Topsiders

Went here on karaōke night and I was scared out of my mind. I think I found where the American Idol wannabes get their practice on. One lady could really sing country but the rest left my ears ringing and bleeding. Friendly staff however.

We waited 15 minutes before I asked where our waitress was. Our waitress appeared ten minutes later telling us she did know she had our table.
I ordered pancakes that came cold fifteen minutes later.
It took me ten minutes to get her attention to return them. I asked for more coffee and they told me it would ready in ten minutes.
Are you kidding me?
It is 9am who would think people would drink coffee at this time? My wife ordered oatmeal which was supposed have been simmered in cream. It looked and tasted like it was cooked in water.
Avoid this place at all costs

Absolutely beautiful view. Love the pesto bread that accompanies dinner. Service is usually great, depends on the day. Summer help doesn’t seem to get training. Last month, a new, very pretty waitress was the worst I’ve had in years. I’ve paid a variance of $ 5.00 for the exact same meal. Doesn’t matter what the menu says. So, it is very inconsistent with answers like ’ our prices have gone up, or that was extra’. This is too bad, because there are few places to eat in town. If it was dependable, I would go weekly. Be sure to ask if the crab is real in the crab cakes or the crab pasta. It has been ‘krab’ (the red-​died whitefish) and it has been the real item. If you have allergies, that can be an issue.

Pros: Great view of the bay and generally friendly staff. Good free breakfast for hotel guests.
Cons: Dinner. Our waitress spoke glowingly about the crab cakes, which we were planning to order anyway. They couldn’t have been more disappointing. Soggy, flavorless, with a weird cheese sauce on top. Really gross. My medium ribeye was ok but lacked seasoning and was dry. Burger bun was good but that’s about it. Oh yeah and it’s overpriced.
Not a ton of dining options in this town, and if staying at the hotel it is convenient. The free breakfast is actually pretty decent, however, so don’t skip out on that if staying there.

This is a tired hotel restaurant and I don’t recommend it. The service was S-​L-​O-​W and the food not so great. The hotel itself is on the bay and the view in the restaurant is lovely. But, the restrooms are cold and dingy and the restaurant smells like someone smokes after hours. I had a burger and fries that left me feeling unsettled for several hours after having eaten it. My husband had a half rack of ribs that were OK but not great. The thing that killed this experience for me was waiting for 45 minutes for our soups to arrive and that I sat with an empty glass for most of that time. The server finally came and filled our glasses and apologized for the wait — advising us that the soup wasn’t completely done cooking… 5 minutes later, our soup finally arrived (tomato bisque and it was very tasty) and 5 minutes after that, our main courses. My burger was not cooked to order and I was not surprised. The only reason I didn’t send it back was because I didn’t want to have wait another 45 minutes to get another burger made. The meal took nearly 2 hours and we were the only guests in the restaurant.

The only reason this place gets one star is because of the nice waitress. We should have known this was going to be a bad experience because at the peak dinner hour there were just 2 other tables occupied besides ours. First disappointment was their beer choices: Bud and Miller products only. Then when I ordered the whitefish dinner, I was told they were out. In fact, I was told they don’t carry it anymore even thing it was on the menu. New menus are going to be printed in the future and the whitefish will be eliminated! Seriously? When you have one of the best fish markets, Lixeys, just down the street???
We walked out… won’t be back.

What a pleasant surprise! We were in town for a friend’s birthday and wanted something more upscale than bar food. We ended up at Topsider’s because Huron Breeze only serves dinner in their restaurant on Friday and Saturday. We had a table of 7, and our server was able to handle all of our requests very efficiently. We loved the bread with the homemade pesto served before the meal– we even got an order to take home! I had the Chicken Bella for my entrée. It was moist, flavorful, and hot! The ambiance with the view of Lake Huron only added to the experience. I will definitely visit Topsider’s on my next trip to the Tawases.

Here we are in Oscoda, Michigan — up north on the sunrise side of the state! After visiting our mother, me and my sister sets out to go home after one night’s stay. We just left Mom in the nursing home dining room and we are driving and I said I am getting a little hungry! So, I make the executive decision to eat at a restaurant with a view of Lake Huron!
Lo and Behold there was a resort by the name Tawas Bay Beach Resort and I am sure that they have a restaurant with a fine view of Lake Huron. So, we decide to stop there. The outside was quite nice it sort of reminded me of any other fine Hotel. So we enter by where the restaurant is located and go into the restaurant area. Quite a few people were seated already. Me and my sister thought that maybe there was a family reunion going on at this particular resort.
We are seated near a window overlooking Lake Huron. We see sailboats and people on the beach. Very calming and beautiful! The waiter comes out and gives us menus and takes our drink order. Very nice young man, his name is Jake. He takes our food order. We both order a chicken BLT sandwich and it comes with fries. We sit there and take in the ambiance. It is a little loud because there were children, but that is all good!
The waiter shared a story about a bald eagle diving for fish in Lake Huron which was quite amusing. He mentioned that he loved his job and it showed through his service. The only thing that he missed was our silverware! But, that was easily solved. I mentioned to him that we do Unilocal reviews and the next thing you know we both receive a Cannoli on the house! How wonderful.
Definitely will go back and if I am not hungry I will just order the Cannoli — OMG it was like heaven on earth! See pictures that I am attaching — definitely a do again especially since the sunrise side has so very few fine dining!

5 Stars for Topsider’s which is located at Bay Beach Resort, and what a resort it was. This is the best place, bar none, to enjoy a lunch with a view when you are travelling up US 23 in Tawas. They have an outdoor seating area with beautiful murals, I’ll post some pictures to give you an idea. The food lunch order was under $ 20 for both of us, so coming here to enjoy the food and the atmosphere is definitely not going to break you. Very reasonable prices. There was a party, A family reunion I think, going on when we were there and everyone was having a blast. A lot of laughing and smiling and parents taking their children for walks on the beach. What a great place for a group to get together for pure enjoyment. Every single table in the dining room had a view of beautiful Lake Huron. How relaxing and enjoyable! Our server, Jake, told us that the Bay Beach Resort offers Romantic Packages to their customers. I can really imagine how romantic the dinner hour would be at Topsider’s. It’s about 3 hours north of Detroit and well worth the drive. Jake also told us that a bald eagle lands right on top of a tree outside the dining area and diners have seen the eagle soar down and pluck fish right out of Lake Huron. That would be awesome to see! He loves his job, especially coming to work and being able to see the beautiful view every day. My sister, Debbie Z., told him we were going to review the restaurant on Unilocal and he brought us out the most popular thing on the dessert menu, Canolies! Oh yeah! That’s what I said… Canolies that make you close your eyes as the flavors delight your tongue. They were awesome and so was Topsider’s! As we were leaving, we saw the room next door was a bar and music entertainment area! The have a kareoke night (not sure if I spelled that right) and it looked like it would be a fun place to be. «Next time we come, we’re coming in here!» Debbie Z. said with a big smile on her face. And… there is no doubt whatsoever… we will be going back there. Loved it!