Grande Mere Inn

We went to this restaurant for dinner for Father’s Day on the Saturday evening before the holiday. We were seated, with a reservation, in about 10 minutes. The restaurant was very busy. Our waitress was very pleasant and attended to us promptly. The bread and condiments were very good and enjoyed by all. The food was delicious and did not take too long to be prepared and brought out. Members of my party had the duck, the lobster, the shrimp (stuffed and fried) and chicken. Everyone raved about how much they enjoyed their meal! Our server was a young lady that teaches during the school year and was intent upon making our experience at the Grand Mere excellent, and she succeeded well!

This place is a must visit restaurant. The owner/​manager is a pleasant guy.
Our waitress (Debby) was very polite and helpful.
The Sunset was amazing from their parking lot.
We will definitely be back. Several times over the summer. A BIG THUMBS UP!!!

I have to admit, I’m amazed at the poor reviews for Grande Mere Inn. My family and I have been dining here for years and have never, ever had a bad meal or bad service. The steaks are delicious, well-​seasoned and prepared to order; the pâté and bread basket yummy; the swordfish — to die for; and the desserts are a great finish. We celebrated my parents’ 50^th anniversary here and had a wonderful time. Grand Mere will continue to be our first choice for special evenings out.

Not only is the food ammmmmazing here but the staff and customer service is second to none. For three years my parents have always chose to dine at Grand Mere to celebrate their anniversary .This always makes it easy knowing their destination (to make the surprise swoop attack of Happy Anniversary) before hand. I have called ahead to either order them a bottle of a wine and dessert or have their meal takin care of. This year I was lucky to get Sally (and to be quite frank I think I had her on phone before, which wouldn’t surprise me as how awesome she is!!!)I explained what I wanted to have happened and she followed it up to a tee!!! She even called my parents to make sure they knew the meal was takin care of right after I got off the phone with her !!! Cheers Grand Mere, we know why you stand the test of time

2^nd visit as good as the first… since it was several years ago… and I have duck so rarely I had to have it again and now I remember why I liked it the first time around… the peppercorn sauce is absolutely delicious… it really takes the duck to another level… I was actually disappointed when I was out of it! The duck itself is a full leg… and cooked fine. However it’s the sauce that makes the dish!

I’m from out of town and was visiting a friend who said this is the local area’s «fancy» restaurant that most considered only for special occasions. I think because of that, the other customers when we were there were in a festive mood and the dining room was REALLY loud. We had to shout to each other to be heard.
The food was okay, but not «fine dining» by big-​city standards. Meat was bland and unseasoned (I had both steak and fish). Salad, side vegetables and mushrooms were really good though.
Why I rate them four stars though is because of their service. Our server knew everything about the menu, and after we got the appetizers she delayed putting in our main order just right so the meal flowed naturally. She knew exactly how long the kitchen would take (which wasn’t long at all despite every single table full) and we had a wonderful time. Water was re-​filled quickly, and appetizer plates were quickly taken away once we were done.
They have Michelin-​star quality service, so all I think they need is a boost in food quality to make this a real destination restaurant.

This place is amazing. Old school dining ambience with excellent food and a great staff. The rooms are warm and cozy and the vibe is really inviting. My steak was amazing, and the desserts are a must-​have.
One of my favorite meals I’ve had in this area.
We will be back!

In the middle of NOWHERE and the food is just GREAT. Good menu that includes something for everyone. Everything was well prepared, served hot and very very good. Service is friendly & pleasantly fast. And I loved the liver spread they served when seated to spread on the crispy toast… NO CHARGE. The atmosphere is casual rustic, so shorts or jeans are just fine… You can see the lake a little far off in the distance so don’t get all worked up about a «table by the window». You can walk around before or after dining and enjoy the view (and sunset) from the lookout point. Enjoy! suziQ

I love the Grande Mere Inn! One of my favorite places in Southwest Michigan and definitely worth the short drive from New Buffalo. The swordfish is incredible. I love the salad with blue cheese and vingerette dressing. The view is very pretty. It’s too bad that there isn’t any outdoor space for dinning. The place itself is old and has a vintage feel. A little updating wouldn’t be a bad thing but the food itself is the best! The service is very good. The manager/​owner is terrific and very welcoming. I will keep returning!

