We came in for what was my first visit here and were sat immediately for lunch. The staff was super friendly and helpful...we came in for lunch with an ulterior motive of acquiring their coconut rice and their Ranch recipes. We got shot down on the specifics but our lunch was great. The oysters were legit, fresh, and huge! My sliders were AOK, the French Onion soup was good, their bread obviously a staple. Service was great and the ambiance was inviting and clean. My first experience left me wanting to come back! read more

Nice establishment in an older building, can get a bit noisy. Parking was limited, but was able to find a spot. The service was excellent, Bob treated us excellently and was on top of refills and taking care of our needs and requests. The grilled spicy fish tacos were very good, although not spicy. The shrimp were large and excellent. The French onion soup had plenty of cheese and was very good, just a bit salty. Will definitely be back. read more

Nice comfortable atmosphere with nice tables and chairs. Service was excellent and enjoyed the cedar plant salmon and Mediterranean salad. Potatoes were iffy. House cab was good. read more

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn - Cedar plank salmon - New American Near Me - Clarkston, Michigan

I came here for a family birthday dinner and had a great time! Our waiter, Bob, was attentive, helpful, and funny! He always made sure we had full drinks and more of the delicious bread and butter. The inside is a cozy cabin like vibe, so cute! The menu was great I had a hard time deciding what to get. I ended up getting the combo stuffed shrimp and perch plate with pilaf. I think the dishes could have come out a bit warmer, but overall everyone enjoyed their meals. At the end Bob brought out an ice cream puff with a candle for the birthday girl. We had a great time and would love to come back! read more

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Food was average. I wasn't impressed with the white fish or the chicken tortellini. Exspensive considering the portions were small and did not come with a salad or side unless you paid for it. $22 for a half bowl of noodles! Service was substandard. Appetizer was delivered with main course. Will not be returning. read more

this specialty pizza certainly is not your typical 30 min or its free type pizza. trying out this restaurant chain, it does taste like this was made with care. fresh crust, hot at the time of pickup, took about 40min from the time ordering online. similar to "supreme" style toppings, the ingredients do taste better. sauce is rich in tomato flavor, also it is more moist than the others, so more suitable to eat with fork and knife rather than handheld. of note, it is a two- level building. the front or top floor is the dining , where more closer to the back of parking lot, you will get to the lower level where there is the carry out entrance for pick up takeout orders read more

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn - takeout box - New American Near Me - Clarkston, Michigan

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Very beautiful restaurant with a relax feel. I really liked the hunting lounge vibe and our server was awesome. Very kind girl. The food was delicious and nicely presented. Definitely want to go back. read more

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn - New American Near Me - Clarkston, Michigan

Great food and atmosphere, if you can get in. Very popular in the last year. Service is great

We've been long time customers of the Deer Lake Inn. The staff are wonderful and service is always very good. The food and general value have been in decline in recent years however. Prices have increased while portion sizes and quality have gone down. The food, while tasty seems pre-prepared and overly reliant on cream sauces vs in-house ragu options for pasta etc. The number one soup on the menu, and only gluten free / dairy free soup ever on the menu is now discontinued leaving no option for those with these common allergies. There are better options for the ~$80 meal you are likely to have here before any wine or cocktails. read more

We've been eating here for decades and have never had a bad meal. The food is always very fresh and cooked perfectly. The food is always consistent as well, which is something that is rare with most restaurants. Their food looks and tastes the same every time. The service is good and wait times are average. The prices are fair relative to the quality and portion sizes. I highly recommend Deer Lake Inn. read more

The food was amazing! The service, not so hot. The waiter took his time taking our order and then never returned to provide refills on drinks. It also took quite awhile for him to pick up the payment after he dropped the bill at the table. With the service being the only downside, the delicious food will bring us back. read more

Great restaurant, not sure you can go wrong with anything. From the bread and their soup to great entrees. I love this place. Ps. Wait staff the best read more

I'm genuinely shocked this place has a 4-star rating. Do not eat here. Everything we ordered was bad -- we threw away about 90% of the food. I arrived at the time I was told to pick up my carryout order and ended up waiting 45 minutes. Around the 30-minute mark, one of the employees went to check on my order. When she came back, another employee asked what they said, and her response was that the guy in the kitchen just shrugged. No explanation, no apology, and nothing was offered to make the situation right. Unfortunately, the food wasn't worth the wait: Pizza - Doughy and undercooked, with an overly acidic sauce. The sausage tasted like plain ground beef with no seasoning. Tortellini with chicken - Completely flavorless, as if no salt was used at all. The chicken was extremely dry, even sitting in sauce, and difficult to swallow. Caesar salad - The dressing tasted strongly of horseradish, which was very strange and unpleasant. Fish tacos - Not good, but at least edible. Breadsticks - Looked promising, but had no flavor and were very hard. Between the long wait, lack of communication, zero attempt to fix the issue, and terrible food, this was a very disappointing experience. I won't be returning. read more

Great food and selection as well as very good, friendly service. Love the ambiance as well!

