Bar Harbor Supper Club — Restaurant in Lake Shore

We have been here twice and had terrible experiences both times (about a year apart). I really wanted to write the first bad review last year, but refrained from doing so until I gave them a second chance. Big mistake! On our first visit here, everything seemed pleasant enough until the main entrees came. The walleye was FULL of bones. It's normal to have a couple small little flexible bones in a walleye fillet, but this had excessive amounts of them, and many that were quite big. On about the third bite, one large one with roughly the length/rigidity of a sewing needle became impaled in the soft tissue of my throat. I couldn't speak or swallow. Our party of three told the server and manager we needed to leave to go to the emergency room. The server was more concerned with giving us the bill (complete with my nearly uneaten walleye on it!) than with the fact that I could barely breathe without excruciating pain. Once we got outside, my husband realized he could just barely see the top end of it, and went back in to ask if they had an emergency kit with tweezers. They said they did, but the young man who was evidently the manager on duty refused to give it to my husband until he promised them he wasn't a lawyer! My husband and BIL were able to carefully remove the bone, and a later doctor visit confirmed none of it was left behind and I was ok. I should have left the bad review right then and never returned (no concern was ever shown--not even an offer to comp the meal that caused the injury), but unfortunately I thought they were deserving of a second chance. Recently, we tried for Visit Number Two. Upon entering, we were immediately confronted with a female manager (Amy) loudly scolding an employee within earshot of customers for failing to remove extra place settings from a table. This same employee ended up showing us to a table. We waited over ten minutes with no one coming over to even greet our table. Eventually the manager herself returned to our table to bring water and take drink orders. She seemed quite annoyed that she had to lower herself to server duties, and made it clear to us she didn't want to be playing that role. By the time our drinks were ready, a server still hadn't come by, so Amy reluctantly took our food order as well. I asked her if it would be possible to substitute soup instead of the salad, if even for an upcharge. She literally flared her nostrils and snorted with derision while saying "umm, no, that is NOT allowed!" I have never been treated so rudely in a restaurant, let alone by a manager!. My friend actually said right as Amy left the table, "Holy cow, I can't believe she openly smirked at you like that, that's so unprofessional!!!". I felt like I was talking to an entitled teenager forced to take her first summer job, rather than a middle aged manager who should have learned better decades ago. Things didn't really improve from there. Amy returned a couple more times to bring bread and water, each time saying nothing and unceremoniously plopping down whatever she brought before huffing off. Towards the end of the meal, a younger lady who I'm guessing was originally supposed to be the server came over and assisted with service. She was actually very nice, but did seem overwhelmed with perhaps more tables than she was expecting. She is the reason for the one star on this review...otherwise it would be zero. With as many outstanding restaurants as there are in the Brainerd Lakes/Nisswa area, there's no reason to come here and suffer average food and well below average service. Twice was two more times than we...

I remember when Big Bar Harbor burned down oh so many years ago. The big stars that came to the place for dining, dancing and generally Tcausing trouble. Now that place was a JOINT that was HOPPING!! We have been regular visitors at Little Bar Harbor as it was known in the early days, and have seen it go through numerous changes. Some good, some not so good, and some we don't talk about. The current iteration is on the very good side. Except for the tables. At least on the side we were on. Long tables meant for sharing it seemed. I hadn't been there for a long time, since before the new owners and the new make over. My brother and his wife are now pretty regulars. The server knew what his drink order was. We all ordered drinks, (I had the Granddaddy Old Fashioned and it was quite tasty!!), my wife had the BH Cosmo, my brother had a Beefeater Gimlet, and the others ordered what they wanted. We ordered appetizers (Szechuan Green Beans and Calamari) and they were all quite good. I had never had Calamari before and I liked it. We ordered dinner while waiting for the apps. My daughter and I ordered the Prime Rib special, my wife had the Sea Bass, My brother had the walnut crusted Walleye, my niece ordered the Surf and Turf (Scallops and Steak) and my sister-in-law order 2 apps, the Crab Cake and the Caesar Salad. The rest of us ordered the Caesar Salad as well and 3 of us got it WITH anchovies, the rest were weaklings and didn't get the furry fish. Dinner arrived and the Prime Rib was excellent. Minimal fat to cut out, and very tender but full of flavor. The sea bass was also quite good. My brother had had the Walleye before and it measured up to previous versions while his wife's crab cake and Caesar salad were up to snuff as well. The Surf and Turf must have met with nieces expectations as when I glanced up from devouring my meal, hers was pretty well gone. Sadly, this will be my last time at Bar Harbor as my brother sold the cabin as his kids now live in Colorado and have no interest in taking over the upkeep of the cabin. But, we will always have the memories. 87 years worth!! Now it is time for a new family to take over and enjoy all that the...

We have eaten at Bar Harbor many times in the past, and have always left having a good experience.

However, this trip, was nothing but disappointment. First we ate here on Saturday during the classic boat show. We were seated promptly and given a truncated menu with short-order bar food as the only menu options. Okay, I get it, they want to turn tables and make money. My spouse thought his chicken sandwich was mediocre and my French dip (yes, served on Texas toast - who has ever heard of French dip on Texas toast?!). My French dip was a very small portion compare to the price of the food.

I ordered a lemonade which was served in a small plastic cup and never once refilled. My partner wanted a beer, but their limited tap selection precluded a choice and he stuck with lemon water.

My partner's tray was picked up when he was finished, but I eat slower. When I was done, we sat there forever waiting for our server to come back and take my tray and give us the bill. Finally, I pushed my tray to the edge of the table, and THREE (3) employees walked by, and not one of them stopped to take the tray or ask if we needed anything - you can see all 3 employees walking away from our table in the photos.

Since we have had great experiences here in the past, we thought to give it another try on Sunday night for a proper dinner. We showed up at 7:30 pm (nothing on their website indicated special hours for this day). We were told that we could not be seated because they decided to close early (they advertise they're open until 9 pm), the hostess stated that all of the staff were all tired and worn out from yesterday's boat show, thus, they were closing up early. Wish we would have known this earlier in the day so we could have made alternative dinner arrangements.

Never in my life have I heard of a place closing up early because the staff is tired. Everyone is tired ... you push through until the job is done!

Very disappointed this year...