The Towne Plaza

The atmosphere, service and food are incredible, and best of all consistent!
Whether you dine for brunch, lunch or dinner you will be amazed with the experience The Towne Plaza offers.
Best restaurant in TC hands down!

Tried Towne Plaza for the first time on Sunday for Restaurant Week. I called to make a reservation, and the gentleman who was very courteous told me they were completely booked, but he could get us in at 4pm. It being a Sunday we agreed. When we arrived there was not a soul in the restaurant. Just a side note, but in the dining room, the placement of the coat rack, and the things beneath it, looks a bit awkward. This dining room is so beautiful when the sun is shining. It seems a shame to have the coat rack ruin the flow of the room. The hostess sat us, and said our server would be right with us. She then hollered back in the kitchen to tell someone to alert our server he had a table. After about 5 minutes I heard a gentleman speaking to the hostess inquiring if we were, «Restaurant Weekers.» I felt like he was implying he was not exactly thrilled about the promotion. He then approached our table. He was nice enough, and explained how the promotion menu works. We did mention how empty the place was, but he assured us they would be packed in an hour and a half. He then took our orders. He was in fact correct. They filled up quickly, but we heard several people sat that did not have reservations. If they were completely booked then how were they able to seat the walk ins. Perhaps they save a certain amount of seating for that purpose. Anyhow on to the food. For the first course I had a wild mushroom soup that was decent. A tad under seasoned, but heavy with what I believe was nutmeg. My husband had the escargot that was cooked to perfection. For my entrée’ I ordered a seafood dish with a saffron broth. Again the seafood itself was cooked very precise, and the broth was delicious. However the gnocchi was awful, grainy, gummy, and mushy. Mind you, I am very picky about pasta because I am Italian. Just a suggestion, but they might consider piercing and baking the potatoes they are using to make the gnocchi. This draws the moister out and maybe they could employ the use of a potato ricer to get a smooth tender light dough. My husband had the porchetta topped with chimichurri and served with fries. All the flavors were wonderful. The chimichurri had tons of garlic like any good chimichurri should. However the exterior of the porkbelly did not have the fat rendered down to attain that super crispy exterior. Again the flavor was outstanding, just lacking in some technique. His french fries were underwhelming, limp and greasy. It also states it was served with broccolini. There was one stalk on his plate. Maybe less fries and more veggies or just forgo mentioning the broccolini on the menu. Dessert, well it was sweet, but that’s about it. Unfortunately my dessert of flourless chocolate cake and vanilla bean ice cream, was literally inedible. The cake looked like a brownie at the edge of the pan that was had to get out and broke. The texture was similar to dried out play dough, and had about as much flavor. I am a chocolate addict. I have never met a piece of chocolate cake, especially flourless, that I haven’t liked till now. The ice cream had good flavor, but it was served in a little metal condiment cup, and had ice crystals forming on the outer layer. It appeared that they had prepped the containers ahead of time and maybe did not cover each cup with plastic allowing ice crystals to form. My husband had the Bailey’s Cheesecake. Flavor and texture were decent, but again lazy presentation. It looked as if it was made in a sheet pan, which is fine that it was, but you don’t want it to look that way. Perhaps just slicing rows then cutting on the diagonal is a good technique to prevent this issue. Over all the food wasn’t bad, but totally lacked in technical finesse. Its like washing your floor with bar soap. It will get clean, but not the right way. I think with some time this restaurant has the potential to eventually be a contender. A few of the restaurants in traverse that are, «old trusty’s», are sitting on their laurels and not keeping up with food trends. They need to watch out for places like this that with time will knock them down quite a few notches. Again menu, and taste are there. They just need to up the anti on their execution and professionalism in the dining room. We might try this place again in a few months because it is restaurant week so I would like to think that was the issue, but we won’t be rushing back. Good luck to them in their pursuit of culinary excellence!

Went this evening during restaurant week; sat at the bar.
All in, had a fabulous meal! Great selections including seven entrée choices! Portions were perfect as usual.
Escargot appetizer was delicious… a dozen snails in an herbed wine butter sauce. Pork belly with fried green tomato and chèvre a treat! I enjoy their grilled romaine salad… Our entrees, porchetta and a Seafood stew were outstanding!
We’ve enjoyed Towne Plaza numerous times… always top notch!
And a note for those in the business… single use gloves were worn properly handling rte foods! Kudos for this!

We came for breakfast Saturday morning. Their coffee pepped us right up! Very friendly service for this atmosphere. I ordered the pork belly– it was amazing. I mean pork belly for breakfast is already hard to miss on but the accompaniments were perfect and the Tabasco vinaigrette set the whole dish off. I also had phenomenal from scratch blueberry pancakes and a fruit cup. All very good. The breakfast selection is limited as far as traditional items goes but their are enough bold choices to satisfy. Worth the trip.

