The Brown Bear

It’s kind of divey and kind of dirty so of course I loved this place! Pentwater is a stinking cute small town and the Brown Bear fits in perfectly. They are know for their huge ass one pound burgers. They have several versions of them and they are indeed huge! I had the Cubano sammie and liked it. Great bread that held everything together.
Friendly crowd. I think bikers may hang here in the summer time which is good thing for bad boy loving chicks. My husband was impressed with the beer offerings. Don’t come here for wine, it’s not their thing. Stick with beer and a burger and you will like it here. Oh, and if you are clean freak, you will not like it here. The place could use a little bit of cleaning but after enough beers you won’t care.

We sat on the upper balcony and had a wonderful view of the lake and town. The waitress was friendly and service was fairly timely. The menu was mainly limited to burgers and sandwiches. Crab bisque soup was listed as a special, but was not available. My husband got the huge burger which was good. I got the cuban which had too much bread. The food was decent, but not outstanding. The view was the best part.

Sat in their upstairs area. Took a few minutes to get menus and our drink order in. Their burgers are awesome! I got the Dixie burger and it came cooked to perfection, and the waffle fries are pretty good as well. I will be making another trip to this bar

My family and I have been eating at the two area locations for years and have always walked away impressed with the food and completely stuffed. At times there can be a small wait but service is usually prompt.

Consistent great food. Cold microbrew on tap. Reasonable prices. Best giant ham sub anywhere. Never had a bad meal there!!! Eaten there 20+ times.

The service was less than adequate. My water (with no lemon) was served to me with a lemon seed at the bottom of the cup. I ordered a Cub Burger Supreme with NO tomato or ham. When I got the burger there was a tomato on it and the bun was soggy. In addition, the onion rings I got as a side were terribly undercooked and full of grease. Definitely ruined the Brown Bear for me.

The Irish potatoes are great. I don’t love the burgers so much. Or the deep fried asparagus as far as the burger I like mine cooked thoroughly (well) but to get that it ends up charred on the outside. Which I don’t care for at all.
So then went with ‘medium well’ and it was just not quite done enough on the inside. Maybe I’m to picky but they just aren’t my style of burger. I’m a five guys burger girl!

Blazing saddle burger… Yum and first bite is a sensation of satisfaction. My wife got regular bear burger and it was delicious… Only complaint was the bun was a bit small for size of the burger. Home made potato chips crunchy fresh and really a great accompaniment

We have been to Pentwater at least 10 years, but have never eaten at the Brown Bear. We’ve been missing out. We managed to get a seat in the outside balcony, overlooking the street. My wife had a pretty mundane dish, fried shrimp, but it was quite good. I had the Dixie Burger, a burger with pulled pork, barbecue sauce & cole slaw. I had seen it on menus, but never had it, delicious. Would definitely recommend the BB for a casual meal. Reasonable prices.

My husband loved his ½ lb burger. The burgers are huge and a must order. I had the quesadilla which was pretty standard. We got to sit at on of the few outdoor tables on the upper level. It was a great spot for sight seeing. The waffle fries were also tasty.

Awesome joint… best burger ever! I’ve lived in West Michigan 15 years and this was my first visit. Great location in a very cool little town. If you are within a 1 – 2 hour drive, I would recommend the trip!

The «Bear Burger» is a must at least once. Great bar food with a TV for every major sporting event. Friendly staff, and a great location!

Very nice place. CLEAN, friendly and open at 2 in the afternoon in the winter serving good food. Menu is fairly simple but they at least do what they do well. I like the atmosphere. It feels like you might be a little farther north than you are with a comfort you can usually only find in a out of the way small town bar (but cleaner than most). If they can still serve good food with a friendly staff in the middle of a slow afternoon they must be doing most things well. I had a burger and fries with a coffee and all were above average with the highlight being the burger.

