make a trip when we visit harbor springs. Our most recent visit though wasn't as good as previous ones. Service was very slow and several times it felt like they forgot we were there. Also at the bar they kept questioning my id to the point where it became rude and uncomfortable for me and I'm almost 30 years old. The bartender told me my id was expired and she couldn't find my birthdate and I had just gotten the id a week ago. I understand checking id is part of their job but this was overkill. She said she didn't understand out of state ids...which I could see proving to be a big issue for her in a tourist town. With all this in mind I'm not sure if I'd make the drive out here when there are plenty of good restaurants right in town. Hopefully this was just an off night for them as the food has always been good here. read more

After checking in for a reservation, we were told that it would be 5 minutes while they set up our table, and we were sent to wait outside where it was 45 degrees, while the people behind us were able to remain inside. When my children became too cold outside, we went back in. While we waited for another 10-15 minutes, the table that the staff said was for us was set for other people who came in after us, while the table for us (and other tables) was still dirty. We asked why the people that were behind us were seated first, and the people behind us verified that we were there waiting before they came in. The waitress then said " in my restaurant and my world, I can do whatever I want." Wow. We left (obviously). This used to be a wonderful place. We were there many times in years past with close friends, the Mellens, who ate there every week. Clearly, things have changed. I would never give my hard earned dollars to a business whose employees are so blatantly rude and condescending to a customer, and whose business ethics are so poor. We went elsewhere and will never go back. read more

The best perch in town. Rustic dining room that hasn't been renovated since 1960 (it seems). Fabulously charming and freshest fish around.

There are a few times in a life that a dinner could be so poor. The service, which was way too understaffed to support the 10 hungry people in there, was way too slow. It took us over an hour to receive our food. When we did get our order it seemed like they left it cooking for as long as we waited. Either that or they had to go find the chicken to fry, if it was even chicken. It looks like a lot of food but after struggling to find meat we found out it was a mirage. And just like a mirage this place was falsely advertised. read more

The Crow's Nest catered our outdoor wedding, and were absolutely wonderful through every step of the process. They went through many different menu options to craft the perfect mix of options for our strolling dinner stations, absolutely blew us away at our tasting, and came to multiple on-site consults at our venue to make sure everything ran smoothly. Shana is a planning and coordination mastermind, and had everything to absolute perfection. Bob is a chef extraordinaire; we received many, many compliments from our guests about the food, including multiple people saying "this is NOT wedding food...this is too good!". We quite literally had to tear people away from dinner to start the dancing. If you are having a special event in Northern Michigan, Crow's Nest catering is amazing! I cannot recommend highly enough. read more

Shana and staff catered my daughter's wedding in Harbor Springs MI. Their professionalism, helpfulness, and attention to detail we're all first rate. I recommend them highly. read more

This restaurant is very good, maybe the best in Harbor springs. The fish fry is excellent, and the beef stroganoff is to die for

Attended a private-home dinner-party in Harbor Springs which was catered by Chef Bob Vala. What a fantastic dining experience. The food was fantastic and the service attentive and responsive. Delicious appetizers were passed to attendees then a sit-down meal was served with simply beautiful presentation. Wine and water glasses were filled before they were empty. A lovely dining experience. Have a catering need? Call Chef Bob at the Crow's Nest. Now I want to go to the the restaurant and experience more from the menu! read more

Family and I stopped at this restaurant on the tail end of our long drive and were unbelievably satisfied by this experience! We loved both the atmosphere and the excellent food. The service was great and everyone was extremely happy walking out, even my picky kids! The bartender was very friendly and happy to offer fun suggestions around town. The perch was the best I have ever had and and the bread sticks were absolutely phenomenal! I would definitely recommend this restaurant for a great family experience with awesome people and even better food! Would give more than 5 stars if possible!! read more

Great perch meal with the most tender,flavorful,creative beef stirfry side dish. Charming, warm family atmosphere. Fun, interactive staff.Everything tasted so fresh . Only downside was, not enough staff, but it was the end of summer when waitstaff most likely left the area. read more

Delicious meal, steak was excellent, breadsticks were out of this world! Bartender was phenomenal, such great people! Can't wait to go back! I'd give this place 10 stars if I could! read more

I went in for the perch buffet and I wasn't disappointed. Besides the freshly cooked perch, they also had penne alfredo and vegetarian lasagna. Strawberry cheesecake for dessert, with fresh strawberries. I also enjoyed my visit with the owners' charming teenage son. read more

Went to this restaurant last year and definitely it was a 5 star. Revisited it on July 2, 2011 and was disappointed. Just like other members of Yelp that I have read their reviews on revisiting a place that they thought was excellent and the second time around - well???? We were the first two in the restaurant - the restaurant opens at 5:00 p.m. Sat down and the waitress came and took our drink orders and wanted us to hurry and put in our dinner orders as well--so, we ordered our food. About 5 minutes later a couple came in and the man was a little loud and you could tell he was there before. I don't know if he wanted to impress the lady he was with or what. But, he said he would like some of their famous cheese and crackers (free). The waitress ran right in and got them their cheese and crackers. We were watching and no complimentary cheese and crackers came to us. So, me being me - mmmmmhhh - I asked the waitress for our cheese - she said they were running low on crackers!!! So, needless to say since I wasn't loud and obnoxious like the gentleman, we did not get any. I had ordered ribs, yum! Well, when I got them they were overcooked and hard to chew on. ugh. I only had 3 bones and decided to take the rest back to the cottage on Lake Michigan. The decor was alright - nothing special. read more

Just want to write a review of a place just outside of Cross Village. We had an unbelievable meal. The perch dinner was the best I have ever had. Lightly breaded and fresh with a perfect compliment of vegetables. The cheese spread and crackers were a perfect set up for the meal. I have eaten at Legs Inn which is close by but for the price and quality meal this is by far my favorite. read more