A solid choice for more casual fare. I thought prices were good and food quality was high. A couple in our group got the perch sandwich and liked it very much. I got the large garden salad with chicken. The upcharge for chicken was $6 and it wasn't a lot, but otherwise was quite good. All in all, our party of 8 was happy with the meal. read more

Based on the previous reviews, I just assumed this place was a typical 3 bar & grill, but that sounded fine today me. The one thing on the menu that really interested me was the bread bowl chili, apparently something they are known for. However, the chili cook off was two days before, and they said they were all out. This was disappointing, and also raised the question of how often it is made, because I would think it gets made fresh every day or two, but apparently that was not the case... Either way, no chili for me. I settled on the cheeseburger, which was made "fresh," with the housemade chips. The burger was cooked well and tasted pretty good, though nothing spectacular... Just a good, non-frozen bar burger. The chips were pretty good, but would be better with heavier salt, and/or vinegar flavor. It was a beautiful sunny October day and I sat outside for a good hour, and even had a fresh cup of coffee from the bar. Shut up and eat some decent bar food. read more

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Wally's, although a loud bar, has possibly the best bar food I've ever had in my life. Their perch dinner, what I normally order, is outstanding. read more

Made a quick lunch stop in Saugatuck and the weather was beautiful that day. Decided to grab lunch at Wally's as they had a great outdoor area and me and the fam wanted to bask in the great weather outside. A nice chill spot, with TVs outside. They even had the Cubs game on which was perfect! Our server was cool and informative of the menu and answered questions that we had about the burgers. I decided to go with the Olive burger. It's a normal burger with some Olive sauce on it - kinda like a truffle sauce. Not bad and the serving was a nice portion. For those with little kids - no kids menu. However, big sis did order the chicken tenders and it came with large portions so gave my toddler one of them along with fries and she was happy. There is a full bar inside so plenty of cocktails and beers available to choose from. read more

Wally's - Don't mind the child next to my strawberry margarita! - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

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Repeat visit to Wally's. There was live music this time and it was awesome! We shared appetizers and enjoyed the music & views. This is a great spot. read more

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We stopped in with the family while visiting Saugatuck and sat outside, which was a nice option especially with the umbrellas providing plenty of shade to keep things cool. We shared the nachos to start, and they were solid. For mains, we ordered the chicken tenders, the chicken bacon and Swiss sandwich, and a Caesar salad. Everything was fine, but nothing really stood out. It was the kind of meal you'd expect to be decent, and it was. Our server was very nice. Overall, I'd give it three stars. Nothing to rave about, but a dependable spot for a casual bite. read more

We were in Saugatuck for the first time with a bunch of relatives. Wally's "casual American" designation made it seem like a safe choice, so we headed there when dinnertime rolled around. Wallys has the atmosphere of an old-time saloon, with the added charm (?) of sundry dead animals hanging at odd angles from the walls and ceiling. Not your routine collection of game heads that adorn many Michigan taverns. The place was about half-full when we got there, but we hadn't been seated long before it was full--this was on a cool Tuesday evening in early May. We got waited on quickly, and had food/drinks in a reasonable time. My wife got a large green salad and I got the gorgonzola salad w/chicken. On the plus side, the greens (sourced, according to the menu, from a local farm) were very fresh. The gorgonzola on mine was lightly scattered, sufficient for a little tang without overpowering all other ingredients. However, the salad was fairly small for the price ($19 in my case), and the honey-mustard dressing on mine was minimal--had to request a little more, which was brought out quickly. Others in my party ordered burgers, nachos, wings, and fish, and seemed reasonably happy with them. And I guess that sums up our impressions of Wally's. We were "reasonably happy" with our visit, but the next time we get to Saugatuck we'll explore further. read more

