Mode's Bum Steer — Restaurant in Traverse City

After coming here with my parents and friends, and bragging about this place to my friends visiting with us from Toronto this past week, we decided to dine at Mode's on our last night in TC with the families.

First: The Ambiance (5/5 Stars)

One of the reasons we loved this place. It was a clean throwback "divey" feel that wasn't pretentious, but rather comfortable. We enjoyed ourselves and felt this should be on a Food Network episode based on the atmosphere alone.

Second: The Service (4/5 Stars)

Service was good and server was attentive to our needs for the most part (will get to the 'most part' later). They do not take reservations, so we had to wait a couple of minutes for them to put enough tables together upon our arrival. This was not a huge deal but we were standing 8-deep in an otherwise small doorway with other guests waiting behind us. They are also not super child friendly due to the fact there's no child/booster seats available and posted a sign ensuring that everyone knew this before walking in. Our kids were a bit bigger so this was a non-issue for us but worth noting for other visitors. We brought a bottle of wine and were charged a $25 corking fee. Again, no problem but maybe a little steep for the type of place we're dining in.

Third: Everything but the Steak & Rice (5/5 Stars)

Everything from the appetizers to the blue cheese wedge salad and the homemade cherry cheesecake (the star of the show) was excellent and would come back just for those.

Fourth: The Steak & Rice (3/5 Stars)

I really wanted to give this a 4 or 5 star review but the main event (the steak) fell short - not in terms of quality or preparation - but zero seasoning, which can entirely ruin a steak experience. All of us were left wanting more in terms of taste. Charcoal itself is not flavouring and that's all we could taste. Basic salt, pepper, garlic, and possibly finishing with flake salt, rosemary, butter, etc. would have elevated the steak to 5 stars easily. I even mentioned to our server "do you have a house steak seasoning" to which she replied in the negative without recommending a steak sauce or something to fix the flavour. She left it at that, but should have prompted further discussion on the steak. The rice pilaf was also not seasoned at all for any of us.

In conclusion, we felt the experience was a little pricey for the overall experience. The lack of seasoning for the most expensive part of the meal ($180ish), will likely prompt us to try a new place next time. The person prepping the steak that night could be a liability if not corrected sooner than later. This is a slow time of year so hopefully Mode's will have everything in order come peak season (pun intended).

3 stars. Season your steak and rice and you'll be...

Well I’m extremely disappointed, came in for dinner on Valentine’s Day! I have never eaten at modes before and have always heard great things and a great steak sounded fantastic. Upon walking in the door to the establishment it was 11 pm on Friday (which hours state closing is 1am), instead of being greeted with a smile and made to feel welcome we were treated with eyes rolling and sighing, I have worked food and beverage for many many years and I completely understand having a long shift and wanting to go home, but this establishment is open for another two hours and we were made to feel like it was an inconvenience for us to be there. Ok let’s move on the same girl who sat us is now our waitress, and again we felt like us being there inconvenient to her! She never even gave us her name, with short rude responses to our questions! Both my spouse and I ordered the 12 oz prime rib dinners both Med-rare With salad bar, we started with the salad bar and cokes, my boyfriend’s drink was empty and our empty dirty salad plates sat there as she walked passed multiple times not once asking if we were ok or needed anything, when the steaks came out they were rare, I waited a few minutes to try and get our waitresses attention To have it sent back and she was no where to be seen, my steak was supposed to be a 12oz steak and over half of it was fat that was left on my plate, and there was Little no flavor to the steak had I not been so hungry from working all day I wouldn’t have even eaten what little food I did after tasting it. To top all of it off our waitress never even asked how we were doing or if we needed anything else until we were ready to cash out! Needless to say I was extremely disappointed especially Because I was looking forward to a good steak. I hope for your sake it was just a fluke and everyone was having a rough long shift, and hope that the service and food is better than what we experienced tonight!! I can’t we...

We had heard great things and had high expectations. The atmosphere is more like an old run down bar than a nice restaurant. Usually that in itself doesn't bother me, as long as the service and food are good. Unfortunately, the food was mediocre and the service was terrible. I ordered my steak medium well and it came very well done. Our waitress was rude, and even aggresively pushed me back from the table to set my plate down like I was a child. She gave my husband the wrong beer, and when he tried to tell her, she snatched it out of his hand before he could finish telling her. These were just a few things that made our experience a disappointing one. She never checked on us and despite trying to get her attention for our bill, she kept ignoring us and we had to wait a ridiculously long time for her to bring it. If that was all, it would be bad enough, but we overheard her being rude to several other diners. There is really not anywhere to stand if you are waiting for a table except in the vestibule. A gentleman was standing in the restaurant asking for a table and our waitress very loudly and repeatedly kept telling him to back up and get out, even though another waitress was standing in the doorway and he could not get by her. It was very berating and awkward for him and everyone watching. I could go into so much more detail but honestly, I think I've said enough. I can say for certain that I will not go back or...