My family and I were traveling to Houghton and we were hungry from traveling. We stopped in to The Den to place a quick carry out order. We explained to the hostess that we want to only do carry out because our baby is tired. She said they weren't doing carry out because the kitchen was too busy. well, we left. highly disappointed that a restaurant can't accommodate a young family with a baby. I have never experienced this in my life. Poor service. Thats not how you treat your customers. read more

Very good! I had the filet mignon and my partner had the meatloaf. The filet with the parsnips and Brussel sprouts went so well together and the filet was cooked prefect (medium). We had the spinach and artichoke dip as an app, the bread could have been toasted a little longer for me and I added a little salt but my partner like it as it came. Overall we will come back! read more

The Den - Meatloaf - Seafood Near Me - Houghton, Michigan

See all

I really enjoyed my experience here. The food, drinks, service, and atmosphere are all top notch. Located right in downtown Houghton it is a perfect walking destination before hitting up KBC. The meatloaf entrée and the pulled duck sandwich are both outstanding! read more

See all

I basically paid 25.00 for broccolini. I ordered the filet minon and the meat was extremely chewy and fatty. When I told the waitress she said she would take a few dollars off my meal. Got the bill and it went from 28.00 to 25.00. If you want a good filet, don't go here. I will never return. read more

We ate at/from The Den twice on a recent trip to Houghton. Night 1: carryout to KBC. We ordered two burgers and a meatloaf sandwich. The burgers (the meat itself) was good an apparently in-house made. The toppings, particularly the Den burger, were great, exceptional even. The buns were supersized, dwarfing the burgers, probably 1/3 bugger than the burger itself. Not a criticism of the burger size...jUst really big buns. My husband said the meatloaf sandwich was "great." As side we had fries (great, didn't seem house made), veg beef soup (5 stars), and chips (house made...love a good chip). I'm going to ding the service...they sent us away with an incomplete order. No soup! My son dashed back down, retrieved the delicious soup. No spoon! (Note: During the season of Covid we have experienced less than stellar organization from normally exceptional restaurants. All is forgiven.) Night 2: We had lots of meals...burger (same experience). Salad with duck...very good. Caesar with chicken...fine (lots of lettuce)...garden salad. All were tasty, fresh. Out of pure curiosity we ordered the popcorn appetizer. Let me save you $7. Popcorn popped in bacon grease (tastes like regular popcorn) tossed with said bacon (surprisingly magical). Night 2 service was great! Friendly, attentive, chatty (but not overly). Well add The Den to our Houghton rotation. read more

Great menu with unique plates and excellent service. I plan to go there again in future trips.

Place pretty nice. I had the hamburger and it tasted good. Full of juices and flavors. The size was right too. Place is located in a centralized location in downtown Houghton. Good selection of local beers. read more

Outstanding food and service. Truffle fries to die for. The Beast Burger rules. Home chips are amazing. Daughter loved her Beet Burger (pretty good IMO). Same owners as Giovanni's (sp?) in Hancock, in our opinion the best Italian in the UP. Giovanni's is under construction but if you're lucky The Den will be have one of G's Italian dishes on special! Servers are always top notch. My only criticism is that the space is noisy, echoey. I think some black sound baffles attached to the ceiling would do wonders. LOVE this place! read more

Looking forward to coming back here to a total fine dining experience. The food is delicious and beautifully presented. The atmosphere is great and the staff very professional. It's a treat on my visits to Houghton. Highly recommend. read more

The beast burger excellent. Truffle fry hot and delicious. We got there extremely early afternoon. Highly recommend

NO! This is not good at all. Ordered the Cornish hen and got half of one. Go to the Ambassidor or Geminannis if you want really good food, read more

Good menu and drink options. Would go back again! Did the Beast Burger and Salmon, which was excellent.

Pretty good food, mixed game Burger w homemade chips was tasty. Schnitzel w spaetzle was fair it came w 3 spears of asparagus. Restaurant doesn't have wifi which is pretty lame in a town w poor cell service. We wanted to check online some of the wines they listed but couldn't, wine list needs attention, more detailed descriptions. Also salad that we ordered ahead of the entrees came at the same time after a longish wait . Bad timing. read more

The service is good, and the menu concept is great, but the execution is severely lacking. The food is oversalted and greasy. My dish was fire grilled with sauteed vegetables. It sounded healthy, but there was more oil and onions rather than actual vegetables. Some of our food was undercooked despite being charred on the outside. Needed a gallon of water to rehydrate after all that salt. read more

