First off we heard of this place through restaurant.com . Their site has their menu saying their daily specials include a 1/2 pound burger, your choice of steak fries, curly fries or sweet potato fries and a 12 oz pop or beer for $5.99. We were told we only get chips with it. And it was extra to get fries. Three of our group still went with this. The chips were tasteless tortilla chips. The 1/2 burger was no where near a 1/2 pound. Precook weight might have been 1/3lb. I chose to try their non special Reuben. It was $7.99 with fries. $2.00 extra for onion rings.(This is from their own menu in bar) She charged me $2.50 extra for the o rings. Taste wise the burgers were ok. O-rings were good. Reuben was good but very light on meat. Waitress/bartender was friendly enough. The rest of the group say they wont go back. I'd probably give them a second chance on different menu items but cannot score them any higher at this point.
(2)
Carole H.
After reading reviews before coming here (mom's choice for her birthday), I figured it was going to be hit or miss. Unfortunately, it was more of a miss than a hit. Loon River's main unique quality is that their menu features a number of wild game meats that you don't' typically find other places. My dad and brother couldn't resist trying the venison fritters as an appetizers - I passed, but they said they were ok although a little soggy. I ordered the Shore Lunch (basically fish and chips) which wasn't too bad, the fish was fried crispy and heavily breaded, it was a large portion that I took home for lunch the next day. After nibbling from everyone else's plates and trying the sweet potato fries, pot roast, and onion petals, I think it was safe to say my entree was the best choice of the table. Everyone just tasted not very fresh (not to say it was spoiled, but just more of a frozen/made a couple days ago taste), and not very exciting. Service was slow with a number of forgotten condiments, missing silverware, etc. although the servers themselves were pleasant and friendly. For a Saturday night, the sparse crowd was telling of the fact that Loon River needs to make some real improvements to keep the customers coming. Happy birthday, Mom...I love you...but let's go somewhere else to celebrate next year.
(1)
Debbie Z.
Went here after yet another funeral! Never had been here before, but I did read the reviews. It seemed like it took forever for the food to be put out into the buffet. We had vegetables with dip available, salad, roasted vegetables, chicken, some sort of pasta with tomato sauce, and roast beef. There were no buns when I went up to the buffet, but did replenish the basket after the line finished! For dessert there was some sort of chocolate mousse which looked pretty good. Chicken was dry, the buns were hard, the vegetables and salad were amazing! But of course, how can you mess that up when you choose what you want! It was okay, nothing notable definitely if this was a school it would be a solid "C".
(2)
Sandra C.
My cousins had a funeral luncheon at Loon River Cafe. The best thing they had was the mixed vegetables. Also, the chocolate mousse was a favorite. I didn't have any beef, but others at my table said it was "cold". The chicken was good, though. The atmosphere was pleasant and service was good. If you're looking for a place that serves a nice boufet luncheon for a group of people, this would be a nice choice for you. The one thing that could have been embarrassing for many was that the bathroom doors did not say ladies or gentlemen. You just took a chance and hoped you had the right one. I think they were doing some remodeling, so this problem might be fixed by now. Anyway, I guess right. lol.
(3)
Jay M.
The white cheddar potatoes where excellent the pork chops where amazing and the pot roast was done well. The reasons of the four stars and not five the spices of the chicken was good but a little dry and they over cooked my sirloin a bit more than I would like. I couldn't comment how the service was due to at the off time I went we were the only ones there.
(4)
Dan O.
Wanted a little comfort food and Loon River Cafe was across the street from my hotel. Ended over for a little dinner at the bar. LR Cafe is large, spacious, and very comfortable looking. Bellied up to the bar, had a local microbrew, and ordered the pot roast sandwich with sweet potato fries. Nice amount of meat, tasty gravy, and the fries were hot 'n' yummy. I couldn't finish it all, so took the leftovers back for the next day. Have to come back and try one of their dinner entrees and soups!
(3)
Leslie K.
Went here while not eating meat for Lent, and was sadly short on options. I decided to try the Salmon patties. They were good and actually had a lot of salmon in the mix. I also got sweet potato fries, which were great. There were some kinds of sauces on the side of both dishes, but I wasn't sure what they were. The salmon were plated on a fancy dish which was out of place with the stuffed hunting trophies on the wall. Decent food, slightly pricey, bar-type atmosphere. Lots of meat options, though for all the carnivores out there.
