Stopped in this weekend while out on the boats and caught the staff right after what sounded like a stressful situation. Last thing they probably wanted was 2 boats of guys coming in. I believe it was the bar manager that explained the wait for tables to accommodate us was going to at least an hour so she suggested we order food and drinks to go and sit down below on the water and personally delivered all of our meals to us in a timely fashion. I felt the alternative was a great solution for our group. Covid certainly has put some serious stress on our restaurant community with all of the government restrictions to keep their staff and customers safe. I am glad they are doing it right to make sure of that. Just know going into it that larger groups will be VERY difficult to accommodate. Fish and chips were great read more

I have visited the Knot every 4th of July week for the past 5 years. Never had I had such a terrible experience. We were informed when being seated that they had a limited pizza and apps menu, which we agreed was a satisfactory option. We intended to buy pizza. After being seated, we were then informed that there was a band playing in their parking lot and it required a $5 cover for each person in our party. In order to stay for food we had to pay up in cash only. After ordering apps we were told they sold out of pizza and had no other dinner options available for us. It has been an incredibly disappointing experience and I write this while waiting 30+ minutes for an appetizer so we don't leave hungry. read more

Great in and outside views- tasty pizza, EXCELLENT BLACK BEAN BURGER, good prices, The bar has great beer choices. Carrot cake is HUUGE.

This place would be awesome, but they have super limited hours, and when they're supposed to be open, they don't stick to their hours. In the last few years, we have come SO many times, but they either open several hours late or close early. I know staffing is a challenge, but the hours are already so limited that this is really frustrating. read more

The waiting area under the deck was not ideal as seating was not initially provided. Food was great and service was very friendly. The view is really what makes this restaurant special. Amazing view of the bay! read more

Knot Just a Bar - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

Took my daughter here on a daddy-daughter date. We are locals and dock our boat here frequently. The view is amazing, but it seems that's the only thing the restaurant has going for it. My daughter got the kids burger. When it came out, it was a burger that was quartered and served as is. I thought it was a mistake, so I politely inquired and was told "that's just how it comes". It comes as a normal burger quartered? What a weird thing to do. Funny enough, I just read another review stating the same, so it's obviously not a fluke. It truly is "just how it comes". I wouldn't even be upset if it was just a small burger - I understand it's a kid's serving. But my 3 year old daughter ate her "burger" in 3 bites and kept asking me "where is the rest of my burger?". Kind of hilarious. I just gave her some of my overcooked burger, whatever. But a very weird experience. The waitress was nice enough, she doesn't have control over it. But the manager (?) was very disinterested in me simply giving constructive feedback. They lost a local's business. Bummer because it's a beautiful view. read more

We walked in at 9pm after being at the beach. The hostess had her back to me talking and the waitress finally acknowledged me and the hostess turned around. She said food is done at 9pm, if we wanted food, she could ask the cook. I explained, we only wanted to have a few drinks. One of the waitresses said we will have "guys name" serve them he is here late. Seated outside and given food menus. The male server came over and said we closed at 9pm but I can get you one drink. I politely said no thank you and have a good night. The hostesses originally said bar open until 10pm. We also checked the website before coming to make sure. It also says 10pm. I understand people sick of being at work so late and maybe because we had beach clothes on, we did not fit what they wanted to serve. We travel up here often throughout the summer as we have a place in Suttons Bay. Safe to say, we will never be back. Literally would be a zero if I was able. I very rarely post horrible reviews but this was one of those times, I felt the staff deserved it. read more

Knot Just a Bar - Hours of operation. We went on a Tuesday night. - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

wow! what a great place to eat and enjoy the view! I have been comig here for years. They are consistent with staff (Good) and their menu has something for everyone. Soup yummy Fish o my Super. i HAVE TRIED THEM ALL AND I CAN ONLY SAY GOOD THINGS! read more

Food and service was good. View was really pretty too. The perch and chowder was great too

Beautiful view, great food. The Asiago crab dip, soups and fried Perch were amazing. Great wine and tasting room next door!!! Great service

