A nice view of the harbor, comfortable atmosphere that works for casual and special occasions, very friendly service, higher priced average food. We haven't always found the food to be reliable, but it looks as though their menu has been changed and simplified. There used to be a crazy variety of heavy cream sauce dishes, liver and onions and Italian dishes - the overly wide variety you know can't all be homemade. (NOTE THAT A LOT OF NEGATIVE REVIEWS ARE FROM YEARS AGO.) The new menu is more focused and pared down. Our first taste of the new offerings was via room service on our 20th anniversary. (Room service menu is limited, food comes out of the same kitchen.) I enjoyed my BBQ brisket, my husband said his burger looked okay but had no flavor. Quality of beef is everything in a good restaurant burger, people! Fries were like McDonald's. We shared a Greek antipasto with an enormous slab of good feta cheese, cucumbers, pickled beets, Greek olives, marinated peppers, avocado, red onions and a sweet champagne lemon dressing that was homemade. There was only a bit of spring greens mix, but I can't complain as this wasn't described as a "salad". The brisket was smoked well and was pretty tender. The sweet BBQ sauce caramelized really well with the fat (it's not a lean cut of meat) and produced a great flavor-texture combination. Husband tasted it and agreed it was the best thing to ever come out of Topsiders. We live in East Tawas and have eaten here dozens of times. Old Topsiders was 2.5 - 3.0 stars. New Topsiders a 3.6 - 4.0 stars so far. We have very few solid choices here, so this is exciting! Appreciate the updates, look forward to more. Pleasantly surprised and quite happy! read more

See all

Here we are in Oscoda, Michigan - up north on the sunrise side of the state! After visiting our mother, me and my sister sets out to go home after one night's stay. We just left Mom in the nursing home dining room and we are driving and I said I am getting a little hungry! So, I make the executive decision to eat at a restaurant with a view of Lake Huron! Lo and Behold there was a resort by the name Tawas Bay Beach Resort and I am sure that they have a restaurant with a fine view of Lake Huron. So, we decide to stop there. The outside was quite nice it sort of reminded me of any other fine Hotel. So we enter by where the restaurant is located and go into the restaurant area. Quite a few people were seated already. Me and my sister thought that maybe there was a family reunion going on at this particular resort. We are seated near a window overlooking Lake Huron. We see sailboats and people on the beach. Very calming and beautiful! The waiter comes out and gives us menus and takes our drink order. Very nice young man, his name is Jake. He takes our food order. We both order a chicken BLT sandwich and it comes with fries. We sit there and take in the ambiance. It is a little loud because there were children, but that is all good! The waiter shared a story about a bald eagle diving for fish in Lake Huron which was quite amusing. He mentioned that he loved his job and it showed through his service. The only thing that he missed was our silverware! But, that was easily solved. I mentioned to him that we do YELP reviews and the next thing you know we both receive a Cannoli on the house! How wonderful. Definitely will go back and if I am not hungry I will just order the Cannoli - OMG it was like heaven on earth! See pictures that I am attaching - definitely a do again especially since the sunrise side has so very few fine dining! read more

See all

Great dinner here tonight. Had the blackened salmon dinner which came with vegetable, salad and delicious bread with a pesto topping. Friendhad the grilled chicken pasta with pesto sauce. It was very good but a tad salty. Service was excellent. Drinks were good, reasonable. The place was packed. The chef was visiting each table which was a nice touch. 8/17/18: Very busy in town and this place was hopping. Chef Mathew is doing a great job keeping everybody happy. Great perch dinner with a nice choice of sides. Comes with a great salad. read more

Horrible! We stayed in the attached "resort" and it their was problems every step of the way. When it came to eating breakfast in the morning, we were given breakfast vouchers to use in the restaurant. While making our reservation we were told that we could use the vouchers for anything on the restaurant the next day. The breakfast menu in our room was very extensive and we were excited the next day. Unfortunately once we sat down to breakfast we were given a menu which a few very lack luster options. You also were unable to make special orders or substitutions. This was unfortunate as many items included known allergens which I know could limit the menu even further for others. I ordered biscuits and gravy and it came with hash browns. The hash browns where decent but my order of biscuits were ice cold in the middle. The temperature was hot in some areas and frozen in the middle. I suspect it was microwaved. The person with me ordered french toast and it came with an order of bacon. The french toast tasted good, but the bacon was very chewy and tasted again like it had been microwaved. When I tried to get the waitress to ask her for a different order of biscuits and gravy, unfortunately the fire alarm went off and it took even longer for me to get a replacement. The alarm went off both days we were here. According to the front desk it was a "dumb system error." My replacement order of biscuits and gravy was good, however half of my biscuits were rock hard. Very dissatisfied. Would not of paid any money for this. read more