(3)
Kanisha A.
Crab cakes were bland. Duck was tough. Watched 2 servers count their tips directly ON THE SALAD BAR!!! Notified management about it. Very apologetic, but still never sanitized the area. Never coming back!
(1)
Tony S.
Award-winning Chef Ray Hollingsworth came up with the recipes served at this restaurant which builds it's menu on a Michigan theme. The bar and dining area are rustic. That's sounds like a great idea, the only problem is that Chef Hollingsworth is not in the kitchen to see how poorly his dishes are being executed. 2.5 Stars
(2)
E P.
Ate here on a Thursday night. Service was good. Food was okay, nothing spectacular.
(3)
Linda N.
First, Yelp offered 1000 points to make a reservation here. Non available? Only for 100 points? Hmmm..ok, made the reservation for 8 people at 6:00 because we had an 8:00 show to go to. Arrived at 6:10, our table hadn't been set up yet. After waiting another 10 minutes, we suggested they comp us a drink, which they did, but we had to wait again, as no one was working the bar. Mind you, they were not crowded. Long story short? Finally received our average food at 7:20. Waitress kept disappearing. Asked for the manager, and the waitress said he was coming over, but he never did. When this restaurant opened, it was quite nice. Now it is nothing more than an average to poor place attached to a family hotel, which explained the guy in the bathing suit walking through.
(1)
Jazz F.
The staff is nice, but the bar is terrible. They use an electronic machine to measure out the shots AND have the nerve to charge 30 percent more than what I pay for a Makers Mark on the rocks in NYC! For much less in parts of Manhattan, I can get twice as much alcohol!!! There are plenty of other bars within a short distance that I would suggest you try.
(1)
Sharief T.
Mediocore and strange selection on Sunday brunch buffet. Waitstaff was nice, but lots of confusion of who the actual person serving us was so omlett orders took over 45min. Also, ordered food for our little one, with the manager and that never came until we said something... the response, "I said yes you could order mac n cheese." So, the order never went in!
(1)
Kathi C.
I'm faithful to the Michigan cherry salad, which comes with blue cheese, walnuts and the special cherry vinaigrette. The salmon is better than the chicken. You can also branch out and get the pot roast, buffalo ribeye or whitetail chili. All their beef and chicken are minimally processed, which is not always easy to find. I've also tried three desserts, all of which were tasty- snickers pie, berry cheesecake, and multi-layered chocolate cake. I've never been on 'wild game' night, but that looks like a fun feast too!
(4)
Orson B.
Sorry beer selection for Michigan. A hillbilly bar in Grand Rapids has better craft beer options than this place. I had the French onion soup and a cherry chicken salad, which were average but nothing special. This place's main advantage to me is providing a place for a weary visitor at the Sterling Inn to come in after a long day on the road and have some alcohol without worrying about getting a DUI. At least they had Johnny Walker Black.
(3)
Kathy W.
Loon River used to be a good place to eat. Made the mistake of buying a Restaurants.com voucher. First clue to a bad experience.. diner has to spend $ 25 to get use the $25 coupon.Generally ,it's $10. The Mixed Grill was a JOKE. I can stay home and pour vegetables out of a bag and thaw out a cheap chicken breast. I don't know what the mystery meat was.. but it was NOT a pork chop. The decor is so old and dusty.. you would expect the eerie taxidermy to come to life . Even they wouldn't eat the food.
(1)
Paul P.
The salad was nice and cold....the leafy greens were crisp and nice.....one of the cherry tomatoes was MOLDY on the bottom. In another salad there was a romaine BUTT!!! They are suffering from cut, cut, cut, reduce labor costs, lose help and slack off on kitchen prep and squeeze what's left for every cent of profit. This strategy is doomed from the start!! I have plenty of kitchen experience. I know things happen and in the real world 100% perfect is rarely in the formula at a Best Western Hotel in a Detroit suburb especially.....they dont exaclty have a Michelin star!!! I sent the moldy cherry tomato back to the kitchen inside a bar napkin and finished my salad. The pan fried perch were completely unseasoned!! The ball here has been dropped by the ececutive chef....... fire everyone and start over!!! If I wasn't 63 I'd fill out an app and lend a hand!! BTW.....nobody said anything to our party of 4 re: the salad issues!!! When you stop caring what goes on the plate it's GAME OVER!!! The Sam Adams draft was good!!! The bathroom was clean! Not enough though!!!
