You simply will not find a better eating establishment in northern Michigan. Been to Mode's several times over the years and always make it a point to stop in when in town. A little bit of everything but they sure can grill. Steaks and ribs are amazing and rate among the best I've ever tasted. Service is top notch and some of the staff has been there nearly as long as the 40 years they've been open. I cannot recommend modes enough. Weekends you get a salad bar which is fantastic but the wedge salads and home made dressings (bleu cheese, ranch, 1k island are all amazing too). 5 stars for Mode's! read more

Had a really good wedge salad with very tasty homemade ranch dressing. Would have gone way up with a small sprinkling of crumbled bacon and a scattering of thin red onion. The two cherry tomatoes added color but not much for taste. Lunch strip steak.a little tough and swimming in broth. (au jus) up charge for mushrooms yielded plenty for two people but tasted canned and should have been sautéed fresh ones. Bread was big and buttered lightly- Texas Toast- like- a little garlic would have enhanced. Wine was good and. Waitress attentive. Not sure having staff sitting at bar discussing a personal issue of someone's a good vibe. Posted no high chairs etc. obviously do not take little ones. read more

A great local old school steak joint. I've eaten at all the well known steak houses across the country, but given a choice I'd go to Modes. It looks like it did 30 years ago, no windows, It's definitely a local "joint" with waitresses that have been there as long as the light fixtures (That's a big plus in my book). If you want a pretentious overpriced steakhouse this is NOT the place for you. Get a steak and the the wedge with blue cheese...A lot of people love the Prime Rib. They also have an OK wine list that isn't grossly overpriced. If you want a BIG steak go to Boones Long Lake Inn. If you want a more "upscale" atmosphere go to Copper Falls. If you want a great steak in a local atmosphere go to Modes ! Then take a walk downtown and get coffee and dessert at one of the coffee houses. read more

The New York strips we ordered were delicious. The bleu cheese dressing was also superb. The cherry cheesecake was great and the cherries were perfect. read more

Not sure how this place gets the great reviews that it does. I understand that it's a Traverse City institution, but come on. This place is on the same level as Ponderosa Steakhouse. I started with the Shimp Cockatil. Clearly pre-cooked frozen shrimp. I can except that only if they were not $12 for 5 musty tasting shrimp. At least jazz up the cocktail sauce with some fresh horseradish. Negative. Straight from the tub taste. Now for the famous Bleu Cheese Dressing. Really? Its a mild Bleu Cheese with Sour Cream and maybe a touch of Buttermilk. On par with Marzetti's. That's not saying much. This was poured over a wedge of slightly browning iceberg lettuce. Do they have a grill, Char-broiler or a George Foreman Grill? I haven't had a steak that tough and flavorless since i was "grilling" Farmer Jack Steaks in my dorm room. Easy on the jous, too. The service was good. Very friendly staff. They have that gong for 'em, which is nice. read more

My husband and I were in the area for 4 days. Since this place looked to have great reviews and well known for its steak we decided this would be the place we had our last dinner. Clearly the reviews are by people who live in the area. We sat at the bar, the bartender was less then welcoming. We asked for a drink list, he said they didn't have one, I asked if he could make a mojito....he said "oh yea no problem"...it was horrible, my husbands drink was horrible. I ordered a 6oz steak med well...which came out with NO SIDES and rare, my hubby's steak came out cold, mostly fat, and no flavor. The bartender never approached us as he noticed we were not eating out meal, when he brought the bill he did a thumbs up/down sign. My husband told him it was a very small steak, he didn't get the mushrooms he asked for, it was cold, and did not taste well. The bartender took 10 off our bill and walked away. The food also took 45 min to get to us and they were not even busy. The most the bartender talked to us was to tell us what they were out of before we ordered. Inside needs updating. Should have listened to the people walking out that told us we should turn around before we got ripped off. read more

I was staying overnight on business in Traverse City and asked at my hotel for a recommendation.... The locals suggested Modes and I looked them up on yelp and was somewhat surprised they only had a three star rating and they were riddled with moderate to bad reviews. I asked again and was assured I would not be disappointed. After thinking it over with a cocktail at my hotel bar I decided to give it a try. WOW!!! Good move!!! I have to say that this was a truly enjoyable experience! I rarely eat at the bar but this place looked like an eat at the bar kind of place, since I was alone and most, if not all, of the tables were full on a Monday! Night. The bartender was friendly and the servers were happy to chip in and help if I even looked like I had a question. I looked over the menu, and decided to go with one of the many specials on the chalkboard, the small filet with a lobster tail. I was not disappointed! The wedge salad with blue cheese was awesome and just made me dream about how good the rest of the meal would be! The lobster was cooked perfectly and the small filet, which I ordered medium, was perfectly cooked, pink throughout, and as tender and tasty as you can imagine a filet! The baked potato was extra hot and steamy and had plenty of butter and sour cream served with it.. The portions were plentiful but not obscene! The service, food, and ambiance in this place were first rate and I give it my highest recommendation! Don't opt for the Johnny come lately chains in this town or you will miss this tremendous old world gem, a treasure in the heartland! read more

