We had a great experience the minute we got off our boat!! The service, atmosphere and the food was outstanding!! We would recommend this place to anyone!! read more

Excellent summer views from the deck. great for boat watching or if you have a boat, for docking to grab a quick bite. you can get it to go too. Food is decent and pretty good for 'basket bar food'. Staff is always good and on top of things. Most of them are college kids and they work hard to make sure their guests are taken care of. Open seasonally as you can imagine since it is a summer hot spot. oh, great Bloody Mary's that are on special Sunday. read more

absolutely terrible. from the waitress to the food completely sucked. waisted 40 dollars on a few "fish sticks" and soggy cold fries. not to mention my wife spit out her coleslaw immediately and made her sick. wouldn't recommend this place to a dog or skunk read more

I love the Dockside. It's a great place to go, hang out and eat. You can sit inside and enjoy a game on tv or go outside and sit off the water. They have great "bar food" and awesome healthy options too. Their burgers are perfect, great sandwiches and awesome sides. Every time I tell people where I live, they said "Oh by Dockside, I love that place" Yup! It's on a wonderful spot right off of Torch Lake... too bad the restaurant doesn't face the lake though, that would be amazing! "Thirsty Thursdays" are great... $2 beer and burgers, just watch out what kind you get because I guess not all qualifies? We always have good service here and always have a good time. I do have some things that I just don't like, nothing that's a deal breaker but if you are the owner- here are some suggestions :) The games! I HATE the cheesy games they have along the walls of the building. They take up SO much space which leaves all the tables for seating crammed together in the center of the room. We had just got our food one night, and a kid came along and wanted to play a game that was behind our table... we had to stop, stand up and move out of the way so the kid could get to the game- talk about annoying. Friends of our were sitting on the other side of the restaurant and they too had to get up and move so someone could squeeze in to play a game. Pitch the games, they take up too much space and they are tacky! Tables need to be not so crammed too, on busy nights you can't move around and waiters can't get through. Another thing is there are no free refills... common don't be that cheap where you can't give someone a pop refill. I hate how the Dockside is also closed for the winter, it really stinks for the locals. This winter they did do a little renovating... there is a new bar top, but there is still lots and lots more to do to make the old building looks nice. Put some money into the business and you'll get more in return :) this place is a Torch Lake gem. read more

Great food, great prices, amazing view/atmosphere. However the management needs to remember that the locals keep this place going too. In the summer the specials go away. Would be nice to try out staying open one winter as we would visit all year long read more

Great place for the family or a group of friends. A Bellaire classic right on Torch river leading to Torch Lake. The premier dinner spot in the area read more

had a wonderful time july 4th week. restaurant was crowded but we sat inside and not on the deck. had pretty decent food. got some cool t-shirts I would go back again. only complaint was the servers had their masks below their noses " not good" . read more

I disagree with the rest of the reviews about the food. No, it's not Gourmet, of course, but we don't go on the water across the Lake to the choppy side for nothing - we love the burgers - they are awesome! We also love their poppers, which I'm sure are just frozen, but they are great as well. We go there for the food as much as the view and enjoyment of people watching. It's especially fun trying to watch a rental boat get gas acrosss from there and then try to turn around. read more

I am a fan of Dockside and go there often. The food is in need of some improvement this year, please. We are all more health conscious but spending $10 for a salad and serving it the way you do leaves a lot to be desired. Get rid of soooo much fried stuff, people really don't want or need that anymore. Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, Grilled tuna steak sandwich and burgers grilled and done to order not served dried out. The thing is you don't have to improve anything, since you're the only game on the lake, and you are packed all summer long. We love it there and no matter what you serve, we will be back! read more

The parking lot was packed on a Thursday night in April, so we thought we'd check out what was going on. It was Thirsty Thursday where the burgers and beers are all around $2! When we got inside, the place was filled with people of all ages and it looked like everyone was having a great time. We found a seat and ordered poppers and waffle fries which arrived shortly, piping hot, with ranch and ketchup on the side. We enjoyed the two choices of local brews on tap with our appetizer and decided to share a taco salad for dinner. The taco salad was as cheaply made as possible. It wasn't worth the $10 we paid for it. It probably had about 50 cents worth of ingredients in it and the "fried" shell was ice cold. The chicken looked like that pressed stuff they use to make McNuggets. We knew the food wasn't to be raved about. We could tell that most folks were packed in there for the cheap burgers and beer. I expect in the summer the ambiance of being on the water (and drinking beer) will blind visitors from looking too critically at the fare. This place could be so much better! With such a great local food movement, the Dockside could be the place on Torch Lake that has great ambiance AND great food, sourced locally, fresh and actually worth the higher prices. We probably won't go back except to maybe enjoy a beer on the patio during the edge seasons when it isn't crazy packed. read more

The best. Flat out. No pretension, no nonsense, just a great summertime place. I've been coming here for over 20 years and it is one of those places I look forward to when I come to Northern Michigan. Kelly and the other servers rock. Friendly, fun, and clearly the best place on Torch Lake. read more

