Great little spot! We've enjoyed breakfast here several times - great service, very friendly! I need to go to their fish fry! Happy to support such a great local restaurant!! read more

Mel's Pine Pantry - Excellent breakfast!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Roscommon, Michigan

Excellent service and good food in this quaint restaurant! Food was fresh and hot and served quickly.

Nice tiny place with tasty food by Higgins lake - we also had coffee and a root beer float. read more

Mel's Pine Pantry - Hickory ham sandwich and Beer Battered Fries - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Roscommon, Michigan

See all

My extended family stopped in for the Friday Fish Fry & it did not disappoint! We loved the batter & home made tartar sauce. The cod was well cooked. A cold beer would have made it a perfect meal on a hot evening, unfortunately no alcohol on the menu. We loved the charm of the roadside diner, with it's bright color & vintage decor. The screen door, modge-podge of dishes & silverware goes well with the home made meal. Service was casual & friendly, very accommodating. We would definitely return to try brunch, if we return to the area. Roscommon is lucky to have such a little gem! read more

Charming spot not too far off the highway. Lovely homemade fresh American diner food. The sweet potato and bacon/egg scramble was lovely and hot as was the corned beef hash. The kids menu was funny with titles like "I don't know" and "I wanna go home". read more

Mel's Pine Pantry - menu for lunch specials - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Roscommon, Michigan

Omelet. Cheese. Worst I have ever had. Tasted like old burger grease. Tough. Wasn't beat well. Big hair in center. Took out to my dog and he refused to eat it. Coffee was ok. Big easte og money. No refill on coffee or checked on the food. Four tables of two people. Nasty food, gag.. read more

Great place, one that of our favorites. Love Friday fish fry. Wish you had your wonderful pies all the time! Thanks for the great food

Stopped here for breakfast with a group of 5 on a Friday morning. Service was fast, friendliest wait staff I've met anywhere in a long time and delicious food! Will def be back next time I'm in town. read more

Love this place. They cook with their heart. Great family Check them out next time you go to Higgins Lake read more

Been in the area five years and finally made it to Mel's Pine Pantry. The cod dinner was really good. You get a choice of wet or dry--yes I too said WHAT???? Dry is seasoned flour that is deep fried. Wet is a beer batter seasoned with dill. I loved the dill in the batter. Unlike many beer batters this one was thin and crispy. Hey did I mention there's dill in the wet batter. The French fries were so fresh. Just about everything here is homemade. Mom took home a jar of rhubarb jam. Next time I need a piece of homemade pie. Mel's is only open late til 8pm on Fri and Sat. The rest of the week it's breakfast and lunch only. I need to go try the pancake of the month--Pineapple Coconut Rum. read more

We called in for a take out order to take on the pontoon we were renting. We ordered four breakfast sandwiches, two sausage and two bacon. They were fresh and delicious. They were ready right on time (15 mins). The place is spotless...cared as you'd expect from a family owned business. As of this review the restaurant is adhering to state suggested COVID regulations. If you prefer more conservative policies/accommodations I suggest you take out and eat outside as they have a few nice picnic tables and cozy eating area. read more

Quaint restaurant nestled in the woods. Great service and food. Pies, bakery items, delicious breakfast options. A local staple I'm sure. read more

Mel's Pine Pantry - Sausage, bacon omelet with toast and hash browns. So good. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Roscommon, Michigan

Delicious food, great service, and great prices! Grew up going to the Pine Pantry, it was like coming home

Before leaving this review yelp advised me that businesses are doing their beat during covid. Well, this isn't one of them. Diners are seated next to each other, and none of the staff are wearing masks. None. Not the cook, not the waiter, no one. 200,000 Americans have died in the past 6 months. This is unacceptable. read more

