Arrived a few minutes after 1pm on a Sunday. The place was hoppin! A sign said to seat ourselves…read more We chose a table in the dining room. The walls are covered with beer signs, trophy fish and old antiques. Fitting for the oldest running saloon in town. Our waitress arrived promptly and took our orders. Our drinks came back quickly and we knew what we wanted. I ordered the chicken fried steak with a side of cheesesy hashbrowns (Additional $1.50), coleslaw and a roll. My friend ordered the 4 piece bbq chicken with fries, coleslaw and a roll. The wait wasn't long. 10-15 minutes if that. My chicken fried steak was good. The cheesey hasbrowns were worth the extra charge! And I don't usually like coleslaw but this was great! My friend sure did enjoy his chicken! The service, food, PRICE for what you get and attmosphere were all EXCELLENT!

Walking into this place, you understand that is completely a local's bar. It's the kind of place…read morefor people bring a deck of cards, or talk union business at the bar. I had barely set foot in the door when the two bartenders at the bar greeted me warmly and welcomed me in and told me I could sit anywhere I wanted. I sat at the bar and as recommended by a local, I ordered the pepper jack crab soup, which was delicious. One thing to be aware of: don't expect real crab in the soup. Imitation only. But it's plentiful and delicious on a frigid winter day. The bartender recommended the roasted chicken or the perch, and living near another great lake and always having ready access to perch, I decided on the broasted chicken. I was not disappointed. It came with four pieces, choice, potato, and a choice of another side. It was way too its food, but I ate more than I thought they would because it was that good. I will definitely return to the painted lady!

Brewery #266 Third…read moreLife Brewing is a true microbrewery: a small brewery doing good craft beer with no food and no frills. Third Life is located in the former office of an old warehouse that I believe was an old Iron Ore company ( if memory serves me right). The brewery even has the old safe still in wall. I got my usual flight that consisted of Cat Jammin'-Raspberry (Raspberry Wheat), Tomtoberfest (Marzen), S.S. Dankowiak (DIPA) and the Duke of Witch Tree (Hazy IPA). All of them were really good but the S.S. Dankowiak was the star of my flight board. Cool atmosphere with lots of table and board games. Good music playing and a cool brewery sticker. Who doesn't love a bear in a canoe?

Best beer, best local vibe, friendliest staff (shoutout to Jake!) in Manistee. Just go.read more

Reviewed this back in '24 when they opened and it's gotten better and better. Let me just say this:…read more The Backyard burger is the best burger I've ever had. Period. And I grew up in the 80's eating at 'up north' bars, which previously had the best burgers of my life. This tops it. In addition to great pinball, a nice space, and great vibes, The Outsider is currently winning Manistee.

Here's a revised version that reflects there was no table service:…read more The restaurant was clean and the staff was courteous, but I left feeling the overall experience didn't justify the price. The food was more expensive than I expected, especially for a cafeteria-style restaurant with no table service. My biggest disappointment was the burger. It was cooked well, but it was overly salty to the point that it masked the flavor of the meat. I was also surprised to be prompted for a tip. Since customers order at the counter, pick up their own food, and there is no table service, the expectation of a tip didn't seem appropriate. Overall, I don't mind paying more for a quality meal, but in this case I didn't feel the food or the dining experience matched the cost.

Great food, great location. Enjoyed the drinks, vibe, service was prompt. Thanks for having us.read more

Now under new ownership, North Channel is a downgrade from its predecessor. Poorly prepared food,…read moreaverage service.

