Riverwalk Grill and Taproom

I’d hate to see how slow the service is when it’s busy. Came in for lunch, leaving an hour later. Pulled pork was cold and flavorless. This is my second try here and it will be awhile before I give the the three strikes your out review. Two stars because the view deserves a star.

We enjoyed all of our meal selections: seared tuna with pistachio crust was very good– maybe not as rare as I prefer but good nonetheless, others enjoyed their perch fish and chips, special menu item pretzel crusted perch, and pecan crusted chicken. All good. A few unique craft beer selections of Michigan breweries– first time for a coffee flavored blonde in Bean Flicker. Good! Casual atmosphere and a good crowd tonight.

Slowest service ever. Waited over 10 minutes to get seated even though the restaurant was empty. They were out of ¼ of the menu. It said there were happy hour specials all day, but apparently you had to sit at the bar to get. Over priced.

Loved that you can drive your boat to this restaurant and dock it right by the out door seating.
Even though it was a busy Friday night, we were seated quickly… and we didn’t have to wait long for our food.
The service was great. Our server (wish I knew her name) was hilarious!
We ordered lobster bisque (very good!) ribs (very good!) flat bread (very good!) pulled pork nachos (very good!) and fries (very good!)…it was all very, very good!!!

ABSOLUTELY AWFUL! Ordered the medallions Medium and came Well done. Ok, mistakes happen. Asked for a new one. Came back Rare. So I told the waitress and instead of saying «I’m sorry about that, what can I do to make it right?» She says «well they were trying not to overcook it for you» Then I ask for the manager and show her my bleeding meat and she says «can I get you something else?» NO! My entire party is done with their meal. «I’ll take it off your bill» DUH! I didn’t eat and you screwed it up. «I’d expect that and you don’t need to be condescending» didn’t include that part bc this review has now got really long. Bottom line: gorgeous view, terrible service and horrible management. Also, when I stated that you’d think the kitchen would know how to cook meat the manager tells me two cooks died in a car accident last night and they’re doing the best they can. Felt awful. It was totally inappropriate to say that to me as the customer and try to make me feel bad. Yes, it made me super uncomfortable and my heart went out to those people. But at the same point, was that really necessary to say??!

Spending the weekend with friends and was really excited to take our friend to dinner for her birthday. Upon arriving we were informed that they were understaffed… we decided to sit at the bar and possibly wait for a table outside. After 30 mins we decided to order an appetizer at the bar, 45 mins later we had still not received our appetizer and were told that two cooks called in and no manager was on duty! How is this possible? What poor management if your restaurant is struggling and you don’t show up to help. People were walking out, no food was coming out of the kitchen. The waitstaff was overwhelmed the bartender had no choice but to comp drinks. The bartender was awesome and should become your manager because clearly no one else is doing the job. The restaurant was closed by 9:30 when we drove back by after leaving to eat somewhere else. Figure it out peeps, you have a gold mine if you take care of your business.

This place is awful. The service is terrible and the waitstaff has excuses for everything. Not to mention the servers are always on their phones. Never going back.

Food was good. View is lovely. Service is okay. Celebrated a big birthday with a large group. Was surprised the birthday girl was charged for cake. No candle, no hullabaloo. Was disappointed.

We just had dinner here for the first time and the food was nothing short of amazing! I had the broiled parm whitefish– A-​MAZING! Our server was great (Amy), the beer selection was great, loved the atmosphere! We’ll definitely be back!

Great local tap list, very good food, but apparently poorly managed, understaffed, and cannot handle a rush.
I don’t normally give two stars for service but this was on a holiday weekend in northern Michigan where the majority of their business comes during the holiday rush. They had us sit and then told us that it would be an hour before we could even order. No big deal (we thought) we’d have a couple drinks and wait it out… I headed to the bar to order drinks and the bar tender told me to order thru the waitress, apparently she was slammed too (though I couldn’t see why)…
I look around and notice that the place is only half full!
I’ve worked at a couple restaurants in the area during summers and have experienced being slammed, but any local restaurant manager/​owner should know that from late June to early August the local population grows 10x +! Which means swing shifts to have extra people on hand and then cut them loose after the rush.
ugh!
Anyway the waitress got our drink orders after about 20 minutes, messed up mine (more accurately completely forgot it after delivering everyone else’s), took food orders after about an hour, and promptly brought the bill with the food.
Never have I felt like a restaurant didn’t want our patronage and in fact made us feel like we should just leave!
Anyway, that is why they got 2 stars.
Now for the food…
I had a pecan crusted walleye with a mustard hollandaise sauce that was good but perhaps overpowered the fish. Everyone else seemed to like their food as well.
I hope that the manager/​owner reads this and takes note as the local diners (such as my parents) won’t likely stand for such nonsense more than once or twice… and without them you are doomed to fail during the long hard winter.

