Classic Michigan. This is the place to be in the summer when cruising Torch lake. Cheese curds? Yep. Unbelievable burgers, yep. Sandos? Your choice will never be wrong. Always on point. It's fun to watch the boats at the gas station getting ready to take it out to the lake. Great service too, and if you're really feeling rowdy you can jump in the lake from the rails! :) I don't recommend that tho ;) read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

Paul is a great server and has great recommendations! Good is good and great view. Highly recommend this place :)

My party and I sat on the outside deck. The music was banging, the service was great, and the views were nice. The food, however, was extremely meh. We ordered their pretzel bites for an appetizer. They were not truly pretzels, just deep fried dough with dipping sauce. Their French fries were extremely bland and needed an ample supply of salt and pepper to salvage. Their nachos were more of an appetizer than a meal and consisted mostly of bare chips. Lastly, my son's lemonade tasted more like watered down Gatorade than lemonade. Since this location was a 30 minute drive from Elk Rapids, I won't be returning. However, if you're in the area and just want a place to grab a few drinks, this is a decent choice if you've already eaten earlier in the day. read more

Good service, cool spot with great views. Very disappointed in the food. Wings were good but had very little meat and the firecracker shrimp were all breading. The shrimp were actually baby shrimp, which is a salad topper. read more

The view of the lake is a beautiful and I give that a 5 star. There were 7 of us in the group and majority of us found the food average bar food. The shredded pork burrito was pretty good and the blackened fish dishes were good. The firecracker shrimp were tiny, lots of breading, and not spicy at all. The chicken salad wrap didn't taste homemade. The drinks were cold and would recommend stopping for a drink, but not a sit down dinner like we did. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - View of the lake at night. - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

Dockside is advertised a little shinier than it is. If you're on the patio, or on the dock, the view of Torch Lake is fantastic. The inside is a very casual bar location. Service was fine, and the food was fine. We needed condiments, silverware, napkins... and had to wait a bit for all of that read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - The view from the dock - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

Great food establishment located on Torch Lake. You can eat inside or outside on the deck. My suggestion is the dock burger ! read more

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Great service and really fun atmosphere. We sat on the big side deck in the sun and enjoyed our drinks. When it comes to the food, it was good but not great. Each of our three entrees were bland and not noteworthy. Come for the drinks and the view. read more

First time to Torch Lake area and had done some "prep work" looking up activities/restaurants and Dockside had rave reviews, yet that was not at all our experience; the reviews must have been from 10+ years ago!! Did they change ownership? Dark inside and plastic cups had "coke" stains from poor washing over time. Had asked if the nachos were a large portion and assumed they would be for $18! While we appreciated our waitress who had put a couple ingredients on the side (child) the nachos themselves were small and very underwhelming: little to no chips, cheese was kinda melted, and the pile of lettuce was more than the chips! The chicken was maybe a 1/2 cup of crumbled pieces and tasteless. Fast forward to the burger my husband had--said it too was fairly tasteless and the fries were not seasoned or salted/premade frozen junk. California turkey sandwich had a nasty "thousand island" dressing if you can call it that (ketchup and sugar)? The turkey was a thick chunk, the pretzel bun was mushy, and the coleslaw was disappointing too! But it came with bits of smushed chip crumbs lol! Honestly the sandwich was so bad that I had thought about sending it back, which I didn't and I have done maybe a couple times in my life! Takeaway: If you want to spend $60!!! for a gross LUNCH, then you need not look any further, but if you have any sense you'll stay far far away!!! read more

Been wanting to try Dockside for years as we often pass it while getting gas for our boat. Probably overhyped it a bit in our minds -- it wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't stellar. Everything is also fairly expensive here. Every cocktail is $13, and the food prices aren't much better. The drink was good! It just would've been better if it was $8 or so. We got two appetizers, cheese curds and pretzel bites. Both came out super hot and with dipping sauces. The cheese curds were definitely the best as the pretzel bites lacked in flavor. They didn't appear to be salted either. I got the avocado turkey club wrap with two modifications. My modifications were done correctly, which I appreciated. Wrap was pretty tasty but last few bites were all tortilla. It came with some tasty fries, but the ketchup tasted a bit off. Nice dining area outside. The inside looked clean and good too, but everyone seems to eat outside here. Friendly staff as well. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - Cheese Curds and Pretzel Bites - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

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Food and service was great!! The place was clean too!! No complaints!! Definitely recommended!

This place is great. Fast and friendly service. At the peak of vacation season the dockside folks work hard to take care of you. Strong pours for cocktails and we always get the whitefish dip to start. Yummy!! They even extended weekend hours to service more hungry customers late-night. The view and location are awesome. Enjoy! read more

The food was good. Service was ok. I am leaving a one star review because they don't allow service animals of any kind even when seated outside. My service animal was denied entry by the bartender. *this happened about an hour ago, with multiple mentions of a service animal. The lady who said no animals then went to ask the bartender if service animals were allowed and she reported back that even service animals were not allowed. read more

Sunny day.....check Good service....check dock burger.....check Taco salad......check Oberon on draft....check A good experience had by all and I look forward to returning. read more

Food was excellent! Service was also good and the vibe was so relaxing! It was a beautiful view of the water and perfectly convenient from our jet ski adventure at butch's right across the street! read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - Fish tacos - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

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Always excellent food and a great location. The crowd is friendly and lively.sit our on the deck and watch all the boats.

