The Gate House

The Gate House is a cute litle eatery located just off the main tourist drive, down the hill a bit from the Grand Hotel. I believe it’s also run by the Grand Hotel as well and you can tell just by the attention to the small details and the level of culinary expertise shown in the food.
Food here is usually quite good– it isn’t cheap, but it’s damn good. I’ve enjoyed a few meals here and haven’t been disappointed yet in the food. The service is sometimes another thing entirely. If they’re busy, and they often are, the wait might be long, but trust me, it will be worth it.
I’ve had some great Mackinac whitefish (one of their most popular dishes) with seasoned veggies, as well as the salmon. Both were cooked perfectly, seasoned just right and made to order. The fish is always fresh, not frozen, as this is not Applebees or TGI Fridays! I tried the white onion soup before and that was also pretty good, perfectly seasoned with a nice texture. Something to note: the portions could be considered a little skimpy by some standards, but I’m okay with the slightly downsized scale, so it’s not a drawback to me.
As long as the weather is nice, I recommend dining alfresco. Sometimes it’s nice to just dine outside and enjoy a drink on a lazy, summer day while on vacation. They have some nice beers on tap as well.

Excellent dinner a few blocks off the main tourist road. The blackened salmon special was excellent. The Mackinac whitefish was very tasty with a great sauce, veggies and quinoa. They have spevial IPAs on tap and the 7 Hops brew was very good — glad I git 22 oz.

The food tasted great! Sadly it was gone in three bites. The appetizers were especially tiny.
Bottom line — not worth the prices.

Had a great fresh piece of white fish with couscous and steamed vegetables. You can get a burger anywhere on the island, and I won’t blame you if you do.
Trust the fish, it’s clean, never frozen, and was cooked to perfection.
I sat inside today at the bar and joined friends during the Mackinac Policy Conference. Great sit, great staff, and great food. I will eat here again for sure. Enjoy.

Great place! Nice patio to people watch from. The food is outstanding and the service is outstanding too.