As we continue our motorhome journey, we are staying in Grand Marais for three nights. Nice walk…read morefrom campground into town. We decided to go up to the Raven's Nest. Was surprised to see some live music taking place. The guitar player was so good, we closed the place. The bartender was very good. I started with two Old Fashions and his pours were very good, but this comes with a price. Cant remember the exact price, but considering the pour, not a bad deal. We ended up having several more drinks...we were into the whole vibe! Had some great conversations. Here's the kicker...got up the next morning and I was missing a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses. I looked everywhere. When we walked into town, I go into the Gun Flint and ask the bartender if she could check to see if anyone had found them. My wife and I were saying "right, in this day and time, who turns in a pair of found Ray Bans". The bartender, i think her name was Jennica, took the time to check in the office and then go upstairs to the Nest. I was in shock that she came back with my sunglasses! The guy who cleans up at night (Lennie?) found them and turned them in. The music was great, the drinks were great. Service was excellent.

We spent Friday and Saturday evenings at the bar for dinner, and what stood out most wasn't just…read morethe great food--it was the people. My husband loved the walleye, and everything we had was excellent. Sitting at the bar gave us a chance to watch your team in action. The food runners were so jolly and so interested in making sure you got exactly what you ordered. We noticed the same dishwasher working incredibly hard both nights, and it was obvious that every person plays an important role. The friendly bartenders, servers, kitchen staff, and support staff all worked together seamlessly with genuine pride and teamwork. Great restaurants don't happen by accident. It's clear the manager has built a culture where everyone supports one another and truly cares about the guest experience. We travel extensively, and seeing a team like this is rare. Gun Flint Tavern is a place we always recommend to anyone visiting Grand Marais, and after another wonderful weekend, we'll continue doing exactly that. We can't wait to come back!

We stop at this cafe every time we go through Grand Marais…read more We have never been disappointed. The owners are on sight, talk w the customers, the staff is great. Food is just the way you like it. If its not on the menu they make it happen anyway... Their BLT is actually filled with bacon, unlike other places where you get a two strip X of it in the sandwich. Their is bacon edge to edge! Omelets are good as well. Pancakes are good! And they stamp a little design on the top of them to add a special touch to your stack. Wish they were open for dinner! It is your typical cafe interior. Like its been there forever which adds to its charm. Its not a big place so getting there earlier is a plus, because it fills up fast. Worth the stop.

Popular, homey diner. Great for small groups. Affordable! Love the pancake side to the omelette…read more Omelette was perfectly cheesy and flavorful. Friendly service. Also peep the adorable pancake cutouts.

The host staff was very good and informative about the wait process. They made sure we wanted to be…read moreseated outside noting that it can get chilly ( we already knew this from previous visits) and that we needed to have our full group there to be seated. Our server was amazing. Very knowledge and helpful with our wine and food selections. Everyone's food was very delicious. I mean every last thing on the plate was carefully thought out and prepared perfectly. And the dessert. Wow! I'm gluten free so many restaurants only option is crème bruele. Not here. The Swedish cream with lingonberries is to die for. We come back every year. I'm already anticipating next year's visit.

