My family and I were visiting from Louisiana and wanted to find a good spot for fresh fish. When we walked in, the service was quick and friendly, which was a great first impression. We ordered several different dishes, and overall, everything was delicious. The French onion soup was also a hit. And the cous cous with my salmon was the best thing I've ever eaten. The only miss for us was the cod--my mom didn't care for it, and I would not waste your time on this dish. The atmosphere was charming with a cute, nautical theme, making it a pleasant place to dine. The only drawback was the wait for our entrées; it took quite a while even though there were only two tables in the entire restaurant at the time. Overall, I'd still recommend this spot for the friendly service, tasty dishes, and cozy atmosphere. And they have a $15 lunch menu which was a nice surprise too! read more

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Stopped in for dinner while working in this town. Seemed like a local spot. Sat at the bar - bartender was friendly and service was very good and friendly. The calamari could have been crispier, but the sweet and sour sauce was amazing. The fish and chips - although the portion was large, the batter on the fish was bland and kind is mushy. Dinner was reasonably priced. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Calimari - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

Came here on a summer saturday night for dinner, we were able to a table pretty fast for a table of 5. The chowder had really good flavor and it was thick. The whitefish was cooked well, loved the crispy coating but the fish was not dry or salty at all. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Chowder - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Good spot to visit if you're in Traverse City. Fast service and the interior has a log cabin feel. My Organic Chicken Breast dish looked great. The chicken was spiced well. The potatoes were good too but a bit unevenly heated. The miss was the wilted arugula which came between the chicken and the potatoes. It was bitter and I did not enjoy it. I scraped it off the potatoes and left it on my plate. Spinach or green beans would have worked much better. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Organic Chicken Breasts - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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First off, Renee is a great waitress, made sure we were taken care of the entire time my Fiancée and I were dining. The Beer Battered Cod was so amazing, tasted great, not fishy at all, it was like I was eating chicken. The fries that came with it were very good, and tasteful, Cole slaw was not very good but everything else outweighed a small portion of Cole Slaw. My Fiancées Parmesan crusted whitefish was amazing as well, the potatoes underneath had good flavor, the green beans could have been cooked a little longer but like before everything else outweighed that. Great atmosphere and highly recommend dining here if you're a tourist in Traverse City or even if you live here as well! read more

We had an amazing dinner at Harrington's! The service was right on and the cod dinner was the best I've ever had. We are not from Traverse City, but Harrington's is our must go to when we visit! read more

I'm so sorry to write this. We love to support small businesses, especially in a northern Michigan town that most likely has very slow months during the winter. Place is decorated very well and has charming touches. It gets busy! Plan ahead. Food was poor. If you like a good meal, just pass on this place. Fish and Chips were a zero. Don't bother. No taste and was served cold. The French dip was also poor. Meat was over cooked and rubbery, the au jus had nothing notable. Two got hamburgers and both said they were ok, a 3 out of 10. Walleye sandwich also a 3. All 5 of us had the truffle fries. All of us felt they were bland, just regular food service fries and no one could taste any truffle. Sad to write this review. read more

We came pretty late to Harrington's so we had to eat at the bar, but this was a perk because the bartender is great and we ordered quickly. We wanted a hearty meal after a long day traveling and experienced a classic "steakhouse" meal on the lighter side: grilled salmon and grilled chicken. The entrees were good but the star of the night was the peanut butter cup pie. It was amazing. read more

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Very nice experience at Harrington's. Food and service both great. The place looks like it has been there a long time but very well taken care of and cool nautical theme. View of the bay was really nice. Have to try the seafood chowder. It was delicious. The walleye was also delicious. Highly recommended!! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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As a typical restaurant in Northern Michigan, they only offer Northwoods Soda which I feel can be kind of an acquired taste. Black Cherry Creme Soda or their Black Cherry soda are always winners. Appetizer was Boom Boom Shrimp, which had phenomenal Boom Boom sauce, but the shrimp itself came dry (so dipping the shrimp into the sauce was required). Either way, it made it into my mouth and belly. As a second appetizer, we ordered the Warm Baguette. Holy. Bananas. If each baguette cost one (1) newborn child, I would become a serial kidnapper simply to keep eating their bread. Comes with whipped butter, but realistically it could come with pinecone shavings and it would taste just as good. Main course was the Beer Battered Cod with Truffle Fries. Another knock out of the park. Five perfectly sized fish chunks with perfect breading deep fried a perfect golden brown. The second coming of our Lord and Savior would still pale in comparison to this Heaven sent food. read more