I'm not sure why there are so many reviews that say that this is "American bar food at its best." The food is not a reason to go to this restaurant. The draw - and probably the only thing keeping this restaurant in business - is the lake and the outdoor seating. The service was poor. We had a waitress who took our orders, but was apparently too important to deliver the drinks or food to our table, so we had to explain who ordered what every time it came. We also had to flag someone down whenever we needed something, no one came to our table on their own. The food is served in cardboard or plastic baskets - always the hallmark of a poor restaurant. If you order a burger, they will only cook it well done, which generally means the meat that they start with is not worth eating. The price for a basic burger is not too bad, but fries are an additional $3-5, and they charge extra for a paper-thin slice of tomato, and a wispy lettuce leaf. A bacon cheeseburger and a little pile of sweet potato fries ended up being $13, and was almost inedible because of the overdone beef. Dinner for 2 adults was $42, and neither of us had any alcohol. With 2 small children, we opted to sit inside. The music was too loud, the tables are all crammed together, and although the sun was still up outside, it was so dark we could barely read the menu inside. We never got any silverware, and the napkins come out of a grubby dispenser on your table. Probably will not be back. Beware of the misleading reviews - clearly none of those people have ever eaten at a good restaurant. read more

Parked in the side lot, by the public access lot May 24/18. Lot is NOT signed as private, countywebsite says there is public access. Came back to find wrecker called by the restaurant trying to hook up our rig,truck and trailer. Our group of 10 was returning to the Dockside for beverages and burger night. We certainly lost our appetite for the Dockside and will be sure to let everyone know how we were treated. We were held up for $100 not to be towed,what a scam. I guess we'll have to find a more tourist friendly place. read more

We were so excited to try Dockside as they had great reviews and a full parking lot during business hours. However all 3 of us were disappointed with our meals. We joked that the food tasted no better than what we could buy frozen in a grocery store, and heated up in the microwave at home. We all tried a different dish, and none of us cared for it. We ate it just because we were hungry...It also took about 40 minutes to get our food from the time we ordered it. One good thing is that our waitress was very nice. read more

On a beautiful summer evening as the sun sets in Northern Michigan on Torch Lake, the Dockside is "Cheeseburger in Paradise". If you go you must sit outside, sitting inside is not an option for a true DS experience. The Dockburger is amazing and more than a mouthful. You might need a fork as it tends to fall apart about half way through. The crinkle cut fries are the perfect pair. Ive also had the burrito and its very good. My brother ordered the fish special and was disappointed...a little dry. Servers are mostly college kids who enjoy their work and each other. They work hard, provide good service, and have fun. Shout out to Leah who took good care of us! A product of Grand Valley State if i remember corrrectly. I would also recommend the t-shirts...fun summer designs that make you relaxed just wearing them. As others have posted, don't go for the food alone, go for the experience to relax on the deck and enjoy time with friends and family. read more

Fish tacos, wings and nachos were all very good. Fun atmosphere, affordable and great service. Must do on Torch Lake.

Service was okay but food was definitely sub-par and over priced. Everything just tasted like it was from Gordon's food. Would not recommend to a friend. The only good part is the atmosphere. read more

First off, when we walked in...I felt like we had to wait quite awhile before they could figure out where to seat us and they were not that busy. Was not impressed with the selection on the menu, nor the prices but my biggest issue was that I am very picky and asked what kind of sauce was used for the turkey sandwich and she failed to tell me all the ingredients so when I got it and bit into it, only to find out the sauce was made of horseradish sauce I was pretty grossed out and they would not let me exchange it for a plain one, even though it was the waitresses fault...which I thought was terrible business and I thought the waitress was quite rude about it. Not impressed! read more

This is a fun place to take people and they are always busy on Thursday with the burger special. It is noisey so conversations are sometimes difficult. read more

Everything is good here but the burgers are amazing. Thick and juicy with a really soft, fresh bun. Get the onion rings, too. Atmosphere is also perfect - folks hanging out on the patio looking at Torch Lake and watching boats coming in and out of the little harbor, Detroit sports on the TVs, homemade ceiling tiles designed by loyal customers. read more

Food is alright. Not a place I would go to in the winter but it is a fun place to dock your boat and get a bite to eat on Torch lake. Great view of the lake and fun to watch the boats go by (definitely get outside seating if available). read more

This place is awesome!! We had great service and the food was awesome too. You cant beat a seat on the deck next to a beautiful lake watching the boats pass by. Will come back again soon! Best place to go if you are visiting Bellaire in my opinion read more

This place would never survive if it were not for its location. Sub par food quality for the $, and inept waitstaff. I'll go to Alden and walk into town from now on. I gave dockside many chances as I spend every weekend in the summer on torch, and for 3 summers ate there at least twice a weekend. read more

Tore my prop off my boat after hitting gound trying to dock my boat there. Service guy who fixed it said it happens all the time with people trying to dock there. BEWARE! Not sure about the food since we never go to that part! read more