Dined inside for a late lunch on a rainy day. The patio looks like a great space, but it was a little wet that day. Choose to sit outside when it's available. The restaurant is located across the street from the main road on the bay. The view is still very nice from inside the restaurant. Two fireplaces in the dining area. Neither was on during our visit. The dining area around the booths needs some love. A little worn. Bowers Wine and Coronas to start. Good choice. The Calamari was of excellent quality with tentacles and rings. My favorite. Breaded lightly but slightly undercooked. Needed 20 seconds more. Lettuce Wraps were terrific. The Prime Rib Dip was hearty and the horseradish sauce delicious. Service was good. Friendly. read more

Everyone said we had to try while in the area. It was just ok for the prices you pay. 1.the seats we were in the a/c was so cold we couldn't enjoy dinner. We were told there was nothing they could do 2.the food took so long to come out. Probably sat for over 30 min for our plates 3.we ordered the short ribs and it's mashed potatoes and it came with rice. We only ordered it because it should come with potatoes. We were told they ran out but this was after our meal came out. 4. The hand breaded chicken sandwich was dry and overcooked. 5. The prime rib sandwich was the only good thing we had for dinner that night. For a meal over $150 for 4 people we were expecting more. read more

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I can see why this place is empty! After having lunch here I'd never go back. Tons of seating, decent bar at the entrance but there were a handful of people on here and they sat our party next to another larger 4+ person party so it was too tight. Our waitress, bless her soul, was quite older and therefore not the quickest or handiest person. Took three trips just to get waters to the table and about 20 minutes to get em. They were also out of three or four main menu items so that changed things. I had the quesadilla lunch special and it was atrocious. Why does a quesadilla require grease? Couldn't figure it out. It was sopping wet with grease and the crema/ Mexican sauce was disgusting. Didn't finish it. Coleslaw was crap too. Kids had Mac and cheese; it was cold crappy Kraft box junk. Couldn't get out of here quick enough. This place won't last. read more

My family and I were visiting from Louisiana and wanted to find a good spot for fresh fish. When we walked in, the service was quick and friendly, which was a great first impression. We ordered several different dishes, and overall, everything was delicious. The French onion soup was also a hit. And the cous cous with my salmon was the best thing I've ever eaten. The only miss for us was the cod--my mom didn't care for it, and I would not waste your time on this dish. The atmosphere was charming with a cute, nautical theme, making it a pleasant place to dine. The only drawback was the wait for our entrées; it took quite a while even though there were only two tables in the entire restaurant at the time. Overall, I'd still recommend this spot for the friendly service, tasty dishes, and cozy atmosphere. And they have a $15 lunch menu which was a nice surprise too! read more

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Our waitress was very attentive. The service was on point and food was delicious. We came for the view in hopes of getting a good lunch and both did not disappoint! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Stopped in for dinner while working in this town. Seemed like a local spot. Sat at the bar - bartender was friendly and service was very good and friendly. The calamari could have been crispier, but the sweet and sour sauce was amazing. The fish and chips - although the portion was large, the batter on the fish was bland and kind is mushy. Dinner was reasonably priced. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Calimari - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

2nd dinner here in one week! It was great both times. Great food and superb service. We had 10 people and our waitress handled all of us so smoothly. I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

The service is always great and the food... phenomenal!! The butternut squash bisque alone is a reason to come here, but the rest of the menu is great as well! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Butternut squash bisque and espresso martini - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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I would definitely visit Harrington's again. The food was excellent, the service was wonderful, and the view was fantastic. The only negative is that it's a bit noisy, so be ready to adjust your hearing aids. read more

The food was excellent. Service was fine . But the noise in the dining room was very very loud. Not the best acoustics.

