Harrington’s By the Bay

Not impressed. Went for dinner very very over priced. My husband’s steak was $ 37 and all fat. They did remove it from or bill. We will definitely not go back. Do not recommend

Pistachio whitefish was very, very good! Side of sweet potatoe hash was uniquely tasty, and carrots were tender, sweet and tasty too. Perch was nice and lightly breaded, tasted just a bit fishy-​imagine that, fish tasting fishy should be expected-​, but surprising it didn’t include some coleslaw for the price. Lettuce wrap app was very tasty with peanut Thai sauce chicken but difficult to self serve with dish of saucy chicken with accompanying lettuce. They did not come prepared or pre-​wrapped and slender Romaine leafs not easily «wrapped» like bib lettuce experienced elsewhere with similar dish. All together, a place we will return and we did enjoy our meal.

I had the BEST chicken fajitas here. The chicken was very tender, served with onions and sweet peppers cooked perfectly, homemade sala and special sour cream. I will definately have these again.

One of the most underrated restaurants in TC for Apps and drinks. Awesome Happy Hour Alert!!!
Burger=yummmmm.

This was an unfortunate choice to celebrate our 24^th Anniversary. I called ahead to request a table by the window, and was told it was a quiet night and a reservation wouldn’t be necessary to accommodate my request. 3 hours later, no window tables were available. We settled for one in the middle of the room with a view of the reflection from the interior.
The appetizers were very good, as was the seafood chowder and wine selection. The «special» pork porterhouse cut and the pork tenderloin were somewhat dry and disappointing at the price point. The service was adequate.
We decided to skip desert.
I will do more research before choosing a restaurant for our 25^th.

Gorgeous view, delicious food and great service! Also kid friendly (took my 4yr old)

Started out okay, then went down hill fast. Appetizers were good. We had crab cakes, shrimp & mushrooms. Then the entrees were served. Steaks were not cooked correctly, items left of the plate. Hamburger burned, my tuna was rare, ask for it to be medium and on and on. Serve keep forgetting things. At these prices should be a lot better.

Incredible!!! My BF and I randomly stopped in for lunch on July 4^th and we could not believe how AMAZING the food tasted!!! I had a lunch special: Jerk swordfish sandwich with cilantro and I think a mango salsa and the BF had their three cheese grilled cheese and clam chowder. Truly, is was soooooooo delicious!!! I am a foodie so trust me when I say the flavor, texture and quality was incredible. We were in shock to stumble upon such a great food experience. Wow– I’m having a flash back right now. :) Enjoy!

First trip to Harrington’s. Food was quite good (potato skins and the prime rib dip). Really surprised that they had no Michigan red wine by the glass. Go figure. They had five Michigan white wines.
Service was good but not spectacular.

I have to admit, the food I tasted was quite good: the bacon-​wrapped shrimp, the smoked whitefish pâté, and the battered cod. That said, service was really slow (maybe they were short-​staffed?), and the menu seemed a bit standard (though maybe it’s just what people like). The atmosphere was so-​so. The beer list was awful; for someone so close to so many local breweries, I was highly disappointed. And when they told me they were out of crab cakes (I see no excuse for this as a restaurant), I knew I wouldn’t be giving Harrington’s a good review. Like I said, though, the food I had was quite tasty.

Really disappointing…
Started out feeling pretty lucky — great table on the patio with a nice view of the bay.
Strike one: server began tending to the large party prior to serving my beer — a local flavor I was game to try. Ultimately forgot to the point salads were served and well, enthusiasm waning. Strike two: his was supposed to have the baked potato, not the Brussels sprouts. (He won’t speak up and it took me a minute to realize.) Strike three: my mid-​rare $ 32 steak was @ least medium if not closer to mid-​well and not very flavorful. (Took 2/3’s «home».) Strike four: server didn’t check back after the meals were served. Strike five: his soda sat empty way too long.
Overall, Harrington’s… turned out to be a bummer of an experience. The table was nice, the Caesar was really good as was his fish. My steak s*ck*d (did I mention it was a 32 DOLLAR wasteofmoney?!). The server, while a somewhat friendly gal, might just have been allergic both to building more rapport with those of us likely contributing to her rent, and to moving with a purpose. Dunno. She wasn’t really around enough to make a solid determination.

Very slow. Charred and tasteless steak. So so perch. Not worth the money. Disappointing last dinner in Traverse City.

There are several restaurants that we go to when we go to Traverse City. This place is one of those places that I make sure to visit. Pecan crusted white fish is the best. Also had the locally brewed Dragons Milk and it was the perfect combo. Great view as well. Check this place out if you are in the area.

