Port Clinton Hotel — Restaurant in Port Clinton

Since new ownership this place is honestly a joke which is really disappointing to say. Port Clinton always had a special place in my heart since I was a kid. My family and I used to go there pretty often and the food for YEARS was always on point as well as the service. Whoever took over now (as of beginning of 2024) could clearly care less about what their customers have to say in regards to service and food. I stated on their Facebook page my concerns regarding the food we ordered out for my birthday. We ordered a chicken cheesesteak, a buffalo chicken cheesesteak and a cheeseburger. We asked for lettuce, ketchup on the burger and received a plain burger, the chicken on the cheesesteak was exactly like the chicken you can buy at Walmart in the bag pre cooked that you can heat in a microwave, it was slimy and we both ended up throwing our cheesesteaks out afraid we’d get sick from them. My boyfriends buffalo chicken cheesesteak had a drizzle of buffalo sauce on it on top of the slimy chicken. Really just an all around horrible and gross experience. Then to top it off after mentioning it on their fb page- I was blocked by Port Clinton hotel. Class act move instead of just taking the constructive criticism and maybe try doing a better job since your customers are who keep you...

While thru-hiking my dad and I decided to stop for lunch at the Port Clinton hotel. The portions were large, but the burger and hiker nachos were lacking in flavor. There were more canned mushrooms on our hiker nachos than there was cheese (Who puts cold canned mushrooms on nachos anyways?) despite this we were happy to have a decent meal.

However, we were taken aback by the way our waitress had been treating us. The older woman with short hair (our waitress) was incredibly stand-offish and abrasive with the way she treated us as hikers. We tried to be extra polite and patient as we knew we were a little sweaty having come off the trail, but she very rude in the way she interacted with us compared to other guests.

I imagine a lot of hikers come here because of its proximity to the trail. The restaurant at Port Clinton Hotel even totes this based on the names of some dishes (ie, hiker burger, hiker nachos, Appalachian trail sandwich) but maybe they shouldn’t if they’re going to treat hikers rudely compared to other guests.

I would, however, like to note that the male bartender however was incredibly kind, accommodating and professional. I wish we had eaten at the bar so we wouldn’t have been made to feel like...

Put simply, the food is hit or miss. We ordered the special clam strips and they came out burnt. My wife ordered the 8oz "rib eye" and it was easily the worst steak we have ever seen or tasted. They obviously use the cheapest steaks and suppliers they can get. The hotel basket of french fries is extremely good (the only reason they did not get a one star on food from me) and the steak sandwiches are decent. The reviews about portion sizes are accurate -- except for the aforementioned "rib eye" -- they do serve large portions. Stick to the sandwiches/burgers and the fries and you will not be disappointed. Order anything else at your own risk. Our waitress was awesome though -- friendly and attentive. A word to the owner/manager: there was no excuse for the burnt clam strips. The short order cook simply forgot about them and left them in the fryer too long -- the right thing to do in that case was to NOT serve them to the customer. Rather, take the hit, throw them out, and prepare another order. Finally, the steaks are pathetic. You will not be in business for long if you continue with that...