The Lighthouse Restaurant

Service and atmosphere are excellent. Ordered the prime rib and it was absolutely the worst piece of meat that I have ever been served. Meat was full of gristle and fat and almost impossible to cut or chew. Tried two or three pieces and left the rest on the plate. For such a pricy restaurant the quality of food is terrible. They got me once but never again. Recommend you avoid this restaurant.

If tour busses are in town they have priority. Tried twice to get a table and doors were locked at 6pm. Second attempt told wait would be at least 45 minutes, also at 6pm. Can’t advise on food, never got to eat.

Seating was prompt… waiter was polite, bit slow and not real attentive… shrimp cocktail was avg at best… steaks, UGH, ordered Med rare, they both were med/​well done, to order a $ 25+ steak u would expect a better steak and it should be cooked to ur liking…
I did let the waiter know our steaks were not cooked to order, he was apologetic… I figured the Mnger or Chief would come see us, nope nothing!
Oh well!

Nice looking establishment! Very dedicated staff, excellent waitress. Superb corn chowder! Thumbs up on the seasonal vegetable-​spaghetti squash. Lava cake was surprisingly well done. Great local Chardonnay. Only disappointment was the music-​a little to loud and not exactly appropriate for the ambiance.

This review is strictly for vegetarian peeps. I am always in search of decent veggie places while traveling in small towns. We stopped here, off season, while walking around town. We came in for a quick glass of red wine in the bar but the pour was so generous we decided to look at the menu. Even though neither of us eat seafood, we found an awesome blue cheese wedge salad and amazing hummus platter. We were also served outstanding homemade veggie bread that comes with every dinner. Over all great experience, friendly enough staff, good food and nice atmosphere.

Delicious food, abismal service. Don’t stop here if you have less than two hours. Our waiter seemed clueless, maybe he was new. Only three tables occupied when we arrived, in the end of September so off season. Don’t know how they manage during the summer.

I had the king crab legs and my girlfriend had the pan fried walleye. Both dishes were very delicious! I’d definitely come back again!!!

The service was good. The lobster and corn chowder were good but the steak was bad. I asked for medium rare it came well done. I had to drink water just to get the two bites of the steak down that I ate. Defiantly not worth the $ 220.00 we paid for four people. Very disappointing.

After reading the other reviews we weren’t sure what to expect, but this was one great dining experience in a small resort town. The king crab legs were unbelievably fresh, tasty and reasonably priced for the quality. The coconut shrimp was the best I have ever eaten and I have eaten a lot in different resturants. The corn soup was great. Don’t miss that. We liked the décor of the resturant as well. What an unexpected pleasant delicious dining experience!!!

Wouldn’t go back. We visited since we were staying across the street and just got back from the island. We ordered the parmesan encrusted chicken & whitefish. The whitefish was good, but the meal certainly wasn’t worth $ 26. The chicken was only one small filet and it was mediocre – definitely not worth $ 23.
We hear the corn chowder is the best, but we didn’t get to try since they were out – this was understandable since we arrived late in the evening. But service was below average. The waitress only followed up with us once after the entrée and disappeared again. We had to find our own butter from other tables and ask other staff members for more drinks.
You get more for the value at Red Lobster in my opinion. Pretty disappointing.

Not understanding the negative reviews I’ve seen here. or maybe Lighthouse gang has stepped up their game.
You can tell the quality of a restaurant by the bread they serve pre-​dinner. This bread was as good as mom used to make. The corn chowder was to die for.
John, our waiter was superb.
My GF had Alaskan King Crab legs and couldn’t get over the generous portion and how great the were
I had the pecan encrusted walleye and it was absolutely delicious.
Highly recommend if you’re in Mackinaw City area.