I would like to recommend reading toward the bottom of the page, reading. Am not sure why my review is posted here, but read the truth. Ihttps://www.yelp.com/not_recommended_reviews/o-mjlUrmjl9VpLVNLxruMQ read more

Unique plates, good pricing, and a nice environment. Last week I had the Den Burger, and it was pretty good. I actually wanted to try the meatloaf, but they had run out. My oldest kid also had a hamburger and ate most of it (which is a big deal). The wife got soup and salad, but she thought it was just okay. It's an interesting restaurant to have in Houghton, and a nice break from getting a pasty or typical American food. I'll stop in again on future visits. They also have a decent selection on tap every time I stop it. read more

The Den was a modern restaurant (in an awesome repurposing of an old McDonald's) with modern decor and a modern twist on some menu items (duck broth French onion soup, roasted bone marrow...). While some reviewers have commented that they felt the prices were high, I think they were pretty on par with modern American restaurants considering the ingredients. We sat at the small bar to eat. They had an interesting wine selection, I ordered a glass of the Carmenere Casa for $7.75, and it was a nice pour. The bar carried some local/regional craft sprits as well. I played it on the safer side with the menu options and went with the cordon bleu sandwich. The chicken breast was very juicy, the mustard vinaigrette was delicious and the sandwich had great flavor. The brioche bun seemed fresh and soft, but I ended up not eating a whole lot of the bun. For my side I had the seasoned chips, which were lightly flavored. They were fine but I would have been just as happy without them. The wine was nice, the sandwich had great flavor and service was good. read more

This restaurant keeps getting better every time I stop in to grab a bite. Lately, I've been on a Soup Kick! The Den has the best homemade soups every week! Sometimes the soup will change if you happen to get some on Monday and go back on Thursday, it might be a different kind. But, still always YUMMY! The staff is friendly and do their best to seat you quickly. It's definitely one of the "worth the visit" places to eat. read more

If I could give this place NO stars, I would. We got there before 5 because we had been browsing in the shops and didn't take as long as expected. There was 1 couple at the bar and no one else in the dining room when we came in. The hostess seated us and gave us menus and utensils and said our server would be with us soon. We sat there for at least 5 minutes without any attention, despite the fact that there were about 5 people standing around back of the bar. My husband (who was facing the bar) tried waving them over, but they just ignored us. So we just got up and left. It was pretty obvious that they didn't want customers, but there expressions as we walked out seemed shocked that someone would leave. By the way, we went to another restaurant a few doors down and had a wonderful time. read more

Delicious. Simply delicious. The service was great, the food was so good!!! We will definitely be back the next time we are in Houghton.

This is a great find. Excellent on food, cocktails and service. I would recommend the sirens call or the dark and stormy cocktail. The ahi tuna salad was amazing!!! read more

The Den - Ahi tuna salad - Seafood Near Me - Houghton, Michigan

Food wasn't great. New York strip was small and little flavor. Ravioli was not good at all. Drinks and appetizers were very good.

Food was amazing. Had spinach and artichoke appetizer. Bartenders were great and personal. Definitely recommend!

I brought a group of my kids college friends out for dinner to thanks them for their help with moving. The restaurant is a little worn but so is everything else in Houghton. Menu selection was limited and food was good but nothing special. The one thing special was the service. Our server took time to socialize with each of the kids and help them make decisions based on their conversation. Food came out quick but it just wasn't that great. I would go back to give another shot because of the service. One other critique is that the beer was not very cold but tasted good. Would have been better at a colder temp. read more

What a great addition to the houghton restaurant scene! Had the popcorn with duck fat, very nice and subtle flavors Also had the pickled eggs. Excellent starter. Had the duck breast which is hard to find in these parts of the world. Affordable wines and great service. Go early the place fills up quickly read more

Very satisfied with the service and the high quality steaks!! The starters were great and the drinks were delicious. I recommend the pickled deviled eggs and an old fashion. For dinner, the Fillet Mignon was perfect. Although, the NY Strip and Borcollini looked great too. read more

Excellent service and delicious food! Morgan was very helpful and an excellent server.