Stopped in to Topsiders twice now as they are one of the few restaurants in the area to offer healthier vegetarian or vegan options. I spoke with the manager on my first visit and he hopes to add more items to the menu. The food was delicious, servers were courteous and there was no problem with service. There are also lots of options for those who like a traditional American diet. The view of Tawas Bay from inside the restaurant is beautiful. Basically I was shocked that both times there was only one other table of guests. My only suggestion with them is their soda and ice tea seem to taste off so I didn't drink it during either visit. Hope they get it corrected soon. read more

Unfortunate to read a few negative reviews regarding what appears to be the best restaurant in the Tawas area. Chef Matthew prepared our Michigan perch to perfection. Pan-fried and delicious. Instead of the typical potato fare and coleslaw sides we opted for fresh green beans and asparagus also prepared skillfully. Our server Marsha was also excellent and waited on us most efficiently, never bothered us with small talk, but instead kept our glasses full and table cleared. All in all a very enjoyable and affordable evening. The water view from our window seats was pleasant, which included the Tawas Bay nautical theme along with an amazing rain shower. read more

NO social distancing. No tables reserved to maintain distancing, so a large group was allowed to sit immediately next to us. No masks worn by servers, manager or any employees. Food tasted previously frozen with mushy vegetable. Ladies restroom filthy. read more

Great view average breakfast prices. Kind of slow service. A 10 percent discount if you stay at the hotel. Have had dinner here in the past when here for yearly perchville festival.if I am remembering right the prime rib was very good, judgement could have been clouded because of a few too many beers at the beer tent lol read more

Pros: Great view of the bay and generally friendly staff. Good free breakfast for hotel guests. Cons: Dinner. Our waitress spoke glowingly about the crab cakes, which we were planning to order anyway. They couldn't have been more disappointing. Soggy, flavorless, with a weird cheese sauce on top. Really gross. My medium ribeye was ok but lacked seasoning and was dry. Burger bun was good but that's about it. Oh yeah and it's overpriced. Not a ton of dining options in this town, and if staying at the hotel it is convenient. The free breakfast is actually pretty decent, however, so don't skip out on that if staying there. read more

I was really impressed by this place. We have driven by hundreds of times and never thought it was the kind of place we would want to try. It is a hotel restaurant, something I have been pleasantly surprised by lately. First is the view. We went at just the right time. The entire back wall is made of windows that look out over the water. We went at just the right time, it was sunny for most of our dinner but ended with the sunset. While this place is in a hotel it was much classier than I had expected, but I still felt comfortable in jeans and a shirt. We got their spinach artichoke dip, with crab. It came in a ramekin and was a cheesy gooey mess of yummyness. The sides had drippings of burnt cheese...mmm. I can not find what I ordered on their online menu but it was some kind of pasta lobster dish in a cheesy cream sauce. It was awesome but after the appetizer and salad I couldn't finish much of it. I took it back to our hotel and literally obsessed over it for days until I was able to eat it. I went with my mom who insisted we get cannolis. I thought my stomach might explode. They seemed really good but honestly I was so stuffed that I couldn't even tell if I liked them or not. read more

Love this place , love the food , I am a returning regular. The waitstaff is the best. Tina and Karen are rockstars

My husband & I stayed at the attached hotel recently, so had "beach bucks" to apply to a meal there, as well as free breakfast. This review covers both. Dinner was chosen from the senior menu, fitting our ages and appetite level. The sign outside mentioned the special that day was beef tips & noodles, which our server never mentioned, yet we heard a different waiter inform her customers. He appeared to be quite new at waiting tables, forgetting things frequently. I asked for water as well as a bar drink, which normally gets water for both of you, but only I got it. He didn't know what the vegetable was. He forgot my Cole slaw. He didn't offer refills or dessert. Our bread never showed up. Hubby's loaded baked potato was dried to a crust, and my garlic mashed potatoes were also quite dry. The hickory chicken was actually tasty, the only win. We were finished for quite a while and the waiter didn't return, so we had to catch the other one to ask for our bill. It was tossed on the table, so we signed the room number for billing, but no one came back for it, so we finally left. I did put a small tip on it, not the one I would normally give, so they wouldn't think I just forgot. The next morning, we did return for the free limited choice breakfast, against our better judgment, because the skies opened up. We both got the ham & cheese omelets. The hash browns were nicely crisped, toast was crunchy (hubby couldn't find the butter on his), but the cheese in the omelet was American, and I don't care for that, prefer cheddar. The egg part was quite thin. The waitress was better, but never offered coffee refills. Aside from the gorgeous lake view, this place is a waste of time. read more