Went there as a suggestion. Everything seemed fine until one of friends pulled 5 small pieces of glass out her mouth. It was in the drinking water. It was brought to the staffs attention. They removed the water glasses at our table but the others. They replaced the water way too fast with little fanfare. "Sorry about that" like knew it was coming. I suggested they remove all of the glasses from all the tables. They didn't. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN. It could of been worse. My wife stopped me from making a scene. We went on to eat our dinner. I drank nothing after that. The steaks were average no different than the ones sold at Meijer. Same beef. After it was all said and done they gave us a measly discount of 10%. I took one of the pieces of glass to the manager. And asked her if was worth it,10%. I told her the restaurant should be ashamed for handling this in such a manner. A measly 10%. Never again shall I go into this restaurant. read more

The bum steer reminded me of an old-school steakhouse. My wife and I ordered the prime rib which was tender and seasoned perfectly. We also love their salad bar. The blue cheese dressing was delicious. We would definitely recommend the bum steer for prime rib or steak. read more

Yep, you're gonna step back to the '50's! That means perfectly cooked steak and an attentive waitress! Good cocktails with full bar. Baked potatoes were good, but my ribeye was done perfect with great flavor. We were there around 3 so we were the only ones there. Would go back & for sure recommend! It's behind Front street so it can be walkable! read more

It was with low expectations that we tried this place hoping for something good - well we were left hoping. The overall feel of the place was straight out of the 1970's - like some sort of time capsule that was just unearthed. After several big meals over Thanksgiving we opted for burgers instead of steaks to try and get something a bit lighter. The ordering process was bordering on ridiculous - our server asked us each several times to repeat our orders despite the fact that she was writing them down. My wife wanted a baked potato with her burger instead of the chips and coleslaw that game with it - I am thinking that is an easy substition that we may have to pay something extra for, but so what.... Nope - you can't get the baked potato with a burger - they just can't do it. Still no idea why as they clearly sell them with the steaks - but nope can't do it.... Our burgers were decent, not great, but decent and the coleslaw and chips were as expected for the look of this place. They were fairly busy on a Saturday night and many people seemed to be enjoying it - I witnessed people around us with gigantic pieces of prime rib on their plates - and they seemed to be gobbling it up. I think overall the service was pretty poor with the ordering fiasco, ice poured in one of our guests lap and another elbowed by our server, oh and also the server tripping over my foot - and not even an "I'm sorry, or oops" uttered. Overall I wasn't impressed and won't be going back - so maybe not just a good place for me as many others seemed quite happy.... read more

Disappointed for sure. Crowded in so close with tables to the front door, had to wait for a table by the smelly bathroom area. Salad bar had no shield over it so pretty sure that doesn't meet code. Hostess was rude, food took a long time and waitress spent alot of time talking to friends at the bar. Food was ok nothing special . I've never written a bad review of a restaurant and am not a picky or demanding customer but I felt the need to share my experience last weekend read more

Mode's is a classic old steak house. Reminds me of Peter Luger's in Brooklyn. It is not a high end or pretentious restaurant like Ruth's Chris or Morton's but is a straightforward local hangout with good food and nice waitresses. Hands down best steak in TC. Their steaks are done perfectly and their portions are generous. I come back almost every time I am in town.. read more

The food was much better in the past years. I ordered a filet steak and it was so tough that I could hardly cut it. I tried to chew a small piece of the steak and could not swallow it. I had to spit it out as it was that bad! The cook thought he could fool me by cooking me a small piece of sirloin steak. I know steak! I sent it back and ordered shrimp, which was not the best shrimp in town. The waitress took the price of my steak off our bill. The service was great but the food is terrible and very over-priced. I will not go there again. read more

Horrible experience. My husband and I were in Traverse City and decided to try this restaurant because of a recommendation. Big mistake. I ordered the sirloin and lobster tail for $32 and my husband had a steak for $30. He ordered wine with his meal and I had coffee. Our waitress never came back after our food was brought out. No refills on water or coffee and the wine never came. We both ordered our steak med rare. Our food came out after 30+ min and his was med well. When the server FINALLY came back after we had been done for at least 10 min my husband told her his half eaten $30 steak was over cooked. Her response was to "box it up." No apology or offer to refund part of our bill. Over priced and poor service. We will be warning others to stay away! read more

