Harbor Inn & Ale

As a super fan of perch, I heard this place has amazing perch, so I had to give it a go.
It was some of the best I have ever had, but I’ll come back to that in a minute.
I had mentioned others I know raving about the place, so today my wife suggested we stop by. I agreed and we made our way over. We were hoping for a view of the lake from the location, but it was not to be.
I ordered the perch dinner with steak fries instead of the fresh cut fries, because I have just never been a fan of fresh cut. For the starter, I ordered the house salad with bleu cheese.
Since the order of this review is all over the place already, I’ll say at this point that they should give a massive raise to whomever developed their sauces, The bleu cheese dressing was some of the best I have ever had, and I asked the waitress what brand it was hoping to buy it at retail. It is house made. The tartar sauce is directly in line, some of the best I have ever had. I didn’t even ask, because you could tell it too was house made. Amazing stuff.
The perch was easily the best I have had as far as I can remember. Perfectly curled, skin on, perfect breading… There were only four pieces but they filled me up just right. I can’t wait to eat it again.
My wife had the Norwegian Salmon, advertised as «Cooked on a char-​broiler to just medium» which delighted her to no end as she hates over-​cooked fish, and with a Honey Bourbon Sauce she loved. It was a win for both of us.

My wife and I, and friends, have been to Harbor Inn several times and we always enjoy the food and atmosphere and service. One thing has bothered me for some time and that is the amount of foam (head) in the beer glass when it is served. I’ll pay the $ 4.50 for a glass of Bells Two Hearted (in fact I have several times) but when it comes to the table with ¾ to 1 inch of foam, I feel that I’m being taken. I brought this up to the waitress and she told me that that’s the way they are supposed to serve craft beers. She also told me that I should mention that I want a full glass, when I order, which I will certainly do. Fair enough, but why not just give the customer his moneys worth as a matter of doing business.

The staff is some of the friendliest around. Drinks are amazing. Atmosphere is on point. They have such a large variety of lunch and dinner options. Prime rib in the weekends is amazing as well as some great seafood options. Live entertainment is just the cherry on top of an excellent dining experience

First time going and it was delicious! We got a huge botte of zinfidel for a great price. We had broiled scallops for our appetizer. I had the queen size prime rib which was huge. My husband had the seafood combo which he loved.

The service was great and the fish fantastic!

Found the food to be very well prepared with quality ingredients. The service was attentive and the atmosphere very relaxed. May be one of the best places in Monroe for seafood.

I usually give a restaurant three strikes and out. The Harbor Inn has struck out.
Strike 1: Waited over an hour for food. When the food arrived it was cold.
Strike 2: Waited 48 minutes for a waitress. Finally flagged one down. Appetizers took almost an hour came cold and never did get sour cream. One person order a salad they never did bring her sa Did enjoy the outdoor patio
Strike 3: Food was again slow arriving four out of 6 meals were again cold. My Lobster bisque was so salty it was inedible.

Haven’t had a bad meal here yet. Great prime rib, good appetizers, great craft beer selection.

Very much enjoyed our food (crab cakes and salads) which was served promptly this visit. Thanks for a great dinner.

The service was great, but I found the food rather bland. May have just been what we ordered. It was a random stop for us on a roadtrip, if I had to do it again I would go to some place in the downtown of Monroe instead.

Every time I go I’m disappointed in the service. The wait staff is very friendly and calm in a crisis, but there just aren’t enough servers.
On my most recent visit the restaurant was busy. Guests stood at the hostess stand for minutes at a time without being greeted. I didn’t time them, but I found myself wondering how many left after waiting for a table. The hostess flitted about trying to help only two servers for the entire floor.
My table ordered our food, and we didn’t see the waitress again until our food came 45 minutes later. The food came out hot, although one guest was missing his entrée entirely and one was missing his salad dressing. We couldn’t flag anyone down because they were just too busy. Many of us didn’t get drink refills, and those that did were done so one at a time.
I would say the one thing this restaurant lacks is proper training and management of the wait staff. I would add at least two servers for the floor. There are many little things that I would change, but it’s not my circus, not my monkeys.
I will continue to eat here because this restaurant is a favorite of my fellow guests. But I won’t come here without them unless the service improves.

I have been here several times. Overall, I find this is about as good as it gets in Monroe, Mi. If you are looking for a more mid-​priced (high by Michigan standards) meal, this is your place for a great Filet Mignon.
So far, two for two with zero issue.
I especially like it when they have a guitar solo going in the background. Not too intrusive, yet keeps the lull at a minimum.
I don’t generally go to a higher end restaurant and order the burger, so I can’t speak to that, but overall, we have had very good service here with relatively short waits. I recommend this to folks, and would gladly return.

This place is a wonderful surprise. The seafood was amazing. Large shrimp and scallops. This is the «real deal»

Very wonderful food and reasonable prices!!! One of my families favorites! Very good search! Great atmosphere and nice outdoor patio!

