Reviews of Darrow's Family Restaurant (Restaurant)

Duane Romer

We always stop here for hot turkey sandwiches when we're traveling through Mackinaw City. I've never had anything else from the menu, but the hot turkey is very good. Huge amount of food for not too much money. They always ask if we want pie for dessert. Don't see how anyone could eat pie after eating dinner here. Seriously, a pretty good place to have dinner on the road. Fast off and on of I-75 too.

Anthony Gadson

Service was great. Food was very good. What more could you want?

Jon Schutter

Better food through all natural ingredients, no cutting corners. Made with love. Oh, and incredible pies

Nicole Heighton

Always good food when we stop while passing through. We always take food home with us because of their generous portions. Staff has always been friendly too!

Craig Cramblet

Found Darrow's on last year's trip to Mackinaw City and was so impressed. I want to eat literally everything that comes out of the kitchen. We had whitefish, their specialty, and it was amazing.

Tracie Russell

Great family restaurant. The service was good, quick to get our food and it was great. The prices were moderate with affordable options and kids meals.

Taylor Dyer

We've brought our growing family to Mackinaw for the past 8 summers. 5 years ago we tried Darrow's for the first time. The food is wonderful, plentiful, quick, and the service is fantastic! There's a specific server, Mary Lou, who is phenomenal! Our first experience there, she was our server and every year we come back and request her area! She is an absolute delight. We have yet to come across a Darrow's employee who doesn't meet hospitable expectations. Our visit yesterday, we had a flustered 3 month old and one of the waitresses offered to hold him while we finished our breakfast and she waited for an order to come out. We declined the offer but that didn't stop her from making sure we were positive a few moments later. I am always so impressed with every aspect of this establishment and their employees! Well done!!

Colin Murphy

Whitefish was amazing. Service was wonderful. Friendly and inviting. Had the cinnamon roll cheese cake and the chocolate peanut butter pie. Delightful! The other pies looked very good as well!

tom howard

Fast friendly service with great food and choices. Let's not forget about the pie! It's the best! Always eat there at least once while in Mackinaw City.

Tammie Box

Amazing!! The homemade pies were delicious as well as the homemade cream of broccoli soup! They make their own bread for sandwiches and the service was wonderful! It was clean and friendly. We’ll be back!

Cathy Keener

We love DARROW'S. Best White Fish finger basket ever.

Jim Heirbrandt

This restaurant is one you MUST go to when in Mackinaw! We have eaten here many times and had different things to eat. Each and every time the food was fantastic. Yes, there will be a line of folks waiting to get in, but it moves quickly. The longest we have ever waited was 10 minutes. From the hostess to the server to the check out lady, everyone was very nice and smiling. We most highly recommend this restaurant.

Amy Webber

Visited for breakfast. Great food. Prices slightly higher than other nearby places, but service was very good.

Janell Norris

This is the best familyy restaurant I have been to in the USA!! I travel alot and I am from Northern Michigan. Always look forward to enjoying a few meals at Darrow's when I visit. Ah...the homemade soups and pies.... Oh, my!!!

Gary G Foster

Great service, great coffee, great food, always friendly. Have not seen any better anywhere. The food is second to none.

Stephanie Laninga

Saw server cutting pie. It was giving her difficulty. She put her hand on the pie to work it loose without a glove. Went and talked to the lady at the register. Servers don't need to wear gloves when they cut the pie. If you don't touch the food gloves are not neccassary,touching food yes due to contamination. Lady at register didn't seem to care. Kitchen wears gloves for food prep. Servers should also when touching the food.

Kimberly Waldren

Darrow's is the best and most reasonably priced place to eat in Mackinaw City. Food was amazing and the service was good. The home-made 4 berry dutch pie was delicious! Thank you for at least one completely pleasant dining experience while in Mackinaw, Darrow's!

Scott Maasch

Great food. Great service. Not only was dinner made from scratch and awesome....the desert was as well. When we come back...will be on our itinerary. (Get the oatmeal butterscotch pie....10/10)

Matt Noll

Service was AMAZING! Patty, our waiter was super helpful and sooo nice. Food was great. Would highly recommend this restaurant.

