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    Freshwater Tavern

    4.3 (177 reviews)
    Closed 4:30 pm - 9:30 PM
    Updated a few days ago

    Freshwater Tavern Photos

    FRESHWATER TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Trendy
    Romantic

    Recommended Reviews - Freshwater Tavern

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    Reviews With Photos

    Beautiful view!
    Charli O.

    Wonderful views, right on the water. Excellent service! My friend is vegetarian and they were able to accommodate her very easily with a trio of enormous sides. She also asked for a citrus mocktail, leaving it up to the bar staff, and was extremely happy with it. For me, my cocktail was finished. Half of the dinner came back to our airbnb because, again, enormous portions. We did manage to eat all the cheesecake, though! Easy in, didn't have to wait although it was quite busy. A bit pricy, but we'll worth it.

    Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich
    Jill B.

    Great location, great view, great service. The food was nicely presented, and portion sizes were ample. So convenient for grabbing dinner after checking in to the hotel. We tried the tomato basil soup and the lobster bisque, fish tacos with street corn, Caesar salad with chicken, and a Nashville hot chicken sandwich with fries. Everything was tasty!

    Pan Seared salmon, asparagus, and lemongrass rice.
    Cara C.

    You were comfortable in any clothing styles. The scenery was lovely. Service was very fast and staff was kind and respectful. The food was top notch and very fresh. The presentation was great.

    Ahi Tuna shareable, so good!
    Maria P.

    What a gem in Gladstone, Michigan, just outside Escanaba. We really lucked out tonight. Beautiful restaurant on Lake Michigan, with upscale rustic decor. Super clean and excellent service. Wonderful drinks menu, full of local selections and killer craft cocktails. The Wildflower and The Butterfly Effect were standouts. Hubby also enjoyed a flight of U.P. craft beers. For apps, we had the Boston Bibb starter salad, beautiful and yummy, along with the Ahi Tuna, which was outstanding! For our mains: my daughter had the Red Thai Curry Shrimp and Scallop, which was delicious, but the spice level is not for the faint of heart or anyone with acid reflux issues; hubby had the Whitefish Sandwich and couldn't have been happier; I had the Upper Hand Beer Battered Walleye, which was excellent, so fresh. We also ordered the Wild Mushroom Risotto when the curry proved to be too hot for my daughter, and it was to die for! Taking the curry home to our son who loves spicy. They offered to replace it with the risotto, which was considerate, but we know our son will love it. Our server was really attentive and helpful, Nick, which made our experience even better, of course. Although this restaurant is part of The Terrace hotel, don't let that deter you from checking it out, though the hotel is also amazing! We loved it and can't wait to come back again.

    Complimentary cinnamon and Parmesan rolls with whipped butter and roasted garlic
    Sarah E.

    Had no idea when we arrived at 8:30 after a long day driving that we had found a treasure! . We were greeted by the nicest and competent staff. We sat by the windows overlooking the water and prepared to choose which fantastic dishes we wanted. The menu included many gluten free options- I can't state enough how fabulous the food is and how professional the servers are .

    Alan D.

    It has been two years since we last visited the Freshwater Tavern. We noticed upon entering the decorating changes made. The restaurant didn't seem too busy, especially for a Friday night. Last time we were there, we enjoyed the food & ambience. My wife got the whitefish sandwich while I went for the ribeye steak (16 oz.). We noticed there to be a sizable jump in the meal cost in the past two years, i.e., $44 for the steak. For that money, one would expect better quality. My steak was both tough & stringy and flavorless. There was no bread served with the meal, nor soup/salad beforehand. There were charges to add these to the order. The bread pudding was also pretty heavy and dry. I don't think we'll stop there in the future. Help, though, was prompt and attentive.

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    9 months ago

    Great food. Messed up order (delivered fried fish instead of grillled) but still would go back. Nice view if can get a window.

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    8 months ago

    Very upscale restaurant. Wonderfull drinks and the food also. I was in town for work and would go back for sure. Hope it stays around.

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    8 months ago

    Although there were plenty of tables available, the hostess placed me at a table with no view of the bay. Unsatisfied!

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    10 months ago

    Terrible food. Salmon was way under cooked. Still raw in the center and they had to remake my wife's dinner twice.

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    Page 1 of 5

    Ask the Community - Freshwater Tavern

    Hereford & Hops Steak House And Brewpub - Mongolian stir fry! Homemade sauce!