The view is beautiful! we love coming here to sit on the patio. They have good drinks and the young servers are really sweet but inexperienced. It took a long time for our appetizer and our entrees to come out. Our server mentioned they were short staffed in the kitchen, but still. It was too long of a wait. That said, the food is good bar fare with a good selection of salads, sandwiches and entrees. The only complaint was that there could be more steak in the steak salad. The parm whitefish was great. read more

I went in with my boyfriend and his family on a Friday for lunch. I've never ordered blackened salmon salad and I must admit-I didn't really have an expectation on how the salad would taste. What a pleasant surprise! The salmon was absolutely amazing! I'm a huge fan of salmon so it's tough to impress me. The salad was delicious though the salmon really stole the show. The combination of its flavor with the good ole' Michigan cherry vinaigrette was perfecto. I did however substitute blue cheese with Parmesan. Excellent dish! The food and the beautiful view of the lake was the perfect welcoming to leelenau county! I would go back for the salad :) read more

Knot Just a Bar - Blackened salmon salad! - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

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One of the quaintest bodegas on the lake. Charming with a bit of edge. Staff both hates and loves you. Food will either fill you up or put you down. Skip the casino and gamble with your intestines at the Knot. Try the buffalo shrimp. However, with only one bathroom to spare, be careful. With that being said, big fan of the beers. Drink all 69 beers and you get your name on the ceiling. Could do it in two days if i wasn't stuck in the bathroom. But hoping to do it soon. 5/5 spot on the water if you have a diaper. read more

We went here as we were passing through town. We were able to get seated right away but the service was a little slow. They were short staffed and we didn't mind. The server forgot to put in our drinks though. The food was average and a little pricey read more

Had a 96 yr old. Asked for outside and told they weren't seating outside. While inside they started sitting outside and we were next to a guy starting up trivia night and it was already very loud. When I asked the host to switch to outside he so rude that I went from thinking this was my favorite place in the area to one I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Beware of bad service (though everyone other than this one grumpy guy was fine). read more

For a waterside restaurant in a popular vacation town, they sure don't have a handle on crowds or speed. 1/2 an hour before we had waters on the table. Kitchen was very slow, understandable. Undertrained server got our order wrong, no manager there on very busy night, head server handled it poorly. Mediocre food. read more

Knot Just a Bar - Great view can't be denied...maybe just go for drinks at the bar. - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

The white fish was very very salty uneatable. Manager said he wouldn't tell the kitchen to change a thing, that's how they make it. He said next time we're in to order the fish without seasoning. No next time coming here. Service was ok. We paid our bill left a tip for our server. Seriously sad management style. read more

Sounded like a good idea when we arrived. Atmosphere was inviting, menu looked appetizing. The waitress, did KNOT have a clue. If you gave Pearl a baseball mit, she still couldn't catch a clue. We ordered our drinks, waited 15 minutes for 1/2 of them to be delivered. Expressed we we still missing the other beverage to which another 15 minutes went by. Knowing we were on an average of 15 minutes between the time we would see Pearl again, we ordered our food. Waited patiently. And waited. And waited. We stopped another waitress to express that we believe our waitress is LOST. Pearl arrives with NO food. She proceeds to explain that they had run out of the meals we had ordered now 20 minutes ago. We settled for fries since we were so hungry. Finally fries arrive, we consume them and now begin the waiting game for our bill. The bill arrives! Only to be charged for the food they ran out of. Again a waiting game. This is time we will NEVER get back in our lives. We again summons the kind server that has been picking up the slack for Pearl to help us out once again. She makes it right for us. Pearl arrives to give excuses. I pay the bill, we leave, never to return. We wish Pearl luck in her future endeavors. I hope owners release her back in the world, probably would be best for their business. Knot going there ever again. Beware! read more