Alex C

Wow, what a gem. It's a small-town, home-cookin', great service, great food, type place in a tourist trap town! The homemade pie (I tried the 4-Berry, and the Peanut Butter) was the best I have LITERALLY ever had. I had the whitefish basket, on special which was delicious and perfect. The whitefish was perfectly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. All of that for a great value! Our waitress was clearly a lifer, and provided some of the best service I have ever experienced. This is a must-stop lunch spot if you are on your way up to the U.P.

Jodi Drogowski

The food was so-so. We'd heard the pie raved about; it was also so-so. What really sealed the deal was the unbelievably rude waitress! We planned to meet at 6 on a Fri. We expected to have to wait and were fine with that. The hostess chose to seat us before our entire party of 4 had arrived. The waitress then gave those who were there a terribly hard time about waiting for the fourth and not ordering. They ended up ordering. The fourth arrived before 6. The waitress then rushed her to order. We felt rushed the entire time, the waitress made almost no eye contact, was clipped in her requests, and seemed put out when we ordered desert. When we had finished eating our pie we were talking and the waitress came over to our table and basically asked us to leave. We will definitely not be back nor will we recommend this place to anyone else. Decidedly bad service!

paul terhune

This place is worthy of a long wait. Great food and service

Dominique Waltz

We got to breakfast at about 7:45, before the big rush of people. We had wonderful service. We got our food ridiculously quickly. Our food was DELICIOUS!

Victoria Brazzell

They can't sit a big group of people and even when you call ahead to tell them "hey we got a big group coming to eat your food that's said to be SO great" they give away tables to groups 4 or less. So thanks for nothing Darrow's -the group of 30 that missed out on "great food and poor service"

Alyssa Maas-kozlowski

Ordered onion rings and they were delicious! Also got the southern chopped steak and the portions are so filling! Definitely would recommend

Danielle Koslakiewicz

The Hot Turkey sandwich is soooo good. My husband loves the whitefish. We tried breakfast the other day. I had the vegetarian omelet and my husband had the homemade corned beef hash. How is everything so good? They are known for the pie. I have no idea how anyone could have room for dessert. It looks delicious. We may have to go one day just for pie.

Tracey Peterson

The food was really good, clean atmosphere and great service. They were extremely busy during lunch rush hour but yet everyone still had a smile on their faces. Our server was really nice and sweet. I ordered the veggie burger on the pretzel bun with a side salad with ranch. I was really happy with the salad because they put spinach and romaine lettuce in it. My husband ordered the bacon cheeseburger deluxe with a side of mashed potatoes. He really liked it. And we ordered our daughter their macaroni and cheese.

Yogita

We ordered French toast with their home made sauces, lemon meringue pie & vegetable omelette. Their sauces are amazing & you truly understand the difference between the market one n homemade product. For the vegetable omelette, I can say I haven't had such a good one in a long time. Truly amazing breakfast place! And the lemon pie was so soft n fluffy! If I could eat anymore I would have had another slice!....also last but not the least, the staff is super warm n nice, they treat you like a family!..I would definitely go there again!

Emie Friedman

This place was packed with a line of people waiting to get in an hour before closing. Home cooked meal! Real mashed potatoes. I had the roast beef and my hubby had the Cajun white fish. Neither disappointed. Prices fair. A dozen, if not more, of pie choices. Would definitely return if we lived in the area.

Denise Gauss

Very good tasting food and worth the money. Pies also looked very good

Riri

Very overpriced for some mediocre food. Service was not the greatest either... Our server barely spoke to us and when she did I could not hear or understand her. I could have gotten better food at McDonald's for a fraction of the price.

Eddie Grim

There is no better place to eat! The best whitefish on the planet and home cooked pies. Everything served in a friendly ,we care, environment.

nicholas bruin

Love this place. Excellent food. Whitefish is amazing. Service was awesome. Jims soup is worth driving 500 miles for

Jo Wildermuth

We have vacationed at Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island for 34 years and we never come without at least one visit to Darrows. It is always great food..great service..and extremely clean. If you are in the area visit their wonderful restaurant.