They were out of my original order for the night but what I ended up going with was good. I ended up going with the tacos. They were very filling and tasted good but I probably wouldn't order them again. Would still like to try this restaurant again next time I'm in the area. read more

first- the good. The den is very cute and has great drinks. I ordered the pulled duck sandwich and it was SO good. I was hesitant with the lack of sauces but the caramelized onions provided the perfect amount of moisture and flavor. My boyfriend got the den burger which was also incredible and had a unique flavor from the tomato jam, which is a must. Entrees and drinks alone, it was a fabulous meal. However, we started out with the nachos as an appetizer. And they were BIZARRE, and not in a good way. It appeared (and tasted) like they microwaved cheese on top of some chips and threw some shredded carrots (???) on top. That's it. That was the whole thing. Certainly not worth $10 and definitely reminiscent of my after school snack in elementary school. The sauce that came on the side was delicious but needed to be incorporated into the dish. This was a cute date night option here in houghton , but the ambiance was slightly ruined by the music they chose to play. Picture middle school dance early 2000s pop. I'll certainly be back, but will be skipping the nachos for sure read more

See all

Have been to The Den twice and really great experiences. It has an ecclectic menu that you would find in a large city, which is an awesome and surprising find in the middle of Houghton. We ordered a lot of appetizers and truly on the high-end of my taste scale -- recommend the Mussels, Nachos, Truffle Fries, Steak Appetizer (very good with a bed of parsnip puree), artichoke dip (loved!), and more. The main entrees -- my son loved the burger, my steak was good, but mashed potatoes too salty, my mom did not like the meatloaf, etc. Honestly, this place is awesome and recommend it. Want to go back to try the fish fry. read more

The den has great food & drinks. The atmosphere is welcoming and updated. Menu is interesting. We always stop to have some of our favorites whenever we are in town. read more

Happily stumbled across this place after a long day of skiing. Blew my expectations out of the water. Definitely will be back.

Best salmon and charcuterie board in the area. Service was great. They were accommodating to special request.

If you're visiting the area; definitely make a stop to this place! Food is on the high end side but VERY Delicious! My son had the filet and it had a coca-cola reduction which was good! I tried the flank steak with chimichurri sauce and the steak was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a smoky flavor which really accented the steak seasoning! Must try the truffle fries if you get a chance!!! desserts looked great but we were too full to try any. read more

Awesome food and great service! Had the duck breast with blueberry compote, sautéed spinach and creamed parsnips! The duck was perfectly cooked, the compote not too sweet and the spinach added nicely to the party. My companion had the Beast burger. Cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious. Top quality food. On top of that the service was friendly, efficient and fast read more

I've been wanting to try the Den since it opened. While walking past to go to another restaurant I decided to stop and give the Den a try. Everything was delish. Presentation was beautiful. Our waitress Deanna was super sweet and organized. We were able to meet the cook Chris. He did a fantastic job timing our courses. And cooking them. I'd give this place more stars if I was able to. read more

Waited for the "newness" to wear off. Not some place I will go back. The food was good, the atmosphere was horrible. Just a black painted McDonalds. Loud, kids screaming, now were you can carry on a conversation. The menu was interesting but over priced. Good luck in the future.... read more

Keeping this simple.... easy parking, great location, great people, great beer, and great food. Pulled duck sandwich, I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEFORE!! It was soooo good. I'll be back read more

This was a welcome surprise to find a restaurant like this so far up north in the UP. It was not perfect, but they're doing stuff that nowhere else is in the area. The Buffalo wings were fantastic and both steaks were cooked to perfection. The strip steak was better than the flank steak bc of the compound butter that came melted over the top. Overall I'd say the food was very well-executed but the entrees were all under-seasoned so a bit underwhelming. The flank steak was cooked well but a little one-note. The crispy fries that came with it were great. The pan-seared duck was also cooked to a perfect medium rare and the parsnip puree it came w was nice, but overall the dish fell a little flat. There wasn't much difference in flavor between the purée, the blueberry gastrique, and the spinach that all accompanied the duck. The desserts were pretty good. We all enjoyed sitting outside at sunset --it was beautiful. I applaud the chef for the menu options, and with a little more seasoning I'd say this would definitely be a Yelp 4-star experience. read more

See all

The food was average (don't order a burger) and the server spent more time dancing and flirting with a guy at the bar. my son ordered a beer and in one sip he determined it was not the Blue Moon he ordered. the server then came to our table to inform us that they changed the tsp out with another beer. no problem right? we asked if she would just take it off the bill. She returned stating that her manager said he would not allow it because he already tasted it! What the heck? poor management choices being made. needless to say, we won't be back! We are guessing they are like most businesses and are hurting! Really could have been handled better, afterall it was a $200 bill. our visit next month will not include the Downtowner! read more