Came here on a summer saturday night for dinner, we were able to a table pretty fast for a table of 5. The chowder had really good flavor and it was thick. The whitefish was cooked well, loved the crispy coating but the fish was not dry or salty at all. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Chowder - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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We've been going to Harrington's for fifteen years. Our last two visits have been very disappointing. First, a strawberry salad with a piece of salmon was $32. It was a mound of only spinach, a couple slices of strawberries and a few sliced almonds. The feta cheese could barely be found. On our next visit, the bread on the sandwiches was soggy and fell apart. We ordered a piece of key lime pie which ended up being a mass produced tart in a foil pan and was bright green. Nothing like key lime should be. Here's the issue. We spoke to the hostess and she said"I wouldn't know what to do." Then speaking to the manager, we were told "There's nothing I can do, you already paid for it." We didn't even take a bite of it. A long time favorite restaurant but we won't be back. read more

Good spot to visit if you're in Traverse City. Fast service and the interior has a log cabin feel. My Organic Chicken Breast dish looked great. The chicken was spiced well. The potatoes were good too but a bit unevenly heated. The miss was the wilted arugula which came between the chicken and the potatoes. It was bitter and I did not enjoy it. I scraped it off the potatoes and left it on my plate. Spinach or green beans would have worked much better. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Organic Chicken Breasts - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Just stopped in for dinner with my baby and had a horrible experience. We waited to be sat and while we waited the staff seemed visibly annoyed and were rushing around us. When it was finally time to be sat (just me and my baby) they said they had no high chairs. Only booster seats, as a baby he cannot sit in anything but a highchair yet. We had to leave but ultimately should have been informed of this when we arrived. read more

1. Ambiance... Can't eat it. 2. Service... Waitress was nice...Service SLOOOW. 3. Food... It was just ok. I ordered Medium rare burger...Got well done. read more

First off, Renee is a great waitress, made sure we were taken care of the entire time my Fiancée and I were dining. The Beer Battered Cod was so amazing, tasted great, not fishy at all, it was like I was eating chicken. The fries that came with it were very good, and tasteful, Cole slaw was not very good but everything else outweighed a small portion of Cole Slaw. My Fiancées Parmesan crusted whitefish was amazing as well, the potatoes underneath had good flavor, the green beans could have been cooked a little longer but like before everything else outweighed that. Great atmosphere and highly recommend dining here if you're a tourist in Traverse City or even if you live here as well! read more

On a rainy Tuesday afternoon we sat down and we were the only table ordering food. Over an hour later we got our food, About 10 minutes between the first food showing up and the kids got their order. Pretty awful kitchen management. Pretty mediocre food at that. read more

Food was good and service was excellent. Was a nice part of our vacation trip to Michigan.

I'm so sorry to write this. We love to support small businesses, especially in a northern Michigan town that most likely has very slow months during the winter. Place is decorated very well and has charming touches. It gets busy! Plan ahead. Food was poor. If you like a good meal, just pass on this place. Fish and Chips were a zero. Don't bother. No taste and was served cold. The French dip was also poor. Meat was over cooked and rubbery, the au jus had nothing notable. Two got hamburgers and both said they were ok, a 3 out of 10. Walleye sandwich also a 3. All 5 of us had the truffle fries. All of us felt they were bland, just regular food service fries and no one could taste any truffle. Sad to write this review. read more

Wonderful location and while the food is average +, the restaurant is a nice place to share a meal. Acoustics aren't good, so turn up your hearing aid. Given all this I would recommend. read more

We came pretty late to Harrington's so we had to eat at the bar, but this was a perk because the bartender is great and we ordered quickly. We wanted a hearty meal after a long day traveling and experienced a classic "steakhouse" meal on the lighter side: grilled salmon and grilled chicken. The entrees were good but the star of the night was the peanut butter cup pie. It was amazing. read more