ATMOSPHERE: adorable cabin feel, cozy and warm inside and small enough to be filled with only the smells of coffee and food. The decor was simple, rustic and reminded us of a country diner or general store. For the most part it was very clean inside and fixtures were in good shape. This place is for sure more than meets the eye from outside. SERVICE: So the very first thing to note would be that this place is under new ownership. Which is important for a few reasons- service was good but not great. I'll explain, this is Family run which is typical up here and honestly adds to the experience as opposed to taking away and allowing operational and cleaning standards to fail. As of now that is not at the case. The eldest son was our server and was quick to greet us and order drinks. The other server I assume was his brother and smiled as he mentioned specials for the day. Our direct experience was good. However listening to other interactions with tables and chatter from the kitchen (remember this place is more than small, occupancy 15-20 total) all is heard without trying and this morning it was particularly quiet as we arrived after the initial rush. He was forgetful with orders and a bit awkward. MENU/PRICING: so here's why we took a 4 Star to a 3, also under the pretense that we will be returning to get a more well rounded opinion and hopefully boosting this rating star up. We looked over the entire menu, which was large and eclectic. We landed on brunch the minute we saw the eggs Benedict on the menu. For a place like this in size, location and style this was unexpected and therefore we decided to select it to really test quality and technique of the kitchen. Sadly it missed the mark. Presentation was bad. The asparagus should have been on the bottom not the top. The only thing that should top eggs Benedict would be minced green onion, fresh herbs or a sprinkle of paprika to enhance the hollandaise. The hollandaise was fine but definitely not from scratch. The dish was comprised on top toasted ciabatta which was a miss. No flavor or butter, barely toasted and honestly the bread to topping ratio was far off.... the bread was a bun and wasn't flat so one stack had a curve and spun on the plate as you tried to cut however The country ham was FANTASTIC and the poached eggs were perfect with a velvety smooth yolk that ran when punctured. SO simply offering the traditional eggs Benedict or using blanched spinach or at the least house made hollandaise and fresh asparagus would have made this a winner. I know that's incredibly long winded but we're proud brunch snobs and we love eggs Benedict and have tried all versions everywhere it's offered so.... next time we will try lunch or a standard breakfast to see the strength of this kitchen. Not a bad experience though and worth a stop. No hate just suggestions and fair critique. read more

See all

Perfect spot for a quick Sunday morning brunch. Highly recommend Miss Janet's Potatoes. Great little spot with very friendly service. read more

The true up north experience, our family LOVED this little diner as the service and food were both excellent! Thank you to the workers who were doing there absolute best, we will be back soon! read more

Mel's Pine Pantry - Breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Roscommon, Michigan

Enjoyed this little gem we stumbled on. Was treated well, food and coffee were good. Knotty pine walls reminded me of my childhood in Grand Rapids. Some things transcend distance. ( Review by A. Louise Bos) read more

Hands down best food and prices. Staff is amazing service was great. Definitely my new spot to eat.

Wonderful little restaurant! Great service and delicious breakfast. We had smothered hash browns (Miss Janet's potatoes) with eggs on top and it was delicious! Great spot! read more

Excellent breakfast food and service. Love the atmosphere. Very welcoming and decorated nicely.

Always great food and friendly staff, I was very happy to see the new owners keep the Pine Pantry open. I hope our locals will support them during the slower seasons. read more

Stopped into Mel's Pine Pantry on the way home from the UP. Great breakfast/lunch spot! I have the BLT which is always a good go-to. Their chips were very good. Super cute place inside too. read more

Great breakfast had the omelette with spinach and feta cheese. It was great. Also had a pancake too, it was great too. Good service too. I will return. read more

Came here for a late breakfast. Three of us. The service was fine and the so was the food. It was very good overall. I ordered the special with American potatoes. It didn't have as much meat in it (ham) as I would have like and the potatoes weren't all fried but that's just how I like them. It was still delicious and a good deal. I ordered an egg over top and it came with a couple of huge slices of homemade bread toasted. With a coffee it was about a $12 meal. A friend had the omelette and enjoyed it. Another had the special with hash browns instead of American potatoes. He seemed to like it too. No complaints. A good, filling breakfast. read more

Oh my goodness this place is just awful don't ever order dessert the cupcakes were terrible. The prices are high for what you get. Lame food keep driving don't stop. read more

This is a small, home town style diner. It is open seasonally. They are open for breakfast and lunch. There is not a lot of seating, but our large party was still sat fairly quickly. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I ordered the Eggs Benedict and a side of bacon. The bacon was thick and tasty. They made it crispy but not overly done. The eggs come on top of what seemed like an English muffin. The muffin was buttered which added even more flavor. The sauce and egg added even more rich flavoring. There were several other breakfast options that sounded tasty. The lunch menu also had several good options on it. This place is a nice find and worth a try.The food is also priced afford-ably. You get a good amount for your money. read more