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I enjoyed this restaurant when my husband and I came for our 25th wedding anniversary, so I had this on my list of places to dine at while I am in Traverse City. I ordered the blue cheese crusted burger with fries and the food was really good. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because I ordered my burger cooked medium and it was cooked medium well. I had asked my waitress if their cooks were able to cook a true medium, as I prefer it under rather than over, and she said she would talk to them. She was disappointed that my burger was not cooked properly and offered to have them cook it again but I was hungry (forgot to even take a picture) and it tasted good, so I ate what I was given. This restaurant is in a great location and I was able to get a table that looked right out to the water, so I was happy. I will definitely continue to recommend this restaurant. read more

We waited 5 minutes for hostess who was on the phone before finding out. You need a reservation even though nothing says they do.

Cocktail was constructed poorly. Dinner was fair and the service was flat. I don't think we'll be back. Wine didn't arrive until after the meal was finished. read more

Get the grilled tenderloin salad! When a menu says salad, sometimes you get something really big, too basic or overloaded. I sat at the bar and ordered their grilled tenderloin salad and it was fantastic. It comes out on the plate with the ingredients stacked in a circle form. Each bite is even and filled with flavor. The balsamic, pecans and gorgonzola cheese live rent free in my head. The service was good, the female behind the bar just attentive enough. Inside the restaurant seemed small and kind of dim but nice with a view of the Grand Traverse Bay. read more

Stopped here for lunch and was not disappointed. The inside was much bigger than I expected but it was so warm and cozy inside they had a fire going in one of the two fire places and we were sat by a window looking out at the water. Our waitress greeted us right away and our food came out hot and quick. We got two pretty decent sizes of fish on our fish sandwich and a nice amount of toppings on our wedge salad. Both were delicious. It was a perfect lunch to then spend the day walking around down town Traverse. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Fish sandwich - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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So friendly and foods are so good. I had IPA, tenderloin, bacon wrapped shrimp and chocolate cake. I only missed French onion soup. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Absolutely to die for food! Everything was amazing and high quality. I had the special that was a deconstructed chicken pot pie and the TC Sour (whiskey sour) as a drink and they were amazing. It's a pricey restaurant, so be prepared to throw down some cash here! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - The Chicken Pot Pie special - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

The Chicken Pasta was great, the ribeye steak not so much. Very fatty, an acquired tasted. Walleye was good but small portion for the price. Clean, nice interior. Service was quick but not personable. read more

The food was very good. We had a wonderful server. Very accommodating to our needs. The building is comfortable. We asked for a window seat closest to the bay and had no problem getting it. We were there on a Thursday night. It was not crowded, mostly, I think, because of extensive road construction. I suspect that all their dishes are excellent. I had the bacon wrapped shrimp. Very nice. The onion soup was delicious. I had the walleye. It was good but a small portion. It came on a bed of herded basmati rice. Not a fan of that material. If you wanted me to describe it's flavor, I could not, because it has none. But that's just me. My wife had a baby Romaine wedge salad and a tenderloin. She loved both. All in all it was a good experience. It ain't cheap but I think occasionally well worth it. Will go back for sure. read more

Great view across the street from the Lake. Nice decor. The bar is usually full of people and has TVs where you can watch some sports. People are friendly. We had the walleye and chowder. The seafood chowder was delicious and had good consistency. The walleye was fresh and tasty. Service was great! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Dining area - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Very clean with rustic decor. Excellent food. I had French onion soup and a felled cooked perfectly to my liking. My dining partner had salmon and risotto and loved it. Great waitress too. read more

