Let's be honest, you aren't going to the Villa Marine Bar for high-end crafted cocktails and michelin star food. Villa Marine Bar is the place you visit if you want cheap drinks and a beautiful view! My husband and I visited two nights in a row and didn't leave disappointed. They had a drink special for a pomegranate margarita and it was delicious! I also tried the blackberry margarita and no complaints. I've never had a drink from the Villa Marine Bar and questioned if there was alcohol in it because you test it instantly haha. The staff at the Villa Marine Bar are friendly and welcoming. Our waitress was new to waitressing (she told it was her first shift) and it was amazing seeing how patient everyone was with her. She was awesome and even remembered my group the next day when we visited. I was able to try the popcorn chicken during my first visit. It was okay but as I mentioned earlier, you go to the Villa Marine Bar for the drinks. Most of the people I observed were there for the drinks. The view of the marina was lovely. I visited right before the sun started setting so it was nice to see the color change of the sky. read more

New owner Alex is killing it! Food is amazing! I recommend the Frankfort salad with grilled chicken and Ranch or the BBQ ribs are really good. And their staff is amazing! Oh and I was just told appetizers and pizza til midnight! No one has food until midnight around here! read more

Had a delicious lunch at the Villa yesterday. Greeted and seated by an owner. Server was delightful; knowledgeable about the menu items and the special of the day. I had the smash burger. It exceeded my expectations! Cole slaw on the side was tasty. The back deck offers a wonderful view. I'll be back! read more

Had a great dinner on the deck last night. Both my husband and I ordered the grilled salmon. It was cooked perfectly along with the grilled asparagus. Ordered white wine and the waitress suggested getting a bottle. Only $20. What a deal. Their burgers looked great too at the table next to us. read more

Stopped in for a drink and something to eat. Not friendly at all, staff acted as though we were bothering them. Ordered a drink and that's the last we saw of anyone except throwing down the bill. This place isn't going to make it when the bar/restaurant is literally the best location. Not recommended. read more

I have been coming to Frankfort most summers for 20 years. The restaurant situation is abysmal, and Villa Marine can't even handle being a good dive bar. I have tried to have a good experience there. read more

I had the ravioli which normally I don't really care for cheese ravioli I like the meat ravioli, but it was amazing! We had a great experience there! We would definitely go back! read more

Glad that it's under new management/ownership. Hopefully, there will be a deep clean to remove some of the grease/fry smell that permeates even out to the street. Would love supporting local businesses and hope, fervently, to see some great changes to a hometown city. I remember having dinner there as a kid. I cannot (currently) expect to do so with my kids. read more

Some friends and I were camping at Interlochen State Park nearby this past summer and wanted to check out Frankfort and grab some dinner and drinks. Most places were already at capacity due to limitations from COVID, but Villa had immediate seating. It was a little drizzly and chilly so we opted to sit inside, but they do have a small outdoor deck in the back. The menu is pretty basic bar fare - burgers, pizzas, etc. We were pretty hungry so we ended up getting way too much food! Multiple pizzas, cheese bread, fried mushrooms, and mozzarella sticks. I ordered the perch dinner and was really pleasantly surprised with how good it was. The portion of perch was large and the filets were perfectly fried and well seasoned. The cheese bread was so good! Super cheesy and hot and a huge pizza sized portion, definitely enough to split between six people! Unfortunately the service was a little lacking. It took awhile to get everything, and especially our checks. Not all employees were wearing masks inside when we visited at the end of July 2020, which made me a little uncomfortable. I'd go back in the future but know it will take awhile. read more

Went to this place on a Saturday night as we couldn't get a table anywhere else. The nachos were decent. Karaoke was fun. People seemed to be having a good time. Drinks were inexpensive. Only place in town that stays open late, close to the lake, as far as we could tell. read more

First visit to Frankfort and the Villa Marine Bar. The perch sandwich was the best we have had! Good fries and a nice selection of beer. The venue is clean, comfortable and great staff. There are a number of televisions to watch your favorite team. Beautiful views of the lake. Great stop! read more

Villa Marine Bar - The bar. - Bars Near Me - Frankfort, Michigan

The pizza was fantastic, and our waitress Sophia was awesome. Unfortunately the other waitress was rude. I asked if there was an available table outside, and she barked back that I'd have to wait for her to find a waitress. We waited about 10 minutes. More customers arrived and stood in the doorway waiting to be seated. The same waitress yells at them and tells them to close the door since the air is running. We almost left, but we were plesently surprised with the good service and customer friendly personality of Sophia. Hopefully they will hire more staff, but there is no reason to be rude to customers. I reduced my rating due to the attitude of the one waitress. . THE PIZZA IS GREAT BTW. read more

Villa Marine Bar - Custom pizza - Bars Near Me - Frankfort, Michigan

"I love the Villa, Sue is so nice" - Jonathan Gaffney "No words other than fantastic" read more

