The Cottage — Restaurant in Traverse City

From a tourist's perspective:

Dining at "The Cottage" was an experience that combined cozy ambiance with comfort food that mostly hit the mark. Upon entry, the inviting atmosphere, friendly staff, and good seating options promised a delightful meal. And in many ways, that promise was fulfilled.

However, the service experienced during the meal had its ups and downs. Initially, during the appetizer, the service was attentive and non-disturbing, albeit slightly slow to return, even in a less busy setting. This pattern continued into the main course, where after the food was dropped off, the server never returned to check in. This led to a significant delay in getting something as basic as napkins, which were needed from the start and only arrived halfway through the main course.

The menu, while offering a great selection of comfort food, could benefit from a bit of organization. Its current presentation feels somewhat disorganized and could use an update to enhance the dining experience.

On a brighter note, the food itself was a highlight of the visit. The Loaded Baked Potato soup, a personal favorite comfort food for me, was served with a professional flair and perfectly cooked potatoes, despite the potatoes being slightly larger than ideal. My main course, their Bacon Cheeseburger with hand-cut French fries, was cooked exactly to request and presented perfectly. The cheese melted just right, the bacon cooked to perfection, and the burger seasoned impeccably made each bite a delight. The fries stood out for their taste, requiring no additional sauce to enjoy.

The charming touch of beverages served in a mason jar added to the meal's rustic feel, underlining The Cottage's appeal as a destination for comfort food in a cozy setting.

Overall, "The Cottage" presents a lovely dining atmosphere with exceptional comfort food. Despite the need for improvements in service responsiveness and menu organization, the quality of the meals offers a strong incentive for a return visit.

Waitress's name: Jazzlynn (from receipt)

TL;DR: If you love comfort food served in a welcoming environment, don't miss out on this gem. Just remember to be a bit patient with the service, and you're in...

We were looking for something different to experience on our last visit to Traverse City. So we Googled restaurants in the area and after reading the reviews, we chose to visit The Cottage.

Based on our experience, The Cottage is a must visit restaurant for guests who appreciate quality and the fine details of food and service. Growing up in the 70s, we found the background music a perfect compliment. Unfortunately it is not very common to find this caliber of food and service at many restaurants in the present day regardless of how much one spends. So we found The Cottage charming and refreshing. Finer dining on a reasonable budget!

We stopped in twice over the course of our stay in Traverse City once for dinner and once for breakfast. The food is definitely made from scratch and worth every penny! Both hostesses and servers were very personable and attentive. Taking pride in their work definitely showed. Kudos for a job well done to all of the staff!

The Cottage is definitely on our list of restaurants to visit again in the future! We highly recommend The Cottage for guests who appreciate the quality and details...

So we came here with a party of nine after a Wounded Warrior Project event. The service was extremely slow and very rude. My girlfriend and I got sick and so did my friend and his wife. Pretty sure they gave us all food poisoning. There is no free refills unless it’s just water. I ended up spending about $25 on refills without them telling me that refills were not free. My friend spent the entire night puking while I spent the entire night on the toilet. I came here because of good reviews but I wouldn’t listen to any of them. The wait staff was extremely rude. The food literally gave us all food poisoning. And I spent about $25 getting Coke refills that weren’t even refills.

There is literally nothing the staff or owner could offer at this point for any of us to come back. Blows my mind that I can tell you that we are literally disabled war veterans and then treat us with such disrespect and then literally give at least four of the nine people...