We were a walk in for a late lunch. Wo we really found a great place. We started with drinks. then had the 1/2 arch dinner with onion rings and the olive burger. The portion size was huge. The perch was one of the best things I've ever had. OMG I think 5 pieces of butterflied perch lightly battered but nice and crisp. the tartar sauce was perfect. The onion rings matched the perch. The burger was also good if you ike olives. It comes with meted cheese and lots of perfectly fried fries. We enjoyed ourselves so much we sat there and had 2 more rounds of drinks. read more

Wally's - Olive burger - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

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Came here for a late lunch on a Saturday & there was just a ten minute wait for the patio. Our waitress was attentive and friendly. I enjoyed the patio. But overall, I can't say I would recommend this place. The cheese curds definitely tasted like they were fried in lard or some kind of weird oil/grease that I did not enjoy the taste of at all. And they weren't really curd, just small mozzarella sticks (yes there's a difference hahah). My salad was good, a little small for the price, but good. My sister's sandwhich was a big portion piled high with meat. Not really much for a vegetarian to eat, so heads up if you don't eat meat! read more

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The spinach artichoke dip is so good. Huge chunks of artichokes! Tried the Yankee Pot Roast sandwich and was pleasantly surprised too! Service was friendly and we sat outside on their patio. read more

Wally's - Yankee Pot Roast Sandwich - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

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A great local spot to eat some great food at. Definitely try the burger very good service was wonderful very accommodating.

We had a beautiful lunch at Wally's. We were out hunting magnets on a recent road trip and stopped in to grab some lunch. Hubby was excited to see that they had fried perch on the menu. He loved it! He said it was breaded nicely and had great flavor. I had the gorgonzola salad with chicken. The salad was perfectly dressed and the veggies were very fresh. It had a tad too much gorgonzola, but it was still very good. Our waitress was very nice, and checked on us often. We had a table outside and it was just perfect weather, with great food, and wonderful people around us. read more

Wally's - Fried Perch - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

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Came here for lunch earlier in the day- it was fantastic. Our waitress was so nice, sweet, and funny and really made us feel welcome. The smoked salmon salad is fantastic, and the brisket nachos were a hit! . We came back in the evening to see the bar scene as we're not impressed. The bartenders weren't very friendly, and for some reason refused to give us glass cups to drink out of, even though everyone in the area was given glass cups. The waitress was helping and busting every table but ours. Not sure what was going on there. Probably would not come back to this bar, but would definitely come back for lunch. read more

Wally's - Brisket nachos - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

Wally's is a bit of an acquired taste. There are three factors to consider. First, the service. The locals that work here can be hit and miss. Some are pleasant and personable. Some seem annoyed that you are patronizing them. I prefer the former, and tolerate the latter. Second, the food. I really, really like it a lot. The perch is simply outstanding. It's a Michigan delicacy. Great Lakes perch lightly breaded and fried. Tender, succulent morsels of delicious goodness. Third, the establishment, ie ambiance, etc.. Wally's is an institution. Off the water, it gets busy. Love both bars. The outdoor seating area is a great spot in the summer to enjoy a cold beer, eat the best perch ever, and watch the beautiful people walk by. read more

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The food was decent. Service was terrible- the waitress was rude, barely checked in on us, and we had to ask for our check multiple times. When we walked up, there was no host or signs letting us know what to do and we stood for a solid 3 minutes until we had to ask a waitress if we seated ourselves or waited to be seated. She said here is a host. The lack of communication and efficiency of the restaurant was done poorly. I'd suggest not going on a Friday evening, and hopefully you'll have better service. read more

Right from the start we were greeted with rudeness. We had a toddler and a baby with us. The would not allow is to bring in the stroller even though we were sitting in a corner away from everyone. There was no kid menu and we had to order off the regular menu for a 2 year old (not cool). The baby needed a diaper change and there was no changing table in either bathroom. We had to change the baby on the bathroom floor WHAT?. That right there is a health violation and should be reported. The food was not good. This Place just Sucked! read more