So I finally tried the Bloody Mary that I waxed about in my review from 2010... I LIKED IT! Twice. Grabbed a table outside with one of my best and dearest gal pals from childhood and made an afternoon of it while our guys watched football in the bar. (they told us the TV was pretty old and had a split screen, so I'm sure you could find a better place to watch a game). However you cannot find a better place to drink outside! The sun was shining, our service was exceptional and we had a lovely time. My complaint STILL is that they list 4 bottled champagnes (sparkling, ahem) and none were available. Just the split. Do you even know how drunk I'd have gotten if they'd had that $24 bottle of local Mawby Blanc de Noir? Probably pretty drunk. But still, I wanted it! Splits don't do it for me, there's something about a bottle that I really like. Also the food is pretty "meh" but did the trick. I had the Mahi Mahi salad, which of course they managed to make unhealthy by serving it in a taco shell bowl. Luckily I had gotten my veggie servings through my cocktails a bit earlier. Great spot, was an excellent starter to an afternoon of wine tasting in the area...can't beat it when the weather is good. Still recommending it 2 years later. Bottoms up! read more

Knot Just a Bar - View from the patio - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

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Let me first say that I have been to this restaurant at least 5 times already and they have done a great job. Today I was very disappointed with the service simply because we were made to wait over 40 minutes when told 30. This normally would not be an issue. The issue was that we were passed over by a group of six young men who had only been waiting for around 10 minutes. This greatly upset me, when I told the young male host that we had been waiting much longer he said that they were a party of six. I've had this happen before and I get how some restaurants may make this decision during normal times, these are not normal times. I could be wrong but I wonder if the young host knew these guys and was doing a favor. If so or not, unacceptable. read more

Just had the most frustrating experience here We presented as a group of 10 adults looking for lunch Two young boys at the hostess stand informed me that they could only seat a party of 8. I asked to be seated as two groups They refused and said we might "mingle" with each other. Then they said we would overwhelm the kitchen. Business must be great when you turn away a $400+ lunch check. And management hiding behind two young kids at the hostess stand is a special touch. I know times are tough but that's ridiculous. Wouldn't eat here If they paid for it! read more

Horrific customer service! Do not go here! We went as a family and it was terrible, they had no idea what they were doing.

Visited this place when they opened back up recently and it was a great experience. They took the new rules with COVID 19 very seriously and made me feel very safe. I ordered the fish basket and it was very tasty you could really tell the sweat and tears these chefs put into their food. It was a little more salty than I was expecting but I enjoyed it very much none the less. The wait staff was also extra perky and full of energy which is nice to see in these trying times. I recommend it to all my friends visiting the Traverse City area! Will be back soon! read more

I used to eat at Keith's all the time when I was a kid. This isn't Keith's. I think the food is great, but I have to agree with Willem B. that it is substantially overpriced. It might have something to do with the expensive makeover and the well-appointed wine tasting room next door. That, and the incredible view of Omena Bay. It's worth it to me to have a nice meal with that view. Another thing going for Knot Just a Bar is a pretty serious beer selection. Update: we keep coming back, because the perch and the seafood chowder are absolutely great. read more

I'll give it 3 stars only because I was the only one disappointed. Spouse had the perch in a cone and said it was very good. I unfortunately had the layered dip in a cast iron skillet and had a hard time finding the seasoned beef....it was practically all refried beans and pretty watery on the bottom probably due to too many crushed tomatoes. I should have ordered the nachos. read more

Anyone leaving anything below a 4 or 5 star review is stupid. Food and service has been outstanding for the several times my family and I have come. Props to the manager and staff for dealing with these people. By far the best restaurant in the county :) read more

