The Channel Marker

The food and the staff are extremely wonderful. We love this place… it’s a great time!!!

Went there for lunch today at 2 P.M. Waited for 5 minutes and nobody greeted me so I found a seat in the indoor dining room.
After 10 more minutes with nobody coming to my table, I got up to leave. Just then a waitress came in from outside and I explained why I was leaving. Her explanation was a hostess is to seat people but the only sign that said that was by the door going to the outdoor deck… not the inside dining room.
She said the hostess for the dining room was working in the kitchen. So as a guest… I am supposed to know the hostess is in the kitchen when nobody waited on me for 15 minutes???

My friends and I stopped by yesterday afternoon for cocktails and a few of us ended up closing the place. Very friendly servers and very pleasant atmosphere. We sat outside and enjoyed each other’s company and the beautiful sunset.

Go for the Outrigger Burger. It is awesome. This is one of the few places to eat in Syracuse. We make a trip here on our weekends up here.

Not that consistent. Sometimes okay, sometimes bad. Food is average. Service is average or below. Lots of room for improvement. Glad we have other choices going by boat on the lake
Please don’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.

Food is better than you would expect. Great Jimmy Buffet type vibe on the lake. Love a drink at happy hour.

Service was excellent. Stacey provided great service and made our experience unforgettable. Food was fantastic too.

It’s fun to ride to the channel marker by boat and sit out by the lake while you eat. The food is nothing out of the ordinary. They’ll charge you for bottled water if you sit outside, so keep that in mind.

They have interesting food and good atmosphere. Their chef is amazing and creates great flavors. I like the chicken wrap and tuna is amazing.

Once again this summer, the BEST restaurant on the lake! The menus is awesome and the cocktails will not disappoint! If you are looking for the best martini around, it’s right here!

My wife and I stumbled across this restaurant while on a day trip. The view and atmosphere was lovely, situated on a canal alongside lake wawasee. Many boats came and went at the dock alongside the outdoor seating, almost a full house on a Monday lunch hour (it was after 4^th of July weekend). We ordered the crab cakes and the days special, a combination of BBQ brisket and sausage paired with seasoned fries and slaw. The crab cakes were nicely cooked but the batter was very crunchy and a little thick. They were tasty, but an average portion of two. The BBQ sausage and brisket were okay. But overly sauced in my opinion. They weren’t allowed to stand on their own flavor, given the amount sauce. The slaw was simple and crunchy, not overly dressed like some slaws can be. Our service was pleasant but very busy, which slowed service a tad. Understandable given the full outdoor area. Just be aware of this risk on nice summer days. They offer a full bar with daily specials. No draft beer outdoors but several bottle choices. All together we enjoyed our experience here, a solid three stars. We hope to go back again to try the evening menu someday.

Was in Scot L’s party. I contacted management and they were apologetic and assured me they would correct the problem with the server that was solely responsible for our poor experience. She was apparently having a very bad day and unfortunately mis represented The Channel Marker.

Clam chowder was the consistency of wallpaper paste. The nachos were served cold. Not enough servers to handle the customer load. Meals not the best, but deserts were very good.

Fantastic experience. The wait staff was exceptional. Started with appetizer of lobster bites. Went with the special of Michigan grown whitefish, baked with a cherry sauce. Red mashed potatoes and lobster bisque (soup of the day) as sides. Finished with homemade carrot cake.
All aspects of the meal were phenomenal to say the least. I had a great experience and will return for sure. The next time your considering going back to the Frog for the second, or fifth or tenth time, I would definitely considering giving the channel marker a try!

Let me make a long story a little shorter. New menu, but food was not good. I had the SS ribeye sandwich. Whatever is spread on the bread to toast the bread tasted terrible. I actually could not taste the Philly cheesesteak without taking it off the bread. The smashed red potatoes were a bowl of mush. My sister had the coconut shrimp, which were not cheap. The serving was large, but they were cooked way to long to the point of being a little burnt. They were served with what looked like a half of jar of marmalade. My nephew had a burger but was burnt to a crisp and crunchy. Our server has worked there 2 years, but didn’t seem to know much about the menu, and didn’t ask how the burger should be cooked. We sat on the porch, which I love, but it needs some spring cleaning. The top of the fan blades were coated in thick dust, and we’re on! There were spiderwebs hanging in the rafters. Was excited to see an updated menu, but they really need to work on the food. Probably won’t go back for another 2 years.

Keep it in perspective! This is a nice place to have dinner on the lake just don’t expect a restaurant with a Michelin star in this small community.
This restaurant has a nice location, right on the Wawasee-​Syracuse channel, with lots of windows and an outside deck. We have had wonderful service both times we have been here in the last few months.
Our food has been above average for the area (way better than the Frog). I had a half slab of ribs (OK), spouse had the perch basket (quite good). I had the grilled fish tacos the last time we were here and they were wonderful.
One complaint: the french fries were tepid, would have been outstanding if they had been hot. Don’t shortchange us on that kind of detail.
We’ll give this another try during the busy season to see if the service stays the same. Fingers crossed!

This place has everything going for it but flavor. The atmosphere is perfect the, but the food was very bland and greasy. With a Chef running the show it would attract people from miles around. You can tell that they have a bunch of teenagers working the line. Not impressed with the food wish I owned the place though Gold Mine awaiting.

Went here with dinner with my family.
Food was very good, but if you ask for something specific on your food (like: no mushrooms or add onion)…it won’t come out right. And our waitress didn’t know anything about the menu.
Fun to be right on the channel though.

This place is really dirty. In the summer I went here and there were flies on everything. I ordered The fish tacos and my daughter did as well. Something just wasn’t right. I threw up in their bathroom before I could even leave, my daughter at least made it home before getting sick. It used to be a really nice place.

If you want to pay for water, get a sandwich with some plastic wrap left in the basket from something else (with meat inside of it), get your food made wrong, eat ribs that mine as well be tough ham, and get slow service you will be happy here.
The only good thing is you get free entertainment watching drunk middle aged lake lubbers flirt with each other’s wives and bring their tiny dogs to eat at the table.