Oconto Dockside — Restaurant in Oconto

We ate here for dinner one evening during a trip, and both my husband and I agreed of all the places we visited, including some $50 a plate restaurants in Green Bay and Door County, this was the best meal and experience we had in Wisconsin. Here are a few of the things that stood out for us:

1.) They went out of their way to accommodate our family with their "cook your catch" option late on the evening we visited. Their service was uncommonly good. We had contact from the chef, the manager, and two waitresses. They were warm, and caring and made you feel right at home. Their food was something special. Soups were homemade and hearty - we both agreed they were the best we'd ever had at a restaurant. Salad was hand-cut everything, beautiful and flavorful and the presentation of our main meal was an absolute joy. Deborah, their chef, has culinary skills beyond that of a common cook, to be sure. 3.) Their prices are frankly disproportionally low compared to the level of skill and service they provide, their portions and the quality. We had drinks, an appetizer a custom-cooked meal and our bill was incredibly reasonable. This is even more so true in an area where it seems that any restaurant that can even claim one table that has a glint of the great lakes seems to charge "waterside" prices. (Any by the way, they have a legitimately lovely view of the lake both inside and out, just a few yards away.) 4.) The atmosphere was very enjoyable. They have an understated lake theme that is very streamlined and put-together. It nods to their niche of being lakeside, without feeling at all "kitshey". We noticed they light candles in the evening to add to the ambiance as well. It is the best kind of place: you can come as you are fresh from fishing and feel completely comfortable, but if you wanted to make a special evening of it, you absolutely could dress up and not feel out of place either.

The food is sure to bowl you over if the service and atmosphere haven't already, and I can't envision a scenario where one would come away disappointed. My only regret in the whole affair is that we don't live closer so that Dockside Oconto can become our...

just want to start this by saying: the one time i visited dockside the food was great. good atmosphere and everything yada yada. the only issues i have are 1) they charge you a DOLLAR for ICE in a drink. which i think is a bit extra but whatever lol. and 2) my mother was in there and she has celiacs. (for those of you who don’t know, it is an allergy to gluten. (wheat, barley, malt etc.)) and has asked a c o o k if one of their soups was safe for her to eat. meaning it’s gluten free. the c o o k said it was so of course my mother then proceeded to order it and eat it. well when she had left she immediately starting feeling extremely sick and was in so much pain and so miserable. meaning that the soup was in fact NOT gluten free and therefore not safe for her to eat. and i would just like to say, i would think that a cook at the establishment would know what is going into the food weather or not it is gluten. speaking for myself and a lot of other people it would be appreciated if they were educated on what exactly gluten is. not saying the cook doesn’t know what it is but i just mean people in general. for an example say my mother happened to have a more severe case of celiac disease. this small mistake very well could have taken her life. and i would hope and pray that this would never happen to anyone else. please be more aware and check ingredients if need be to keep your consumers happy and heathy. luckily my mothers case isn’t as bad as some others but in any case it needs to be recognized. and in no way am i trying to shame this cook but this could’ve taken a very very bad turn and thankfully it didn’t. i hope in the future the person/people of this establishment are more aware and are giving people the correct information about what is in their dishes so people like my mother don’t have to endure this...

We had a reservation for 14 people and Deborah pointed to our tables outside which were set for 10 people. I asked a neighbor table that had 2 open chairs if we could use them. They smiled and said of course. When I brought the chairs back to the table (which we were still missing 2 spots) Deborah came darting at me telling me I had to leave. I asked why? She indicated I could not walk around outside without a mask (again never was informed of outside mask rule). I was dumbfounded at this statement as was our entire group. We have an 80 and 82 year old with us and she was very loudly saying we were kicked out and we ALL had to leave. I indicated that her review wasn't going to be good and she said "I don't care, leave". When I addressed the issue on the businesses website I was told by Raoul Zerbe that we were a problem from the beginning. "Changing our reservation from 4 to 10 and then to 14". Well I'm pretty sure the industry Dockside is in is to make money and stay in business. Why would increasing the number of people be a problem?? As I'm putting this review here I also put my thoughts on Facebook. Raoul Zerbe decided to verbally fight with my comments and others that weighted in on our experience. He also tried to say that they 80 and 82 year old grandparents weren't kicked out, just everyone else. To wrap up my review I will add that this is my second time to Dockside. The 1st time the food was not good. Burger ordered Medium Well came out bloody and could not be eaten. Grinder sandwich that myself and another ordered was poor. I hate to write a bad review but unfortunately the way we were treated by this establishment...