Peterlin’s Restaurant & Bar

Nice place — local place, independent, that does a good job with bar menu and a good selection of local beers in bottle an don tap.
Not a fancy place, friendly and warm — very popular on Friday and Saturday nights for dinner — expect a wait.
Menu has a good selection of sandwiches and salads, with a couple of higher end entries. You are not going to find culinary excellence, but for a local place, they serve the community well. They also have a decent focus on beer and wine list.

I will never go back to this establishment. We went in for dinner on a Friday night and there was a small wait (good sign). Live music (good sign). We decided to sit by the live music. Our table was very flimsy and the acoustics were not great, but we chose to sit in the louder area. There’re few healthy options on the menu. The menu is big and eclectic with the typical mass produced items: artichoke dip, eggrolls, burgers, pulled pork etc. We ordered the chicken special with a side of broccoli and the pesto pasta. I thought that these were safe bets and could not possible be messed up. Our food showed up… the chicken was horrifyingly under cooked and got sent back. My «pesto» was runny and flavorless. We sent back that item as well and asked for the check and went to dinner down the street. We were so disappointed and will not be back. If you enjoy bland food that is very unhealthy this is a great spot. We enjoy a more balanced meal that won’t give me salmonella. Thank you but no thank you Peterlins!

Just average food, very over priced for what it is, fries were good, salmon was nothing special, desserts were good and tasted homemade, menu somewhat limited though it seemed to have expanded since my first time there, can’t believe I waited to get in here, not worth any kind of wait at all! Would go back if friends wanted to, but if not no big loss

Good food. But being force fed Fox News the whole time kind of ruined it. Too bad they don’t realize that people go to a restaurant/​bar to relax, eat and drink, not to watch partisan TV shows. Turn off the politics! Turn on sports or HGTV.

Had dinner with my wife along with appetizers on Friday February 12,2016. Beef Medallions with Shrimp skewers were excellent. As usual the Buffalo Wings are the best I have ever had. Highly recommended. Cooked perfectly. The appetizers were not that good. Pretzel bites were eh! But Southwest spring rolls were ok. Tasty. Beer was cold. My wife’s Tangueray and Tonic was great. Go here !!!

I visited my grandmother in Farmington the day after Thanksgiving. Being 90, she wanted to eat dinner at 2pm, but didn’t want a chain restaurant. She lives about five minutes from Peterlin’s, but had never tried it out. A quick internet search revealed high marks so we agreed to give it a try.
We arrived at two, but a sign on the door revealed it didn’t open until 4pm. Seeing someone inside I tried the door and found it open. My grandmother stayed in the entry to read a flyer on the window. The man who approached me introduced himself as the owner and explained that they were opening late because he didn’t expect much business due to the holiday. I started to walk away when my grandmother walked in. The owner listened as I explained the situation to my grandmother. He took one look at her and agreed to let us come in and he would cook our «dinner.»
He seated us in the empty restaurant and left to get us waters and a menu. When he returned a few minutes later, my grandmother was chuckling because during his absence two more tables filled up. Within half an hour there were probably about 30 to 40 people in the place. He had to make a couple calls to get some employees to show up early.
Now for the good stuff. Service and personal touch… needless to say were first rate. The owner, Zach, could not have been more attentive. My meal was excellent. We had the bruschetta on ciabatta toast (needed more basil) for an appetizer. I order the center cut sirloin cooked medium rare with the garlic smashed potatoes. It was fantastic. I would definitely order again, but the menu has a number of very interesting items I am anxious to try so it might have to wait. Grandma and I decided to make it «our» place, so we are definitely going back.
And incidentally, I would drink that zip sauce out of a trash can. I would bet it’s delicious on fish.

We haven’t been here in about a year. The first time we went it was for meatloaf which took us 45 minutes for the carryout order. We walked in on a Monday, sat at the bar, ordered a carryout and it took forever. And it was definitely not worth the wait for it either.
So today was the first time we’ve gone back since. Yeah, the food is still below par. We got the pulled pork nachos, the sour cream, salsa and gauc came in plastic throw away ramekins. It was pretty much all GFS bought gauc, cheese, and salsa. The same kind when you go to somewhere cheap and you receive. The chips were decent so those were probably make in house. But that’s not hard to do when all you have to do is fry them.
I ordered the pesto pasta with shrimp and my date ordered the Santa Fe chicken wrap with the stuffed pepper soup in place of the chips. She liked her meal, mine was very disappointing. Just swimming in oil. There was no finesse to the dish what so ever.
The server Sammi, never came to check on us while we were eating our appetizer. My date’s water had something inside of it, it was pink. She never came to check. My salad came within a minute of our appetizer hitting the table. That’s when we asked the food runner to bring us a new water.
Then two or three minutes after the salad arrived we received our dinners. The server was too busy carrying her new born baby around to notice we needed refills. Or that my salad came onto of my appetizer onto of our dinners.
Finally she gave her baby back to someone and came to check on us and refill some waters. Poor service and poor food. Oh, the salad came packed on a small plate and wasn’t tossed in the dressing, but you guessed it, the dressing came on the side in a plastic to go ramekin.
I’m wonder what is actually made fresh in house and how much of it all comes out of a can from GFS? The Reese’s peanut butter cheesecake was pretty good, but obviously came frozen from GFS too.
I see a lot of good and positive reviews but citizens of Farmington and Farmington Hills, we deserve better than prepackaged food we can all buy from Gordon Food Services.
Needless to say, we will never be going back here to have dinner. Again, we all deserve to eat better and eat food that is freshly prepared and if possible sourced from Michigan, not things that are bought and come in on a truck frozen and just mashed together…

