Server was overwhelmed with too many tables. Took almost 2 hours for us to.eat appetizers, dinner and dessert. Forgot one of main entrees. Onion Straws were very very salty. Jumbalaya was bland. read more

My wife and I ate here this last Friday night. We live in Rockford but haven't been here in several years. All four of us ordered the Friday night fish special. 3 of us had it fried. Good sized portions , nice and crispy, nice and white, but not very flavorful. Same comment for the one of us who had the baked version. Much smaller portion but still flavor is flat. Service was great, place is very nice and very clean. Maybe we should try something different next time. read more

Great food. Try the Blackened Ahi Tuna.

Stopped in after visiting the Japanese Garden because it was on our way home to DuPage County. We had never been here before. We were pleasantly surprised by a friendly server, Erich, who was also very knowledgeable about the menu and helpful with suggestions. The craft beer selection was very good. Starting with a basket of warm rolls and cinnamon butter was a good sign. Our entrees were great especially my spicy mahi mahi. Dessert creme brûlée was one of the best I've had. Service was very timely and efficient. Prices were good. Definitely would stop here again. read more

I visited Thunder Bay Grille last night in Rockford. I ordered the Pesto Pasta. First off, my dinner was delivered before my salad. Not a very good sign. Second, the pesto dinner was very bland tasting, it would be easy to say that it had no flavor. I was expecting a garlic, zesty flavor with pine nuts and none of that was there. The sauce was a brown color similar to a mud puddle. It wasn't the greenish type color I was expecting from a pesto sauce. I won't be back. There are a number of good restaurants in the area (almost walking distance) that are better. read more

I went here with my wife. We both both seafood and it was very good. Prices are not to high and everyone is very friendly. Our fish was tender and juicy. The place has a wood look and they have a fireplace. It was nice. They have a big menu which took us a while to figure out what we wanted to eat. You will not be disappointed with Thunder bay Grill. We paid about $45 before tip for 2 meals and 2 regular drinks and 1 desert. Thanks Thunder Bay for a great time. read more

Perfect oasis at the end of a long drive. Wonderful ambience, great service, and delicious food!

My husband and I went here on whim. I was craving a steak dinner and we wanted to go somewhere we haven't been to in a long time. It has been years since I've eaten here. I was under the assumption that due to the name it was all seafood, which I don't like. I was very wrong. I had an awesome filet mignon, which was cooked exactly the way I wanted. The service was quick and friendly. I would definitely come here again. read more

Food is delicious and service is on point! We were surprised that there was no wait to get seated on a Friday evening. Definitely a hidden gem in Rockford!! read more

I am a fan of the cozy cabin atmosphere and very reasonable prices! the food was on the average side though. Love the homemade biscuits and cinnamon butter! A nice change from your typical hard rolls. I think some of the menu items were too "fancy" for the atmosphere.. I was hoping to see more comfort food options. read more

Interesting. Too many choices on the menu for me. Is it a dinner house or a tapas bar? A couple of things stood out for me tonight. Not dealbreakers, but concerning. The seat and greet was interesting. Before I dragged myself and clients to dinner tonight, I read some reviews and checked the corporate website. It turns out there are several operations, mostly based in WI. Upon being sat, I asked the door person about the "company". He had no idea. Then there is the back bar. Too much trash there. You have this very attractive, wood, glass an lighting shelving. But what drew my eye was the Rolodex, dirty rags, bartender beverages (water), 3 ring binders, etc. All trash that should be located under the bar. And, what's in that Rolodex anyway? Are you selling liquor, or office supplies? I challenge the management, to take a seat at a barstool and look at what the customer sees. The reason this is missed is because the manager walks behind the bar and looks out at the customer. That's also a good thing, but sometimes you need to view things as a customer. On the Small Plates portioning. My impression of small plates is you order several of these dishes to "share". You can't share one taco. Why would you offer it as a single item? Put two on the plate and price it accordingly. Our eyes were drawn to the ahi tuna entree. On paper it looked good. It was pretty much served cajun style. For me, I like this lightly seared, and it was done perfectly. The coating was a blacked fish coating wish did nothing but kill the delicate flavor of the ahi. I worry when I see a preparation such as this, which has me think, what are they trying to hide. Is it a really bad piece of fish. Overall, pretty good value. I like wine and I thought the wine by the glass prices showed some quality and value. read more