My family and I went here for dinner. We had reservations at 5:30. When we walked in the host was not friendly. We were seated in the smallest area. We couldn’t even fit in the seat and had to ask to be moved.
Once we got our seats we weren’t greeted for about ten minutes. (this is when we should have left)
Our waitress was sweet but not good at her job. We had the lettuce wraps for an appetizer. It was really good. It had an interesting taste of different species but it took forever to get to the table. The waitress didn’t return to our table for about a half hour. I order the almond salad. Totally not worth the time or money. There’s about 7 almonds in the salad. Nothing special!
And then we just waited … And waited. And waited. An hour later we finally got our steaks and baked potatoes. The steaks were delicious and green beans were under cooked. We also ordered a side on green beans for our 15 month old… Which never came to the table. Our waitress never checked in with us so we had to just cancelled the order. I would not recommend this restaurant if you have children and if you want good service. The food was ok, but if you’re in Traverse City, I would recommend going to another one of the amazing restaurants with great service.

This place has amazing burgers! Very tasty fries and good kids menu. The service was great also.

We came here for lunch the other day and were rather disappointed. The restaurant itself is really nice, and you can sit outside of the patio to enjoy a wonderful view of the lake (if your party is less then four people).
We had a party of six people so we unfortunately had to sit inside even though the patio was basically empty. This was fine but something to keep in mind if you have a large group and want to sit outside.
We ordered a variety of appetizers and would recommend the lettuce wraps. They had a nice flavor and while not amazing were everything’s favorite appetizer. The calamari and chicken wings both lacked flavor and were average at best.
For entrees the fish tacos were very good, but everything else was a huge disappointment. The salmon was so over cooked and dry it wasn’t even edible. The strip steak was average but not worth ordering. The french dip was also very dry and rubbery even though the meat had large amounts of fat on it. Other sandwiches were also dry and people only finished their meals because we were starving.
This place may be better at dinner time but for a lunch time restaurant I would probably try one of the many other options in the area.

I feel like only 3 stars may be a tad harsh, but I just couldn’t justify anymore. Food wise– it was good. I cannot complain about my meat, filet mignon. It came with complimentary shrimp since it was the weekend. My husband enjoyed his sea bass, although hated the mushroom risotto, which is odd since 2 of his favorite things are mushrooms and risotto lol.
Service was fine. Nothing AWESOME but no complaints.
Over all décor was nice — very northern Michigan-​feeling. Great view. A tad dark.
The low point was the drinks. The wine menu had an incredibly limited Michigan selection, which was a huge disappointment considering how TC is so proud of their wine country. I ordered a simple lemon drop and immediately sent it back — tasted like straight up rubbing alcohol. Awful.
Also, I took off a star because while the food was good, I found it overpriced. We had come for our anniversary, and I was disappointed because I knew we could have tried one of the nice new places in town for the same price or less. We didn’t have dessert and that one drink was deducted from the tab, but we still spent about $ 90 :/

Not impressed.
My water had a dirty coffee stain on the rim, and my friends soup had a hair in it.

A perfectly lovely meal with my dad and 10 month old son.
Special thanks to Laura, our lovely server, who was not only sweet and beyond competent but accommodating with both my dad’s lack of hearing (whaaat?) and my son’s love of soup crackers. She never batted an eye and earned the adoration of both, and obviously me.
Formerly Freshwater Lodge… and for those of you who go way back and need a TC trivia answer, Schweitzer’s (If you remember good old Schweitzer’s and their infamous salad bar and soup you’re a real TC native!) — Harrington’s has a piece of very prime real estate on M-​22, with an unencumbered view of the beautiful Bay from almost any seat in the house.
It’s an upgrade in service and food from its predecessor — the menu has a certain «oomph» it did not have before. We started with the whitefish pâté and crackers (again, everyone was a fan), my dad had a great looking burger and I had a really fresh, flavorful salad. I was impressed with the quality, taste and portion sizes. Gone are the drab grill plates and tired «log cabin» décor from days of yore, this place has gotten a facelift and it feels comfortable and worthwhile to be there. A bonus!
I’d not had a real reason to go here until this particular day — we needed a spot for a casual lunch between shopping and our home in Suttons Bay, and this fit the bill location-​wise. Hat tip to pops on the choice… should listen to him more often, even if he can’t hear me half the time! :)

Unilocal did not steer me wrong. I was in Traverse City visiting with my family and we picked this place based on reviews and location (with a view of the bay).
The appetizer that others recommended (beef-​wrapped asparagus) was amazing. Although she loved her dinner entrée, my mom is convinced that if she ever finds herself in Traverse City again, she will make a point of coming back here and getting that as her dinner. The server convinced us to also try the bacon-​wrapped shrimp, which were also delicious, although they could have been cooked a minute less.
The main course was phenomenal. I had the walleye, and at my request, the server substituted a delicious garlic spinach side for the asparagus (since we had already tasted the asparagus with the appetizer). Their walleye was breathtakingly amazing. My companions had the lake perch, and two of them had the goat cheese and spinach crusted chicken. The lake perch was so smooth it was almost like butter. The chicken was tender and delicious, with complex flavors hard to find in the Midwest.
Our server was also part of the reason this is a five star review. He was funny, interesting, and helpful with offering recommendations. A solid server turns a three star experience into a five star experience, and this gentleman was no exception. I only wish we had room for dessert.
Anyone coming from out of town should check out Harrington’s. The food was among the best meals I’ve had in the past five years, the view was spectacular, and the service was impeccable. This is one well-​managed restaurant and deserves your every bit of attention.