First the good: our server was pretty attentive and friendly. We got the crawfish poutine appetizer which was fantastic and the calamari which was ok. I got the crab cake dinner which was delicious. For dessert I got the 4 berry cobbler which was served warm with ice cream and was delicious. They put a candle on it for my birthday which was nice. The not so good included being seated about 20 minutes after our reservation time and the fact that there was no parking nor standing room to wait. I felt like a sardine and had to keep moving. Also, our table was extremely close to the one next to us so everytime I got up, I bumped into the guy behind me. It was also pretty dark where we were seated. read more

Friendly service. Cute cozy interior. Patio, bar, and table seating options. Plenty of parking. Five stars for that. I was under the impression this establishment had happy hour after reading numerous recent reviews. They do not. At all. Another disappointment was the bar selection of liquors. Very standard. Nothing local like their other locations. Good options, but I was missing the local. As a gin lover, beefeater and Bombay don't do it for me. Wine selection is good though. Lastly, like most K&M locations, there is little to nothing plant based or vegan. I love the Martha's Vineyard salad and drop the cheese. There wasn't much else to order, but if you're an omnivore you will love your choices. read more

Went with friends who love the place, ehh me not so much, wife either. Thought it was overpriced for the atmosphere "sort of like sitting in a corner bar" wife's lake perch was soggy not crisp and tasteless served on top of a pile of mashed potatoes. I had the pan roasted chicken. One small chunk of a chicken breast, floating in what appeared to be soup with a scoop of mashed potatoes. Ordered a side of French Onion Soup, lot of cheese but two croutons and maybe three pieces of onion tasted like it came out of a can. Should have listened to our friends who originally suggested the BBQ place down the street but I thought connected to the Joe Muer family we were told, would be fantastic, truly a disappointment indeed. Our server Mercedes O. did a great job, about the only thing this place has going for it. EXTREME DISAPPOINT! read more

Started with their delicious bread and martinis which were made perfectly. The perch with the lemon beurre blanc sauce is always wonderful. Service was gracious. The only miss was the jalapeño cheese oyster appetizer. All you could taste was the cheese & jalapeños. The restaurant was packed and very loud. read more

Though my salad was very good, the outside and inside are in need of updating. The rusty bench and weeds approach the front door are very unpleasant. As well as the dirty front door. If I was not meeting someone for lunch, I would have left. read more

We ordered Charley's chowder and the 306 salad with blackened salmon. Those items with their amazing bread left us super satisfied and happy. This restaurant understates and over-delivers every time I visit. The drive from my house is 45 minutes but it's worth every minute. read more

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn - Charley's Chowder - New American Near Me - Clarkston, Michigan

Every experience I've had at the Deer Lake Inn has been very good. The wait staff is all so nice and attentive and the food is always great. I really like going there. It is always clean and everyone is welcoming. I would definitely recommend it. read more

I eat there all the time. Good food and service Fish tacos are very good and can't go wrong on perch either, read more

Food was ok but it is way too crowded and noisy. Cannot enjoy conversation with people right next to you.

Deer Lake INN is always good Food/Servixe is excellent Salmon, White Fish or the Center cut Filet or NY Strip. .. those are the 4 items I recommend most Great bar too read more

Our food was delicious! My husband had a small personal size Pizza which looked yummy - and was. He brought leftover home and he is definitely a person that never usually touches leftovers. I had the Salmon Apricot Salad and wow - I was so pleasantly surprised!! I had salmon over a decade ago and it was so bad (not from this restaurant) I said I'd never eat salmon ever again! Fast forward, I did today and I'm so glad I chose that type of salad! The salmon was made to perfection...just a little crunch at the ends to give it some additional flavor. Seasoned with (?) but that was even scrumptious. As an added bonus our waitress was phenomenal too! I would go back to this restaurant in a heartbeat! read more

We stopped in for a little pre-holiday meal kick-off! I've been wanting to try this place for quite some time. I loved the overall atmosphere and great service. We had a fantastic meal, but the best thing on the menu...hands down, the bread!!!!!! I enjoyed my chicken tortellini pasta, I wish they had larger pieces of chicken in the dish, but it was very tasty. Great spot for lunch or dinner. It was packed for a Sunday night. They have a few dinning areas and the bar section is quite large. I will most certainly be back. read more

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Relaxed atmosphere, friendly people and typical good Kruse food. It has 2 parking lots, one on each side of restaurant. Go first to the side closest to I-75 as it's closer to front door and hostess desk. One thing that makes no sense is they do not have angle hair pasta as an option. read more

If i could leave less than one star I would. They took our money for a thanksgiving dinner. My wife waited in the car for 2 hours and then they told her they were out of food. I will never eat at any kruse n muir restaurant again. Totally unprofessional and ruined our holiday because they did not plan read more