Unimpressed by their prime rib. Came medium well and thin (King cut). Salad was ice berg with a couple things thrown on top. The cover band was quite good, so we stayed for a set and enjoyed that. I’m not from the area, but even if I were, there would be no need to go back.

Two thumbs up!!! Great steak and service was exceptional. Be back for walleye next time

I cannot believe that there is a place in Monroe with 3 Founders beers on tap. Hooray!
We had the fried cauliflower for an app which was delicious!
My husband and I both got soups– my french onion was very cheesy and warm, and his chilli was very tasty (not a fan of «Monroe» chilli, so I was glad it was normal chilli)
We ordered the Rattlesnake pasta with shrimp/​scallops and the cajun salmon. Both were delicious, and dinners came with some bread as well.
Can’t wait to go here again!

I’ll try not to make this a long drawn out review while still providing adequate information.
This is stablishment is near Lake Erie I believe it’s called the Bolles Harbor area… also near a marina as with any of these establishments that are nearby boating activities prices are slightly enhanced and there is a lot of seafood on the menu.
Harbor Inn and Ale fits that profile.
It also fits the profile of very delicious food.
My fiancé had salmon over crab cakes with fried asparagus and hollandaise sauce.
I ordered a turkey club the French fries and homemade potato chips and might I say that turkey club was huge I could not finish it. We shared the French onion soup it was delectable. in my top five.
To help the evening progress… there was live entertainment featuring a duo specializing in dinner music, singing many classic hits from the late sixties through late 70s… and they did them very well.
They have a really nice looking outdoor patio area however we did not partake because it was extremely hot that day. Our bartender/​server Bridget provided excellent service. And firmly as with any place near a marina we love the nautical décor.
Just a warning… to get here though… if you take LaPleasance Road coming from I 75 its not bad if you take the back way LaPleasance Road coming from Dixie Highway, it’s pretty crappy… typical Monroe County crappy Road.
Finally they have a rotating selection of craft beers overall we liked it and we will be back.

Our server was either uneducated/​untrained about the food and beer served here or she didn’t really didn’t care whether our $ 78 meal was acceptable or not. We had a Cajun shrimp appetizer which we received before drinks or even water. It had 4 Jumbo shrimp with peppers, onions and mushrooms in a red spicy sauce. The shrimp were tough. We ate it because we were hungry. It was kind of messy though and we only had the napkins in our laps to wipe the red sauce on which proved disastrous for my husbands white shorts. There were homemade garlic bread sticks served within the bowl of shrimp, actually sitting right in the sauce. Not a good combo. It made the bread sticks pretty much inedible.
We asked for a beer list since that is what they advertise that they are famous for. The list contains the names and prices of the beers but no description as to what the beer is such as an IPA or a milk stout etc. and the waitress had no clue. We asked if there was a list available that explained what the beers were like. She said no that they change the beers every week or so and that she had only worked here 2 weeks” and did not offer to find out the info we were seeking. My husband then ordered a Bud Light bottle and I ordered a 7-​liquor ass kicker which was the best part of the meal because it was strong.
The soup arrived with more bread sticks and some butter. I had Lobster Bisque and my husband had chili. The chili wasn’t bad just lukewarm. We dipped the bread sticks in our soup because they didn’t have much flavor and were not fresh. The Lobster Bisque was flavorless, watery and cold. My husband stole some salt and pepper from another table and it helped a little but I was only able to eat about half of a cup of cool soup. The waitress noticed and asked if the Bisque was good and I said I did not care for it and it was whisked away with no further discussion or offer to heat up.
My husbands Prime Rib arrived under cooked and under-​presented. It was smashed on a small plate with a stale baked potato that he left uneaten. That is unusual for my husband as he does not like to waste food that we pay for. Usually Prime Rib is presented with a fair amount of juice but this had none and was dry and under cooked. He transferred it to his bread plate to take home and see if we could make something of it at home. I ordered Jumbo Tiger Shrimp Scampi with mashed potatoes. The potatoes arrived in a separate plate with large hollowed out hole in the middle and a considerable amount of brown gravy in the hole reminiscent of a diner-​type meal. I immediately requested the waitress take them back and bring them without gravy which she did. They had redskins mixed in but they also tasted as if they mixed in instant potatoes. I used some of my husbands sour cream and mixed it in with some pepper which made them edible. I took one bite of my Jumbo Shrimp and then offered my husband who eats everything a bite. He immediately remarked that they tasted tough and underdone. I left it uneaten. The waitress returned after a considerable delay and looked at our uneaten meals and said «You wanna a box?» We replied yes and she deposited our check on the table with no question of how the meal was or any offer of dessert. It was $ 68 plus change. Eeek! Usually we are very generous tippers but just tipped $ 9 in this instance and still felt that she didn’t deserve it. Never again.

First and last visit. It took our «server» literally 20 minutes to get our beer sampler. Talk about personality minus.