We just tried this place for dinner ! We were on our way to the Dells, and needed to stop for dinner . There was a huge wait everywhere else , so we decide to give Thunder Grill a shot . It was worth stopping in ! The ambience is super cozy , service was nice . The food was all exceptional . I would give it a chance !! read more

Well, my hungry and very tired traveling family and I were reated like crap here! I am happy for those who had a better experience but ours was horrible and still lingers on as we wait for a $61 refund that was promised to us about 2 weeks ago that still has not been received and we keep getting the run around when we call being told it is our bank and not their error that is the hold up. WRONG! Our bank has ALWAYS been timely with refunds. After kindly offering to take the VERY errored order back for a refund, we were told by management they had refunded the money and not to worry about bringing the order back---we trusted what they said and went elsewhere as the family was still hungry and it was getting late. BUT keep in mind, that meant we spent 2X on dinner that night which was not in our travel budget. We don't eat out much anyway, just when we travel and on special occasions so this was extra disappointing. Perhaps our refund went to another customer's bank but NOT ours! The order was all wrong, food was cold, burgers undercooked, gluten-sensitive requests ignored so it would not surprise me if another customer received a refund for $61 and some change instead of us. Congrats if that was YOU! I RARELY complain but this has really made me upset. It is enough to work hard, travel long hours and then spend your money on crappy food and service and get NO respect after respectfully expressing my concerns and then being brushed off!!!! I WILL NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE EVER!!! read more

This is the traditional "first night" stop whenever I go home. I can get a good steak here at a reasonable price, and we love the traditional "north woods" decor complete with stuffed moose and a roaring fireplace. Coming here always reminds me of what I miss about the midwest: a good steak, reasonable prices, and friendly staff. This restaurant wouldn't stand a chance in organically minded and vegetarian San Francisco, but here in Rockford it's just a steady solid place to eat. read more

My favorite part about this restaurant is the large fireplace it has. However, if you do get lucky enough to get the table next to it you can bet if there are kids there they will be sitting next to it, hence next to you while you are dining. The atmosphere is neat, it has a cozy cabin feel to it. The food is ok and the service is nice. Overall decent place but didn't make a huge impact on me. read more

Very slow service and not busy at all for a Friday night!!! Ordered a Ribeye not sure what the cut of meat was, but it was not a Ribeye!!! It was tough, dry and no marbling!! Not a do again dinner for me!! read more

I had thought that this might be a local type of a business, but it seems like a part of a chain. Although the portion size of the food is fine, the smoked pork chop tastes like something from Dennys . I also had a recommendation from the front counter lady that the carrot cake was good ...really it was just glorified spice cake and something from Safeway. It wasn't horrible but it just wasn't up to my foodie standards. read more

Service was decent, food is just okay. Excellent prices. Definitely don't feel the need to rush back for another trial. The chicken dish we had was pretty dry but the pork was well prepared. read more

Past experiences had been lackluster. Today was better. Good customer service. Average prices. I ordered off the tapas menu and had some great mussels, and outstanding crawfish rangoon. The blue devils on horseback (bacon wrapped stuffed dates) were good, but a tad too rich for me. My wife was disappointed that her seafood linguini came with mushrooms, which was not mentioned on the menu (doesn't eat fungi). read more

Service was good. Food was average. not much of a seafood person. average restaurant, but a little pricey.

