Harbor Cafe

Best breakfast in Elk Rapids. Server Kelly friendly and professional above reproach. Try any of the pancakes, french toast or menu offerings. Family friendly atmosphere and great food. Easy place to become a «regular».

The Harbor Café has a nice relaxed feel, and the food is incredible. It goes beyond great and take it to another level. The care is evident and the chef (I believe the owner’s son) is very passionate about everything that leaves the kitchen. I don’t think you could go wrong with anything coming out of the kitchen, Some favorites (Stuffed Blueberry and cream French toast, Peanut butter french toast, Turkey melt and the cinnamon swirl pancake) Let them know if it is your first time !!

Great food and even better service. The owners pay attention to every detail. And the cinnamon swirl pancakes are amazing!

From the cinnamon pancakes to the corned beef hash, the cherry chili to the biscuits and gravy– the food here is outstanding. To top it off, the family who runs the restaurant are warm and welcoming. Go here!

I’m torn between giving it 3 or 4 stars. My last review of another breakfast/​Diner place I was also torn but opted with 3. When I put the two side by side I realize this place deserves the 4– but it’s more like a 3.75 for me.
I’ve eaten here numerous times– always had a solid meal and solid service. Prices are very fair– and having the ability to eat outside is nice. While a little pricey the cinnamon swirl pancakes are to die for!
Again this place is solid on the food and service but nothing amazing.
But the consistency I have experienced along with the outdoor seating gives it that 4 star rating, for me.

This place is a must when we visit family up north. They have the best food and wonderful service! Expect to wait a little while for a table. It’s that good!

Outstanding breakfasts served by a warm friendly waitstaff, all at a fair price. A great place to eat and meet people.

All I know is that I had the «Benny» something, and it had eggs, sausages, gravy, etc., and was really good and perfectly cooked. My wife also enjoyed her breakfast meal as well, and we did order one of the cinnamon swirl pancakes just to see what it was like. It was unique and had a different but very good taste. The cook even gave me a few instructions on how to do one at home, thus the 5-​star rating, (and a 25% tip). I might add that the décor was unique, the place was small but homey, and we were comfortable as though we were their only two customers. I will be back here. What a quaint little town.

This diner is such a treasure of Elk Rapids, and we come here every summer.
If you come here on a weekend you may encounter a wait. Just make sure you stay within the vicinity so that they can track you down. There is seating inside and outside, so if it is a nice morning you can sip your coffee and watch the passerby’s.
The particular morning we visited there was quite a crowd which is always a good sign when you are hungry and looking for a delicious morning meal. Our waitress got us seated and brought out the coffee’s right away.
The menu has plenty of options for all different kinds of dietary needs: vegan, vegetarian, leaner options, etc. We are vegetarians, and our waitress had no problems tailoring our orders to leave out any meat. Sides of bacon or sausage were replaced with fruit or toast.
The major hit out of our group were those cinnamon roll pancakes. I can see there are many photos of those here on Unilocal,so check it out! Those are a delicious sweet morning treat that I highly recommend.

After a horrible disappointing breakfast yesterday, my husband and I looked online for a good place to go today, deciding on Harbor Café.
It was easy to find, in the downtown district of Elk Rapids. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Its tiny, and has a very small town diner feel, which is exactly what we were hoping for.
The service was so friendly, the menu small (which we love; pick a few things and be good at them), and the place warm and inviting.
We ordered entirely too much food, because everything sounded amazing. I got the Riverstreet omelette, husband got a bacon and cheese omelette and side of sausage, and we ordered one cinnamon swirl pancake to share because it was so highly recommended.
Everything came out quickly, hot, and amazing. The cinnamon swirl pancake is addicting. Omelettes were perfect. Sausage was great. Coffee was hot and fresh.
I can’t quite decide what I enjoyed more, the food or the service. It honestly could not have been better. We will be back tomorrow!!!

Great breakfast joint. Delicious food, great staff. Bacon cheeseburger omelet amazing. Will be back for more.

Great local breakfast! Huevos Rancheros is delicious! Omelette is great as well! Never disappoints! Great friendly staff!

We recently went here for breakfast, on the basis of positive Unilocal reviews. I have to say we were disappointed in the menu, service and general ambience. The place is teeny-​tiny, and we were crammed into an uncomfortable space. There was nothing particularly interesting on the breakfast menu, so we defaulted to eggs-​on-​a-​plate; meh, although I give them half s point for offering local dried-​cherry and walnut bread, for an extra charge. Our server was also pretty perfunctory; not too friendly. And when we asked about getting a takeout chicken patty for our waiting dog (something we do frequently, that most restaurants gladly make for us), she impatiently informed us, «We don’t serve chicken at all here.» Allrighty then. When we left I noticed smiling, happy people over at the café next door, and I regretted not eating there instead. We were on a «foodie tour» of the area, and had had some wonderful food all week, but this stop was a clunker for us.

Looking for a good old school breakfast with not many frills? This is the place. Small place is usually busy because of the location, food and service. Breakfast served all day (at least until they close which is 2:00 on Saturday and Sunday). This is a must stop for breakfast if you are in the area. Enjoy!

This place is now in my top 5 of favorite breakfast joints. Do yourself a favor and get the cinnamon swirl pancake. So delicious I wished I had ordered two. Ordered as my main plate the two egg and meat breakfast with hash browns. Normally I have to ask for my hash browns «extra crispy» to get any sort of crunch at other restaurants but I forgot when I ordered this meal. They came out PERFECTLY cooked. I only wish this place was closer to where I live so I could make it a regular destination.

Has won awards for great food, but my family and I were displeased with the food. Mediocre at best. The pancakes are great but their novelty food is not nearly as good.

Cobb sandwich, yes — I said sandwich– is AWESOME! We stopped in for lunch, had great sandwiches at a great price!

The breakfast was amazing! The cinnamon swirl pancakes were amaze balls! Tons of flavor.

This is a Tiny place so during busy times be prepared to wait. The wait is worth it. the food is great. The staff is friendly. The prices are very good for Tourist land. There is a lot to choose from.

To preface this review, my wife an I spent over a week in New Mexico and southern Colorado and one of my goals was to track down the best Huevos Rancheros. Well three months later I found it at the Harbor Café. Hands down the best Huevos I have every had anywhere. My wife had the aptly named «Hefty Harbor Breakfast» and she said it was equally good. Small place, maybe seats 25. Friendly staff, quick service and excellent breakfast. Make time to go. Check the hours not sure if they change during the winter.