Mackinac Grille & Patio Bar — Restaurant in Saint Ignace

One star is not low enough...Our first experience at this restaurant just a few days prior was great, so we decided to go back for a late lunch. Unfortunately this experience was so awful, that we will never be back. It is important to note the restaurant was not busy at the time of our visit. We were the only guest waiting to be seated when we arrived. The host was incredibly rude upon arrival, no "hi" or welcoming gesture. This should have been our sign, but I get it, not everyone is Suzy Sunshine so we just let it go. Since it was a nice afternoon we asked for a patio table and we received a huffy attitude that only inside tables were available. We accepted the inside table and followed the host. When we walked towards the inside table we could see the patio and only a few tables actually had guest seated at them, the others were dirty with no one seeming to care if they cleaned or not. We told the host we would be happy to wait for a table to be cleaned on the patio instead. This seemed to annoy the host even more and she snapped saying "well your just going to have to wait then." We returned to the host stand, still the only guest waiting to be seated. The host trudged off to get one on the dirty patio tables cleaned. After a few minutes we were seated on the patio, 15 to 20 minutes went by without a single attempt to acknowledge our presence. There were 3 servers working the patio, with each server only having one table at the time. They each walked by multiple times, no eye contact, no "I'll be with you in a moment, nothing.... after a few more minutes of waiting we decided to just leave. We mentioned to the young lady who appeared to be responsible for bussing tables that we were leaving and she said we should say something to the manager at the bar and escorted us there. The manager seemed to care less, not even a simple I am sorry for your experience or let me get someone to help you. Upon exiting past the host stand, the host mumbled a snide remark to us. She was by far was the most negative, unhappy, miserable person I have ever encountered at a restaurant, especially a host!

Having worked in the restaurant industry for years I understand how tough the job can be, but common courtesy and simple acknowledgement goes a long way with people. Being disrespectful, spiteful and ignoring customers is simply not acceptable under any circumstances.

We proceeded to another nearby restaurant, MI Patio, and had a wonderful meal with...

We visited on a Saturday. My family saw they opened at 11am and headed a few minutes after 11am. When we walked in, the two girls appeared annoyed we had come in. I quickly double checked my phone to make sure I wasn’t wrong with the time and it was 11:04am. One girl turned and went into the kitchen. I thought maybe neither one was a hostess as at this point we had not been greeted in any way and she was getting someone else. After a few seconds, the other girl seated us. While going to our table, I noticed we were their first customers. After seating us, she said someone would be with us shortly. A few minutes later, a couple was seated at a table next to us. Within a couple minutes they were waited on and clearly were regulars. We still had not been waited on. While we waited, my wife and I noticed among all the decor on the walls, a couple of signs that said “If it’s tourist season, can we shoot them.” Finally a waitress came over to get our drink order. Clearly she had just gotten to work since she was still trying to get her stuff together. While she got our drinks, the lady at the table next to us asked if we were from the area. Said no, we are from WI. She then asks if we swear. We didn’t know where this was going. She then informed us she likes to be loud and swear. We just ignored her at this point. Made us feel very uncomfortable being there. While we ordered, our waitress kept getting confused when we ordered something that said “Mackinac” instead of “Mackinaw”. She made a comment that she didn’t think they had anything on the menu with that name and we had to point to what we were talking about. Right after we ordered our food, that other table was already being served their food. Kind of crazy considering they arrived after us, but got waited on first. My wife Googled how to say Mackinac and learned the proper way is Mackinaw even though it ends with a “c”. Sorry waitress, we are not from there and did not know. Our food finally came. My wife and daughter liked their meals. My burger was overcooked and dry.

All in all, if you’re from the area, the place is great. But if you’re a tourist, probably be best to stay away. They clearly do not want tourists. I know we will...

In fairness, this place was absolutely slammed when I got there, or so it seemed. They had even run out of pagers to give to waiting guests. We managed to grab bar seats while we waited. Out of Oberon, my companion eventually got a beer. The wait was significant for my martini. (About 20 minutes). Since the bartender shook it, I was not surprised when my request of "extra wet" went ignored. Ten minutes later we asked for food menus to order at the bar, and it took another half hour for ordering our apps to arrive. At this point we are an hour into our wait when a table opened up, it's about 8 pm and the rush is over.

Everything that happens after I suspect is down to either understaffing, poor training or just bad management at the establishment.

We were seated next to a party of three who ordered as we sat down. Long waits to get menus, place orders, and then the long waterless wait for food. We watched patrons finish and leave all around us and the outside became dark. When our food did arrive it was good, but the walleye my companion ordered came out as perch. No explanation. By that time we were so hungry that we just ate, but uncomfortably we had noticed the three-top next to us still had No food.

My companion had hoped for ketchup for the fries, but we ate our whole meals before we saw any waitstaff.

We finished and paid and were leaving the nearly empty restaurant when our neighbors finally were served.

I would encourage this establishment to work on service training for the staff and to buff up...