The Deck Down Under — Restaurant in Somerset Township

This place has been full the last couple of times, and, without reservations, you weren’t likely to be seated. Tonight, it was less busy, but we had reservations nonetheless. In past visits, the food has been good but not exemplary. Certainly not at the level one would expect for a chef-owned place that has the traffic this place seems to enjoy. In the past, I’ve had their Florida Blue Steak Special, which is basically a steak alongside a salad. The steak and salad were good. The balsamic blue cheese vinaigrette was very good. I’ve also had their crab cake dinner which was good again, but a bit of a letdown from the hype. We’ve had their pizza as takeout, which was VERY good and reminded me of a great pizzeria from my youth (Lona’s at Ford and Beech in Dearborn Heights. Long gone and deeply missed!). Tonight, I had their bluegill platter which tasted oddly more like tilapia than bluegill, and my wife had the fried cod platter which she said was overly salty. The fries on both plates were overcooked. The coleslaw here remains one of my favorites. Oh - and the Vernor’s ain’t Vernor’s nor even a halfway decent well ginger ale - won’t be ordering that again! (Normally, I’d have a beer, but I gave that up for Lent…)

Staff is friendly, fairly efficient, and attentive. Prices on some items seems a bit higher than they deserve, but not bad overall.

Still one of the best places in the area - but, again: there are so few. Not a destination, but a decent place for a...

As someone who is plant-based, it's difficult to find a restaurant in Hillsdale / Lenewee / Branch county that serves vegetarian or vegan options. Deck used to carry a Boca burger, which shamefully was never on their menu, you just always had to ask if they had any in the freezer. Then one of my last visits, was informed that they would be bringing in either the Impossible Burger or Beyond Burger... but check back. SO... back I check... only to be informed that there would be a $5 up charge for the meatless option. So... let me get this straight. You're TAKING AWAY the meat from the other burger, still charging me menu price and then ADDING FIVE DOLLARS MORE for the meatless option?? Um. No. There is no way on the face of this earth that I'm going to pay $15.49 for a vegan friendly burger...are you out of your mind?????? I can buy 3 packs of them in the store for that much and STILL save money! And I know, it's about the experience of going out... but it feels more like being accosted than having fun. And since the Impossible burger is the only menu option there for someone who doesn't eat meat (I'm sorry... there are french fries and coleslaw) there really is no need to ever go back. Feels kind of like you're paying up front for the renovations that they made on the building. But...

Good selection of seafood at fairly good prices. That isn't what makes the place shine. It's a down home atmosphere with friendly yet prompt service along with locally sourced foods when possible. The salads were fresh, the appetizers were wonderful. We had Calimari and the Coconut shrimp. With the Cocinut shrimp there is a neat preserve they serve as the sauce. I believe it was a pepper base but it paired well with the shrimp. I had a classic fish and chips for dinner. The cod was delicate and not filled with oil as is a disappointing experience. Their hush puppies were fantastic and I also thoroughly enjoyed the unique twist on the Cole slaw. Dessert was creme brulee. I think the crust was a little overdone however the custard was pretty amazing. I had forgotten to eat lunch and left completely stuffed to the gills. You're getting what you pay for plus some. While I couldn't eat the whole menu I took a look. They have some tasty sounding lunches and there were things on the chef's specialties menu that sounded scrumptious. It was just a fish and chips type of night for me. Apparently the menu has been redone recently and I will be returning. Thank you for such a wonderful meal. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait to come back to try some...