From the outside, this restaurant looked like a welcoming, family-style spot. There were other families with children inside, so naturally we thought it would be a good fit for our party of six (including our 6-month-old). Unfortunately, from the moment we walked in, the experience felt anything but family-friendly. We were abruptly greeted with "How many?" with no "welcome" or warmth. This immediately made us feel like our group was a burden. As my husband tried to bring in the stroller with our baby, we were stopped and told strollers were not allowed inside. While we understand this policy in crowded spaces, once seated we noticed there was more than enough room to accommodate a stroller. We then tried the common and safe practice of flipping over a highchair to hold the car seat, only to be told "that's not safe, we don't want the liability." This was disappointing for any parents who have dined out with infants before. Once settled, I mentioned right away that my family of four would need our own check, only to be told they do not do separate checks and could only take two cards split down the middle. This was not very accommodating for larger groups. The food itself was equally disappointing. My $17 perch sandwich had almost no actual fish, just breading. My toddler's chicken fingers had more meat than my entrée. Speaking of which, the "chicken strips 1/2 order" was the only item even remotely suited for kids. My husband's chips tasted stale and burnt, as if they came from a bag that had been sitting around for years. To make matters worse, when it came time to change our baby's diaper, the women's bathroom had no changing table. I had no choice but to change him on the floor. Another mother walked in with her newborn and looked just as distraught to realize there were no facilities available for babies. In the end, this restaurant presents itself as family-friendly but is anything but. From policies that make dining with children unnecessarily difficult, to poor food quality, to lack of basic accommodations like a changing table, it was a frustrating and unwelcoming experience. If they do not want families with small children, they should make that clear and present themselves as a more upscale, adult-oriented establishment. As it stands, the outward charm is deceiving. Sadly, my family and I will not be returning. read more

The male bartender was a real jackass. He spoiled our dinner with his foul mouth. This restaurant is known for their perch but they were out of it and it was early in the evening. Needless to say it will be a long long while until we return. Saugatuck has plenty of other nice restaurants to enjoy. read more

Wally's - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

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We walked in evening of Saturday Dec 6th with group of 8 for drinks and apps. Waitress was great in the bar. We were short a chair and landed an extra from indoor "patio area". 20 mins later we are chastised by SOMEONE dressed as grinch. She said "Where did you get this chair?! This doesn't belong in here". After letting her know we were short a chair she glared and said you can't have this in here. She proceeded to take the chair from us and tell us to sit on the window sill. We immediately decided to close out and leave. Our waitress was apologetic knowing the rudeness we experienced. What a loss when we planned to stay and watch football for the evening. The waitress in the white sweater joined in to shame us with our seat selection by suggesting we use one of the snow covered chairs. Never again in here. read more

We went to meet a couple of friends on the patio after we got coffees across the street. We were waiting for over fifteen minutes for people to come to our table, so we went to ask for another table and service. They told us we were unable to have our coffees because they were outside drinks. We were very agreeable and waiting for two friends to come back from the bar. In the five minute wait for them to come back, they had three different servers come and tell us to leave with the drinks. They were incredibly rude about the whole situation. I never feel the need to review places negatively, but this situation was very off putting. read more

The service was fine, the ambience was fine, and the food actually tasted good. My daughter and I ordered a salad with salmon and we were shocked when we received our plates. The quantity was so little. There was a little bit of lettuce, small tomatoes, slices of cucumber, and shreds of salmon. We finished lunch, paid the bill, and walked away hungry still. PS the entertainer was great. Plays a lot of reggae read more

While visiting some friends in Saugatuck, we dropped in at Wally's for dinner. The ambience is a cute fun dive bar. It has two bars. One is at the entrance and the other is further inside. We went inside and there were quite a number of people sitting at the bar. The atmosphere was fun and lively. Our server Abby was very friendly and highly recommended the perch. We ordered it and it was delicious. Two of us split the large perch dinner for $24 and it came with 10 fillets a large mass of fries and coleslaw. I wish I took a picture of it, but we were too hungry. Our friends both ordered the meatloaf with mushroom gravy, and it was to die for. It came with either fries or tots and a vegetable side, which was asparagus and broccolini. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and certainly would go back. read more