Our favorite go to place… for special occasions or for an impromptu weeknight dinner. The views of Lake Michigan are wonderful. On a clear night you may be able to see Chicago! The food is delicious… love the escargots, sword fish, perch, filet of beef, etc. Great specials… love their desserts! Cranberry Bog «bar area» is a bit more casual and a fun place to drink, eat and socialize. They have an excellent wine list and make a great Hummer (our favorite dessert drink). The staff is exceptional… very friendly and professional. We can’t say enough about Grande Mere Inn!!!

Love the food, people, drinks and atmosphere! Can’t ask for much more! Bar scene is vibrant.

My wife and I have been talking about getting to the Grand Mere Inn for quite some time now. We happened to be in the area and stopped in for dinner early on a Saturday. It was not very crowded and we were seated immediately where we had a great view of the lake and sunset. We ordered a couple of glasses of wine which came with a generous pour (compared to the skimpy pours you get at other nearby establishments).
Our waitress was very attentive and described several of the dishes for us and how they were prepared. My wife asked about the perch, she said it was very lightly breaded and quickly pan seared. She left to give us a few minutes to decide and came back with a piece of perch to try! Very nice touch! Needless to say, my wife ordered the perch and was not disappointed. I ordered the pork porterhouse (thick cut pork chop) which was done to perfection with a nice hot apple chutney on top. Portions are good sized, fresh, excellent service and a killer view. Great for date night. We will be back.

We went for dinner on a Saturday after a ND home game. I had the blackened swordfish with a salad and my wife had a salmon special. Both dishes were very good. The service was friendly and prompt. It was my birthday and they were nice enough to bring us a free dessert. Overall we really enjoyed the experience.

Always good service. Owners are always present and attentive. The food is mostly very good. I especially love the appetizer menu. Oyster Rockefeller and escargot are so good here. They make great drinks as well. and I very much enjoy the ambiance of the bar side, it’s very laid back but still feels rich.

Grande Mere Inn is very pricing for an older restaurant that could use some updating. The waitresses are not sincere… The food is ok but it’s pricing for your portions… the tables are older and really close together.

Cute and cozy! My in-​laws favorite place. You can watch the sunset from the restaurant or you can go outside and enjoy the beautiful view. This place has a rustic antique vibe.
There was a LONG wait to get in but when we mentioned we had a time limit due to baby at home, they put have us in the next available seat in a booth located in the bar area. It didn’t have the sunset view but I thought it was perfect for us.
My husband and I got the filet mignon and swordfish dinner. YUM! Both great! Price was what we expected. Steak was 28.00 with 2 sides for 7 oz and swordfish was 24.00 with 2 sides.
They forgot our soup before the main course but brought it out with dinner. To make up for that, they boxed up a dessert for us to go. That was nice!
LOVED the chocolate martini! I had two! It actually comes with a chilled pint glass to refill. I was able to get 3 Martinis for the price of one! Totally filled and you’re gonna have to roll me outta here.