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Very nice experience at Harrington's. Food and service both great. The place looks like it has been there a long time but very well taken care of and cool nautical theme. View of the bay was really nice. Have to try the seafood chowder. It was delicious. The walleye was also delicious. Highly recommended!! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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As a typical restaurant in Northern Michigan, they only offer Northwoods Soda which I feel can be kind of an acquired taste. Black Cherry Creme Soda or their Black Cherry soda are always winners. Appetizer was Boom Boom Shrimp, which had phenomenal Boom Boom sauce, but the shrimp itself came dry (so dipping the shrimp into the sauce was required). Either way, it made it into my mouth and belly. As a second appetizer, we ordered the Warm Baguette. Holy. Bananas. If each baguette cost one (1) newborn child, I would become a serial kidnapper simply to keep eating their bread. Comes with whipped butter, but realistically it could come with pinecone shavings and it would taste just as good. Main course was the Beer Battered Cod with Truffle Fries. Another knock out of the park. Five perfectly sized fish chunks with perfect breading deep fried a perfect golden brown. The second coming of our Lord and Savior would still pale in comparison to this Heaven sent food. read more

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We had an amazing dinner at Harrington's! The service was right on and the cod dinner was the best I've ever had. We are not from Traverse City, but Harrington's is our must go to when we visit! read more

I enjoyed this restaurant when my husband and I came for our 25th wedding anniversary, so I had this on my list of places to dine at while I am in Traverse City. I ordered the blue cheese crusted burger with fries and the food was really good. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because I ordered my burger cooked medium and it was cooked medium well. I had asked my waitress if their cooks were able to cook a true medium, as I prefer it under rather than over, and she said she would talk to them. She was disappointed that my burger was not cooked properly and offered to have them cook it again but I was hungry (forgot to even take a picture) and it tasted good, so I ate what I was given. This restaurant is in a great location and I was able to get a table that looked right out to the water, so I was happy. I will definitely continue to recommend this restaurant. read more

Stopped here for lunch and was not disappointed. The inside was much bigger than I expected but it was so warm and cozy inside they had a fire going in one of the two fire places and we were sat by a window looking out at the water. Our waitress greeted us right away and our food came out hot and quick. We got two pretty decent sizes of fish on our fish sandwich and a nice amount of toppings on our wedge salad. Both were delicious. It was a perfect lunch to then spend the day walking around down town Traverse. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Fish sandwich - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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Absolutely to die for food! Everything was amazing and high quality. I had the special that was a deconstructed chicken pot pie and the TC Sour (whiskey sour) as a drink and they were amazing. It's a pricey restaurant, so be prepared to throw down some cash here! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - The Chicken Pot Pie special - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

We waited 5 minutes for hostess who was on the phone before finding out. You need a reservation even though nothing says they do.

Cocktail was constructed poorly. Dinner was fair and the service was flat. I don't think we'll be back. Wine didn't arrive until after the meal was finished. read more

Get the grilled tenderloin salad! When a menu says salad, sometimes you get something really big, too basic or overloaded. I sat at the bar and ordered their grilled tenderloin salad and it was fantastic. It comes out on the plate with the ingredients stacked in a circle form. Each bite is even and filled with flavor. The balsamic, pecans and gorgonzola cheese live rent free in my head. The service was good, the female behind the bar just attentive enough. Inside the restaurant seemed small and kind of dim but nice with a view of the Grand Traverse Bay. read more

Overall comments from my visit: service was slow. Our waitress was only completing one task at a time, but improved as the meal progressed. The portions were small for what you pay. The food itself was overall pretty good. Here's a breakdown of what my family ordered: Tenderloin salad: the vinaigrette was good, but the lettuce was drenched in it. The salad was pretty small. The filet in the salad was tender and seasoned well - it had a good peppery flavor. My bacon white cheddar steak burger: I like that they used a unique blend of filet, NY strip, and ribeye (all great cuts). The patty was juicy, but on the salty side. The fries were battered, so they were really crispy on the outside. Beer battered cod: it came with 4 chunks of fish - not a huge portion. Also, the fries that came with them were too salty. Low carb meal: salmon and veggies. My mom enjoyed the flavor and lightness of this dish. If you're looking for a place to eat, this restaurant will get the job done. It's got some good options. read more