Delicious walleye pike dinner, simply but expertly prepared in comfy-cozy surroundings. Other entrees seem to be sensible offerings for people craving local specialties. Very popular place, the parking lot is all come and go. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Walleye Pike - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Overall comments from my visit: service was slow. Our waitress was only completing one task at a time, but improved as the meal progressed. The portions were small for what you pay. The food itself was overall pretty good. Here's a breakdown of what my family ordered: Tenderloin salad: the vinaigrette was good, but the lettuce was drenched in it. The salad was pretty small. The filet in the salad was tender and seasoned well - it had a good peppery flavor. My bacon white cheddar steak burger: I like that they used a unique blend of filet, NY strip, and ribeye (all great cuts). The patty was juicy, but on the salty side. The fries were battered, so they were really crispy on the outside. Beer battered cod: it came with 4 chunks of fish - not a huge portion. Also, the fries that came with them were too salty. Low carb meal: salmon and veggies. My mom enjoyed the flavor and lightness of this dish. If you're looking for a place to eat, this restaurant will get the job done. It's got some good options. read more

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A rustic west bay restaurant with a timber lodge atmosphere. Food was okay. Seafood chowder was on the brown side. I prefer more of a traditional style white with solid seafood flavor. Their version had a detracting "heat" spice component that was not what I was expecting. Good if you like that sort of thing. I don't like gratuitous spice only to change a classic dish to be somehow trendy. The cup was small, maybe 6oz? I had a classic burger, ordered medium, was cooked well-done. Not the end of the world, but not what I had ordered. It was a good burger but there are better burgers across the area. Chips were good, I would order the fries next time. Overall, not bad, not out of this world read more

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The location and atmosphere is quite nice as is the service. But the food was underwhelming. I had cod with a Caesar salad (which I chose instead of the fries and slaw normally served with the cod). My husband got the walleye. The romaine wasn't fresh and the croutons were insanely stale! The cod was very good. But the walleye was meh. We'll go elsewhere next time. (The table was filthy!) read more

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This place could be so much better. Nice location with a view of the bay from across the street. Convenient parking, and greeted by the hostess. Here is where the problem started. My wife had already been seated and the hostess told me to go find her, even though nobody else was waiting, so not very helpful. I find my wife in the mostly empty dining room standing by a booth. We wanted outside, but that looked full. She had been seated at a booth across the room from the windows. She requested one of the open booths by the window. This is when wait staff personnel came up and said they could not accommodate us to move the 20 feet or so to a booth with a view, it would not work for them. So we sat in our booth and looked across the mostly empty dining room (on a Friday at 7pm or so) to the open booth and view of the bay. Ordered the walleye. It was just above room temp and semi-ok taste. Service from Taylor was quite good. But she can't work all the time, so do not recommend. read more

They were very accommodating, the food was great and the view of the lake was amazing. Our food server was very attentive and kind.

We ordered to go, and it was delicious, as advertised, and made for a great, shared family meal.

We didn't have reservations on a Saturday night and got seated right away, which was nice. The food came out quickly, which was great. We ordered calamari to start, which was good and we asked for an aioli to come with it, which was tasty -- it was some sort of chili aioli. For meals, we ordered Mac n cheese with fries for our 2 year old (it was clearly Kraft from a box but she didn't mind). I ordered the Parmesan crusted whitefish and it came with broccolini and mashed potatoes. The fish wasn't great and it lacked flavor but the mashed potatoes were decent. My husband ordered the walleye and was disappointed with how it was breaded. I think for the price we paid, we expected it to be a little better but I would go back and try something else. read more

My husband was served expired beer on August 16th the date on the bottle was June 2024...the bartender said it was the "born" date. Pretty sure that's not right when have you ever seen a born on date and then no expiration date on a product? When we brought it their attention they still brought him another old beer...seriously? The food was hot and really good! Some of the best crab cakes I've ever had and I'm a sucker for crab cakes. The French dip was one of the best I've had as well....add the grilled onions and cheese! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - My husband was served an expired beer on August 16th and this was the date on the bottle - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Food was fantastic. Service was great (thanks, Chrissy) - pricing was reasonable, beautiful view from the outside seating.