Very good food for the cost. Nice beer selection and service that seems to care. Out of many choices in the area, this would be one of the tops. read more

I grew up in this area and never made it to Thunder Bay until now. Not bad food, but nothing that would make me want to come back. The noise level is high, the tables are spaced where you are not bumping into the people behind you. The service was fast and the waitress was attentive. As for the food, my drunken steak was tough and the side of mushrooms were cold. The caesar salad was bland. Again, not bad and overall the price was not bad. read more

Bad experience all around. We didn't get our food for over an hour, after not having received our appetizers for 45 minutes. And, the appetizers were too hot to eat. Had to ask server to refill water glasses, drinks, etc. Food was average. Ordered my salad with no onions. Had no clue that the scallop scampi I also ordered would have onions on it. Server should've warned me. But the kids meals were the worst I've ever seen. Not only was the Mac-n-cheese straight out of the Kraft box, but it looked like it was made yesterday & reheated in the microwave for serving tonight. Not kidding. Our hotel nearby offered a 10% discount for showing our room key. It's still a bit early on a Friday evening (6:30), but judging by the number of empty tables, this place needs whatever business it can get, and out-of-towers are clueless fresh meat. read more

Food here was really tasty. The portions are generously sized, even the appetizers. The hunting-lodge decor is restful and authentic-looking, the big tin moose outside is a nice touch, and the place is big enough that you don't feel like you're eating in the next table's lap like in so many Rockford restaurants. The only reason I'm giving it three stars rather than four is that our waitress looked about 17 and seemed to be in her first week on the job, wasn't prepared to take our order and then tried to take my plates away when I was only half finished. With food this good I'm going to ask for a doggie bag, not leave it sitting around on the plate! I would eat there again though. read more

As has been pointed out, interesting decor, like a rustic lodge, with fire, log beams, canoes over the rafters, decorations representing backwoods/camping life. Not too busy, seated immediately, service was good. Had the beer sampler (glad I had read about this in an Yelp review, as they neglected to give us the beer menu, just the wine menu) got to try 4 different beers. Had a free appetizer coupon from our hotel, and tried the Pop pop shrimp, usually called Bang bang shrimp in most other restaurants. Was good, whatever it's called. Wife had the tomato flatbread, which was much larger than she expected, took half of it home. She enjoyed it, said it was quite good. I had the prime rib, which was well flavored, slightly over done for my tastes, but technically still what I had ordered. I had expected a seafood type of place, given the name and signage, but it's not really, they have some standard seafood dishes, but it's really a "American" type restaurant. Pretty good value for the cost, which wasn't as much as I expected. read more

Made reservations for Easter Brunch. Called to add two more people and all of a sudden we didn't have any. We as a family will go elsewhere from now on. They lost out on a large party but they don't seem to care. read more

I haven't eaten at one of these for years. Tonight I was driving for hours and it was across the street from my hotel. Game on. Great atmosphere. Ate at the bar. Fantastic, attentive, courteous service all around. If someone was busy, someone else had their back. Ordered cedar planed salmon. Arrived undercooked and they quickly re-did it. Very apologetic and spotted me a glass of wine, which was unnecessary but appreciated. The salmon was as good as at any 5-star restaurant. Great meal. In summary. Great atmosphere, service ethic, food, overall experience. I left happy after a quite long day. read more

Great food and great place for kids. Stuffed burgers are amazing. Love the cinnamon butter. read more

Fast service. Good food. Had the French onion soup- not that good but ok. Fish was great! The cinnamon spread for the little biscuits was the best ever!! Good was hot. Nice atmosphere. Done in a rustic cabin/woodland theme. read more

This restaurant has really stepped it up! In the last year they have improved the menu, the service and the atmosphere!! If you haven't been recently, I suggest you give it a try! The salmon Fresca is delicious and the Friday fish is really good! read more

We held our 60th high school reunion at Thunder Bay Grille for 28 classmates. The staff was very helpful at every step of the way from the time I reserved the room through the evening of the event. They checked in with me a week before to go over details. When I arrived the day of the banquet, everything was set up just like we agreed. There were 4 round tables for dining and tables along the wall for memorabilia, appetizers and cake. The large lodge room had a cozy feeling with a fire going in the fireplace. I had picked 6 entrees which they had printed out for each place setting. All the different entrees were delicious and the servers were pleasant and efficient. We brought in a cake that the staff cut and served. After dinner we had a lot of reminiscing to do and the staff did not rush us to vacate the room. I would highly recommend Thunder Bay Grille for dining or for an event. read more

Service was slow. It appeared they didn't have enough staff on for lunch. Food was good. Everything came out hot but took a long time.