From the moment we stepped in we were transported into a warm and welcoming environment, much…read moreneeded after being outside in the bitter cold. The staff were extremely friendly and very attentive. We could tell they were very passionate about their food and drinks which made us eager to try it We started off with drinks. We got Hermes Wing and French Blonde. Both very elevated and balanced cocktails which were beautifully presented. We could drink them all day For appetizer we got the prosciutto wrapped brie. I'm not a prosciutto fan to be honest but my husband was and he encouraged us to try it anyways. I was pleasantly surprised. The prosciutto was cooked to be like a crispy thin piece of bacon. It worked perfectly with the hot honey glaze and to our surprise in house candied nuts. This was an exquisite mix of sweet and savory. For dinner everything on the menu looked really good and we wanted to try it all! We got the sea bass with black rice. I don't know what exactly they put in the sauce but it was by far the best sea bass I've ever had. The pairings with the sauce and rice were intentional and worked extremely well. My husband got the blackened swordfish which was cooked to perfection. This is not a common menu item we see and so we jumped at opportunity to try it. The outside of the fish was crispy but the inside juicy. It paired well with the tzatziki sauce to give a coolness to the blackened fish. We heard the pork ribeye was a must have from other customers so we decided to give that a try as well. The pork was extremely tender and juicy. It was paired with apples which I've never had before with pork but it not only elevated the already delicious pork but also gave a unique flavor and twist Mid dinner we ordered the Figtini and Greek Martini. Again, both did not disappoint. The Figtini was very delicious and you could taste the fig. The Greek Martini was perfect especially for my husband who will get a dirty martini wherever we go Lastly, we got the Tiramisu for dessert. This is absolutely a must have. I love tiramisu and this was a creative and delicious twist on the classic. It had a mix of fresh berries drizzled with caramel sauce. Heaven on a plate Overall 10/10 experience. We will definitely be back. PS I also realized their menu on yelp is not updated. Not sure why but I took pictures from their Facebook page of the updated menu and attached here

A stay in Manistee is not compete without a trip to the Golden Stag. We have a home in town and…read morethis place is by far our favorite! Get the Mediterranean Trio - it's a staple app for us. Creamy hummus topped with olive oil and feta, fresh stuffed grape leaves and tabouli. Delicious! And fresh homemade pita has wonderful texture! They are very cognizant about food allergies. Tonight and many nights I had the Chicken Marsala without cream. The chicken melts in your mouth and the Marsala sauce is well developed - a mound of potatoes and fresh seasonal veg which tonight was zucchini and squash. I always have half my meal left and it reheats beautifully. Their Expresso martinis are perfect. Friendly service and the owners stopped by to check on the food. Beautiful interior she changes with the season. I'd say we expect high quality from restaurants and this place is special! And we are overjoyed when we receive service from Shelby.

The service was outstanding and the food was fantastic! Oddly great pickles on the side for some…read morereason? We would definitely come back!

Cozy little place, menu pretty typical of quality bar and grill operations. That included a…read moresouthwest-style chicken salad, which is a favorite of mine, and TJ's is a bit unique. It had the standard toppings--avocado, corn, black bean, tomato, tortilla chips. But the cheese was melted on top, like a kind of crunchy/chewey plate--it really looked like it was topped with a mini pizza. Not sure that enhanced the salad, but overall it was fine. Instead of dressing, it came with tubs of sour cream and salsa to mix in. I do that at home sometimes, so can't complain. The lettuce was fresh and crispy. Decent beer selection, including a quite a few bottled ones, which I hadn't noticed until after I ordered my pint of Two Hearted. Be sure to ask for a bottle menu. I sat at the bar and the server regularly looked in on me. Wasn't too noisy, in spite of the tight space that was full when I stopped in on a Sunday night. Nice little spot to check out in Manistee.

Best fish fry in town, delicious burgers and friendly staff - always our go-to on a Friday night!read more

My husband and I came in for a beer then decided on getting just a small bite to eat. The only…read morething going for this place was the very cold beer and it was in a can at that. My husband ordered chili and we saw the cook walk behind the bar to the cooler and walk back to the kitchen with it, that should've been a sign right there. I ordered mac & cheese bites. The mac & cheese bites were the size of a large kidney bean and there were 5 of them for $8 dollars!!! The chili was too salty and more like a soup so my husband sent it back. We got our bill and she charged us for the chili and we asked about that and she said she could comp us a drink and was unpleasant about it. We left without finishing our drinks and won't go back.

Friendly members, cool vibe, clean bathrooms, dart machines, pool table, outside yard, 3 large…read morescreen TV's to watch all your favorite sports & the coldest beer in town!

From the owner: Coldest beers in town!read more