OMG - I cant even give this place 1 star, but had to in order to publish this. Wish I would have read the reviews prior to coming, as it appears this man has repeatedly acted in this psychotic manner towards other patrons. I have never experienced treatment like this in my entire life at a restaurant or any place of business. We had 9 individuals in our party, but were aware of the restrictions due to Covid and asked for a table of 6 for the older adults and a table of 3 for the 20 year olds. We called ahead specifically for this seating and when we arrived , we ordered 1 round of beers and waited approx. 1 hour. When one of our party inquired on how much longer, she was treated very rudely from what we can gather was the acting manager; she stated we were trying to "pull a fast one" in regards to getting a table I guess??? Not sure how, as we were fine with splitting up our party, and had been waiting patiently. When the manager was confronted and told (in a calm manner) that she was being rude by one of the members of our party, she apparently went to the "owner" who came rushing out the door, yelling and screaming, demanding that we leave after waiting an hour for a table and just getting seated, stating that he didn't want to "deal" with us. He was so loud and obnoxious, making it uncomfortable for the rest of the patrons to witness such behavior. Not understanding why he would behave in such an irrational manner, our group responded back with anger and disbelief. The owner then got directly in our faces forcing us down his stairway, all the while screaming obscenities as his customers looked on, threatening to call the police. Why? We have the entire encounter videotaped. This guy has a screw loose and possibly needs medication. We were abiding by the rules and this guy goes off the rails because of what his embarrassed staff member told him? He didn't even attempt to figure out the whole story, or try to discuss things in a calm matter. Apparently this mans business is doing so well with Covid restrictions that he has no problem telling people to leave based on hear say. Truly he must be severely stressed as to subject what little clientele he can have at his establishment during this time, to the ridiculousness that he created. Will be getting the word out NOT to patronize this establishment. Beyond the view , this place is "Knot" worth visiting. Attached a pic of this maniac as he screamed at us. In response your reply: #Fake news- Again we were fine with splitting up our party- WE HAD NO ISSUE. 6 of us came up on your deck when we were told our table was ready- the other three were downstairs waiting for their table- look back at your cameras and you will see that along with your aggressive behavior. Looks like this is a behavior pattern according to previous reviews- Not sure how you expect anyone to react to a man who busts through a door and screams the way you did. I would be concerned if I lived in this community full time. read more

Knot Just a Bar - Maniac screaming and demanding for our party to leave. - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

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Sunday, August 23, dinner time. We really, really thought this would be a great dining experience to cap off our long weekend vacation in northern Michigan. We were at the neighboring winery business, were hungry and thought this place looked great. While the view of the water from the outdoor seating is fantastic, there were a few things that severely detracted from our experience. I work in a customer facing business and am fully aware that businesses are operating differently in the pandemic. But, it also means those businesses should be working as hard as they can to get, and keep, customers. We approached the host stand to get a table and were told it would be a 30-35 minute wait. Not a big deal. We gave them our name and asked if we could go across the building to the winery and if they would come find us there. They assured us they would. We walked back into the other business and were easily accessible to anyone that would have looked for us. When we approached the host stand again - after 30 minutes - we received a rather curt reply from a teenage employee who said "oh, when we were ready for you we couldn't find you." My frustration was evident and another employee immediately rectified the situation by telling us he had a table he could seat us at immediately. That was good to hear and calmed my anger, but a different way of responding to a customer might've been in order after a 30 minute wait. Our waitress (D'nae?) was wonderful, she was obviously working hard in a shorthanded environment. In fact all the wait staff I viewed (3-4) we're working quickly and efficiently. The other issue was with the food quality. We ordered onion rings as an appetizer and when they came out my wife noted to me she felt they were fried in the same oil as the fish. I didn't personally taste any fishy taste but the irony came when our entrées arrived. My wife had the burger and fries which was fine, and I had a fish sandwich and fries. The fries were good. The fish was 2 small pieces and did not taste like fish at all. The batter was good but there was absolutely no fish taste to the fish. It was a disappointing sandwich. I probably could've let these things go if the final straw hadn't come when I walked through the restaurant to go to the restroom. The tables outside were full and there was a waiting list for the restaurant during the dinner hour. The inside of the restaurant currently seats no customers so it was good that I was the only one to hear an employee in the kitchen yelling loudly "not one more f - - king person!" and then he yelled the phrase again. We all have a lot of stress right now but employees in the kitchen shouldn't be yelling profanity that patrons can hear. It's not soundproof. Nice views, good beer menu, but that's not enough to make us want to visit again. read more

