Walking into this place, you understand that is completely a local's bar. It's the kind of place…read morefor people bring a deck of cards, or talk union business at the bar. I had barely set foot in the door when the two bartenders at the bar greeted me warmly and welcomed me in and told me I could sit anywhere I wanted. I sat at the bar and as recommended by a local, I ordered the pepper jack crab soup, which was delicious. One thing to be aware of: don't expect real crab in the soup. Imitation only. But it's plentiful and delicious on a frigid winter day. The bartender recommended the roasted chicken or the perch, and living near another great lake and always having ready access to perch, I decided on the broasted chicken. I was not disappointed. It came with four pieces, choice, potato, and a choice of another side. It was way too its food, but I ate more than I thought they would because it was that good. I will definitely return to the painted lady!

Look, pal. Nothing really beats a hole in the wall pub. I'm a little huss for some good down to…read moreearth bar food, ask my mum. Situated on a corner where two roads meet, this place has all the fixin's of a place with stuff on the walls. Classic hole in the wall pub decor, classic hole in the wall pub tables and chairs. It's one of this places where when you walk in, you're there. Locals, strangers, friends, enemies, lovers. They're all there. So come on in, pull up a stool, and let's get down to business. I will say service was great. I may be a little biased as the waitress said I was the only one in her section. But I'm going to instead assume it's because I'm such an amazing patron. Hilarious and handsome to boot. Or at least the hilarious part. Hokay. So. As much as I'm a huss for bar food, I'm even hussier for wings. So, naturally I ordered the wings. Bone in, as god intended. Buffalo sauce, as Darwin intended. They came perfectly saucy, perfectly temperatured, and perfectly in a little bowl kind of thing. They were meaty and juicy. Loved the flavor. I would eat my body weight in them, and my body weight is not small numbers. I kept the main course simple. Half pound burger, deluxe (lettuce, mayo, tomato, onion). Added mustard. Ketchup's on the table. Then as my side I got the sidewinder fries which are kind of like spiral potato wedges. The burger was pretty decent. The size was good, but the flavor was a little underwhelming. I'm pretty sure the patty was one of those pre-made deals that come in packages. I could be wrong, but that's just what it looked like. Regardless, if I had ordered a burger that was more of a specialty, there might have been more flavor involved. The fries though were pretty good. They're thiccc. Thick fries save lives. I have been here before, a couple times, and would certainly come back as their menu does have a wide variety of food. Don't be bashful. Creationism wings: 10/10 Burger WOW factor: 6/10 Chonky potato wedge spiral fries: 10/10

Reviewed this back in '24 when they opened and it's gotten better and better. Let me just say this:…read more The Backyard burger is the best burger I've ever had. Period. And I grew up in the 80's eating at 'up north' bars, which previously had the best burgers of my life. This tops it. In addition to great pinball, a nice space, and great vibes, The Outsider is currently winning Manistee.

A truly awful establishment. It started with a sign that announced an absolutely embarrassing…read more30-40 min standard wait time despite not being busy at all. I can't imagine what it would be like at a busy time. Somehow...SOMEHOW....they were unable to meet their 40 min promise, and an hour later my order hadn't even been started. NOT EVEN STARTED. At that point my wife asked for a refund, and was met with various versions of "you saw the sign didn't you?" And "you don't have to have an attitude". It gets worse...during our hour long robbery of life at the hands of this tragedy of a business, we watched another poor guy who had been there longer than us nonchalantly find out from the staff that his food had "likely been taken by someone else" when he inquired about when he might be able to eat and resume living. When offered the opportunity to wait longer for his food or get a refund, he wisely ran from this place without either before they were able to steal another moment between him and his ending. There were multiple wrong orders announced around the restaurant that were met with no solutions or apologies...too many to describe or even remember. All I can say is that this place deserves some kind of an award for how awful they are. It's truly impressive. In fact, a parade is in order. For the love of god, don't do it. Stay away from this time stealing black hole, for by the time you return from it everyone you love could be long gone.

Went here on Sunday, May 31st, with my parents and my husband. My anxiety got away from me while I…read morewas here but our waitress was amazing and the food was fantastic. The restaurant can get busy, which means it naturally gets a bit loud. I loved the overall atmosphere and vibe of the pub, even if it was a bit overwhelming with all the people and noise. This place is clearly the place to be, because it was definitely the place everyone was. I would definitely give them a second try next time I'm in Manistee but I'd do takeout.