Upon seeing that the restaurant was rated $$$, I said that’s out of my price range, but being from out of town, I decided to check out the menu on the outside. The gentleman host actually walked outside to tell me about the menu and that they had been around for 34 years! He also recommended some items and said that all of their sides are fresh from local seafood and vegetable markets.
Ordered the New England clam chowder which was seasoned perfectly. In addition, the portion of clam within the chowder was perfect to the vegetables within.
The special of the evening was oven grilled whitefish beurre blanc and I ordered the sides of herbed potatoes and their specialty side of fresh Michigan asparagus. The fish was cooked perfectly, but when my waitress brought it out, she said that the fish was tiny compared to other servings she had seen in the evening and that the kitchen was firing an additional one. I was in shock because I could have done with just the first one (small appetite!). The second serving of fish was two times the size of the first one! The fresh asparagus was incomparable to other asparagus that I have had and the freshness is certainly key!
While enjoying my dinner, another table was shown the dessert tray for the evening and when it came my turn, I had to order two. The caramel apple bread pudding and fresh Michigan strawberries with a triple sec cream sauce. At the restaurant, I ate the bread pudding a la mode and it was stunning. As a HUGE bread pudding fan, I would put this at the top of my favorites list. The bread pieces were lightly toasted to provide a slight crunch while the apple bits provided the softness texture of a bread pudding.
The restaurant staff was amazing in making my experience unique even though I was a single diner.
This is certainly a gem of a place with a lot of history throughout the place and well worth any price.

I went here recently and while I have no serious complaints, I just wasn’t impressed, especially for the price. The interior décor is dated (and the menu strikes me that way too). The view of the lake is lovely. It’s hard to hold a conversation because either it is crowded and too loud, or if there aren’t many others, it feels like everyone could hear my conversation. Awkward. Service was okay, but not spectacular.
The food was good, but the menu descriptions are lacking. I ordered a chicken dish with a baked potato as a side without realizing that it would come smothered in cheese on top of pasta (slightly over-​cooked pasta at that). I really liked the liver pâté and the bread plate served with the meal. I didn’t hate it, but this will not be my first choice restaurant in the future.

My wife and I went here tonight and were not impressed. First off, the rooms are very echo-​y and as our bad luck would have it, we had a group of five business-​type guys loudly discussing politics amongst themselves so that we could hear every word of their conversation four tables away. Granted that is not the restaurant’s fault directly, they should have tried to get them to lower the decibel level, especially as at least one table of patrons asked to be moved while we were there.
Waitstaff service was slow during the entire meal — at times we didn’t see her for 10+ minutes, during most of our visit both my drink and my water glasses were empty. And the one time my water glass was refilled, the bus staff person managed to dump ice all over me and the table.
On to the food — the bread and liver pâté they bring was extremely tasty — same for the artichoke hearts appetizer. We had for side with our entrees the New England Clam Chowder (delicious) and side salad. The salad was run of the mill greenery — nothing spectacular. Unfortunately they do not have ANY light or reduced fat dressings… really???
After our salads came, we ended up waiting another 35 minutes until our entrees finally arrived. My wife had the seafood platter (Scallops, stuffed shrimp, rock lobster tail and fried lake perch.) The scallops were nicely cooked and the lake perch was delicious… the other two items were lackluster.
Unfortunately what I ordered was their ‘famous’ scallops shamay. All I can say is that I had a severe case of antici-​pointment. When something is described as scallops and artichoke hearts baked in a creamy Monterey Jack sauce, I don’t expect it to be watery/​runny and the scallops to be cooked to the point of being little rubber balls and the artichokes to be complete mush.
Based on the food/​experience I was prepared to give this place a two star rating, but the waitress saved the night, earning them another star — she comped us a dessert and removed part of my entrée’s price, even though I did not ask for it. We got a slice of carrot cake and it was one of the best I have ever had — moist and ful of flavor and the cream cheese frosting wasn’t overly sweet.
Will I be back? Perhaps — if so it will be for the lake perch or perhaps a steak… oh and dessert too.

The ambience, service, and general feel of this restaurant is great. The bar service is good with some innovative cocktails; the view of the lake is wonderful, and the host is very friendly without being overbearing. If you were looking for a quick drink and dessert, this might be a great spot.
In the three times I have been there, unfortunately, the food has been… meh. Boring. The seasoning is just boring and the menu is a bit staid. Typically the dishes are bland but made with good ingredients.
I will try them again but for now I think two stars is justified.