For our first meal on the North Shore and during our stay in Grand Marais, we decided to visit…read moreAngry Trout Cafe. It seemed like a completely chef driven restaurant with items on the menu displaying some creativity and with many of their ingredients locally sourced. We settled in on a Monday evening, right after a thunderstorm had passed the region. Since the outdoor dining area was closed, the wait was probably longer than normal. For our party of 2, we were quoted 35 minutes. Our wait ended up being 1 hour. Right when we were called up, a family of 4 was quoted a 1 hour wait, and this was 30 minutes before they closed! There's no way the staff aren't pissed off at having to stay hours after close due to management inefficiency. At some point, restaurants need to turn away guests. This is the first restaurant I've ever visited where 20% of the displayed menu price goes towards tips and isn't retained by the house. This is the reason the prices seem so high - no additional tips are expected. Herring Fritters (Complementary, normally $17.50) - We ordered the wild rice fritters but were brought these instead. I was confused about the texture and taste. The server confirmed our order had been incorrect. To their credit, they comped this dish, then brought out the correct fritters. These fried fish balls are interesting, almost similar in texture to a Chinese fishball, but less homogeneous and bouncy. Inside is a dense batter mix of thyme, peppers, onions, and small chunks of really tender fish. (4/5) Fried Wild Rice Fritters ($17.50) - These are totally different from the fish fritters. They are lighter inside, more like fried yeast dough donuts, chewier and studded with peas, shiitake mushroom, and some snappy broken wild rice. (5/5) Lake Trout Chowder, Bowl ($14.50) - This is a thinner chowder that isn't particularly creamy or rich. The flavor is nice, with plenty of herbal and umami elements. There are lots of potato, carrot and celery chunks, not to mention a huge number of fish chunks all around. It's all very fresh, so there are no sign of fishy off flavors that I've experienced with other fish chowders. The bowl is served with two pieces of baguette, sliced on a large bias. They have clearly been sitting around in a high humidity environment given how leathery they are. (4/5) Grilled Whitefish Dinner ($39) - Angry Trout prepares their fish perfectly - it's one of the best fillets I've ever eaten. And yet it's so simple - a couple of minutes spent grilling, giving a magnificent charred flavor, yet leaving the fish flawlessly tender and flaky. There's a depth of flavor here beyond just the typical salt, pepper, and butter. It's like they liberally apply an herbal glaze on top that saturates the fish. It comes with some simply grilled asparagus, a side salad, and then a scoopful of wild rice. I believe the rice is high quality, probably hand picked and parched. It isn't as curly as some of the cultivated varieties I've eaten, but still gives the pleasing bouncy and springy snap. The flavor is clean and I especially love the hazelnuts on top for an extra nutty crunch. (5/5) This fish at Angry Trout Cafe was easily one of the best meals I had on my entire trip. With that being said, there's something seriously wrong with this restaurant in service, management, and ethics. I already mentioned the issues with wait times above. In terms of service, every single table around me got at least one thing wrong. One table asked for hot water, the server brought over cold water. Another table asked for bowls of chowder for every person at the table, the server inexplicably brought over lentil soup for one person. The server then forgot the bread for the chowder for another table. The last table complained about the chowder not having anything in it - it was all broth! Once I received the check I was flabbergasted by the credit card fee tacked onto the bill. This is not noted anywhere on the menu or inside the restaurant. This seems to be against Minnesota law, in particular statute 325G.051. To add insult to injury, I was able to pay in cash to avoid the surprise fee, but then I got stiffed a nickel on the change. It's only a nickel, but it's really the culmination of all these things that really makes my blood boil. Due to the initial wait and the error prone and extremely slow service, we were here for a total of 2.5 hours. When we finally left, it was an hour after they closed. Angry Trout Cafe seems like it's run by a chef who knows how to prepare a great dish, and is a great cook/trainer of cooks, but is a complete disaster on the management and business side. I have no idea how a business can be operated like this. I'm honestly surprised this place has been open for two decades. It would have gone out of business quickly in my market. Bathrooms - Two all gender rooms Food: [4.5/5] Service: [--] Other: [--] Final Rating: 1/5

Wow! I've been wanting to try Hungry Hippie Tacos for a few years and am so glad I finally did!…read more Located right in Grand Marais this is a do not miss IMO. You order up at the counter and then your food is called out for you. There is some small seating outside but a spacious, nice interior with seats as well but still very casual! They have various tacos & apps you can try but we ended up getting a burrito & burrito bowl. You can customize the ingredients in them and both of our burritos came out so delicious. The rice and beans are so so flavorful. I can't say enough good things about how good this was. Absolutely will be back.