Villa Marine Bar - Bars Near Me - Frankfort, Michigan

Dining on the deck is really relaxing. The bluegill is excellent, unfortunately the perch is not. It isn't Lake Perch it is European Pike perch which is a large 20 inch fishy fish that tastes nothing like Lake Perch. Waitresses are all friendly. Bartender too. All the sandwiches are great as are the burgers. read more

The place was very nice and so were the people. The food was not good and bland. My order was also wrong. I would not recommend. very expensive, over $100 for three meals. read more

Villa Marine Bar - Nachos after they "fixed it". - Bars Near Me - Frankfort, Michigan

Good drinks but service slow even when not many people in bar . Bartender works at his own pace which isn't quick. Food mediocre , had prime rib , ordered as rare as possible and my wife a medium rare . Both came well done. Veggie side underwhelming . No horseradish sauce for the prime rib which should be a mainstay. Too bad as very close to marinas and summer crowds read more

Now that the previous manager was booted from the position of power to which she abused to the maximum (lasting less than one year) including charging patrons $20 to play a song off of her own iPhone (even though they have touchtunes), the place has made a full and dramatic comeback. Easily the place to go for drinks and ambiance on Frankfort's Main Street. The bartenders are generous and welcoming; be sure to not miss Karaoke Night every Friday and Saturday. A wholesome place for the whole family!! read more

Excellent service and food... Enjoyed the fried blue Gill and perch dinner... Great views of the lake and awesome food... read more

The epitome of a great shit hole bar, has not changed in 45 years. Great for beer and "and" drinks...ie Jack and coke

If you're in town on a Friday- You have to try their fish and chips!! 5 star and all you can eat so come hungry it comes with one side of fries and coleslaw but they limit them to one order. Saturday's are karaoke so bring your singing voice read more

Waited 15 min to even see the appearance of a hostess. (Two groups in front of me just gave up.) Finally was told it would be 45 min but they don't have a list. So you just have to stand there. Need a better system. Even writing some names on a piece of paper. So much tech available now - how about Yelp Waitlist. Poor servers seemed overworked. I think there were 2 for the entire place. Definitely a depressing vibe. read more

The food was ok but the service was pretty bad my server talked with the table inside for 20 minutes until I ordered I don't recommend going. read more

We didn't eat a meal, but considering the other reviews, we got fast and friendly attention. It was not crowded and we had a great table with a water view. They don't have grapefruit juice for my favorite cocktail, but that's OK. The drinks were $4. We had the pork rinds for a snack and they were fresh and crackling. They have options for spiciness. The sriracha had a good kick. Tammy, our waitress was attentive. She needed to write down our orders, but that's fine. They seemed to apologize for this, but that's fine. This place has a great view and Frankfort is terrific. We'll be coming back. The area is rich with opportunities. read more

Villa Marine Bar - Bars Near Me - Frankfort, Michigan

This place. The bartender here is shit. I ordered a dirty martini and it didn't taste right. I questioned him and he gave me a huge attitude back and didn't remake it. It tasted like the olive juice was old. I didn't like the way he talked to me and my husband gave him a zero tip. The worst part is he added a $5 tip for himself afterwards. I like the restaurant but this bartender has to go. He's the big guy. read more

That the Villa Marine only has three stars is ridiculous. We were blown away with the service when we had over 100 friends and family come do karaoke the night before our wedding. The staff was incredible! Such a fun place that is loved by locals and tourists. Awesome patio out back and great bar food! Definitely check it out. read more

See all

I was so disgusted. We had 4 people and wanted a table on the deck. The hostess told us there was a 10 to 15 minute wait. We understand about covid 19 and waiting for open tables and decided to wait. After about 5 minutes 7 people with a baby walked in, asked for a deck table and where seated immediately!!! Wait, what???? We have patiently waited and you seat others before us, they had an open table and wouldn't give it to us... Then a couple got up said they wouldn't wait anymore and left, we decided to leave as well. So if your a large party come on in. A 4 topper? ehhh,maybe,a couple, definitely NOT. read more

I was staying on Crystal Lake for a week and went to the Villa 3 different nights, all with similar experiences. The drinks were blah and staff was not pleasant. It was the only place open after about 8pm in the area, so my friends and I went back strictly because it was the only place to go. They didn't have the ingredients to make a number of basic drinks. 2 stars largely for the unpleasant staff. read more

Below average staff makes it hard to offer more than two stars. The hostess seemed completely disinterested in her work. Asked for a beer recommendation the waiter suggested a hard seltzer. When it was sent back it made its second trip to our table and I was told "You can do whatever You want with it. No charge." Steak was average and fries were "warm-ish." While staff was masked how serious they were about COVID precautions isn't clear. Common condiment containers are on the tables, for example. It wasn't clear our table had been wiped down either. I wouldn't go back. read more

We ordered take out pizza while staying in Frankfort. It was really good. We will go back next time we are visiting.