Knot Just a Bar - View from outdoor dining area - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

One of the only places you will find to eat on the water! Sit on the patio for a beautiful view of Grand Traverse Bay! Before dinner enjoy wine tasting at Leelanau Cellars right next door. Enjoy free pop corn as as you wait. The Knot Kone is what they are known for! read more

Knot Just a Bar - Salmon Salad - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

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refused to service our party because of our service dog. host said our service dog was not a service dog. they provided a check list for what is required of a service dog. our service dog met all criteria. host laughed at us. refused to look at our paperwork from state of michigan. rude. do not patronize if disabled read more

Service was a tad slow, which is why there is one less star here than there would otherwise be. The place wasn't that busy, so we should have gotten our food and bill a lot faster. That being said, the food was outstanding. My friend got a gyro, which she said was so-so, but my other friend and I both got the seafood chowder and LOVED it. I highly recommend at least adding a cup of this to your meal, no matter what you're ordering! I wish there was soup like that around here... I also got a Caesar salad, which was also delicious. And we were able to go right next door (in the same building, so you don't need to go outside) to drink a bunch of wine afterwards! I would love to go back and sit on the patio- it was too cold when we were there. read more

Nice lunch spot if near Omena, MI. Tasty Northern Michigan fare: perch, Whitefish, cheery cobbler, MI microbrews. Friendly, albeit somewhat slow service is my only complaint. Great views into West Grand Traverse Bay! read more

Knot Just a Bar - Bloody Mary comes with bonus beer - cool! - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

The grilled cheese was sooo good here. They served beer and sangria in nice glasses. Quick service. Beautiful view!

We came here basically because it's the only thing in town. Staying at a cottage within walking distance for the weekend. It was Friday night and the smell of fish tempted our noses as soon as we entered! The all you can eat perch was recommended. It was delicious! Lightly breaded and very meaty. The waitress brought plenty when we asked. The view is awesome overlooking Omena Bay. Simply a very enjoyable meal! We are here for an extended weekend and I'm sure we'll be back! read more

Beautiful day and the place was empty but we were told we couldn't sit outside because they were short staffed and couldn't manage tables outside and inside. We got some carrot cake to go and left Edited- Mr Owner/manager I am sorry to inform you that you are incorrect. We were specifically refused service outside at about 3:45pm by the very rude manager/bartender. We drove that direction specifically on the recommendation of a friend and I refused to sit inside and smell burned popcorn on such a beautiful day with a beautiful view. Thankfully we had an amazing dinner at West End Tavern with a great view. I will for sure not be making that trip again no matter how good the carrot cake may be read more

The view is spectacular. The food is overpriced, overcooked, and greasy. Go for the view of Omena Bay, have a beer, and eat elsewhere.

Dylan gave my family and I a great experience! We ate salads, fish, shrimp, and drank some beers. The service at The Knot is excellent and the crowd is even better. If you are looking for a fun spot on the peninsula, skip The Cove and go here! read more

Knot Just a Bar - View from the patio - American Near Me - Omena, Michigan

Good place to eat and watch the bay! We had a large group and had to split across two tables, but we were seated quickly. Our server Kristi was the best! She took such good care of us, always checking in and making sure we were doing well. So far the best waitress we've had on this trip! Docked one star just because the food was pricier than usual for the area, but par for the course on quality. read more

Got to restaurants at 7:40 and they close at 8:00. They wouldn't seat us. Disappointed and was the 3rd time we tried to eat there. Will try again next summer. read more

Not good. Long wait for everything from being sat, ordering food, and receiving your pop are not exempt from the long wait. The kid doing the hosting was hard to deal with and I assume he's related to someone there. When my wife then ordered dessert along with the bill it challenged my patience beyond what I could bare. After twenty minutes I told the waitress to cancel the dessert and just bring the bill. She told me they were busy with a take out order and hadn't gotten to it yet. I'm glad we could assist by freeing up a brownie Sunday they now didn't have to make. read more