First time here. Great ambience, very friendly hostess and server. Chicken Nachos are great. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - View from table - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

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Great time! Arrived by boat with family to celebrate a 90th birthday. The service was fantastic! Drinks and food arrived in a timely fashion. My husband and I shared the pork wonton nachos and quesadilla. Loved the nachos. It may sound like an odd combination but very tasty. Quesadilla was ok. Very cheesy and great presentation. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - people walking along the dock - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

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Dockside is definitely all about the outdoor seating. If you want quality food & service, don't bother. The view of Torch Lake is beautiful and the constant boat traffic is great to watch. The menu is rather limited with a few sandwich & salad options, burgers, fried food options, and kids menu. I need to preface this review by advising that it was a Friday evening about 5:30. The indoor and outdoor seating areas were NOT busy. Once seated, we were greeted by a second waitress after the first went elsewhere‍ I ordered the Gardenburger w/out the bun. I asked to add **everything** plus extra tomato. Super simple as **everything** is an add-on option for ALL burgers on the menu. This means adding ketchup, mustard, onion, pickle. The server came out with the meals and handed me the tray with my burger having only the onion. When I advised her about my correct order, she gave a pretty good blank stare without saying a word. I swear I wasn't speaking another language! I kindly advised her of my missing condiments & tomato, and her scowl let us know that she was rather annoyed of the request to bring me what I ordered. There was no acknowledgement of the error, nor that she'd be back with the rest of the meal. Not a good look! Next, the teen at the table ordered the Super Burrito with pork. Now, this is suppose to include refried beans, cheese, lettuce and tomato. There was no sign of beans until the very bottom of the pile of meat. There was no less than a pound of shredded pork piled inside. Also, no sour cream unless you want to pay extra?? The cheese was only on the exterior top of the burrito. Nowhere in the world of authentic Mexican restaurants would serve a burrito with whole pieces of a head of lettuce. Also, I swear it was romaine. That alone made for a super messy meal. Another adult ordered the Grouper Sandwich that was described as having 2 index-finger sized fish sticks between bread. The sweet potato fries were great. The side of coleslaw looked to be about 3 Tablespoons worth. If you want to visit for only a beer and the view in the back, Dockside is a fine choice. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

Best place to rent boats up north. The people are so kind. Free coolers packed with ice. They are so helpful. We rent from them every summer. Love dockside on torch lake. read more

Dockside has great vibes and great food! Waiters are very receptive and enjoyable! We also look forward to their fried pickles every time! They are definitely a highlight. Only downside may be the prices read more

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Pretty terrible experience. Water was pretty clearly brown and looked/ tasted like they scooped it out of the lake. After waiting an hour for the food, we were unpleasantly surprised by the microwave meal caliber food. For the ambiance, the view was great but I could've caught better food in the lake read more

I could not get home fast enough to write this review. It took our party 60 minutes to be seated, when we were told it would be 30. As is with other reviews I have read, the water was terrible. Took much iron and minerals to make it bearable to drink. When we asked out waitress where our food was 30 minutes after our order was taken, she said "30 minutes didn't cut it". Apparently 60 minutes didn't cut it either, as we had to wait more then a hour for our food. 60+ minutes to cook hamburgers. Some orders were wrong, food was mediocre, and some in our party took their fries home to heat and eat later because they were served ice cold at our table. By then, they were closing up and we ate in darkness as the lights were turned off. Waitress at the end disavowed any responsibility and blamed the issues on the kitchen. Dockside has 2 security officers posted at the front door. I now know why ,,, to prevent an uprising from the diners. Never again. read more

Service is terrible. They serve well water with actual particles in it, like they pump it from the lake, because they want you to buy bottled water so they can make more money. I don't think the water has been tested in a long time I'm surprised the health department hasn't red flag them for the quality of the water. read more

Driving notth by Torch Lake we just happened to spot a sign as we passed the road. We turned around and came to this lovely spot on the lake and canal to the lake. We called to make sure we could fine in and even got a great patio spot in the sun. Some tables were shaded but much cooler for us Floridians. We were seated immediately and soon our server Mackenzie came for drink orders. I got a tall margarita chilled and perfect after an afternoon of trails. My wife ordered the Super Burrito, rightly named, and I opted for Butterfly Shrimp with onion rings and coleslaw. Shrimp was lightly battered, crunchy and delightful. Happily the rings were breaded real onions and also crispy and great. My wife also gave high marks to the stuffed burrito, she just wished for some queso blanco top it off. It was a delightful spit with views of the lake and canal. And because it was late afternoon there was a constant parade of boats coming in from Torch Lake. We had a number of waves and hoots from the parade. Our server Mackenzie was delightful. The only negative was my coleslaw had a hint of a fishy taste. Hmmm. A very relaxing spot to dine on the lake. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - Canal view with a cute redhead - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