Chelsea Hancock Morales

My fiance and I go here every time we're in Mackinac or passing by to go up to the UP. My favorite item on the menu is the parmesan encrusted whitefish. My mouth waters when I think of it!! Just this last time, I finally had room to try their pie. SO. GOOD. Next time I hope they have the Dutch apple for me.

Karla Cannon

Food was good but a little high priced. Got to try the 4 kinds of fish I've been wanting to try though. They could use a little more help so we wouldn't have had to be there that long. And the waitress was NOT very helpful or friendly. Wished they served breakfast all day also. But I'd recommend trying the place out at least once.

Leona Barton

A very busy place.. They work really hard at getting people in, getting they served and out the door.. service and food were wonderful...

brsugr58

I liked that they had senior portions with prices to match, but only on some items. No discount on the fried shrimp. They were tempura batter, huge and delicious! My son had chicken tenders that looked like fish sticks.

Jeff Behn

Excellent service. They were very busy, but got a party of 5 of us in without much of a wait. I had the bacon burger and it was very good. Great fries, excellent onion rings, outstanding banana cream pie. Good stuff.

Julie Hampel

This place is always crowded, but the long lines are worth it. Hot Beef sandwiches with real mashed potatoes, burgers, incredible onion rings. The salads are huge and fresh. Save room for a slice of pie, the list of varieties are on the sign when you walk in.

Alicia Robinson

My cheeseburger was heaven sent & the fries were cooked to perfection. I topped it all off with the best strawberry milkshake I can ever recall having. Service was quick & pleasant... I'd definitely go back.

S K

Read all the positive reviews and decided to give it a chance. Friendly fast service. High pricing. Wanted a breakfast on a Sunday but they don't serve breakfast after 11:00 a.m.. Really? So I ordered a Rubin sandwich and was very disappointed. It was extremely salty and not enough sauerkraut and thousand island. I eat Rubin sandwiches often and none were salty like this one. I also bought a custard pie for almost $23. It was okay but not worth the price. Will I go there again? Not sure, but maybe to try their breakfast.

polly wolff

One of my favorite restaurants. Excellent whitefish and lake perch. Great onion rings, real mashed potatoes, 2 kinds of coleslaw, good roast beef sandwich. Can't say we've tried everything on the menu, mostly have the fish, but everything looks good, burgers, salads, sandwiches, dinners. Best of all, a dozen or so fresh homemade pies. 4 berry Dutch is our favorite. Good breakfasts, homemade bread. Seldom cross the Mackinaw Bridge without stopping, except they are not open in the winter. We have been going here for 40 years.

Chris Huttenlocker

Darrow's was a 5 star experience. The food was very good,so we came back the next day for lunch. Everyone was friendly .

Mike K

Best place for breakfast. (Only been here for breakfast). Large portions, priced right. Food was excellent, great friendly service. The restaurant is always extremely clean.

Carl Johnson

Over 40 years of experience. Awesome every time. Line was out the door but only a 14 minute wait to be seated. Friendly service and great food.

Tim Sparks

In my 10 years of coming here, I have never had a bad experience and the food has always been phenomenal!!!! Do Not skip the pie. It's a lead back relaxed family atmosphere with scratch made food. During peak hours, there is a line, but you won't wait long.

Justin Wilzer

Fresh food, real ingredients. Very efficient. Restuarant was full w a line out the door. We were seated in under 20 minutes, food was served within 10 minutes of being seated. Food was average, the service in spite of the rush really stood out in my mind.

Amy Kinzer

For Mackinaw City it is not a bad restaurant! Pretty clean and not bad food! Definitely your best choice in this area!

Kellie Boers

The food was plentiful no matter what we ordered. We are from Portage, MI near Kalamazoo, and were standing a funeral, we ordered a pie to go and had serious sticker shock. When we asked, we were told that had we given 24 hours notice it would've been cheaper, but $25 for a pie? Ouchie. It was a fabulous pie though.