5 Stars for Topsider's which is located at Bay Beach Resort, and what a resort it was. This is the best place, bar none, to enjoy a lunch with a view when you are travelling up US 23 in Tawas. They have an outdoor seating area with beautiful murals, I'll post some pictures to give you an idea. The food lunch order was under $20 for both of us, so coming here to enjoy the food and the atmosphere is definitely not going to break you. Very reasonable prices. There was a party, A family reunion I think, going on when we were there and everyone was having a blast. A lot of laughing and smiling and parents taking their children for walks on the beach. What a great place for a group to get together for pure enjoyment. Every single table in the dining room had a view of beautiful Lake Huron. How relaxing and enjoyable! Our server, Jake, told us that the Bay Beach Resort offers Romantic Packages to their customers. I can really imagine how romantic the dinner hour would be at Topsider's. It's about 3 hours north of Detroit and well worth the drive. Jake also told us that a bald eagle lands right on top of a tree outside the dining area and diners have seen the eagle soar down and pluck fish right out of Lake Huron. That would be awesome to see! He loves his job, especially coming to work and being able to see the beautiful view every day. My sister, Debbie Z., told him we were going to review the restaurant on Yelp and he brought us out the most popular thing on the dessert menu, Canolies! Oh yeah! That's what I said... Canolies that make you close your eyes as the flavors delight your tongue. They were awesome and so was Topsider's! As we were leaving, we saw the room next door was a bar and music entertainment area! The have a kareoke night (not sure if I spelled that right) and it looked like it would be a fun place to be. "Next time we come, we're coming in here!" Debbie Z. said with a big smile on her face. And... there is no doubt whatsoever... we will be going back there. Loved it! read more

Topsiders - This is the role on the wall in the outside seating area - Bars Near Me - East Tawas, Michigan

See all

We stopped for supper on a Friday night. They were busy but we were able to be seated by a window overlooking Lake Huron. This is a place where you want to go for a leisurely meal. The service was excellent but not rushed and the food was amazing. We started with an appetizer of shrimp and lobster spinach dip and margaritas. Then a cup of lobster bisque. As if that wasn't good enough, the main courses (we all had different selections) were prepared to perfection. This restaurant is connected to the Tawas Bay Beach Resort right on US-23 and is easy to miss so keep a watch for the resort. read more

What a pleasant surprise! We were in town for a friend's birthday and wanted something more upscale than bar food. We ended up at Topsider's because Huron Breeze only serves dinner in their restaurant on Friday and Saturday. We had a table of 7, and our server was able to handle all of our requests very efficiently. We loved the bread with the homemade pesto served before the meal- we even got an order to take home! I had the Chicken Bella for my entree. It was moist, flavorful, and hot! The ambiance with the view of Lake Huron only added to the experience. I will definitely visit Topsider's on my next trip to the Tawases. read more

We waited 15 minutes before I asked where our waitress was. Our waitress appeared ten minutes later telling us she did know she had our table. I ordered pancakes that came cold fifteen minutes later. It took me ten minutes to get her attention to return them. I asked for more coffee and they told me it would ready in ten minutes. Are you kidding me? It is 9am who would think people would drink coffee at this time? My wife ordered oatmeal which was supposed have been simmered in cream. It looked and tasted like it was cooked in water. Avoid this place at all costs read more

No thank you! Good luck getting someone to wait on you. This place should be busy considering Tawas is a great resort town. No one is in there and it's dinner time! Even the staff, no one greeted us or came to the table after seating ourselves. A pure waste of my time. I will never step food in this place, and you shouldn't either. There are better places to eat around town that actually have staff that wants to wait on you. read more

Went here on karaoke night and I was scared out of my mind. I think I found where the American Idol wannabes get their practice on. One lady could really sing country but the rest left my ears ringing and bleeding. Friendly staff however. read more

Get the cannolis. The entree I had was mediocre, but the cannoli was excellent. I didn't even think I liked cannolis but I would go back just for them. Also they have huge, i mean ridiculously huge, soft pretzels. We got it mostly just to take a picture but it was decent (and very filling) as well. read more