Let’s open with the good: The Corn Chowder. It was great. Also there were some pretty good garnishes.
Then the not so good: My group all said that their dishes were a bit heavy on the pepper.
We ordered some meat dishes, steak and prime rib. They were on the fatty side. Pretty much half of the total ounces.
Staff: We were seated relatively fast, and our server accommodated us pretty fast, the first time, then slower and slower.
We had to send back two of our orders because they were too done.
Overall: eh, and very pricey.
Fair…

I understand that finding a quality restaurant in a resort town can be a challenge, and that competition is fierce for tourist dollars, so I took many of these reviws with a grain of salt. I had a piece of whitefish that was fresh and skillfully prepared to my order. The service was prompt and attentive. Apprehensive when I sat down, the entire experience vastly exceeded my expectations!

Note: this is a review of appetizers and service only. Our visit here was late evening and our appetites were light. We were seated immediately and waited about 5 min for drink orders. Our server at first seemed apprehensive but warmed up after some casual questions about the menu and upcoming holiday. We ordered the crab cakes and the calamari. Both were delightfully prepared and seasoned. Prices seemed about what I’d expect for these appetizers. Other entrée items were pricey along the fine dining range. Sorry we cannot offer a full dining experience review. we will go back next time we visit the area.

Main course was good, crab cake appetizer was undercooked and lacked an intended crisp. (flavor was good). Potatoes with sauce were bland. Overall ok good but not worth what we paid. It seems they rely on sauces to make their dishes better. I expect higher quality from a restaurant that sets their prices at this level. Overall, try a different restaurant if you’re here for a day and think about putting this one on your menu if you run out of places

Ordered garden salad, lobster, and king crab legs. Very fresh and tenders. On the pricey side, but worth with good services and freshness

Definitely a «fine dining» experience. The food was not ordinary or basic but flavorful and interesting. My husband had the whitefish special and I had the coconut shrimp, both meals were very good. The red skin potatoes had a delicious sauce and I was delighted by the tasty spaghetti squash as the vegetable. Presentation was lovely and the service was pleasant and attentive without being disruptive. While the meal was on the pricy side, we felt that we got our money’s worth, (unlike at several other restaurants in town). This is not a place for young children but for an «elegant dining» experience we would certainly return.

We just had dinner here and the experience was wonderful! My husband had the prime rib which he thoroughly enjoyed. I had the Lemon Caper Whitefish which, with every bite, made me close my eyes and moan with delight.
Prices are high, but with an appetizer, salad, baked potato, bread and veggies, neither of us left hungry.
The décor was not overdone and the lighting was low but more than adequate.
We were so happy that we chose this restaurant for our anniversary dinner! Not only were our meals delicious, but the wait staff was attentive and our waitress in particular was very sweet.

Oh man, where do I start, and how do I say it…
We checked Unilocal before coming in, and I should’ve listen. That was one time where I could’ve saved $$$ thanks to Unilocal.But no, it was late and we were looking for food in Mackinaw City, and most places were closed and I wanted good food and local fish and this place looked pretty good.
The good: The broccoli soup was very good. Drinks were good. Reasonably priced vines and my gin martini was good and strong.
The bad: I went there to try local fish. All the fish dishes started at $ 23. There was 5 choices for whitefish. I went with lemony capers souse whitefish for $ 25. It was a whitefish, baked while completely covered with what looked and tasted like mayonnaise. After I plowed all the maynoaise to one side I could finally find and eat the fish. That dish should’ve been $ 7 tops. NOT $ 25.
Crabcakes appetizer was absolutely nothing special, two small pieces, again very overpriced.
Gordon Ramsay would have a field day with this restaurant. They price average food at Michelin 3* prices. Only location saves them. I doubt anybody comes back to pay $$$ for average food, but they have fresh out of town customers (who don’t Unilocal) every day, and that’s saves them.

Majority of the wait staff was not too friendly (and most could barely speak English, not even enough to say «hi my name is.» or «how are you this evening?». common manners)
The all you can eat crabs were delicious but our waiter also ignored us for quite some time, we werent too pleased having to wave him down every time we needed more
Not the best quality service, but not the worst either