Stopped on for a couple beers. Good beer selection – traditional beers (Miller Lite, Bud, Labatt) and a really good selection of Michigan micro brews. This is a good place to check out when you are in the Elk Rapids area. Enjoy!

They were busy, however the bartender wasn’t the most pleasant, which started off the experience at less than pleasant. Once we were seated at our table the flatbread was soggy and cold. Following that, 1 meal was completely wrong (wrong fish and wrong style), the salad came out missing the protein and the tenderloin medallions were all cooked to different temperatures and the polenta was so salty it was inedible with zero bleu cheese (or there was no bleu cheese flavor). And the manager never stopped by to check in and/​or apologize or acknowledge everything that had happened.
Has potential if they figure out the kitchen and get better management.

Meh… average. Service is slow, menu average. Too bad because with this location and view there is such amazing potential. I was there three weeks ago and am just getting around to Unilocaling… can’t even remember what I ordered. That ought to tell you something right there.

The ambiance and location are great. The over priced food not so much. Out of our family of five only one of us enjoyed their meal and that was an appetizer. It’s really too bad because this place could be really great. Knock down your prices and create more family friendly casual dining to lure the folks in.

Took a long boat ride here this past weekend from Torch Lake to Elk Rapids to the Riverwalk. We sat outside and had a few drinks, ordered calamari which was awesome! It was served with a spicy aioli sauce. Great flavor too! We split the Garlic Chicken Flatbread, was good but smaller than we imagined. Great service, too. They had a band outside and was relaxing. Glad we tried it!

Last weekend we decided to try this place with another couple. I will make this short and sweet.
1. $ 6.50 for most beers. $ 5 for a Bud Light. Really? Way overpriced beers.
2. Walleye with Pilaf rice, fish was good, rice tasteless, nothing green on the plate.
3. $ 12.00 hamburger with hardly any onion, the small piece of lettuce was completely wilted and old. I asked for pickle chips, never got them. Burger patty was barely warm. The $ 12 burger comes with only potato chips by the way.
4. Very high prices for a restaurant with cement floors and mediocre food.
5. The whitefish dip appetizer was very good.
6. The mussels were typically average.
I don’t mind paying for good food, but their food just isn’t worth the prices charged.

So happy the restaurant is open. Its a really fun atmosphere. The food is great, servers are happy and then again, who wouldn’t be, they work in a lovely town, in a gorgeous new building, on spectacular Elk Lake! The specialty martinis are amazing. Take a boat ride, and enjoy the outdoor patio and bar. Plenty of room to dock your boat.

Loving the outdoor Michigan life while enjoying some of the local brews! Great pulled pork nachos marinated in local Oberon beer. Enjoy the live music too. Pull up your boat and dock for the sunset.

The Riverwalk Grill & Tap Room is the perfect outing no matter rain or shine. On a sunny day, drive your boat over to the marina or take your auto and park in the lot– there is room for all! Sitting outdoors on their patio is perfect because you get a chance to watch all the incoming boats and people heading into town. It’s quiet, scenic, and you get to enjoy those beautiful sun rays. On an uglier day, just go on inside and enjoy their new getup! This new building is so pretty that it’s just as enjoyable dining indoors as it is out on their patio.
We went twice for lunch recently and both times had good service. Their staff is young, and could benefit from just a little more experience. The cherry salad is amazing! I ordered it twice. Their cherry dressing is thick and sweet, almost something you could eat with ice cream. So yummy! We also had the chicken sandwiches, pulled pork nachos, and their soups. We were so pleased with all of their food and I am confident that you fellow Unilocalers will be too.
They have lots of great beers and IPA’s on tap. Try the grapefruit IPA if you get a chance!

Great Michigan beer selection. (Not just Shorts’ beer!)
I went to just get a drink and meet a friend. I felt obligated to get something to eat cuz I am weird like that. I got the calamari. It said in the description that it was covered in cornmeal but I didnt listen. It was pretty nasty. We got a box to take it out and be polite but we threw it away and are telling them their calamari is no good on Unilocal which is sad in regards to my personal character.
their menu looked good and I would definitely go back. The beer selection really was good in my option. the atmosphere was reallly cool too. fancy but casual with big open seating. you can sit outside too which is awesome cuz it is right on the water. waitress was new and really nice. no complaints overall but stay away from the calamari.