The best overall food experience I've had so far in Tawas and surrounding area. It is "casual fine dining" which means you can get a nice meal in jeans and a T. The ambiance was more upper scale I suppose. The restaurant is right on the water and every seat in the allowed for a water view. The food was very good. Only thing is, just little things, they only gave you one fork and I consider fine dining getting a new fork with every dish, and they used iceberg(I think) lettuce instead of nicer greens for the salad. Want a nice meal while staying in Tawas? This is definitely the place I recommend. read more

OVERPRICED AND LOW QUALITY. I am not one to complain about my food at a restaurant since I know things can happen. However when my $26 steak is fatty throughout the entire piece of meat, I do not mind letting the waitstaff know. The waitress was nice and let the kitchen know, as I was not asking for a refund. But the kitchen then came back and said it was my fault for choosing a fatty steak from the menu!!!!!!! read more

This is a tired hotel restaurant and I don't recommend it. The service was S-L-O-W and the food not so great. The hotel itself is on the bay and the view in the restaurant is lovely. But, the restrooms are cold and dingy and the restaurant smells like someone smokes after hours. I had a burger and fries that left me feeling unsettled for several hours after having eaten it. My husband had a half rack of ribs that were OK but not great. The thing that killed this experience for me was waiting for 45 minutes for our soups to arrive and that I sat with an empty glass for most of that time. The server finally came and filled our glasses and apologized for the wait - advising us that the soup wasn't completely done cooking... 5 minutes later, our soup finally arrived (tomato bisque and it was very tasty) and 5 minutes after that, our main courses. My burger was not cooked to order and I was not surprised. The only reason I didn't send it back was because I didn't want to have wait another 45 minutes to get another burger made. The meal took nearly 2 hours and we were the only guests in the restaurant. read more

Purchased carry out lunch for the staff of our small business, the food was fine. Was charged a 16% gratuity/carry out fee, seems a bit steep for not having anyone serve us anything. Fairly certain we will not be purchasing carry out from here again. read more

After reading some the other reviews, I was a little concerned about dining at this restaurant. But I decided to try it anyway and I was pleasantly surprised. We had a gorgeous view of the East Tawas Marina, great service, a quiet atmosphere where it was easy to talk, reasonable prices and a tasty lunch. Our server was very polite and accommodating to everyone in our party and he made sure we had an enjoyable experience. read more

Absolutely beautiful view. Love the pesto bread that accompanies dinner. Service is usually great, depends on the day. Summer help doesn't seem to get training. Last month, a new, very pretty waitress was the worst I've had in years. I've paid a variance of $5.00 for the exact same meal. Doesn't matter what the menu says. So, it is very inconsistent with answers like ' our prices have gone up, or that was extra'. This is too bad, because there are few places to eat in town. If it was dependable, I would go weekly. Be sure to ask if the crab is real in the crab cakes or the crab pasta. It has been 'krab' (the red-died whitefish) and it has been the real item. If you have allergies, that can be an issue. read more

I have eaten here before and loved it, so I brought my family up for a lunch over looking the water. I don't know what happened to this establishment, it was the worst food I have ever tried to eat in my life. There were flies all over in the dining area which stood out right away. Our server was so poorly dressed in dirty clothing I felt uncomfortable having her near our food. My vegetable soup was two whole stewed tomatoes and some mushed broccoli. A can of Campbell's would have been better ( and I'm not exaggerating in any capacity here). My main entree was the stuffed chicken bella $15.99. The menu lists this entree as "Tender breast of chicken stuffed with red peppers, spinach, portabella mushrooms and a three-cheese blend, breaded, baked and topped with a roasted garlic cream sauce". Sounds great.... but what came to me was a chicken breast inside a HEAVILY breaded mound that looked deep fried. It was blacked and so hard I could not cut into it knife for most of it. I found an area I could cut into and there were no peppers in the meal at all. It was drowned in a cheap jar alfredo sauce with green onions sprinkled on top. It didn't taste like cheese at all and not any hint of garlic. The server repeatedly came to our table and began telling us about her life and how she had a nephew in Muskegon and never gets to see him except on Facebook as though she was trying to gain some sympathy from us. She then started physically illustrating the videos of her nephew by showing us how he walked through the restaurant. It became uncomfortable after 15 minutes of watching this woman stagger around and grab onto tables and shake her butt showing how he danced. She also kept pressuring me eat my meal because it was her favorite and she couldn't understand why I wasn't eating more because she would love to eat it if I wasn't going to. Yes, she really said that. Overall, I rate this as the most bizarre, uncomfortable eating experience I have ever had. A far cry from the candlelit, classy experience I had a few years prior. read more