Best pork I have ever had in the US! Highly recommend BLT or pork belly. The roasted pork belly is the one you could not miss!

This may very well be my first five star review. You need to eat here.
My husband and I were visiting TC for a long weekend this winter. We stopped by for breakfast our first morning and actually went back again the second, the food was that delicious.
The service is also pretty good. The first day it took awhile to get our tab, but otherwise they were excellent on water and coffee refills and the food came out pretty quickly.
Great coffee. We had the tenderloin benedict, French toast, root vegetable gratin, toast, bacon and sausage over the course of the two days. The tenderloin benedict was SO GOOD as was the veggie gratin. You will not be disappointed if you get either of them. They are both very savory, so if you want sweet, I would definitely recommend the French toast.
The only thing I wouldn’t recommend is the sausage. It doesn’t mention this on the menu, but it’s chorizo. I hate chorizo, my husband likes it, but we both agreed it was way too greasy. We mentioned that to the waitress and she took it off the bill for us. Talk about excellent service.
Anyway, it was the best food we had on a trip with tons of great food. You won’t be disappointed.

Hands down in the top 3 TC places for Brunch. The food is pretty filling and definitely had its own flair. The only thing that gives it 4 stars is that it can be very pricey to go here all the time or with a family

Man, I did not like Towne Plaza, but mainly it’s my fault.
I ordered the porchetta. On the menu, it’s described as, «Loin stuffed roasted rolled belly, seared, cilantro fennel kraut.» Sounded to me like ham surrounded by bacon. That’s NOT what it is.
Here’s the definition from Wikipedia: «The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild.»
Basically, porchetta is a tiny piece of dry pork surrounded by a giant ring of fat.
I’m dry heaving just thinking about it.
The french fries on the plate were soaked by all the porchetta juices, which is a disappointment. Soggy fries are gross.
So yeah, it’s my fault for not doing my homework. I also ordered the bacon, which was curiously flat-​tasting. I didn’t notice any pepper or spices on it. Disappointing.
My girlfriend, however, loved her salad and yelled at me not to drop a 2-​star Unilocal review because I ordered something gross. So there ya go. Three stars.

My boyfriend and I had a delicious brunch there today! We ordered the Stuffed Pepper and the Tasso Ham Benedict and split them both. Both were delicious, but the stuffed pepper was my favorite — it had a great flavor (and I always love chorizo) and with poached eggs on top — great combination! The Tasso Ham Benedict was a nice twist on the traditional benedict and all of the eggs were cooked to perfection. It’s always disappointing when you don’t get a properly poached egg — not the case here! We will definitely be back!

The dinner my boyfriend and I had here was one of the best either of us had ever had. We split a root vegetable gratin and lamb ravioli. Both were simple but really celebrated the ingredients. The root gratin tasted like earth in the best way possible. Even the whole wheat bread in the breadbasket was amazing, tasting of sea salt, wheat, and caraway seed. Our server was also wonderful and friendly and just the right amount of chatty. Even better was getting a bill for under $ 60– could have been more for that quality of cuisine.
We went back for brunch a couple days later and while it was fine– nothing special that you couldn’t get at numerous other brunch places. Also the espresso was a little weak.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND for dinner, a can’t miss experience for anyone visiting Traverse City.

Pork belly with eggs. Quinoa salad. Mushroom soup. All stellar. Good was world class.

Tonight I went to the Towne Plaza for dinner and very much enjoyed the meal. I had the pork belly (which was very good). I like the fried cheese and fried green tomato. Helped meld the flavors together! Smart.
I will say that from an ambience perspective, I felt it was a little crammed with space.
Also, as an FYI, you have to like pork or seafood to really enjoy this place. While they do have chicken and steak, clearly pig is the specialty (but who doesn’t like pig).
One thing I’d recommend re: the broccolini — only salt (no balsamic). But that’s just my preference.
All that said, I’d recommend this place and I did enjoy my food.

BLUF: Really amazing breakfast and perfect service.
Place is nicer than I thought it was going to be but you can still dress casual. Lots of rich people eating breakfast… plus me.
Prices are pretty good and the food is amazing. I got a fried chicken hollandaise which was out of this world. The chicken was perfectly fried in a very light fresh homemade batter. The egg was perfectly poached and the cream sauce was just the right touch (it was so thick it was almost like a gravy). It would be almost impossible for me to order something different.
My wife got the pork belly/​fried green tomato breakfast. It was great too. A larger pork serving than I would have thought. The goat cheese added a good kick too.
Service was really perfect. She was like a polite ghost; barely knew she was there but we were perfectly taken care of.
I’d love to go back.