Lisa Panagopoulos

Great food and service. The lady who waited on us has worked there for 18 years. She is fabulous!

Jeffrey Davis

2nd time to eat here Had white fish which could be cooked in different ways which would be more appealing. Very good service, very clean family place. Excellent choice of fresh homemade pies.

James Chudyk

Very nice family restaurant! Very friendly service and plenty of just plain good food! We were there on a Thursday night in mid October and they were completely filled. Was sad to hear they would be closing for the season October 20. We come there everytime we're in town!

Patrick Fairbrother

Excellent food. Great service. Homemade pies. Awesome place to stop if you are in the area!

Glenn Fischer

The food here is almost as amazing as the staff. Our group was promptly served and everything was perfectly cooked. I highly recommend their pie: I'm coming back for more sometime soon!

Cody Weikel

Amazing homestyle cooking. Great for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The wait staff are friendly and service is prompt. Restrooms were very clean. Very generous portions for all their meals. Everything is made to order and fresh!

CRW

Great food and service. Pies are outstanding!

Pratik Desai

Good place for breakfast/brunch in Mackinaw city. We had the veggie omelette with homemade biscuits, and short stack of french omelettes, along with some white bread toast. Their home made strawberry and blueberry syrups was amazing, so was their homemade bread. They had a wide variety of pies which looked really tasty( but we didn't have any). Our waitress was helpful and cooperative.

Kathy Beebe

Can’t say enough awesome things. Amazing service, amazing homemade food, and it came out perfect and FAST. would totally recommend this place, super clean too.

Annie

I tell everyone about this restaurant. Open from May to October. The portions are hearty with moderate to high prices. However leave room for dessert because they have the best pies!! No reservations are taken and all members of your party must be in attendance before they will seat you. Wait times in the summer can extend up to 2 hours. Staff is always friendly and the service is fast. Casual atmosphere with plenty of seating. Parking is limited and very difficult to find a spot during high volume times. Daily lunch and dinner specials.

Paula Ford

Makes me want to move to Macinaw. Very good.food, without being pretentious. Prices very reasonable considering serving size... and get dessert, even if you have to take it out. Dutch apple pie is equal to Elton Brown's recipe.

Lisa Arnold

Over priced. But food is decent. Always super packed. Friendly staff.

a ban

Wonderful place... highly recommend. Jeannette needs a raise. She’s excellent such a professional. Also gosh Shelby (she ushers you to your table) is so cute! I wish I was younger and could date her...lol Nonetheless, do stop by you won’t regret!

Sherrie Frantz

Big portions and the pie I took to go was delicious. The salad was a little brown, but other than that it was a good dinner and our waitress was wonderful.

Steave Gipson

Absolutely outstanding and half the cost of most other restaurants in town. They have great fish, fresh pies, and homemade everything. Lots of home-made classic American food is on offer as well. The mashed potatoes are actually potatoes that have been mashed. The staff and clientele are very friendly. This is clearly the place the locals eat. This is the place you were looking for.

Denise Denny Martindale

On vacation with my aunt to Mackinaw City we stopped at Darrow's Family Restaurant for dinner. Had the deep fried Whitefish and it was delicious! It was also a large portion! We went back the next night for some of their homemade pies. Yum! People were lined up out the door to get in and it is worth the wait. The staff is wonderful and we enjoyed sitting with two couples we didn't know and talking about everyone's day. Truly a family place!

Amanda Weigold

Ended up twice here for breakfast during a weekend getaway. Once on accident, and the second time on purpose, because it was so delicious. Great homemade pie (we had strawberry rhubarb before breakfast!), delicious homemade breakfast! Service was fast and friendly, even when they were super busy on a Sunday morning!

Joanne Galloway

I ordered the sausage gravy on biscuits. The server was quick to take our order and the food came out quickly. It was tasty, but I would have appreciated more sausage in the mix. My husband got the special. He ordered his eggs over medium. They came poached and a pool of clear liquid upon cutting into them. The friend potatoes were appreciated! The sausage links browned beautifully. My brother had the brioche french toast. He enjoyed it with the home made blueberry syrup!