So, in my last review several months back I said I was on the fence between 2 & 3 stars… I gave the nudge to this place at that time… by whatever circumstances, I find myself here again, but this time Peterlin’s gets 2 or less stars… mostly for repeat mistakes!
So I arrived for dinner and walked into the bar area, first impression, the lighting is awful. Recessed spot-​lights in the ceiling are the primary light source, it is extremely cold feeling, its the type of lighting you would see get turned on during last call or when the power goes out and the emergency generator lights kick on.
Without ambiance, its really a cold experience!
Next thing you notice, how slow the service is… come on the place was far less than 40% capacity, why can’t one of the people standing around, help out?
Next up… the menu! Along with the regular menu, they give you a piece of paper with the specials on it, like my previous complaint, the font is centered, there are no separating lines or breaks from one item to another, so its a big run on page of confusion. On top of that the font size is somewhere in the 9 to 11 range, im thinking he used about a 10 font in order to fit all the specials on this paper.
I posted a copy of it, taken under the crappy lighting I mentioned.
Another thing on the menu, both the regular and the specials menu, the prices are really high for a place like this, it really shows how out of touch they are.
The 8 oz sirloin steak like the last visit, was still listed as $ 21…if you think about that for a second, it dawns on you that this place believes that $ 42 a pound for a sirloin steak is OK, uhm its not!
The rest of the menu really follows suit with this pricing scheme, with the exception of some burger specials perhaps.
Our server was really nice, but nice wasn’t filling the glasses, nice wasn’t getting the table cleared, or the check any faster.
My opinion is, this place is in need of some good management and possibly menu analysis and a better pricing strategy!
They are certainly appealing to people who seemingly have no other nearby options, but I am in the opinion that they are chasing away or otherwise missing out on a potential market that would go beyond just sustaining this place, and take it to much higher profits!
This is not a place I would recommend in good conscious based on the things I mention, the people I’ve spoken with that have been here agree and wouldn’t return either.

We went on a Saturday early evening– not too busy when we arrived– service was great. The food is good but pricey. There’s pricey and it’s worth it due to incredible quality and portion… Not here. $ 11 for a patty melt /​fries. The patty melt was average. It wasn’t the best (sandys on the beach) and it wasn’t the worst but it wasn’t worth $ 11. Hubs had the meatloaf sandwich and same thing– although he didn’t care for the meatloaf at all– lacking flavor and a mushy texture– the red sangria was good, but the white one is very sweet and peachy– the mushroom soup was tasty but very salty– we will return to try other options– they seem to have a good happy hour

Came in on Friday night a little after 7, it was busy but we were seated right away by a very polite and friendly hostess. And that’s pretty much where the good service ended.
It took a while for a server to approach us to see if we’d been helped yet, I always thought servers had designated areas so I think she was just not paying attention.
Once we ordered it took at least a full inning of the tigers game for our food to be brought to us.
Drinks were never refilled, or even offered to be refilled. The food was okay, for the price I could’ve just gone to Panera.
I’d like to say the servers were busy helping other guest, and a good portion were, but unfortunately I could see the rest (my server included) standing talking to each other.
Also it took forever to get the bill.
I’d probably go back if there was a zombie apocalypse and they were the last establishment with a working refrigeration system.

I was really looking forward to coming here with all these rave reviews! Walked into this place on a Monday night and it was PACKED! I still can’t believe this place used to be a Happy’s Pizza. The menu seems pretty diverse, lots of good options to choose from for reasonable prices. Spoiler– I didn’t just get a burger, even though now I wish I would have!
Honestly, the food was «eh», the service seemed busy and didn’t pay much attention to us and the atmosphere was pretty bland. Not the first impression I was hoping for from Peterlin’s.
Maybe I’ll just have to come back more often to take advantage of the great specials they have!

Easily one of the best bar burgers around.
This place has really grown on me and I have yet to be disappointed by the food or the service. I make it in here at least ever couple weeks although I think I’m going to hit the $ 6 Burger lunch up today even though I was in yesterday. My go to, their Black & Bleu Burger… it’s close to a 3/​8″+ thick patty, on a killer bun with fresh produce (we’re talking really pretty tomatoes, fresh red onion and crisp lettuce) and a healthy serving of bacon (on request) and bleu cheese. It comes with a pickle and their in-​house made potato chips, which are nothing to scoff at… thick and crispy, and if you get the Pub Chips app you’ll find them covered in a heap of good stuff (the Pub Chips are pretty awesome!). Yesterday I had their Patty Melt on buttery, griddled, marbled rye a juicy patty and 1000 Island which took my melt to a happy place I haven’t been before. The Cuban is solid and their Chicken Finger wrap is really good too. Their specials always sound great. Their soups are always satisfying and the service is always friendly, fast and pretty much perfect. If you haven’t been I’d definitely recommend Pete’s. I’m a fan and they’ve turned me into a regular.