This place was amazing. Tucked away off the main drag. Service was excellent and the food was great. Had a couple salads and. Burger along with cocktails and everyone in the party enjoyed their lunches immensely. read more

Run really poorly. Always takes forever to get seating even with tables open. Servers are fine it's more management that seems to be the problem read more

My friend and I enjoyed their Perch. I had never had it before and the breading was super crisp and complimented it well. Fries were fresh! Our waitress was friendly and service was super quick. read more

Wally's - Perch Sandwich - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

Bar is understaffed and you could die of thirst waiting to get served. Terribly understaffed indicating bad management and an organizational problem at the top level. read more

Always the best! Great service and ambiance. Food is good and hearty. Prices are very reasonable especially when compared to others in the area. read more

Really surprised this place isn't rated higher. It has delicious food and our server was friendly and attentive. We ordered the club sandwich and the chicken, Swiss and bacon sandwich- both were excellent. read more

I think one of the worst places to eat McDonald's could've offered better service. The owner was absolutely disrespectful and my disability of being an autistic she laughed at me when I didn't understand something. I don't recommend visiting this place. read more

We visited on a Tuesday. We were able to snag a table outside with an umbrella around noon. Good variety on the menu. We ordered a mojito (so refreshing) and 2 Asian salads with steak. We ordered the steaks medium and that's how they came out. The dressing on the salads was light and did not overpower the greens. Quite good. Our server was a young man who was friendly and professional. He was attentive and we were in and out (and back to shopping) in a reasonable amount of time. The cost of one Asian salad with steak was $15. Mojito was $10. These prices were typical for a tourist destination. read more

Wally's - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

Want Perch? Go to Wallys for the best perch /fries , cold beer and great service by Abbey! read more

Wally's - Perch dinner - American Near Me - Saugatuck, Michigan

The male bartender there, works the day shift for a reason. His social skills are questionable. he Just kept talking and talking about snowboarding and kept taking customers phones to look up how to make shots. This might have been because there was a birthday boy who turned 21 the day before. Button or Burton or Bunny, whatever his name was wouldn't let us order what we wanted either, just kept saying nope you want these things they are better. Sad thing is, he was right! The salmon salad was amazing and soup tasted exactly as described, also delicious. He's lucky that's also what we wanted. He also tends to think he knows everything about the bourbons they sell. He tried to upsell me on a Bourbon that I had already asked about. He made up some story about where its from and how is made. It was clearly exactly what he said when we googled it, so apparently he also knows exactly what he's talking about. Highly recommend-him and Wally's, always!Great spot. Atmosphere is super fun. Even with the day crew. ;) Try the Polarbear Fight too! read more

We stopped in yesterday with a party of 11 and they were able to accommodate us all quickly! 5 kids and 6 adults. Our server, Cara, was awesome! She was wonderful with the kids and very patient with them. She was a great waitress! I had a salad with grilled chicken and it was solid- fresh greens and good grilled chicken. People really enjoyed the perch as well. If there's one thing we'd skip it'd be the popcorn shrimp meal. The nachos were pretty good but we'd probably try something else next time. It was a great atmosphere with lots of wood and fun taxidermy and signs on the ceiling. My sisters loved the 10$ aperol spritz! read more

Highly recommended by several, didn't disappoint. Service was spot on from Mikey(young lady) and so was the food, though it wasn't complicated as both couples and the Brisket Nachos and two rounds of drinks. Great outdoor venue, as well as indoor seating too. The band was getting to play which was our clue to hit the road. Also, seemed to attract a wide array of age groups, young to old. Definitely need to check this place out. read more

Overall terrible experience. Food wasn't appetizing and terribly salted! Poor presentation and poor taste! Couldn't eat their fires due to their terrible flavor. Tasted like the oil they were fried in was extra old. For fires to taste like cardboard, they must be doing something wrong! Would not recommend or pay to eat here! Would not return! They deserve 0 stars. read more

