The Den Restaurant — Restaurant in Houghton

Exquisite food and service! I saw a billboard on the way to Houghton advertising The Den in downtown area. I wasn’t expecting such a fine dining experience in a laid back atmosphere. Our server, Stephanie, arrived promptly with water served in a retro swing top glass bottle. Kind of a fun little detail! She informed us of the special of the evening and took our order for drinks. We had only appetizers because we couldn’t decide on just one with an entree. The potato pancakes were nothing like I expected. They were so incredible, I think I could’ve eaten just those! We also sampled the Pepper Steak Bites, Spinach & Artichoke Dip and the Beet Hummus. The steak was tender and the subtle flavors of the parsnip oil and orange were wonderful! The Spinach & Artichoke dip had baby spinach leaves blended with chunks of artichoke which provided again layers of flavor. The grilled bread it was served with needed a little something...The Beet Hummus was good but I felt their homemade chips overwhelmed it. When we dipped the grilled bread with the hummus, the flavor of the beets really jumped out. Likewise with the homemade chips in the Spinach & Artichoke dip... Incredible! I highly recommend ordering both of these and switching them up a little! There’s a bar with real wine (not the little single serve bottles that pass for wine selections in some bars) from France, Italy and California. The wine was a wee bit warm as was the entire restaurant this particular evening but our fabulous server Stephanie informed us the air conditioning had decided to give the restaurant a bit of grief... No worries, right? It’s August... it’ll be snowing in 2 months. The whole dining experience was amazing! I know for sure that we’ll be returning! The next time you’re in Houghton, give this place a try! I believe the only regrets you’ll have is not...

We went in to The Den without a reservation, since it was a rainy Monday. There seemed to be two servers and no hostess around. We waited to be seated but were not even acknowledged for a very long time. One of the servers did come by and said that she would be with us shortly but then nothing while we kept waiting. Think after 10 or so minutes, the other server told us to follow her without any smile or intro. Nonetheless we finally got seated and were handed the short menu. The server was quick to take our order for drinks and food quick and served us pretty quick as well. Our cocktails of Dan Old Fashioned and Hougthon sour were good - balanced and chilled. For appetizer we ordered the forbidden Brussels which looked good on the menu but unfortunately wasn’t as good IRL. The sprouts were raw, the apple slices were sparse and the bleu cheese was a tad much. Fortunately our entrees came soon and they were good enough to make us forget about the Brussel sprouts. My Meatloaf was delicious along with the sides. My son enjoyed the Den burger with the tomato jam and my husband mentioned that the schnitzel was perfectly crispy, juicy and flavorful. My other kid had he cheese burger from the kids menu and she said it was fine, we munched on her side of fries which were actually good fries. We were very happy with the entrees and hence ended with a tuxedo cake that was very good. The service honestly, was sufficient barring the wait at the start of...

We were really looking forward to ending our long weekend trip eating a nice dinner here for our anniversary. Given the recent reviews of the place, we had a high hopes. Service- Server came to our table briefly to take orders, deliver food and then completely abandoned us. She never came back to see if we needed more beverages or anything else with the meal. They had three servers on staff, a half full restaurants and yet it seemed they were too busy to give any table attention. Atmosphere- Great aesthetic but terrible music that didn’t seem to fit the vibes. It’s a place that acts nicer than it actually is. Food- For the amount we paid, the quality did not match. The NY Strip was very fatty, under seasoned and not seared. The mashed potatoes were cold and not seasoned well. All asparagus that came with the meals was still raw. The salmon was over cooked, under seasoned and the rice that it was served on was still crunchy and very dry. Meat ravioli was likely homemade but rolled out way too thick and not fully cooked. It tasted like it came from a frozen package. The kids meal burger had a burnt bottom bun. To start we ordered the farmers plate which had some nice elements but only came with one cheese and three meats. The best part of the entire meal was the pickled red onions on the plate and the Brussel sprouts we ordered. Seems like the place has a lot of potential but not...