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Really cool spot to pull the boat up to and go grab lunch while on Torch Lake. Or if you are staying on Lake Bellaire cruise down the the connecting river and stop in. Local beers spirts and good food. Servers are freindly and attentive. My family had been raving about the fried clams but didn't seem to be on the menu any longer. Great views if you set outside and watch boats entering and exiting Torch Lake. read more

Dockside how you have my heart. Love sitting on your dock watching the boaters go by. The food and service is always good, I have never been disappointed. read more

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The food was so good and the service was pretty quick! I was impressed with the food and the ambience, definitely going to come back #yummersville read more

We were excited to eat Dockside as it was our first time being to Torch Lake. I will say we gave it a shot the first afternoon while being out on the lake and although they were pretty busy we waited for our water refills for more than 20 minutes until finally I had to go to bar and ask for a pitcher as we had already received our dinner with not getting one refill. We had also ordered pretzels and nachos as an appetizer and they were decent, but the cost for the portion of both of them were more expensive than any other places we've ate and definitely not worth it! Definitely disappointing! It was shared in our family group chat the picture of the pretzels as we were all shocked for the price paid. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - Pretzel bites - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

Indoor/outdoor restaurant to drive or ride your boat to for a great lunch or dinner. For apps, the whitefish dip was delish and fried pickles were unique in a way they were in a fried roll with bacon. I had the grouper tacos with red cabbage and avocado sauce. The fish option was grilled or blackened. Very tasty! We had great service while we had dinner outside watching the sunset. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - Outdoors - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

This place was overall a surprise for many reasons. I really wanted to have some seafood near a local fishing dock in Michigan and this place has a long 100yr history. To start off it's a bit weird of a layout inside, we were visiting so didn't know if we were supposed to seat ourselves or not while everyone just stared as we entered. They need a hostess. The atmosphere is definitely a dive bar restaurant feel. A huge crowd of belligerent sports fans yelling and high-fiving after every play. One even fell into a table, maybe have a stricter cut-off policy. We just wanted to enjoy some local food. There were also quite a few game machines and "bar games" around the dining area, a bit odd. The sunset was nice outside though and the servers were nice too. The service seemed a bit understaffed though. The food was definitely the best part. It was good seafood. I got the cod fingers basket with fries and Cole slaw and my partner got the perch fillet sandwich with fries and Cole slaw as well. Both entrees tasted good and the fries were hot and crisp , crinkle cut like Culver's. The slaw was ok, but not the best. Overall this place gets a 3star for food mainly, more staff and a better laid out interior would make the overall experience better and more of a division between dining and bar guests. read more

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Service is horrible. They say they're understaffed, but I just see lazy servers. Cold food and you'll have a empty glass for a while

Blackened grouper. Torch lake cerveza of some kind. Just a little Lemony. Wife had spicy shrimp tacos. Both of us enjoyed food and view and great service !!! read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - Beer - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan

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This is a really cool place! I loved the location and views along the river and Torch lake. It's super awesome that you can just pull up and dock as you please. There was a large variety of arcade games inside for restless children. Tons of outdoor seating & great menu items. The staff was friendly and caring, I'd definitely come back! read more

I really hope the new owners can get back on track. Food has gone downhill, along with service yet prices go up. Water has always been bad here. No carry out orders at certain times, especially during 2021 and a worldwide pandemic just blows my mind. Will always hold a place in my heart. My grandpa taught me to fish here and i proposed to my wife at the end of the dock. read more

Good food, good people. Rent pontoons from Butch's. Then stop and have a drink and some eats. When we were there, owner was giving employees rides on a helicopter as appreciation for hard work. Fantastic! read more

We have come here every time we're up that way just because the food does not disappoint! I LOVE the pork nachos with the wonton chips, so creative and absolutely delish! My husband is a huge fan of the fish tacos, and you can't go wrong with a basket of cheese curds. Everything down to the ranch dressing has been delightful. We also love the ambiance here. Casual, family friendly, but has great music and really nice staff. We will be returning for sure! read more

We visited on a summer holiday when lots of customers were there, but staff were cheery. We ordered lunch at the bar "to go" so we could use waterfront picnic tables or Adirondack chairs. Food was excellent, served quickly enough, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We'll be back! read more

We went back this year !!! Has completely turned around food gotten so much better, the service has improved and owners are back on top of things !!! So happy to have one of my favorite places back on top !!! We will be back no matter what !!! Best place upnorth!!! read more

I've been coming here since childhood on our yearly trips to the area. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, changes to the menu seem to have brought the food quality down. Removing the epic clam strips from the menu was a bummer and the old school heaping baskets of fries are no longer. We will still visit for the views and a drink, but may skip the food next time. read more

Dockside - Torch Lake - a drink in a glass with a straw - American Near Me - Bellaire, Michigan