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    Great Lakes Grill

    4.0 (64 reviews)
    ModerateBars, American
    Closed 4:00 pm - 8:00 PM

    Great Lakes Grill Photos

    GREAT LAKES GRILL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Great Lakes Grill

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    Reviews With Photos

    Dining room half empty
    Richard T.

    TLDR: Worst meal in memory. Food borne illness followed. Up until today, if you had asked me what the worst restaurant meal that I have ever had, I would have described a horrible meal that I was served at an Italian "Garden" restaurant chain in New Mexico. But that has changed today at the Great Lakes Grill in Cheboygan, Michigan. Traveling to Mackinac for a short family outing, we decided to find a place for dinner off the tourist circuit. We selected to eat at the Great Lakes Grill after reading reviews on Google. As of today, many recent reviews were 4 and 5 stars. We are completely baffled at how anybody could have rated this establishment anything better than a 1 or 2. So after walking in, we waited almost 10 minutes to be greeted by a hostess. She said there is a wait for tables and asked if we wouldn't mind waiting in our car. Okay, we can do that. It was strange because half the restaurant was empty. Ten more minutes passed as we waited in our car and two giant tour busses pulled in. That was not a good sign. But after another 10 minutes, nobody got off the buses. Now having arrived 30 minutes earlier, we went back into the restaurant to see how much longer it would take to get a table. No idea, we were told. As we waited, at least 12 other prospective diners came in and left. After another 10 minutes, we were guided to a table with no lighting. We sat there in the shadows for 15 minutes with no wait staff to take our drink orders. We finally flagged down a waitress who told us that she would find out who our server was. Mind you, there were five or six wait staff running back and forth in the dining room serving maybe 7-8 tables. The same waitress decided after all that she was going to serve us and took our orders. The only positive part was that she hustled and brought the inedible food while it was hot. The menu contained real basic stuff, nothing inspiring. We shared an appetizer of "crab stuffed" mushrooms. They were served in an piping hot Escargot dish. Each of the six mushrooms were stuffed high with some kind of bread stuffing and melted cheese. Crab was nowhere to be found. The main courses were: 1)House Special Parmesan encrusted White Fish. It was inedible. The consistency was like pulverized fish meal. It came with mashers and a side salad. The salad had obviously been prepared earlier and refrigerated because the lettuce was wilted. There was about 1 tablespoon of salad dressing on the side. The potatoes were mashed with skins and had no seasoning. 2) Plain Cheeseburger, medium burned. It was so dried out that it was also inedible. Fries were hot but the insides had a mashed potato consistency 3) Liver and onions. The liver was also overcooked and hard to swallow. It had not been properly prepared and had tons of rubbery gristle. It was unseasoned. There was a pile of greasy onions that took up most of the plate. Two strips of cold undercooked bacon were placed on top of the liver for decoration. None of us came close to finishing our food. They asked if we wanted a to-go box. But it was all so horrible, we wouldn't even feed it to our dog. We paid the $70 plus tip (Please Pay In Cash, they insisted) and left. As we left, the restaurant's hostess had run out of the door in front of us. She stood on the edge of US23 highway to flag down a wayward bus to join the others that had pulled in earlier. Quite frankly, she should have waved them off! Within 30 minutes of leaving, two of us were ill. It was probably the crab stuffed mushroom concoction that we had shared. If the kitchen hygiene is as bad as the cooking, it might explain how we became ill. I hate to berate a family operation, but this place needs a new kitchen staff and probably needs a visit from the county's public health team. Worst restaurant meal in my memory.

    Chicken Nachos
    Paul T.

    Best nacho's ever! Service was very attentive and the price was reasonable. Check it out when you are in Cheboygan!

    Family dinner time with our funny guy
    Dan D.

    A nice small favorite restaurant that has a local flare and customers that frequent this fine restaurant. A wide assortment of options from fish, fried shrimp and fish, steak and hamburgers. The fried chicken was cooked just right, the burger was tasty and the chicken alfredo didn't disappoint. I had the cod, very good and hit the spot. The service was amazing, we felt special and we enjoyed our time and can't wait to go back

    French onion soup
    Leiby D.