Hungry Hippie Tacos is an interesting fast food establishment, serving tacos that are a like a bit…read moreof a fusion between Native American and Mexican-American cuisine. The food they serve is nothing like a traditional street taco, nor anything like those classic Americanized Mexican restaurants. It really is unique and is something that I've never seen before in the past. The restaurant itself is counter service, so ordering is easy and quick. When we arrived for an early Tuesday dinner at 5PM, it was completely empty. My first impression from looking at the menu was that the tacos seem very expensive. I soon found out that each taco is probably equivalent to four street style tacos in mass, so the pricing makes sense. Grateful Pig, Basket ($15.99) - The taco comes wrapped in aluminum foil. I don't think this does the taco shell any favors, because as soon as I opened up the wrapper, the shell started to crumble and split. There's so much liquid from all the wet ingredients inside that it's literally impossible to eat this taco as a taco - after a couple of dangerous bites where stuff was falling out left and right all over the place, I went up to get a paper boat, flipped the taco out, and ended up eating the rest with fork and knife. The taco shell itself is very interesting. I went into the restaurant thinking it would be similar to Native American frybread, but it's totally different. Instead of being completely flour based, this one is like a puffed up, fried masa and wheat flour mixture, made extra crumbly rather than pliable. It's honestly not a good taco shell given how crumbly and dry it is. The pork is nicely smoky, although very salty and needs the blander ingredients above to dilute that salt out - very hard to do in taco format. The basket comes with a bunch of crunchy homemade tortilla chips, not too salty, and a tiny cup of salsa. The salsa is quite watery/runny and is pureed heavily. It's given in such a small amount that's not nearly enough for all the chips on the plate. I'm not convinced this is a freshly homemade salsa. (3/5) Wild Willy ($14.99) - Interestingly, this taco shell was better than the other. Firstly, while still crumbly, it has a bit more strength to hold things together. Secondly, it's speckled with super crunchy nubbins all over the exterior, giving additional and very pleasing crunch. Otherwise, this taco has an entire chorizo link rather than the ground bits I expected to see, as typical in a street taco. The link has a bit of heat and the spice mixture complements the natural porky flavor so well. Usually with cheaper chorizo, the spice mixture dominates, but this one is balanced. They cut the chorizo in half like a boat and then stuff it with some slightly roasted corn salsa. It's then doused with lots of chipotle sour cream for more slight heat and plenty of fatty moisture. Finally a huge pile of shredded cheese and lettuce complete the taco. (3/5) I think the tacos might be better served as an open taco concept like the Indian Taco, or at least served in a paper boat instead of wrapped in foil. As they are, though, I found the tacos to be mediocre. Bathrooms: Two unisex rooms Food: [3/5] Service: [ ] Other: [ ] Final Rating: 3/5

I've been coming here for years on an annual family trip. The first year i think i was…read moreunderwhelmed, but every year I've learned a little more...it's about picking the right donuts for you. They're so subjective. I have gotten the skizzle twice and always been underwhelmed. Powdered sugar donut is where it's at for me and my husband. This last trip I learned that the donut kabob is definitely kid friendly / travel friendly. Chet's best is also disappointing for us given how enticing it looks. I think I'll try one of the cream ones (white bismark with raspberry jelly) or a maple long john next time. It's always worth the trip. Lines can be long but if you go early as we do they usually aren't bad.

One of the towns we visited on our trip to Lake Superior was Grand Marais (Minnesota). Walking…read morearound, I saw this small shop with a sign that said World's Best Donuts. I had to test out their claim the next morning. I waited in the short line and found a delectable section of fried dough topped with a creative assortment of sugars. There was even a tray of donuts called "Chet's Best" (I learned that is the name of the proprietor's father - and mine too). I chose the Skizzle (basically fried dough dipped in sugar) and a Cinnamon pull-apart. The Skizzle definitely was a contender for one of the best donuts I have ever tasted. The Cinnamon bun I also ordered was more dense than I enjoy. I believe I'll have to taste more of their creations before I can truly give into their claim. But I would not hesitate to stop by if you're in town and choose one or two for your own sweet snack.

Really cute rustic coffee shop! We stopped in here to grab a coffee before hiking around Lake…read moreSuperior. It is literally across the street from the lake so it was a super quick and easy stop. You can tell the workers are all happy to be here, they were laughing and chatting amongst themselves while working which was nice to see. I had the maple latte and it was great! They use real maple syrup, I would get it again!

Cute coffee shop! Good indoor interior. Reasonable pricing. Quick service…read more Came in on a Saturday morning and there is a line but it moved quick. Good amount of seating. Good coffee and espresso.

Wow. Fantastic experience. Was in town for MEA and was heading to get donuts and walked past this…read moreplace. Still got donuts down the street but added lattes and quiche here. The next day lattes and quiche again, plus scones. The third and final morning was lattes, quiche, scones, a Carmel roll, and two different croissants. I think we found another favorite thing in Grand Marais. Staff were friendly even with the crowds, and the space was nice. We took it to go the first day, but ate in the next two. Awesome addition. Will be back.