Come in here for lunch quite often. Thought I had reviewed this place already, but apparently not. Went in today and tried the patty melt off the special menu. I was a little hesitant about a patty melt with thousand island dressing on it, but it definitely worked. It was one of the better patty melts I’ve ever had. Burgers are always tasty. Salads are good and decent portion. They’ve often got great specials, too. Today, some of the appetizers were 2-​for-​1 and I know on another day (I think Thursday) it’s $ 6 burgers — but don’t quote me on that.
Regardless, the service is always good. The prices are reasonable. The food is delicious. My only complaint would be that the atmosphere is a little bit sterile. Other than that… great place.

Peterlin’s has the best food in Farmington. I’ve brought many people to this restaurant and they always enjoy it and tell their friends. Zac is truly a gifted chef and takes a lot of pride in his cuisine. Don’t miss!
Some great items
Mushroom soup
Chicken salad wrap — crazy
Macaroni and cheese
Burgers
Chopped salad
Sweet potato fries — best ever

I’m so glad we gave Peterlin’s another chance!
We were invited to a 50^th birthday party and really enjoyed the atmosphere and food so we went back a few weeks later and we were very impressed! Service was fantastic. I guess they worked the kinks out and they’ve been doing very well since they expanded into the space next door.
I had the Southwest Wrap and it was delicious and David loved the Bourbon Burger and we both really enjoyed our dinner. Matter a fact, we ended up going again two nights in a row!

I try to eat local and Peterlin’s is one of the best reasons to ditch those chains and put money into our local economy! As soon as you walk in, you get that homey feeling! There is ample seating so you almost never need to wait for a table. They also offer a happy hour, a gluten free menu, and a wide variety of entrees, from steak to salmon, to pasta, to amazing salads! The prices are reasonable and you’ll definitely need a doggy bag when it’s time to leave.

Pretty generic food but really good fries. Waiter didn’t check on us at all after we got out food. He seemed to be in a rush when we walked in and said «you can place your order now, if your ready» without asking us what we wanted to drink. Waited about 15 minutes after eating for someone too bring our check.

Dinner was so good again. And the peanut butter pie was really really good.
It is so nice to support local owners and not always have to eat chain restaurant food.
Thank you Peterlins.

I haven’t been super crazy on my previous visits, I had the fish & chips on this visit. It was CRAZY good! It was so good, I don’t think I will be able to try anything else here for a while. The fish was cod and it want deep fried to crisp like some places, it was perfectly fried and juicy and perfect flavor.

It’s almost shocking how unpleasant my most recent experience at Peterlin’s was. I live and work in Farmington Hills and enjoy eating out. I have visited Peterlin’s on many occasions and had always been satisfied with the food, service and overall experience. However, when I visited for happy hour with a friend recently we were treated disrespectfully by the OWNER himself!
We ordered beer and appetizers from their «buy one get one» happy hour special. Our bruschetta arrived as it typically does — a big full plate, but we were only given three chicken tenders. This wouldn’t have been a deal breaker by any means, I simply asked our server if this was the normal portion. He admitted that it was not, that a typical appetizer should have had at least twice as much chicken. I laughed because I couldn’t believe that when they offered half off the price, they also thought that meant half the portion!
What makes this review turn into a Kitchen Nightmares-​esque story is that our server relayed our amusement to the manager who in turn told the owner. Again — we were enjoying our beer and normal portion of bruschetta (we even cut a chicken tender in half so we each had the same amount of food), but when a very large and imposing man came to our table and leaned against my side of the booth (essentially «pinning» me in) I was instantly taken aback by the arrogance of his stature. He was irritated that I had pointed out that half off typically means the price — its an incentive for customers to stop in — its not meant as an excuse for the kitchen to be thrifty.
The one star review is absolutely based on the owner’s demeanor at our table-​side. He argued with me, and asked me why he should give food away, because it is still costing them. I was so put off by his tone, stance and behavior that I wasn’t comfortable in the restaurant. Our waiter came back a few minutes later with a plate holding one additional chicken tender, but we were so disgusted that we just asked for our check. I say this frequently in my reviews, but there are too many options in this area to remain somewhere that is sub-​par.
The food isn’t terrible, and our server was amazingly patient. He apologized for Zach’s brutish attitude and said that he frequently upsets guests by arguing with them about the taste of his food. It is one thing to take pride in your cooking, but its not okay to treat people so disrespectfully. To his credit, our entire meal was comped (which we did not ask for), so we left what we would have spent on the food to our waiter.
I realize that when you open your own restaurant you are allowed to do whatever you want. But if Zach cannot listen to reasonable and legitimate questions from guests (who feel like advertising «buy one get one free» should mean what it says) he should stay in the kitchen and save his staff the trouble of having to apologize for him and ultimately giving away free food. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable and treated so terribly by a business I was patronizing before. Such a shame.