Excellent food right off I-90 in Rockford. Definately worth a stop. Started with warm biscuits and whipped cinnamon butter. Perfect thing to hold us and the kids over until dinner arrive. All food was excellent: french onion soup, spicy shrimp appetizer, burgers, kids chicken tenders. Wait staff was very helpful. They arranged a cake and ice cream to help celebrate a birthday in our party. read more

After reading the other reviews I was thinking this would be a good place for me and the hubby to go on a very rare date night. I was so horribly disappointed though. The staff was friendly enough, and the decor was strange but still inviting somehow, the food was just not good and I will not be going back. We got a basket of garlic bread which was OK and some weird, crunchy, cold, sweet tasting ... biscuit (?) I guess it was. Not good. I got a shrimp cocktail; while the sauce was delicious, the shrimp were but terribly overcooked and either rubbery or had that hard to describe mealy texture. I got a Caesar salad; which had more dressing in it than lettuce. I got the French onion soup; which was okay. I got a sirloin steak (medium); which was over cooked and so tough it was a challenge to cut through. ( I have gotten better cuts at walmart and that's not saying much). And with the steak I got a side of broccoli which was so disgustingly salty it was just inedible. My husband got a tough overcooked steak also and side of wild rice which was completely RAW. Now i know wild rice is supposed to be a bit denser than normal rice, but this stuff was just bland and not cooked. If you do decide to go, i hope you have better luck than we did. read more

Dinner was great! Group of 7 had all around good food. Service was slow and waitress spend most of her time away from the dinning room. We had planned to have dessert and by the time the waitress came back most were so irritated that we all passed. read more

Exceeded expectations. When I first walked in I was curious about the food. It seemed as though the food would be ordinary. The menu was enormous with too many selections and the "Specials" were a fairly long list as well. Seemed like there would be too many options which often means the quality suffers. I tried a few appetizers thanks to a coupon given to us by a local hotel bartender and from the apps to the last bites of the meal I was enjoying the flavors. They have a vast assortment of tapas style plates as appetizers. Many standards but if you want to be a little adventurous try the Little Blue Devils. Medjool Dates stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese and wrapped in bacon. It sounded so different that I decided to try them and I was pleasantly surprised. I have actually made them at home a few times since returning from this trip. Easy yet refined. The tuna steak topped with crab was nicely cooked to my specification and tasted fresh. The others at the table were all happy with their meals as well including salads and steaks. Didn't hear any complaints at all except we were too full for dessert. Oh well, maybe some other time. Service started off good but as the meal started to wind down and the restaurant became empty the service tailed off. Maybe she was doing her side work to end the shift but we sat there discussing the fire and the decor without drinks or food for 10-15 minutes. Finally the waitress noticed our boredom and brought the check. read more

Dinner tonight lived up to the positive reviews. Staff friendly. Meal tasty. Side salad fresh and appealing. Ribs and chicken dinner, both tender, juicy (chicken was dark quarter). Baked potato done just right and steamy. Nice glass of wine. Admittedly, I asked for the most recently opened bottle, but this is something you should always consider whenever ordering wine in a beer establishment. If you are looking for a reasonably priced, pleasant dinner, at least that is what I had this evening. read more

Great Bison burger!... Only complaint is that the service was a bit slow for a relatively empty restaurant on a Thursday night

This was my first time there for the buffet, the food was great the service not so much. I ordered a orange juice and halfway through the meal asked for a small milk to which the waitress responded that she couldn't give me one they didn't have small sizes. She then proceeded to take the drink order from the next table over and bring them a small milk. So I will definitely hesitate to bring guests with me for terrible service. read more

I took my family to Thunder bay for dinner last friday...ordered four cheese stuffed mushrooms and sweet and spicy shrimp for appetizers. When the appetizers finally(after 25 min) came to the table, the shrimp was good,but the mushrooms were just barely luke warm. My grandson orderthe duck, but was told that they ran out of it. At 7pm on a friday evening? Really?? So he ordered the chicken which was dry, tasteless and cold. Wife's and daughter's meals were also cold. Not at all the kind of experience that we expected. The waitress was pleasant but very slow. I'll think long and hard before ever going back............if ever. read more