This place is not closed. It's only open during the lake season, but I am sitting inside waiting to order as I write this review. Open May through September. I used to rent a place down the road every summer, and this was the go to breakfast spot almost every morning. When I used to come here it was under different ownership, but you'll definitely want to come check this place out. I usually keep things pretty simple with breakfast, just eggs and bacon is all I really need, and they handled that just fine. Their pie is amazing, and so are their pancakes if you want something else. If you're staying anywhere near Higgins lake, get down to the pine pantry, stat. read more

Very cute place near Higgins Lake! We went up for the 4th of July & got great service and great food. We tried an omelette, Drew's Chili Omelette and the special recipe blueberry pancakes! The pancakes were delicious and full of blueberries! We enjoyed it all & the coffee was good, too. My only complaint is that their coffee cream was the little plastic single-serve cups :( which is a pet peeve of mine... but our waiter was very accommodating in bringing some milk instead! Great visit! read more

Had breakfast there today...NOT HAPPY!!! We asked about any specials and our server rattled something off so fast neither of us understood a word he said. I asked for my English muffin to be grilled, the butter was barely melted, not browned at all. Then when my coffee cup was empty, I waited quite awhile, to no avail. So I pushed the cup to the edge of the table...nothing. We never did get a second cup. There was only one other table occupied to which our server spent most of his time chatting. Apparently those customers had let him drive their side by side around while they ate. Then to top it off, my companion gave the server $20 for a $13 bill and gave him back $2 and some change. We definitely won't be back!!! read more

Very cozy. Knotty pine and checkered window treatments. Seats aren't too comfy but service was quick and on top of everything, so didn't sit long enough to get uncomfortable. Great Sunday breakfast. I had the special which was cinnamon pancakes with honey crisp apple bake topping. Delish! We'll be back. read more

I was excited to see the open flag out front. But I also seen the For Sale sign with SOLD on it. I'm going tomorrow for breakfast hoping and praying there is still Quiche on the menu. Fingers crossed! read more

The breakfast I had was terrible. $5 for an add on ingredient omelet nothing but roast included.$2 for an extra 3 items. I had to ask if the cheese I ordered was in the omelet. I couldn't tell. I won't go back read more

We came in the opening weekend to try it out and the food was good, hot and waited less than 20 mins for our. There were 2 guys in the kitchen cooking and man were they on top of it. We went to the kitchen door and thank them for a good meal and they were super nice. We came back again and they were no longer there. Now this place is a complete JOKE!! The waiter with the tats that took care of us had no freaking clue to whats going on what so ever and was screwing up every ones orders! The food there is way over priced for what you get. I ordered breakfast and got eggs that weren't cooked right, a skimpy amount of frozen potatoes that they calm are fresh and 2 pieces of bacon and toast that cost me $10. Needless to say were never coming back. read more

Over priced, plates were not quite clean. Sever didnt know what he was doing. Food is better at McDonalds! I have been here before this time last year and the food and service was amazing! I heard it sold and these are new owners, but no excuse to send skimpy plates that are dirty to people paying such high prices, with wait staff that speak like dropouts! Poor way to run a restaurant. Took pics and sent to health department of the dirty plates and cups. read more

Great experience. Food was good and the service was great. Food came out hot and quick. There was walkathons seamed to be the owner checking on customer to make sure that they were enjoying themselves. Would recommend for lunch. read more

Standard breakfast fare done to perfection. Staff is attentive and cheerful. Great Northern Michigan flare and ambiance. It's a summer staple. read more

Just the best place to eat wonderful "home cooking"!! OMG!! Better hurry... Closing for the summet

A must when visiting Higgins Lake, Houghton Lake, Roscommon area! I've been stopping in several times a season for at least the past seven years and am never disappointed. The daily specials are usually what I choose, especially if it's one of Sherryl's fresh quiches! Make sure that whatever you order that you finish your meal off with an amazing piece of pie! If you don't have room in your tummy after your meal, get a piece to go (you won't regret it)! Sherryl also makes pies on order, just give her a couple days notice. read more