    This place has a friendly staff and food is good sometimes and not so good others. We have been here a couple of times on our trips up to Cheboygan. We have only ever been in during off season, so I assume the inconsistencies were due to that. French onion soup great one time, then not the next. Ribs good first time then old and greasy the next. We came on fish fry night and waited forever for dinner and then it came and the fish and chips was undercooked and really oily like they had fried it in oil that wasnt hot enough. I really want this place to be the amazing up north spot it could be, so I am going to keep on trying it!!!

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    12 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Kerriann. Is amazing. She my mother and the best waitress in town. Fine dining with fast service. The cook Patrick is also amazing

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    11 years ago

    The best French onion soup around my wife & I go all the time & they are super friendly.

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    7 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

    We really like this restaurant. Always friendly staff, good food and fair prices. Love the long term ownership as well.

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    8 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Great Lakes Grill

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    I went here with some of my girlfriends for dinner and it was some of the best service we have EVER…read morehad. The owners are an adorable couple that makes everyone feel welcome and special. The bar tender (Ashley) was also amazing and uses recipes she's collected from all over the years from other restaurants and the drinks were fabulous! Marcella, one of the owners, took us on a tour of the whole place where they have a boutique, an art gallery (where you can watch the artist at work), AND a speak easy theater with live performers. This place was truly magical and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone coming to Mackinaw looking for a beautiful and charming restaurant to spend your day or evening. Please also check out the boutique since Marcella designs all the jewelry and it is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you again for such an amazing and memorable experience! We did truly feel like royalty:)

    This was our second visit to Queen's Head Wine Pub. This is a very unique venue with an upscale,…read morewarm, lounge type feel accented by the nice furnishings, appointment's and decor. It's not pretentious, as you are greeted by the a member of their friendly staff as you enter. There are multiple facets to this venue, so it makes your visit exciting. I wont share any "spoiler's" so when you visit you can experience all the niceties personally. Food is fresh and menu changes occur seasonally. Tonite we only had appetizers but they were both very good. We had the Baked Brie, a puff pastry filled with creamy Brie and a jam dressing. It included a very tasty fruit and nut cracker, sliced apples and Carmel corn nuggets. Great combination of sweet and savory! We also had the Shrimp Cocktail. You get 8 very nice size shrimp, which were nicely chilled (nothing worse than warm shrimp) and cocktail sauce. The shrimp were fresh and meaty, good flavor. The staff is great. Riley did a great job taking care of us. We were also greeted by the owner John, who was visiting and talking with every table of guests. This IMO is a sign of a establishment that wants to insure their patrons are happy and enjoying their experience. We would definitely recommend giving them a try when in Cheboygan or the area.

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    Very disappointed on arrival. Advertised as a bar/lounge. We…read morewere told upon entry there is a $6 per person charge to sit at a table! We asked to see a menu to decide if we wanted to stay. Menu is cheese boards, crackers, dips. NO OTHER FOOD OPTIONS! Atmosphere wasn't what we would expect for a bar with people with instruments apparently waiting for a chance to perform. Very small and seating close to one another. We didn't stay or won't return.

    This is the most amazing place for drinks in Cheboygen. For the liquor selection they have, they…read morereally put it to the best possible use. I would rate this place right up there with places in Grand Rapids I go to for drinks. The MDRD at the top of Amway or the high end bar at the Marriott along with a couple other cocktail lounges I frequent. Yet the prices here are 20-30 % cheaper. For a small town this place is incredible. The main guy I always see behind the counter is simply fantastic at his job. Always well dressed. The other workers are also great. I have been here several times on my way to my parents once or twice a month. I'm selective at using my time to leave great reviews. But I really want this place to stick around. So here we are. Even when it's busy, you don't have the same type of loud drunks you will find at the regular bars in the area. It's loud but balanced. And that's because I'm writing this on the Saturday this town is celebrating St Patrick's Day. And it's the most packed I have ever seen it. Yet still nice and jubilant.

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    The Leprechaun. A Gin drink I make at home I had them make here.

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    Great Lakes Grill - bars - Updated September 2026

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