Our group stopped in on Monday before heading to a concert. There were five of us and we didn't have a reservation- we were worried we wouldn't get a table but the hostess was very accommodating and we got right in. Our table was perfect and we were sat in a quieter room. We loved the chandeliers and paintings of the deer. We were greeted by our server, Brent as he was delivering drinks to another table. I really appreciate when servers do this- acknowledging us while still taking care of another guest- it's a pro move. We decided to order our drinks and food together to save time. We explained this to Brent and he understood and was happy to help. The pomegranate martini was amazing and was shaken and poured at the table- so fancy. My friend got the mermaid water and also loved it. I ordered the perch and so did my boyfriend. The caper sauce was delicious. My friend enjoyed her fish tacos and her husband and son loved their pizza. We really enjoyed our time here and were so glad we stopped. Good food, great drinks, and amazing service. read more

Hunting lodge vibe with great food. I had the Salmon ban mi which is house made and it was great. They served us fresh bread which was very good, had to finish it all! Service was friendly, overall glad we skipped the national chain places and went with this local chain. read more

What's not to love? I had the halibut with mango and cantaloupe chutney with rice. AMAZINGLY Crab able DISH Worth every penny! Our service was OK. Have to say the guy wasn't very good when it came to math skills. Always love a hilltop restaurant. It's quaint, and adorable. We had never been before but will surely turn this into a must go! read more

Good food and good service. Nice setting but decor and seating could use an update. Best items in my opinion are the calamari, crab cakes and the fish tacos. read more

The food is always amazing however we noticed the portion size was smaller on our entree. The prices went up much to our disappointment Think we will find another "favorite restaurant." read more

We have a lovely anniversary dinner here. We had a reservation and were seated immediately. Our table wasn't the best, as it was by the kitchen door, but staff was polite and not intrusive. It was VERY busy for a Monday night, which also speaks volumes. Speaking of volume, it isn't the quietest of places, but everything else outweighed this small issue. We started with a bottle of wine and the calamari appetizer with the butter sauce, and it was lovely. We really miss J Baldwins calamari dish, and were hoping for the best, and it was tender and yummy - sauce was delectable. The homemade bread was also delicious. Our main dishes were the blackened salmon and the Chicken with mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious. We will return. read more

Good food and service. Parking a bit confused. Cheerful server. Bread refills without asking. White wine in the bucket-unusual these days. read more

when we get a taste for great seafood, we always head to Kruse's, it never disappoints! amazing staff & servers too!

Great restaurant. Fresh food and fast to come out but when we first arrived it took a while for us to be greeted and or acknowledged. Servers were walking past us multiple times until one finally came and said hi with bread and water. One thing I personally can't stand is a poorly dimmed bathroom and this restaurant had the worst I've seen in a while. Could barley see the toilet! read more

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The food is so tasty and never disappointing. The service is good also. I especially love the way the perch is served with a light breading. The restaurant itself is a bit rundown and crowded but the food makes up for that. read more

I rarely write negative reviews, but my experience at Deer Lake Inn was so horrendous that I feel compelled to warn others. This place has managed to disappoint me on multiple occasions, leaving me and my companions sick, frustrated, and utterly dissatisfied. If you value your health and sanity, steer clear of this establishment! First and foremost, the most alarming aspect of our visits was the fact that every single time we dined here, we ended up getting sick. Not just once, but three separate occasions! It's beyond comprehension how a restaurant can consistently serve food that causes such severe discomfort. The lack of hygiene and proper food handling practices is simply unacceptable. To add insult to injury, the food was consistently served ice cold. I understand that restaurants can have off days, but this was a recurring issue. It's as if they had forgotten to heat our meals altogether, or for the lukewarm meals it was microwaved. Cold food is not only unappetizing but also a potential health hazard. It's shocking that they would serve such subpar dishes without any regard for their customers' satisfaction. Furthermore, the service at Deer Lake Inn was abysmal. It took over an hour just to get a simple glass of water. Our server had even told us she wasn't supposed to work today, but they were not prepared, so she had to come in. We were left parched and frustrated, The lack of attentiveness and basic customer service skills was truly disappointing. In summary, my experiences at Deer Lake Inn were nothing short of a nightmare. The repeated instances of food poisoning, coupled with consistently cold meals and abysmal service, have left me with no choice but to strongly advise against dining here. Save yourself the trouble, and find a restaurant that values its customers' health, satisfaction, and time. (The added photo was supposed to be a medium rare steak) read more

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn - A "Medium Rare" steak, which the room temperature sauce was warmer than the steak. - New American Near Me - Clarkston, Michigan

The Kruse and Muer restaurants are consistently good, Deer Lake is no different. On my most recent visit I had one of the chefs features an Asian halibut dish with some sort of Wasabi sauce. It was so good, with the perfect amount of kick with the spice. My "sticky rice" was not great, it was actually hard and crispy but I really didn't care about the rice anyway. I also love the 306 salad and consistently order that as my starter. Parking can be tricky, it seems like there's not quite enough spots for everyone and there's not really a waiting area. Make a reservation and arrive right on time to avoid having to stand outside! read more