Gus's Carry Out — Restaurant in Hartland Township

Had never heard of it before, but I was very glad I decided to try it as I was passing through Hartland. Great waitstaff and food. They have a good variety of foods (summed up well in their description) and really good prices. Especially if you get one of their dinner deals.

We had their 1/4 chicken and fried chicken dinner deals and each could have just about fed two people. You also get to try several of their options this way.

The 1/4 chicken was covered in BBQ sauce that was light but delicious. Not rich or spicy, just good. Also has a lemon pepper option. Came with a good sized Greek salad, which was also good, especially the dressing. Also come with pasta, you might be able to substitute for one of their others, but the default is mostaccioli. The noodles were al dente and tomato sauce was fresh and together it was so good.

The fried chicken meal comes with a leg, thigh, wing, and breast. They have two types of breading it seems: a richer, crunchy breading and a smoother, lighter breading. Both had good flavoring and texture. The chicken was moist and dripping. It came with two sides; I chose the roasted potatoes, which was delicious seasoned potato wedges, and their coleslaw, which was creamy, sweet-ish, fresh, and good too.

Both came with bread which I had read on other reviews was very good. It is very good, fairly dense, and buttery. A half bag is six sticks and a full bad is twelve. The meal deals come with four breadsticks. I couldn't even eat my whole meal. A little less than half (except for the coleslaw) or the fried chicken meal is shown in my the picture.

If I lived closer to it, I would definitely come back. They cater and when I was there, many people came to pick up the catered food. I would definitely consider them too. I don't think the waitstaff serves the food, but they were super friendly and attentive. The young lady even went out and opened an umbrella at the outdoor tables for us to eat at.

I highly recommend...

We’ve been ordering Gus’ for years for small family parties but I think last night will be our last time. We’ve had small issues here and there through the years (most often missing items that were purchased - so check your orders!) but last night’s quality left a lot to be desired. We ordered two 3# pans of mostaccioli, a medium chef’s salad, two bags of breadsticks, and a 16pc lemon pepper seasoned chicken. In total our order was $130. The chicken was absolutely awful - dry, lacking flavor, and the pieces were so small. The drumstick had literally one small forkful of meat on it (barely even a bite). The breast was so tough and lacked flavor altogether. A few of us tried the chicken and we ended up just throwing it all away. Literally threw $33+ in the trash. The breadsticks were smaller than we remember and a little tougher than usual, but good flavor nonetheless. The mostaccioli was as expected, has always been a crowd favorite here. The chef’s salad was big and fresh and the ranch was tasty as always. We might consider a small weeknight meal here with mostaccioli again, but honestly, I won’t rely on Gus’ for a special event again. The prices have gone up and the food quality is mid. I also ordered it online through Toast to be picked up at 5:30pm. It was not ready on time and we...

Placed a carryout order on 09/18 around 6:00pm. Called ahead to order a slab of ribs, bread sticks and 2 cheese dips. They said 20 minutes, I said 30 minutes just in case there were issues with traffic. Arrived in 25 minutes and waited outside for 5 minutes.

Swiped my card and the cashier flipped the tablet for my signature. I was presented with the option to leave a tip of 25%, 20%, 18% or "Other" on a different screen (I left 20%). I got home less than 10 minutes later to find that the ribs were ice cold and I only had 1 cheese dip even though I was charged for 2. This was not the 1st time that the food has been below standard or the service lackluster.

I have been a patron of the Nicholas family restaurants since the original Mitch's across from Cass Lake.

It's sad, but because of poor food / service numerous times, I'm going to stop leaving tips for carryout. Short of unpacking my order there in the restaurant, there's no way of knowing if everything is there or if the...