Couldn't get my order correct. Brought mine and my wife's dinner together - her's was what she…read morewanted. Not even reasonable to wait for them to fix it while she waited to eat.

From the moment we stepped in we were transported into a warm and welcoming environment, much…read moreneeded after being outside in the bitter cold. The staff were extremely friendly and very attentive. We could tell they were very passionate about their food and drinks which made us eager to try it We started off with drinks. We got Hermes Wing and French Blonde. Both very elevated and balanced cocktails which were beautifully presented. We could drink them all day For appetizer we got the prosciutto wrapped brie. I'm not a prosciutto fan to be honest but my husband was and he encouraged us to try it anyways. I was pleasantly surprised. The prosciutto was cooked to be like a crispy thin piece of bacon. It worked perfectly with the hot honey glaze and to our surprise in house candied nuts. This was an exquisite mix of sweet and savory. For dinner everything on the menu looked really good and we wanted to try it all! We got the sea bass with black rice. I don't know what exactly they put in the sauce but it was by far the best sea bass I've ever had. The pairings with the sauce and rice were intentional and worked extremely well. My husband got the blackened swordfish which was cooked to perfection. This is not a common menu item we see and so we jumped at opportunity to try it. The outside of the fish was crispy but the inside juicy. It paired well with the tzatziki sauce to give a coolness to the blackened fish. We heard the pork ribeye was a must have from other customers so we decided to give that a try as well. The pork was extremely tender and juicy. It was paired with apples which I've never had before with pork but it not only elevated the already delicious pork but also gave a unique flavor and twist Mid dinner we ordered the Figtini and Greek Martini. Again, both did not disappoint. The Figtini was very delicious and you could taste the fig. The Greek Martini was perfect especially for my husband who will get a dirty martini wherever we go Lastly, we got the Tiramisu for dessert. This is absolutely a must have. I love tiramisu and this was a creative and delicious twist on the classic. It had a mix of fresh berries drizzled with caramel sauce. Heaven on a plate Overall 10/10 experience. We will definitely be back. PS I also realized their menu on yelp is not updated. Not sure why but I took pictures from their Facebook page of the updated menu and attached here

A stay in Manistee is not compete without a trip to the Golden Stag. We have a home in town and…read morethis place is by far our favorite! Get the Mediterranean Trio - it's a staple app for us. Creamy hummus topped with olive oil and feta, fresh stuffed grape leaves and tabouli. Delicious! And fresh homemade pita has wonderful texture! They are very cognizant about food allergies. Tonight and many nights I had the Chicken Marsala without cream. The chicken melts in your mouth and the Marsala sauce is well developed - a mound of potatoes and fresh seasonal veg which tonight was zucchini and squash. I always have half my meal left and it reheats beautifully. Their Expresso martinis are perfect. Friendly service and the owners stopped by to check on the food. Beautiful interior she changes with the season. I'd say we expect high quality from restaurants and this place is special! And we are overjoyed when we receive service from Shelby.

Brewery #266 Third…read moreLife Brewing is a true microbrewery: a small brewery doing good craft beer with no food and no frills. Third Life is located in the former office of an old warehouse that I believe was an old Iron Ore company ( if memory serves me right). The brewery even has the old safe still in wall. I got my usual flight that consisted of Cat Jammin'-Raspberry (Raspberry Wheat), Tomtoberfest (Marzen), S.S. Dankowiak (DIPA) and the Duke of Witch Tree (Hazy IPA). All of them were really good but the S.S. Dankowiak was the star of my flight board. Cool atmosphere with lots of table and board games. Good music playing and a cool brewery sticker. Who doesn't love a bear in a canoe?

Best beer, best local vibe, friendliest staff (shoutout to Jake!) in Manistee. Just go.read more

Brewery # 265 We…read morecame in here right when they opened at 11am on a Sunday for lunch and a few beers before our kayaking trip. I was surprised to see they had a brunch menu instead. I immediately ordered the corn beef hash that came with 2 sunny side up eggs and sourdough toast. It was all delicious. I also ordered a flight of beers that were all solid. While they didn't have a hazy IPA (my favorite style) they did have a good selection. The Nightfall Imperial Stout was my favorite followed by the Manistee IPA (American IPA). The Hefeweizen and Lumber Baron Wheat beer were both solid. The place itself is very nice and the bartender was really friendly. The place wasn't very busy with only 2-3 other tables full when we left. They also make their own spirits for purchase.