I was visiting traverse City when we decided to find a place to stop by for a nice dinner. I learned that calling in to make a reservation is a smart move in this city on weekends. After an hour long wait to be seated, we started off with some wine to accompany our main courses. I enjoyed the fish and chips and the walleye. The Parmesan crisps with the risotto on a walleye was a great touch, I recommend this dish over the generic fish and chips. The chips are listed as truffle fries but be warned that the fries are just dusted with truffle salt, hard to distinguish them from just ordinarily salted fries. We were happy to squeeze in the cherry cheesecake in the end, it was delightful. This restaurant is a bit pricey. We had a great window seat with a view of the bay but it was hard to maintain good conversation because the main dining hall is so loud when all the tables are filled. read more

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Disappointed. We waited over an hour for a table on a Sunday night only to find out more than half the tables were not seated. Could have been covid or short staffed but they didn't explain so it just looks bad. Hostess gave the impression she didn't want us to wait when we put our names in. We had tried to make a reservation but were told they weren't taking anymore that night. We ordered potato skins at the bar , they took way too long but were delicious. Once seated we order a warm baguette for appetizer. For $3 a expected some decent bread.. but it really was not any better than stale grocery store bread with a garlic oil glaze. The ribeye was delicious but bakes potato was cold and had been sitting too long before being served. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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The service and food here was great. The views were also nice. The kitchen is clear so you can watch them cook. The walleye was delicious. It didn't have a fishy taste, which I don't like. It came with a parmesan waffle like bowl. The asparagus were yummy and big. All ingredients complimented each other except the sweet sauce on the side that reminded me of melted ice cream. Not sure what that was. The med pasta was good. The drinks were good. I was a little disappointed they didn't have flavored lemonade which most places i went to did. The shrimp app was good. Nice big plump shrimp. I highly recommend the fish! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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The location was fantastic with views of the water from basically anywhere in the main dining room. There were also two large stone fireplaces that flanked both ends but not lit since it was warmer outside. The food was superb. Not pictured was my cup of butternut squash soup. If the month of October had a taste, it would be that cup of soup. I'll be dreaming about it for weeks. The walleye was done to perfection and I have to give high marks to the asparagus also. Not just an accompaniment to the meal, but a star completely on its own. The homemade peanut butter pie was just the right size for two (if you just want a little something sweet and decadent to end the meal) or la generous portion for one person. We will definitely be back. read more

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We were on our way home from the UP. Dressed ultra casually and looking for a good meal with a view in Traverse City. Used yelp to find a great place with outdoor dining on-the-bay. No wait on a Friday night. Great service...great bread. Husband loved the Mediterranean. Grill. I loved the pecan crusted white fish. Our server was fantastic. If you eat outside you have to be able to ignore the traffic between you and the view. read more

I was very excited to try this place! I love fresh seafood so I was very excited! I went with a large group of 10 people and we got a variety of appetizers and I loved the bacon wrapped shrimp and the calamari! The dipping sauces that came with them were amazing! I love a good sauce! For my main course I got the fish and chips and I was very excited. The fries were amazing and the tartar sauce was excellent! I was sad that my fish was a little soggy. I think that it may have been since I was with such a large party that it did not come directly out of the fryer. I did get the peanut butter pie and it was VERY good! Rich but good. Nothing a little coffee could not help! The staff was amazing and our waitress was great! Defiantly check this place out if you are in TC! read more

We experienced the good and bad I've seen in other reviews. My wife enjoyed her soup and fish immensely. I am not a fan of fish so went with the ribeye. When it first came it was raw inside. They took it back and re-fired. It came back slightly still raw inside but now the outside was shoe leather. The waitstaff was wonderful but couldn't make up for the kitchen failure. The manager comp'ed the steak which was nice but bottom line I had to get dinner elsewhere. read more

First time here and we very much enjoyed it & will be coming back. Accommodating, friendly, attentive staff. Clean comfortable atmosphere that is great for all ages. The seafood chowder and squash bisque were both very good & piping hot! Hubby's ribs were fall off the bone. His only comment is the sauce lacked a little flavor. We think it's a cherry bbq but it was so subtle we couldn't say for sure. Still tasty! My pasta was flavorful! My only suggestion is to add another 1/4 cup of the veggie ragout to balance the pasta portion as the veggies were packed with flavor. And the onion straws gave the perfect crunch element & the extra salt to finish it off! Looking forward to our next visit, thank you! read more

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I came here for a dinner with friends during a weekend trip. We unfortunately weren't impressed with this place. I had the mushroom pasta and I didn't like it at all. It was very bland, flavorless, and nothing special. The description for the pasta sounded so good, but when it came out the balsamic glaze sauce made it very difficult to eat, a little tart. The whitefish and chicken dishes were good. However the salmon was nothing special. The prices on the menu were high, considering the casual vibes of the decor. read more

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