Pretty disappointed with our visit yesterday. We come through this area a few times a year, usually…read moreon our way up the gunflint. We typically enjoy the "last good coffee", or the "first good coffee" here along with a pastry or 3, but yesterday was different. When we entered the store there was a pretty substantial line. No big deal, it *is* a beautiful Sunday morning in Grand Marais after all! So we got in line and we waited... and we waited... and we waited. Only 1 girl helping customers at a snail's pace. Nothing seemed to make her move faster, not even the significant line that was only getting longer. After about 30 minutes in line, it was our turn. After watching her with other customers, not know the product, her slow pace and general confusion, I just made it easy. 3 of the same cookie and 3 of the same drink. Even though thats not what we all wanted, but we were kind of over it. At this point, I made my biggest mistake. I asked if they had any dark roast beans for purchase. She didnt know if they sold beans. She asked the barista who also seemed confused by her question. The response she got was, "yes, and our dark roast is really good". And then she just turned back to me at the register and stared at me. Then the barista kind of caught on and went to get some from the back. When he came back out, I asked if he could grind them for a French press. I had to ask him 4 different times, each time he acted like he hadn't heard me, but also smiled at me while not fully acknowledging me at the same time. He finally asked me and for a 5th time i asked to grind it for french press and He didnt seem to know what that meant! So I said, as coarse as you can. He seemed to understand that. (Or so i thought. Because when I got home, that grind was powdery soft.) He finished grinding the beans, which took way longer than it should have and then began our drinks. We again waited quite some time for our drinks (which has actually always been our experience, so we know to budget a bit of extra time) and when he handed them to me, all 3 were different, zero consistency, and when we took our sips, they were all so sweet that we could barely drink them. When we got back home, I picked up the bag of grounds to get my cold brew started and realized that it was one of the lightest bags of beans I'd ever seen. I would tell you that he left at least half the beans in the grinder. Also, its marked a 12oz bag. $18 for 12oz of coffee beans is a lot.. and then to not get half of even that! To say that I am beyond disappointed with this experience is an understatement. I went to their website to try to reach out to the owners, but theres no way to contact them and it looks like they havent updated it in over a year, so there's that too I guess.

I've been coming to Skyport and Ravenrovk Grill since they opened. I've always been met with a warm…read morewelcome and exceptional service. The food is fresh and delicious! I would highly recommend any of their appetizers and their pasta is amazing. Always have great specials to offer. I love that they sponsor local talent by hosting live music which is fun for all ages! highly recommend!!

Avoid Skyport Lodge. They DO NOT honor bookings. My sisters & I arrived after a 6-hour drive only…read moreto find our reservation was canceled. We'd received a confirmation email when we booked; however, the week before the trip a text & email was sent to the owner, Rachelle, to double check our reservation. Both were completely ignored. After arriving & being told we had no room, it took close to an hour to get Rachelle to show up on the property. She then admitted she gave our room away to "long term guests" (a.k.a. someone staying longer) because it was more profitable. Her response: "What was I supposed to do!?!?" Her offer of "help" was to tell us we could 'try' another establishment with no guarantee we'd get a room & no offer to rectify the price increase. We didn't even get an apology. So, we had to drive 6 hours straight back home in the dark. Unprofessional and completely untrustworthy business. Avoid booking here or you may end up in our situation if a more profitable opportunity comes along.

We got our pizzas to go and ate on the beach. They were so good! Someone picked them up for me so I…read morecan't really comment on how fast the service is, but the food is delicious

We were licked and for fisherman's picnic they were open for lunch. With limited menu. We got a…read moreslice of pizza. Was very good. It had a familiar flavor. The slices were fresh and hot. Would love to go and get a whole pizza and try some other things

What a great find! The fish and chips were excellent, crispy, flavorful, and not overly greasy. I…read moreenjoyed the trout while my partner chose the herring, and both were outstanding. We initially stopped here because the well-known Angry Trout Cafe next door no longer allows dogs, and we're glad we did. We were able to enjoy a relaxing meal with our dog on the front patio, which made the experience even better. This place is a true hidden gem that deserves far more attention. Delicious food, a welcoming atmosphere, and dog-friendly outdoor seating make it an easy recommendation.

Love this spot! I've been wanting to visit after camping in Grand Marais a few times and this year…read morewas the year. I got the maple bacon curds, so good and different than I expected. I thought the curds themselves would be flavored but rather it had toppings, which I prefer since sometimes flavored curds aren't that great. For my entree I got the shrimp basket, really good and big shrimp! Plenty of seating inside and outside and it's a perfect spot on a nice day.