CLINT DOBSON

Very good food and very good prices. Highly recommend.

Bonnie Sauers

Like this place. Great food. Very convenient spot, (for getting off & back on I-75 highway). Sometimes a "little" wait, because they are always super busy. Good service!!

Eunice Cannon

This was a very nice homemade type place. Everything is homemade. The staff was great. Gwen our waitress was so nice and friendly and we all really enjoyed our food. It was a great choice. Definitely recommend this place..

Larry Smith

Food was fast in being prepared, but less than ok. My moms chicken sandwich tasted like it was fried in the same vat that fish was cooked in. She asked the waitress if she received a fish sandwich by mistake, but the waitress reassured her it was chicken. We all sampled it at the table and yes it was chicken, but tasted like fish.

Jlee T

Very delicious.. I regret not buying the pie. Nice staff, would eat here again.

Joseph Lalonde

We were recommended Darrows after a walking tour of St Ignace. Boy were we glad to have listened to the tour guide. The whitefish basket was spectacular. The cheeseburger was tasty. And, my oh my, the onion rings. Out of this world. Worth the trip to Mackinaw City for this place alone.

Trudi Francis

Unfortunately, their grill is too small to accommodate a late breakfast and lunch, my daughter and I requested to have my French toast and her veggie burger brought out together and we were rudely told that this was impossible. "You aren't getting it" is what we were told by the waitress. We left and went were customers are treated nicely.

Grant Atwood

The pie? WOW! Don't be scared to have the Dutch versions! All homemade food - happy and great service.

Phillip Kerns

Good home cooked food and great menu. Always clean and always friendly.

Barbara Frisk

Good food, wonderful waitress,huge portions and reasonable prices.

C. Curtis

Had some fresh white fish, yummmmmmy got there when the pie lady took the day off noooooooooooooooo☹

Holly Rosales

After an entire weekend of overpaying for bad food and even worse hospitality, we had an AMAZING & fairly priced lunch. Such a sweet backstory printed on menus about the restaurant. Family friendly, quick service and delicious food! Absolutely stop by !

John Tice

Even though there was a long line when we walked in, the wait was short even with five people in our party. Food was homemade and delicious, I had the cream of mushroom soup and loved it. Homemade pie after dinner was wonderful. Do yourself a favor and go here for an awesome meal at a reasonable price.

Kim Kroetsch

We chose to eat breakfast here based on the positive Yelp reviews. We had a really nice experience. Our server Kathy provided excellent service, the food tasted like home cooking and the portions were generous. We had no room left for pie, their pies looked delicious too!

Dennis Miller

Great value in a tourist town. Went there 2 of the 3 nights we were in town. White fish was good, wife loved the perch. Chopped steak was my favorite. Pies are to die for. Staff supper friendly.

Chris

A great place to visit with a hometown family feel. The servers were incredibly polite and attentive, even during the breakfast rush. They kept our coffee cups full and always ask if there was anything else we needed. While my omelette was delectable and filling, I here the fish served here is also great. I will definitely come back for lunch/dinner when I am in the area again.

Anita Sapp

We love this place! We were on vacation and visited the fort at the base of the Mackinac Bridge. We left the fort and were hungry for lunch. We found this place just a block away and tried it. It has a large menu and homemade pies. The food was delicious and the prices were very reasonable. We loved it so much we ate here three days in a row! The staff were very friendly also. It was by far our favorite restaurant of our vacation!

Gabbie Ramirez

Rude. My mom and I heard great things about this place and decided to walk since my aunt had the car. It was literally 5 min after they stopped serving breakfast when we arrived. They rudely all gathered around my mom and I and told us to …

Sarah Frey

Busy place, but great food. Best French fries I've had in quite some time. I also had a whitefish sandwich which was very good too. Nice selection of pies as well.

Jeff Corbin

Nice local restaurant. Good food. Even though it's off season had a little wait. I imagine you need to get there early in season. Had the pot roast really tasty. Wife liked it because they don't douse everything with pepper.