Fife Lake Inn

This was a big disappointment. We heard how good this place was and had been wanting to try it. I ordered sauteed perch, my husband ordered cod. We both ordered the salad bar with the meal which was an additional $ 1.99. We ordered the garlic breaded mushrooms as an appetizer. Well, on our way up to the salad bar we saw an employee dumping a bag of iceberg lettuce in the bowl up there. Very small salad bar, no other lettuce besides the iceberg, not worth $ 1.99 extra. My perch was soggy and watery, I ordered red skin garlic mashed potatoes and they came with brown gravy on them! I didn’t ask for gravy, I didn’t think it would be on them! My husband’s cod was «OK» but looked like it came out of a bag of frozen fish from the grocery store! The appetizer? Well we asked for that when our entrées came, our waiter forgot them and said he would bring them right out. We got them when we were almost finished eating. We had one each and asked for a box. I would have thought they would comp them but nothing was offered. We definitely will not go back.

Very good Reuben sandwich. Good service. Place is dated but clean. Nice view of the lake across the street.

Went there today with my daughter for lunch… I asked the waitress whether I should have the French dip or the shrooms burger. She recommended the French dip and said it was because they used their prime rib so that’s what I ordered. My daughter had the cheese quesadilla with fries on the side. Both of us enjoyed the french fries my daughter did not like the quesadilla it was very greasy and looked like it had been cooked on a less than clean cooktop. My French dip was very greasy, the meat was rather rubbery. The waitress said that she had cooked everything and I wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not so when my daughter didn’t want to have the quesadilla I told her she changed her mind and asked for a hotdog, with no side just the dog. When I got the bill she charged me the full 5 dollars for the HotDog… I asked if that was correct and she shrugged and said yes like she had to charge it that way. My family owns bars and our food was never that greasy and we charged a buck for a kids hot dog. We won’t be going back.

Highly recommend this Restaurant! The service was fast and friendly. Nice atmosphere, clean restrooms. The food was DELICIOUS! We will definitely stop in again when we are up in this area! Thank you!

Been to the Fife Lake Inn several times, and I’ll be back. Went there this week twice. we had the burgers and pizza. Burgers were very good, and the pizza was above average. They have a unique twist on fried pickles, very good.
The service was average both times, could use some improvement.

We attended the Michigan Loon Association lunch and meeting at the Inn on Sunday. We all ate on the deck. One waiter took wonderful care of all of us, great service! The food was served quickly and everything was well prepared and tasty. We will return here again.

We have eaten at the Fife Lake Inn on many occasions and have never been disappointed. The food is excellent and the staff even better, The service is always friendly and fast. Every time we come to Fife Lake we stop there, either for a cocktail and a bite to eat or have a nice dinner. Their hash brown pizza is out of this world and the steaks are excellent. Every time we come to Fife Lake we bring a hash brown pizza home with us… the only problem is we have all our friends «hooked» on this delicious pie and get orders to bring them home for them as well!

Very disappointing. Based on reviews we stopped on a Wednesday at noon and they were closed, so we ended up at the Loon’s Nest, two doors over (more on that later). On a Saturday, we stopped and found them open at noon. We orderd a cheeseburger with onion rings and a Kathy Melt (apparently they don’t like calling it a Patty Melt). Waited for a long time, not prompt service. The burgers were both over cooked and the consistency of hockey pucks. Dry, tasteless and in both cases, the bun on the burger and the swirled rye on the «Kathy» melt were dry and bland. Onion rings were greasy and the sweet potato fries were way too cooked and very dry and crisp.
Overall, the atmosphere was blah. Dining room was way too chilly and I couldn’t help but notice the thick layer of dust on the rafters overhead.
Skip this place. Maybe it’s an okay dinner spot, but not for lunch. Yuck.
See my review of the Loon’s Nest… wonderful!!!

There are only three places to eat in Fife Lake. We don’t care for one of them due to cleanliness and food quality. We love the other place for breakfast, but they aren’t open on Sunday evenings. The Fife Lake Inn is open every day, late into the night. They are a family friendly restaurant as well as a bar, but the environment is usually fairly quiet and easy going.
We stopped in for dinner yesterday and sat by the window so we could listen to the live band that was playing in the street for a Labor Day weekend celebration. We also had a terrific view of the beautiful lake.
Our food came out quickly and was very good. My husband ordered the potato skins, which were large potatoes, absolutely stuffed with ham, bacon, and cheese. They filled his large plate and was too much for one person to eat, even as their meal. My cod sandwich and fries were good, and I left stuffed too. Our server was friendly and helpful. We had an overall good experience.
We have eaten here many times. The food is consistent and the prices fair.

DEFINITELY one of the top 3 restaurants in town! :-)
Food is pretty standard. Prices have crept pretty steadily over the years, but they can get away with it.
Always good service and atmosphere.

Under new ownership for some months as of the time of this writing (October 18, 2012), the Fife Lake Inn is a combination bar and restaurant that also makes and delivers its own pizzas. Though it’s a favorite local bar, the large dining area is family friendly. It’s light and airy, and the new no-​smoking rule makes for a pleasant dining experience.
The Inn has an authentic rustic feel, with its varnished wooden walls and beams, and the view from the windows that line the front wall is of Fife Lake that is right across the (narrow) street. There is plenty of parking in the back of the building.
The wait staff is attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly. The food we ordered came out in a timely fashion, was hot and very well prepared.
While the menu is traditional American fare, the preparation is more interesting than either the menu or the price would suggest. We’ve ordered mainly the pizza and hamburgers, but the Inn often has specials like their shrimp dinners which they offer 3 different ways. The burgers come with a side; one has a choice of sides; I don’t recall all the choices (there were about 5) as I stopped her at the sweet potato fries.
I ordered the mushroom-​Swiss burger with sweet potato fries, and was surprised at the size of the burger and quality of the food, which was excellent. My meal was around $ 8, not counting drink.
The pizza has a medium thick crust; the outer crust is crisp but it has a tender crumb. It’s a bit buttery (which I personally like). I’ve noticed a trend in some rural areas where the pizza is undercooked and doughy in the center; it seems as though the makers are afraid of over-​cooking them. Not so at the Fife Lake Inn – every pizza we’ve ordered from them (4 times as of this writing) has been excellently cooked, the crust golden brown and tasty.
The salad bar is small, but their home made coleslaw is a treat; they also have several other homemade salads – a cabbage/​mustard vinaigrette medley and a pasta salad. The house dressing was interesting – it was a type of (raspberry?) vinaigrette that I enjoyed and would like to sample again.
The only negative I noted on a recent trip was that the typical mix of salad greens were obviously old, some even slightly browning. This was unfortunate, but I believe that they probably were on the way to changing it as we ate there on the cusp between lunch and dinner service. On previous visits, the salad bar was fine.
Overall, our experience at the Inn has been positive and I would recommend it for a pleasant dining experience. As a local favorite, The Fife Lake Inn is often filled to capacity on weekends, and even on some week days. Reservations are not taken on Fridays and Saturdays.
Added in a later edit: This is a restaurant, not a hotel, and I would describe it as relatively inexpensive for a traditional American restaurant – hamburger with side at $ 8 or less, the same for other sandwiches up to $ 16 for all you can eat shrimp specials, with the shrimp fixed a choice of 3 different ways.

First off this is a restraunt and bar not a motel. Everything here is above average. The food is very good and the portions are large. The service is friendly and quick.