Big Bear Lodge — Restaurant in Brownstown Charter Township

My husband and I waited 30 minutes for a table on a Saturday night, which wasn't completely bad. We were seated and ordered drinks and an appetizer with in a few minutes of sitting down. We were served our drinks and appetizer quickly, along with my salad. We did not have any silverware though... We waited and waited for our server. We asked her for silverware and then we waited more. She attended to the table next to us three times without bringing us silverware or stopping at our table. It took FORTY MINUTES for us to receive silverware from the time we were seated. My husband and I stared at our food for 30 minutes. My husband had also asked for another beer when the appetizer was served and was without a drink for 30 minutes. We finally received silverware after asking again. We asked again for my husbands beer and he received that also, very quickly because the beer had been sitting at the bar and was not even cold. As if things could not get any worse; when our dinners arrived my husband's hamburger was overcooked and my parmesan crusted chicken was overcooked as well. The parmesan was pretty well done and basically burnt. I ate about a quarter of my dinner and then gave up because it was basically horrible. We waited even longer for our checks. We put money in check out book and I told my husband we should leave. He said we should wait and give our server the money. She stopped at our neighboring table again and then left without asking if we wanted change or boxes. At this point I said "Let's just leave because I don't want to waste any more time waiting around for this server!" We were seriously very disappointed and we will NEVER return to this restaurant or recommend anyone...

The last couple times the food has been second rate. I ordered a medium well Jack Daniels steak that came rare. When I asked if they could put it back on the grill for a medium well, they brought it back out, exactly the same, with hot fries on the plate. There was a man that came out with the waitress looking incredibly irritated and he asked me to check it. I was a little shocked that it was still rare. Being a little intimidated with his body language, I said it was fine and figured I would just re-cook it at home. Another problem was that they had taken it off my original plate so there was no Jack Daniels sause left on the plate! I love that sauce! I asked our waitress for more sauce and she went to the cook to ask and came back out to say the cook wouldn't do it without us being charged extra for it. Our waitress was sweet and wonderful but the food coming out of that kitchen is inconsistent and undependable when it comes to how you want it.

The last time we were there a couple months ago, our waitress was abrupt and a little short with us, like she had somewhere else to be. My husband and I both ordered the same Jack Daniels meal. He got 5 shrimp on his plate, I had 2. The service at this restaurant is deteriorating every time we are there.

We go there every few months because this place has hands-down, some of the best baked onion soup we have ever had! If it weren't for that soup, I'd give up completely. Don't know what has changed with the management of this place over the last 6 or 9 months, but they are no longer there to give you an excellent customer experience. By the way, I gave them 2 stars because our waitress this time was incredibly sweet. Otherwise, they...

To start, we had a 20 minute wait for a party of 3 on a Wednesday. 2 other parties were waiting as well. We were told “we recommend reservations.” There were several empty tables so I’m assuming short staffed. We had $20 in gift certificates that were expired by 6 months. The manager refused to honor them. My husband asked for any substitution for cole slaw and the manager refused that request. We placed our beverage, appetizer and meal order at the same time. I ordered soup and was offered for it to be served with entrees and I said yes. My soup arrived before any beverages including water. The appetizer arrived without plates- everyone had to eat from the community plate. I was nearly done with my soup when bread finally arrived. And lastly, a burger had pickles on it which wasn’t listed on the menu so even though they were picked off, the pickle taste was still present. Normally, I’d excuse an “off” night if a restaurant is usually good. We’ve dined here several times over the last 2 years and we all agree that the experience is progressively getting worse. The food isn’t as good and neither is the service. Our server was nice enough, just not great. And as for the manager…. Our entire family is in the customer service industry. We all know a little graciousness goes a long way. Substitute the cole slaw and add an up charge- we’d have paid it. You didn’t even offer, you gave a flat “no”. You could’ve met us half way with the expired gift certificates- honored $10 off instead of $20. Or offered a free dessert instead. Something. Anything to make us feel welcomed. Your lack of warmth and customer service cost you our future business. We...