We eat at Mode's Bum Steer every year when we vacation with family in TC. It always provides a special treat....at least it did until this year. It was a very unpleasant experience this year due to a server. Our server had a long, braid, has been at Mode's for 28 years and is identified on our bill as Server 0007. She immediately barked at us that there was no longer any rare, medium rare or "bloody" prime rib available for the evening and pointed her finger at my husband like she wanted to pick a fight. This was said instead of "Good Evening". We asked for their lettuce wedge salad and were told that they don't serve those on Fridays or the weekend and that we had to go to the salad bar. Meanwhile, part of our family was seated at another table in the restaurant with a different (very pleasant) server. They ordered a lettuce wedge salad and received it about 10 minutes later!? When we asked our server about this, she said that they ran out of wedges and someone was sent to the store to buy more iceberg lettuce. Why lie though? She served our steaks and mixed up our orders and although we figured it out in a couple of bites, it seemed unnecessary and their were no ordered mushrooms. Another waitress tried to help out and got the mushrooms, and some water for our table when she saw us looking for help. We also ordered after dinner drinks. The other table with our adult kids and their friends (with the nice server) actually overhead our server say to the bartender, "Hurry up, I just want to get rid of these people." I guess it was because we ordered more drinks and increased our bill? We heard her say to another patron, "It's been balls to the wall all night here." What??? My brother said later, "Yeah, it was my balls and their wall." UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR!!!! THE DINNER WAS EMBARRASSING. Mode's Bum Steer is better than that kind of behavior. I always try to keep in mind that there may be something terrible going on in someone's life but this was not a pleasant experience. read more

I was in a company meeting searching for a good steak sand which! I found Mode's Bum Steer's menu and shared with co workers. We all decided this is the place for lunch. I was exited to have something not from my local town! It was the worse steak sand which that I've ever had! Three of us ordered the steak sand which. All three of us HATED IT! They cooked my steak in what looked like a toaster oven that was located at the end of the bar! Also there was no seasonings on this steak and it almost looked creamy grey because of how it was cooked! No flavor at all. My other co worker ordered a steak.... Her steak was brought out from the kitchen, they must have had In the back and looked like what I thought my sand which should have!!!! The server had no personality but was extremely efficient! That's the only nice thing I can say about my experience!! I was extremely mad I had to pay $16 plus a tip... you for food that looks grey and slimy on a bun! read more

Not impressed. The waitress is why this place gets even a one star. She was sweet and friendly. However nothing special about this place. My husband ordered the prime rib. Which was flavorless and it just came with rice and a piece of texas toast. no au jus or horseraddish... I Was in hopes for some delicious seafood. So I ordered the perch. It didn't have a bad taste but it was completely bland. Not to mention, it to came with rice and toast. But there was no other flavor component. I had like 20pieces of fried perch on my plate with absolutely no flavor. My rice came to me with a hair in it. I work in restaurants, so i don't get freaked out by hair. I just asked for a new order. I just kept eating my meal because i dropped $20 on my entree, but eventually the lack of flavor just made me gag. I did not express my dissatisfaction the our manager. Infact I boxed up my food, to be nice and then tossed it in the trash at our hotel. I had heard good things about this place but I would never eat there again. The blue cheese dressing on my salad however, was the best part of our whole meal. read more

Clearly a locals place. We had a good meal. Our medium rare filet was a little over done. The bottle of wine was reasonably priced. Service was great, maybe outstanding. 50/50 on coming back. read more

Being a local I have eaten here on occasion over the last 30 years, generally at the suggestion of others. The décor is outdated, it is old school, that works for them, just fine with me. When I go out for a meal, my expectations are pretty reasonable. I'm looking for decent service, good food and reasonable prices. I could give a rip if the picture on the wall isn't trendy. It has been consistently OK over the years. My last experience there was more on the disappointing side. I had to ask twice for the cup of coffee I ordered. I ordered my salad with blue cheese, and received ranch. I ordered fries with my meal, and received a baked potato. I wasn't in the mood for steak (I didn't pick the spot) so I ordered walleye. The fish portion was tiny, I mean I could easily have consumed it in four large bites and it was like $27. The menu posted on here is outdated and the prices have gone up, just in time for the busy season I suppose. The food is pretty good but prices seem out of line. read more

Always a great experience. Family owned and operated. They are always so wonderful. Rack of lamb is my favorite with wedge of lettuce. Keep up the good work read more

Must leave our review, have not been there in 15 years brought another couple with us for dinner. The food was great from steak, prime rib, ribs and salmon. Salad bar was good, blue cheese was outstanding, service was ok, no complaints. Would make another trip there in a minute. read more

If you are interested in anything other than steak, I do not recommend this place. Plus, the waits can be long and not worth it. There are much better places to eat in TC. read more

Stopped in for a burger but ended up getting the prime rib. Well worth it. I will come back next time I am in the area.

We are new to town and this is where a few hard core locals said to go. What a great place! Now it gets crowded but everyone was so friendly and my steak was cooked perfectly. read more

Had a great prime rib dinner! Chris, who bartended and waited on us was very personable and knowledgeable about the menu/bar, to give us recommendations. Loved our experience! Met some awesome people! (Nancy & Erica ) Great place! read more

As good as it gets! A trip back in time to a place where the meat is large, rare and tender. The salad is mostly lettuce wedge and dressing and the drinks are generous. Have the prime rib. It is the best. The same meal in New York or Chicago would cost you three times the money. Go. Enjoy. read more

We had a great steak and wedge dinner, perfect amount of food and used our Prime Choice card to get a discount. Steak was juicy and tender and done to perfection. read more