Friendly staff and good variety of beers. We had the fish dinners and smiled fish app. Good music…read morechoices and parking across the street.

Best fish fry in town, delicious burgers and friendly staff - always our go-to on a Friday night!read more

My husband and I came in for a beer then decided on getting just a small bite to eat. The only…read morething going for this place was the very cold beer and it was in a can at that. My husband ordered chili and we saw the cook walk behind the bar to the cooler and walk back to the kitchen with it, that should've been a sign right there. I ordered mac & cheese bites. The mac & cheese bites were the size of a large kidney bean and there were 5 of them for $8 dollars!!! The chili was too salty and more like a soup so my husband sent it back. We got our bill and she charged us for the chili and we asked about that and she said she could comp us a drink and was unpleasant about it. We left without finishing our drinks and won't go back.

You ever have those moments when you're not sure if you're hungry? You might not be. But you might…read morebe. So you take the chance to eat, even though you're unsure of if it's the right move. But also, if you don't eat you might die? This was one of those moments. It was nigh on dinner time and I wasn't sure of my next move. Nothing in particular sounded good. When that's the case, you can always settle for Mexican. Who doesn't like tacos and taco related foods? I saw this was a fairly new restaurant so I decided to give it a run. (Also, this place used to be the River Street Station, where I spent A LOT of time stuffing my face). Nostalgia 10/10. Taking a corner booth, I opened my menu and stared. I just wasn't sure what I needed. Nothing in particular stood out, so I settled on nachos and a single taco. Always get a taco at a Mexican place, regardless of what else you get. Get a taco. Do it. The nachos came with refried beans, shredded chicken, beef, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, and potentially something else I'm forgetting. I ordered a beef taco. American. On a flour shell. (American tacos usually come with lettuce, tomato, and cheese). Usually I go for the chorizo, Mexican style, but a good ol' fashioned beefer sounded good. My food arrived in a timely fashion and as usual, the nachos were piled high and my taco was wrapped up nice and neat it a little aluminum foil coffin. I was feeling spicy, so I added several large thwumps of hot sauce. And unfortunately from here, it's just kind of where things stop. I'm a fan of nachos. Who doesn't like meat, cheese, and chips. I lived off poor man nachos (chips and cheese), for a long time, and still revisit that delicacy. Though these looked fantastic, the flavor was just...off. Or maybe it was lack of spices or even spice. If it wasn't for the hot sauce, they would have just been bland. I think instead of having chicken AND beef, there should be one or the other. Mostly because I think it was the chicken that contributed to the soggy bottom of nachos. There was just a lot of juice. Know what doesn't sound appealing for nachos? Juice. The taco, though healed in meat, had good flavor. However, I think because it was wrapped in its own little sarcophagus, if you didn't eat it right away, the wetness would begin to take over and the shell would become a soggy mess. It made eating it more difficult than a normal taco. Nacho flavor 4/10 Nacho appearance 10/10 (but you can't eat appearance, now can you?) Taco flavor 10/10 Taco sogginess 10/10 (a high sogginess rating for tacos is not good)

I love this place! I have been here twice now and will be sure to come back every time I'm in town!…read more This visit we had absolute PERFECT service. I worked in restaurants for almost a decade so I don't give that compliment lightly. So wish I'd gotten our servers name. He was welcoming, attentive without interrupting, and welcomed questions about the menu. I couldn't decide between the enchiladas which I'd had before and the carne asade. Went with the carne asade per recommendation. You can see in the picture ..that presentation...wow! It was incredible. The only critique if only was that part of it was a little more done than I'd prefer, so consider asking for it a little less done. My dinner date got the burrito and loved it. You can see in the photo how huge it was! I don't drink alcohol but checked out the menu and their selection is incredible! Tons of unique drinks including a champagne margarita. The patio and view cannot be beat. When in Manistee you must give them a visit!