Enjoy dinner with a view at these waterfront restaurants in Northern Michigan.
Walloon Lake Inn
4178 West St., Walloon Lake | 231.535.2999
Stare hard at the azure expanse of Walloon Lake from a window table and you might glimpse the ghost of a steamboat ferrying the Hemingways to Windermere Cottage, their summer haunt on the West Arm. The vintage reverie is pleasantly interrupted, however, with a freshly shaken gin martini and a fragrant arugula salad garnished with smoked trout, striated radishes and crispy shallot chased by a succulent Wagyu Delmonico painted in red wine demi-glace. With full frontal views of Walloon Lake’s main basin, Walloon Lake Inn’s dining room is decked out in thick dark upholstery, luxe leather chairs straight from a London social club and a religiously polished baby grand piano to play up the patina of lakeside decadence. The menu is concise, reflecting the seasonal flow of local proteins and produce like pastured lamb shank with yellow corn grit cakes or sautéed local whitefish with beets, pea shoots and chili butter. A curvy custom bar houses an extensive collection of small batch bourbons and the wine list is populated by West Coast steakhouse cabernets and a representation of rieslings and white blends from emerging Tip of the Mitt wineries. (Pictured above)
GATES AUSABLE LODGE
471 Stephan Bridge Rd., Grayling | 989.348.8462
If eating a perfectly seared flatiron steak beside a crystalline trout stream is your thing, book a table at this iconic Grayling lodge to fuel up for the evening rise.
THE CABBAGE SHED
198 Frankfort Ave., Elberta | 231.352.9843
Flip-flops, blackened fish tacos and an ‘Elbertarita’ served in a frosty Mason jar accessorize the view of salmon boats slipping out of Betsie Lake.
THE RIVERSIDE INN
302 E. River St., Leland | 231.256.9971
In a bend on the blue-green Leland River, a cold bottle of grower champagne begets rabbit ravioli and seared duck breast with kale, caramelized onion and garlic confit.
THE BOATHOUSE
14039 Peninsula Dr., Traverse City | 231.223.4030
Sidle up to the raw bar for a feast of fresh-shucked oysters and tuna poke then treat yourself to foie gras chaud-froid and an idyllic eyeful of sailboats bobbing in Bowers Harbor.
Legs Inn
LEGS INN
6425 N. Lake Shore Dr., Cross Village | 231.526.2281
Make a sausage-and-sunset pilgrimage to this 1920s icon for smoky kielbasa, house-made pierogi and an endless panorama of Lake Michigan.
FOX & ROSE
795 Front St., Bay Harbor | 231.753.2122
Fox & Rose’s stone patio overlooking Bay Harbor’s glittering yacht basin is July’s ground zero for ice-cold rosé and bright summer salads.
THE PIER
102 E. Bay St., Harbor Springs | 231.526.6201
Access your inner Gatsby to devour crispy perch sandwiches and excessively garnished Bloody Marys while watching a parade of polished teak sail past the Harbor Springs waterfront.
DOUGLAS LAKE BAR & STEAKHOUSE
10990 Douglas Lake Rd., Pellston 231.539.8588
Sparkling water and miles of wilderness shoreline frame this tucked-away steakhouse with a cult following for its filet au poivre.
Traverse food and drinks editor Tim Tebeau writes from Petoskey. dining@traversemagazine.com // Dave Weidner is a freelance photographer based in Traverse City. dweidnerphoto@gmail.com.