This is one of the best brunches I have had in Michigan, hands down.
This place is not a regular omlette or eggs and bacon breakfast place. They certainly excel with their pork, especially pork belly. Even their shop sign is a pig divided illustrating different cuts. Many Unilocalers mentioned pork belly, so we decided to try that out. We ordered pork belly and porchetta. We added 2 poached eggs for 2 dollars to go with the pork belly at the waiter’s recommendation.
The pork belly has a tangy flavor. It was slow roasted with a tomato vinaigrette to perfection. The careful balance of acidity simply makes the grease melt away in your mouth. It felt like the pork belly was lighter than the poached egg yolk.
The porchetta did not disappoint either. It was roasted and served with pickled sour kraut on top. The sour kraut balanced well with the fat of the pork belly so it did not feel like you’re eating a mouthful of pork fat. The taste of peppercorn (?) or herbs came almost as an afterthought and give the bite an aromatic finish. The stuffed loin was a tad dry, which is probably just the characteristics of the cut. As long as you eat it with the belly, it was not a cleverness at all. The fries that came with it were also among the best I’ve had.
We both agreed that they could have easily asked 20-​some dollars for the dishes if they were put on the dinner menu, maybe even more at a fine restaurant. I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants a good lunch (or dinner) in Traverse City. We could only spend a half day in town, and this meal was probably the highlight of our visit.

This place is absolutely fantastic. It looks like the other Unilocalers have covered the bases. We stopped in for dinner on our way through Traverse City and my wife and I were blown away b the food quality. I’ve eaten in a lot of restaurants and these people are certainly masters of their craft.
Everything we ate had delicate and nuanced flavors that were perfectly balanced and flavorful yet not overpowering which allowed the subtleties of the flavors really come out. My mouth still remembers… and is mad at me for not feeding it from there every day.
The weather cooperated with us that night and we were able to dine out on the brick patio which is large, shaded, and quite nice despite being on a downtown street corner. It’s about a block off of the main strip, and what a difference that makes.
The staff was very knowledgeable and accomodating, yet not effusive.
The prices are reasonable considering the quality food and experience.
I loved this place. Gotta go back.

Before I arrived in Traverse City for a work meeting, I decided to check out a few menus from various eating establishments in town. The Towne Plaza menu was definitely interesting and not just because it has bone marrow and escargot on the menu.
I arrived at the restaurant just after it opened at 5pm and grabbed a seat at the bar. I opted for a few different appetizers.
Escargot — garlicky and delicious
Bone marrow — very, very rich. Add just a touch of salt after you spread the marrow on the toasted baguette
Chicken thigh — perfectly braised with crispy skin
RumChata cheesecake — umm… hello! So delicious!
The bone marrow is so rich that I think it immediately made me full but not so full that I couldn’t have dessert. Apologies for no picture of the cheesecake but I assure you it was quite tasty.
This is another place that I will return to for dinner and brunch. It has a large patio perfect for Sunday brunch and dinner & cocktails.

My wife and I chose The Towne Plaza on a whim, and we were not disappointed. The wait staff, the drinks, the food — all exceptional.
Let me say that I am not a fan of most pork products (save bacon, of course) because it is rarely cooked correctly. This place is definitely the exception to that rule. I had the Pork Shank which was slow cooked and quite literally falling off the bone. The barbecue sauce was done right, where I could still taste the smokey flavor of the pork, while getting a balanced dose of BBQ. My potato bites were also quite fantastic, and the micro greens were a nice addition. My wife had the Pork Belly, and she described it as quite tender, plenty of flavor, a delicious sauce with a pleasantly surprising kick and she could have had a whole plate of the fried green tomatoes.
I also went for the Uncle John’s Hard Cider over some of the other ciders listed, mostly because it was local, and I also was pleasantly surprised. Crisp, fresh, lightly sweet but perfectly dry — I honestly did not expect it to be so good (with the name ‘Uncle John’s’ I was not expecting that much).
From what my wife and I experienced and tried, I wholeheartedly recommend The Towne Plaza.
P. S. The bearded gentleman who was our server is an excellent wordsmith, and swayed me to the Pork Shank. I’m quite glad he did.

OK so why 5 stars?
Great venue with an outdoor patio under green shade trees
Marvellous service, Carly was warm, bright funny and entertaining as well as being attentive and knowledgeable about the menu
Excellent food, a great selection of charcuterie and seafood dishes. I wish we had found this place sooner, I would love to explore the menu much farther.
Whilst not cheap, the prices were certainly in line with the quality of food, venue and service.
Ambience was very warm and welcoming, chic but not in anyway pretentious.

Having tried a nearby restaurant first, but finding the wait to be too long, we ventured to the inconspicuous Towne Plaza instead.
The hostess greeted us enthusiastically, and proceeded to seat us in the tree shaded outdoor patio.
The menu is reasonably priced, and the food is plated as if it came from a high end restaurant. Fresh, cooked to near perfection, and tasty bites round out this fantastic establishment. Well done, Towne Plaza!

What a wonderful experience. Our waitress was amazing. The food was excellent. Every plate of cheese, olives, pork and chicken that came out was delicious. Love local, fresh and creative.