Yuck. Not only were the items on the menu of poor quality, and, in most cases, taken straight from the freezer bag, we felt very rushed by our waitress. This seemed to be happening at most of the tables-- the waiters seemed to be rushing customers out. I am not sure why-- there were plenty of tables available, and several hours before the posted closing time. I was also not impressed with our ticket. The waitress rang up about half of what we actually ordered. We didn't ask for a comp, nor were we complaining about anything. I suspect she was 'hooking us up' so that we, in turn, would do the same to her We, however, did not. I'm all about compensating waiters fairly-- but dishonesty won't get you far with me. I'm glad to pay for everything that I ordered, and give you a fair tip on top of that. Don't let my casual clothes and age fool you. Skip this place. Coho's across the street is a better option. The food is much more expensive, but worth every penny (and, waiters are not cheating the house there). read more

I like it! It has a "northern Michigan" feel to it (wood paneling, carpet, nautical decor), balcony overlooking the bay, and a full bar. I hear the pizza is good, though I've never had it. It may be a bit divey if you're used to more upscale places, but they have fair drink prices. Service can be slow when it's busy. read more

My wife and I stumbled into this place for some drinks and dinner. Sat at the bar and had drinks and an app served right away. It was down hill from there. Keeping it short the bartender's were .... Not nice. It wasn't busy and getting a drink was obnoxious. We tried to order dinner but it took 30 minutes to get a bartenders attention and then they told us the kitchen closed at 10. It was 10:05... If the owner reads this I'd love for you to reach out to me.. it was bad. read more

We stopped in for lunch and a drink around 1:00 P.M. We tried to take advantage of the outdoor dining area but the plastic roof and inoperative ceiling fans made it feel like a greenhouse. We ended up inside which accommodated our group of 10 nicely. Beer selection is limited. We had a couple of Oberon's and 2 pitchers of Bud Light. They didn't have beer glasses for the pitchers. We got highball glasses instead. For lunch we had quesadillas and pizza. The quesadillas weren't memorable; small and lacked ingredients. And they don't come with guacamole. The pizza on the other hand was outstanding and is the only reason this place gets three stars. It makes this place worth the stop. read more

The food here is mediocre at best. Six meals and two apps and I can't say there was anything that anyone in our party was happy with. Oh wait, the beer was cold! read more

Excellent service, Faith & Matt were extraordinary. The food was very good, beer yummy, & the view unbeatable. Cool old classic-style bar. Great tunes on the stereo. You can't go wrong at this great bar/restaurant on the water! read more

Favorite place to eat in town. Meals are always very good along with the service. Great sea food platter, excellent portions. Reasonably priced! read more

This was our first time in Frankfort and after having a fantastic time exploring we stumbled across this place with the main attraction being the beautiful patio overlooking the water and marina. When we first went in we of course asked for a table outside and were told there were none left (not "it'll be a 30 min wait" etc.) That's fine, it was just two of us so we said we would just get a drink at the bar and the host said he would let us know when a table outside becomes available. During that 30 mins waiting at the bar we were sitting right by the hostess stand and couldn't help but notice a few people asking to sit outside and being seated right away including a group of 13. Clearly we had been forgotten. We got the attention of the host and asked if there were any tables outside yet and he said "no not yet." We did the same thing 10 minutes later after seeing yet ANOTHER group being seated outside and this time he apologized and said he "didn't see us sitting there"...right next to the host stand. After finally being seated we waited another 15 minutes before even being acknowledged by our server (not to mention the extra 10 minutes I had to wait at the bar just to close out the tab before heading to the table). We both ordered the wet burrito and it was okay - when our server brought our food she said she would be right back with the sour cream and salsa which we never saw. The table behind us were waiting forever for her to pick their check so we made sure to have exact cash ready and booked it out of there before we got stuck again. This place seems like it has great potential but unfortunately the poor service and lack of organization are holding it back. read more

The food isn't all that great and I don't think they have updated the interior in 20 years or more (other than getting rid of the pool tables) The last time we went in for drinks the guy on stage playing piano and singing was clearly drunk. The staff doesn't seem very friendly the past few times we've been in for drinks either. The place is really going downhill! read more

Cozy,knotty pine, northern bar with good food. A good & spicy chili, with a fresh salad. Lightly breaded perch & fries. A tasty lunch. Meets expectations for a bar/restaurant. read more

See all

4 of us had a really good dinner on the deck last night. New York Strip cooked to everyone's wishes - perfection. Perch, very lightly breaded - perfection. There are always a number of, ice cold beers on tap, and now my favorite cider "Cinnamon Girl" is on tap as well. The service was excellent. read more