    Hereford & Hops Steak House And Brewpub

    3.2(142 reviews)
    4.1 mi
    $$

    We are on a family vacation to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This included my daughter in law…read moreand granddaughter visiting the area for the first time in their lives. We wanted to visit Escanaba to see a beach, at Ludington Park, and a view of Lake Michigan, more or less (of the bay). We wanted to find a nice, casual dining place for 5 adults and our five year old. My son looked online and suggested Hereford and Hops. They seemed to have a good variety of food and a location less than a mile from the park. When you walk in the sign asks you to wait to be seated. Our server greeted us and took us to our table. She took the beverage order and made sure the child beverage had a lid to it. The menu has a variety of options, including appetizers, dinner salads, pizza, pasta, and entrees and daily specials. It was Wednesday and the special was a half rack of BBQ ribs and a potato. They had fish and seafood options, and my wife and I chose breaded shrimp. My Daughter in law wanted the BLT with a side of in-house homemade potato chips and a dish of French onion dip. My granddaughter requested the children's burger and fries. All of the entrees came with a choice of garden or Caesar salad. I believe all of the dressing and sauces were made in-house. We also ordered fried cheese curds, with marinara, and potato skins. Once the order was placed, it felt like we were waiting for the appetizers for awhile. One son said, I hope they don't just bring everything at once. But the appetizers did arrive first and they were very good. The salad I ordered was the Caesar. It was chopped Romaine, shredded parmesan, and croutons. Our server said that the croutons were made in-house, and so was my wife's Ranch dressing, so I assume they made the Caesar dressing, too. The point is making items from scratch suggests either unique flavor or fresh quality. The croutons were toasted bread, the size of game dice, with no seasonings I could see or taste. The Caesar dressing lacked the tangy flavor of bottled dressing. My romaine lettuce was chopped okay but some of the ends were a little brown. I was glad I passed on the Chicken Caesar entree salad. My wife said her garden salad and ranch dressing was very good. It had other greens and no romaine. The entrees were all very good. The rib dinners were, reportedly, cooked perfectly. One person felt the sauce was perfect, the other said it tasted great but there was too much of it. My wife and I had breaded shrimp. Again, I assume they made the cocktail sauce in-house. And we both had the same reaction, which was it tasted great but somehow had no coating quality on the shrimp. I dipped mine and it came up looking like it was dripping tomato juice, but tasted great. My Daughter in law loved the BLT, and the taste of the homemade potato chips. She thought they were cut a little thick, but shared with everyone else, who thought they were fine. Everyone raved about the onion dip. We had a great meal, pleasant service, even if it felt a little slow at the start. I suggest you try H &H if you're in the mood for good food, casual atmosphere and reasonable prices.

    In Escanaba for work and tried Hereford and Hops and never got to eat. Extremely disappointed in…read morethis place. When I walked in I was told to seat myself and I did. That is the last time the wait staff spoke with me for almost 15 minutes until I walked out. After 10 minutes I did the obvious look around trying to get someone's attention, but nothing. They were NOT busy (only 2 other tables of people) and now I see why. Sad service, sad experience

    Photos
    Hereford & Hops Steak House And Brewpub - The bar! Great food, had the Mongolian stir fry, the chef made most of the sauces himself. Husband & I had the Mongolian bowls!

    The bar! Great food, had the Mongolian stir fry, the chef made most of the sauces himself. Husband & I had the Mongolian bowls!

    Hereford & Hops Steak House And Brewpub
    Hereford & Hops Steak House And Brewpub - Brewery!

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    Brewery!

    Drifter's Restaurant - Morning sampler and blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon

    Drifter's Restaurant

    3.9(97 reviews)
    3.7 mi
    $$

    Oh, man. You ever do that thing where you want to try a pasty for the first time, so you search for…read morea good restaurant that has them, then go about your business for a minute, then search the google map for the restaurant based on memory alone, then go to the restaurant only to find out you went to the wrong restaurant because you have the memory of a goldfish? No? Nobody? Just me? Damnit. The silver lining? A wonderful breakfast meal and cheap to boot! Since I realized I'm part idiot (and not the good part), I decided to eat breakfast at my accidental restaurant. Mostly because I was already sitting in the booth and did NOT want to admit defeat. And boy howdy, am I glad I did! I ordered the French toast, eggs, and bacon. Two toasts, two eggs, and about three bacons. And a breakfast Coke (which is normal coke, but in the morning). First off, the eggs. I only eat scrambled eggs because I'm a child. Salt and pepper, then into my mouth. I don't like creamy scrambled eggs and I don't like scrambled eggs that get that weird skin on them for cooking too long. These ones were perfect. I garbled them down. My trick is to heavily salt and pepper them THEN cut them up and mix them together to disperse the seasoning. Eggs 10/10 The French toast? Perfect. Good size slices, a ball of butter on top (thankfully enough to spread over all four triangles), and a ramekin of syrup. They were the perfect portions. The FT (French toast) had the best sponginess and fluffiness. French Toast (FT) 10/10 Finally. The bacon. Look. I am a huss for bacon. I'll do some shady sh** for some good bacon. But I ain't going back to prison. I always ALWAYS request my bacon be floppy. Some places call it limp. I call mine floppy. Because I'm a professional. A lot of places struggle on what floppy should look like. I've had floppy bacon I could put through a plate glass window. I've broken a piece of floppy bacon on a table edge and shanked somebody (see prior prison comment). But here? This place? Sweetie pie, I could tie my shoes with this bacon it's so floppy. I could lasso a baby calf with this floppy a** bacon. If you don't believe me, I attached a photo of what floppy bacon should look like. Professional Floppy Bacon 12/10. I would also like to mention the Coke this place served was top tier. It's like it's chilled prior to coming out the fountain dispenser. It just went down SO smooth. Drink some. Also. It's a medium-quiet place. Family friendly. Has that down home look and feel.

    10/10 recommend. We were driving through the UP, headed back to Milwaukee and planned on getting…read morefast food but decided to stop here instead - and it was a good choice! A true diner in every capacity and the portion sizes were HUGE - enough to feed two people for every meal. The food was good as well and we experienced good service. We will definitely be stopping again on our next trip!

    Photos
    Drifter's Restaurant - Looking at cooking area from very clean front booth

    Looking at cooking area from very clean front booth

    Drifter's Restaurant - Mexican Omelette w/pancakes included

    Mexican Omelette w/pancakes included

    Drifter's Restaurant

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    Freshwater Tavern - newamerican - Updated May 2026

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