Marek's Harbor Grill — Restaurant in Charlevoix

Let me get this straight. Firstly, the staff was exceptional. Very friendly, constantly filling up water glasses, definitely nice folks. Now then, it was SO incredibly loud, we had to practically scream at the waitress for her to hear what we said. It was loud from all the conversations, mixed with the live music upstairs, and the cheering and clapping from the folks upstairs. So, not near as welcoming as we would’ve hoped. The food seemed exciting, however it DEFINITELY did not qualify for the bill we received. We got to appetizers, the crab cake and the Brussels sprouts. The crab cake was excellent, but it definitely needed the béarnaise sauce. It wasn’t seasoned at all otherwise. Additionally for my wife and I, it seemed a decent appetizer, but for the price we would probably have recommended a few smaller crab cakes than one medium one. Something more shareable and enjoyable for the cake itself. The Brussels sprouts were infinitely worse. The were burnt to Hell for starters, and placed in a bowl with barely any bacon, and the bacon juices and honey slipped off of them and piled into the bottom. Additionally there were green onions on top which did nothing for them, actually seemed rather bizarre. Needed more bacon and to be served on a platter so you can actually taste the honey and bacon WITH the Brussels sprouts. After the appetizers, and with that atmosphere we were both just ready to get out of there. Certainly a tourist trap for gullible tourists with no...

So... My parents live in Petoskey. I Grew up in Royal Oak. And I currently live in Arizona. I come home to northwestern MI every year for the past 25 years.

Service every is mediocre.

Food everywhere is average.

That being said. We have realistic expectations.

But this place is super expensive for what you get. Lobster bisque was not hot. Ceaser was so-so. The expensive $30 bone marrow or whatever the priciest burger is was just a burger. An IN N OUT $3 burger is far superior. I don't ever remember what the wife got. The guy (middle aged dude at the hostess counter) was oblivious. We were the first table of the evening. The blonde waitress was OK. But clearly not doing anything more than getting her shift over with. I don't know what's going on in these tourist towns. But it seems as if they hate money.... Its really weird. We run a restraunt. And a car dealership. We can't make mistakes in our market. But these folks are just running blind and charging 5 star prices. I'm not mad. I'm sad that people don't care anymore. I'll gladly fix this place for you. It could be amazing. And it's am easy solution. Just my long...

Three of us had a wonderful time at this restaurant. Having no experience with restaurants in Charlevoix, we walked around to find a nice place to celebrate our son's birthday. The restaurant was not busy, so volume was not an issue as another reviewer had mentioned. We were greeted and seated promptly at the front window, and served immediately. The view very nice with lights in the nearby tree and the harbor across the street. Son had the prime rib with walleye special with yummy sides. Husband had the chicken marsala, and I the walleye. Son was very pleased; prime rib cooked to perfection! Husband wasn't in love with his entree: It was prepared differently than a traditional marsala -- served in a bowl with noodles and chunks of chicken but not enough for his liking. My walleye was amazing! A large piece of walleye very lightly breaded, served "vertically" with mashed potatoes and whole cooked carrots. A super nice evening with great service. Recommend! If you appreciate this post, please...