Not super duper fantastic, but not super duper awful either… I was really hoping to be blown away by the burger I ordered (the Pine-​A-​Peno burger), but I was only half blown away… I loved the interesting combination of ingredients (pineapple, jalapeño and blue cheese), but the burger itself didn’t come out as fresh tasting as it should have… Maybe it was the bun? The burger was pretty soggy… My friends ordered appetizers, which came out piping hot and fresh, so that was a plus. As for the selection of beer on tap, it was just eh… Nothing too exciting… I’m sure I’ll be back, but I’ll hope for a better burger and selection of beer on tap next time…

Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
I see a solid base but much room for improvement.
Our server Barbie saved The Brown Bear from a 2 star review. We were served cold fries, given a dirty extra plate with bits of food on it for splitting our food, offered chips instead of the fries we ordered, and served cold grilled mushrooms on the burger. Barbie was clearly a bit frustrated with the kitchen, and advocated for us. We ended up with a two full orders of hot fries, a clean plate, and a hot burger with toppings, all fixed quickly. Thanks, Barbie!
Overall, though, Unilocalers, I don’t think this place deserves the high rating it has (the high rating prompted us to drive here from a nearby town). The upstairs has thin, drab carpet, where we found a pile of chips ground into the carpet when we walked in – and they were still there when we left. Décor is mismatched. The outdoor balcony seating is nice, but tiny, so you can’t count on getting a seat here.
Burgers were tasty, however, and cooked perfectly to order. My brother got the chicken strips, and he liked those as well.

I am pretty much copying my review for the Antler Bar, because these two establishments were our favorite places to eat while we vacationed in Pentwater. It seems that most of the local restaurants employ high school/​college kids who are clearly just around for a summer job, so it was refreshing to have a server who knew the art of waiting tables
We ate here twice, and both times the food was excellent and the service was very attentive. I got the Spicy Jack burger the first time and it was so good almost everyone in our party ordered it on our second visit.
It’s a pretty busy place, so I suggest getting lunch as soon as they open or taking a late lunch after 1:30. We stopped by a couple of times between noon and 1 and the waiting list for a table was way too long.

Good hamburgers and salads. Krab bisque (notice k) had chopped Raw celery throughout. Nachos were dry and the cheese not melted. Drink. service slow. I had to get another drink at bar myself, waitress was their and could tell she was miffed. They were not busy. Waffle fries were cold and undercooked to say the.least. Menu is boring. Will not be returning.

Upper outdoor balcony seating sealed the deal for me when picking where we’d eat for lunch on our first Pentwater visit. Our meals were all very delicious and brought to us without any add ons or take offs that we didn’t request (we are very picky eaters and always customize!).
We all had different variations of burgers. I liked the slight charred taste and interior juiciness, probably one of the better beef burgers I’ve had in a long time. We split the fried pickle spears which were amazing! The batter was so crispy and had a little kick to it.
The menu is a little on the small side, serving mostly burgers, sandwiches, wings, but it seems like they’ve really perfected those choices.
The only issue I had was that the red bull & vodka drink I ordered came out tasting anything but. I felt nauseas after one sip — it was truly disgusting. I had one of my tablemates try it and they also nearly puked. It was like old non carbonated something (not red bull, maybe seltzer water?). I’ve never sent a drink back before, but the waitress took care of it without fuss and offered to bring out something else. My replacement, a basic rum and coke, was just fine!

I grew up north of Pentwater and while visiting this summer was told of the huge «Wimpy» burger. Challenge accepted.
They were pretty busy, so the upsatirs was open. They have a balcony that you could sit on, but if the sun is out, and its warm, forget it (sweat city). I noticed several people sitting there at first, and then moving inside.
Great staff, a little wait on getting our drinks was ok as they were running to keep up. The burger was huge, piled high with everything but the kitchen sink (although I would have loved it more if they had avacados on it too). I ate every bit and downed a Sam Adams. Only improvement I would reccomend is having the other specialty burgers in «Wimpy» size would be great!
I will be back.

The Brown Bear is home to the «Notorious Bear Burger» which got me thinking — how exactly does a particular menu item from a restaurant become «notorious» or a restaurant become «world famous»? Who gets to make that distinction? …well marketing departments, I suppose.
I just HAD TO, of course, pick a burger when I came here to eat on my vacation. And, I will say, the burgers are large and the price is reasonable — I had more than enough to eat. But, beyond that, there’s nothing that I found to merit any additional fame or notoriety to the food. Nothing was bad and I dug the authentic rustic /​up north /​village pub feel and setup of the joint. But, really, nothing that I would write home about. However, in a town of 900, with only a few other venues like it within 30 miles… if you are in Pentwater, MI and find yourself hungry for a big burger — I definitely recommend it.