My family and I have been coming here for over a decade and we usually love this place. We had a group of 8 and our server was very nice and very fun! We had 4 with us and told her 4 more are coming and she had to complaints about it. We grabbed a chair from outside that no one was near or using and put it at our table. We weren't blocking any doors or anyone else. We got our food and were having a good time when someone dressed as the grinch rudely interrupts and points at someone using the chair and immediately goes "where did you get that? You can't have that" and proceeded to tell us to just sit on the cold windowsill and took our chair away. Someone in a white sweater with light bulbs came over and agreed to take the chair away and told us to grab one of the snow covered chairs, the windowsill, or stand instead. We closed our table right away because all we wanted was to enjoy our last night at our favorite place, couldn't even enjoy our food anymore. Very disappointed how this turned out over 1 single chair. read more

Visited Wally's for dinner last week with my husband. We shared the perch dinner and it was some of the best perch we have ever had! However, we were very disappointed in our service. I had to ask three different employees for the water I ordered when we were sat. Once I finished the water, it sat at the edge of our booth table for over ten minutes. My water was never refilled and multiple employees walked past our booth. Our booth faced the bar as well, so we were completely visible the entire time. Very disappointing! read more

Saugatuck is really two towns in one. During the warmer months you get the energy from the weekend visitors and you're able to enjoy great shops and restaurants all while being on the lake. The winter months brings a beauty to the streets with beautiful storefront windows and a slightly different crowd. Some of the businesses and restaurants close for the winter. Restaurants either get by with a smaller seating capacity or convert their outdoor dining into indoor dining. I met some friends in Saugatuck for a pre-Christmas weekend. I admit, Wally's wasn't my first choice of restaurants, but having been here before and enjoying it, we decided to check it out. We arrived around 6/6:30ish on a Saturday evening and had about a 30 minute wait, which we weren't too concerned about. We were seated at one of the tables by the entrance and just a few feet away from the bar. In terms of food, Wally's is solid. A friend got 1/2 of the wet burrito and said it was one of the best burritos he has had in a long time. I don't know how it was considered a "1/2" as it took up most of the plate. I did the beef brisket hamburger which was equally as good, although I always forget it's a hamburger topped with beef brisket and not an actual beef brisket sandwich. I've fallen for this before and you would think I would remember. In any event, it was still very tasty. The only issue that I had - and to us, it was a BIG issue - was the bachelorette party going on at the bar, just a few feet from us. I'm all for people coming together to celebrate and think that the energy from such events is great for a business. Perhaps the issue was simply the proximity of our seat to the bar or perhaps it had to do with the acoustics in an area typically open, but the noise was deafening. The girls were obviously having a good time (and they should.. getting married is a milestone event) and the laughing didn't bother us. What DID bother us was the screaming. Screaming over one another trying to talk, screaming in excitement as they raced around taking Instagram photos (and bumping into us while doing so) really took away from our experience. I'm all for people having a good time. I also don't go out and expect it to be absolutely quiet. What I wish they would have done was pulled away the seating that was right next to the group so they would have had more room or perhaps have the bartenders read the room a little better and notice all of the people looking at the group and frowning when they started to scream (it wasn't just our table) and ask them to quiet down just a tad. read more

They were very rude, I was trying to bring my little boy in our wagon because he was screaming and very tired and they came after me telling me I couldn't bring him in there when we were sitting in corner of the outside, so I'm not sure how we would have been in the way. It is also mine and my husbands 10 year anniversary and this ruined our anniversary for me. I have had a very rough day. For multiple of their workers and maybe manager to be very rude to my family we will never be going back there ever and we were regulars there. read more

Manager or whatever he was at the bar doing shots @ 3 in the afternoon. Our server was a blonde about 20 who had her back during 80% of our visit. Food is ok, service is awful and strives on location and season. We will never return, too many great restaurants and good service without attitude. read more