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Great view across the street from the Lake. Nice decor. The bar is usually full of people and has TVs where you can watch some sports. People are friendly. We had the walleye and chowder. The seafood chowder was delicious and had good consistency. The walleye was fresh and tasty. Service was great! read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Dining area - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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So friendly and foods are so good. I had IPA, tenderloin, bacon wrapped shrimp and chocolate cake. I only missed French onion soup. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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The Chicken Pasta was great, the ribeye steak not so much. Very fatty, an acquired tasted. Walleye was good but small portion for the price. Clean, nice interior. Service was quick but not personable. read more

Delicious walleye pike dinner, simply but expertly prepared in comfy-cozy surroundings. Other entrees seem to be sensible offerings for people craving local specialties. Very popular place, the parking lot is all come and go. read more

Harrington's By the Bay - Walleye Pike - Wine Bars Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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The food was very good. We had a wonderful server. Very accommodating to our needs. The building is comfortable. We asked for a window seat closest to the bay and had no problem getting it. We were there on a Thursday night. It was not crowded, mostly, I think, because of extensive road construction. I suspect that all their dishes are excellent. I had the bacon wrapped shrimp. Very nice. The onion soup was delicious. I had the walleye. It was good but a small portion. It came on a bed of herded basmati rice. Not a fan of that material. If you wanted me to describe it's flavor, I could not, because it has none. But that's just me. My wife had a baby Romaine wedge salad and a tenderloin. She loved both. All in all it was a good experience. It ain't cheap but I think occasionally well worth it. Will go back for sure. read more

A rustic west bay restaurant with a timber lodge atmosphere. Food was okay. Seafood chowder was on the brown side. I prefer more of a traditional style white with solid seafood flavor. Their version had a detracting "heat" spice component that was not what I was expecting. Good if you like that sort of thing. I don't like gratuitous spice only to change a classic dish to be somehow trendy. The cup was small, maybe 6oz? I had a classic burger, ordered medium, was cooked well-done. Not the end of the world, but not what I had ordered. It was a good burger but there are better burgers across the area. Chips were good, I would order the fries next time. Overall, not bad, not out of this world read more

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This place could be so much better. Nice location with a view of the bay from across the street. Convenient parking, and greeted by the hostess. Here is where the problem started. My wife had already been seated and the hostess told me to go find her, even though nobody else was waiting, so not very helpful. I find my wife in the mostly empty dining room standing by a booth. We wanted outside, but that looked full. She had been seated at a booth across the room from the windows. She requested one of the open booths by the window. This is when wait staff personnel came up and said they could not accommodate us to move the 20 feet or so to a booth with a view, it would not work for them. So we sat in our booth and looked across the mostly empty dining room (on a Friday at 7pm or so) to the open booth and view of the bay. Ordered the walleye. It was just above room temp and semi-ok taste. Service from Taylor was quite good. But she can't work all the time, so do not recommend. read more

The location and atmosphere is quite nice as is the service. But the food was underwhelming. I had cod with a Caesar salad (which I chose instead of the fries and slaw normally served with the cod). My husband got the walleye. The romaine wasn't fresh and the croutons were insanely stale! The cod was very good. But the walleye was meh. We'll go elsewhere next time. (The table was filthy!) read more

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I was visiting traverse City when we decided to find a place to stop by for a nice dinner. I learned that calling in to make a reservation is a smart move in this city on weekends. After an hour long wait to be seated, we started off with some wine to accompany our main courses. I enjoyed the fish and chips and the walleye. The Parmesan crisps with the risotto on a walleye was a great touch, I recommend this dish over the generic fish and chips. The chips are listed as truffle fries but be warned that the fries are just dusted with truffle salt, hard to distinguish them from just ordinarily salted fries. We were happy to squeeze in the cherry cheesecake in the end, it was delightful. This restaurant is a bit pricey. We had a great window seat with a view of the bay but it was hard to maintain good conversation because the main dining hall is so loud when all the tables are filled. read more

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