(2)
Heather H.
Sunday buffet with a group of friends. Weirdly curt service - even for buffet service. Food was ok, nothing spectacular. Had to pay for beverages like coffee/iced tea, which feels like rip-off when paying $19 for a mediocre scrambled egg and iceberg lettuce salad Nice break in the weekend for some girl-time, but wouldn't go back here by choice.
(2)
Phillip K.
despite bad reviews on yelp, i had heard good things about this place. so when looking for a midway point to meet a friend recently, we decided on here. i should have listened to yelp. no need for a long review: do not eat here. from stringy venison appetizers to a poor staff (my 1/2 finished soup sat on the table until the end of the meal) to watery drinks to good but overpriced entrees (bison burger and steak), this was a forgettable experience. even the parking lot is too busy. one star for stuffed deer head, fox, and turkey on the walls.
(1)
caroline r.
We came here on a week night and there was only 1 chef on hand. I believe our waiter was forced to tell us that because we had waited almost 30 minutes for our food to arrive. The michigan pot roast was good but it tasted like the pot roast was sitting in a crock pot all day. I'm not too sure about the thick cut pork chops. It should have been called a "ham steak on a bone". The place smells of dust and old carpeting. We also were seated at the section where the table vibrated. (lol) The very nice manager offered us a free dessert of our choice for the long dinner wait. The turtle cheesecake was good but not good enough to come back to.
(1)
Kooky M.
The appearance of the restaurant was nothing note-worthy. The service was mediocre at best. It was incredibly slow. Our waitress was polite, but not very helpful. Our food was terribly mediocre. So NOT worth the price. I got white cheddar mashed potatoes. I swear they took the premade Gordon Food Service mashed potatoes and added in a barely discernable amount of cheese. There is no possible way that these potatoes were made fresh that day. None. I got the perch. Again - meh. Thankfully I had a coupon for $25 off an order of $50 or more. I would have felt very cheated if I paid full price. It's not that anything was so awful, it's just that it was so mediocre. If it was a diner atmosphere, and I was paying $8-9 a plate, I might consider going there again. But, even still, I'd probably go elsewhere where the food actually tastes homemade, and not frozen, or premade in some manner.
(2)
CJ J.
I do not like the loon caf. Everything here is oily, fried, and fried again. The only time I enjoyed my time here was when the Warren office opened up the bar, had a buffet of food, and let us roam and mingle. Now that was a good work function! Of course colleagues get a little crazy after having an open bar and not knowing how to control themselves, but it was still a good time. They have a full food menu but everything is bar food-esque. Nothing is really fabulous. My colleague didn't even like their sundae too much! What the heck?! The Loon is chill if you're stuck in the hotel and want to head down, drink, and chat in a bar. Otherwise I'll pass.
(1)
Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.
Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.
Address :34911 Van Dyke Ave
Sterling Heights, MI, 48312
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Parking : Private Lot Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Don R.
First off we heard of this place through restaurant.com . Their site has their menu saying their daily specials include a 1/2 pound burger, your choice of steak fries, curly fries or sweet potato fries and a 12 oz pop or beer for $5.99. We were told we only get chips with it. And it was extra to get fries. Three of our group still went with this. The chips were tasteless tortilla chips. The 1/2 burger was no where near a 1/2 pound. Precook weight might have been 1/3lb. I chose to try their non special Reuben. It was $7.99 with fries. $2.00 extra for onion rings.(This is from their own menu in bar) She charged me $2.50 extra for the o rings. Taste wise the burgers were ok. O-rings were good. Reuben was good but very light on meat. Waitress/bartender was friendly enough. The rest of the group say they wont go back. I'd probably give them a second chance on different menu items but cannot score them any higher at this point.
(2)Carole H.
After reading reviews before coming here (mom's choice for her birthday), I figured it was going to be hit or miss. Unfortunately, it was more of a miss than a hit. Loon River's main unique quality is that their menu features a number of wild game meats that you don't' typically find other places. My dad and brother couldn't resist trying the venison fritters as an appetizers - I passed, but they said they were ok although a little soggy. I ordered the Shore Lunch (basically fish and chips) which wasn't too bad, the fish was fried crispy and heavily breaded, it was a large portion that I took home for lunch the next day. After nibbling from everyone else's plates and trying the sweet potato fries, pot roast, and onion petals, I think it was safe to say my entree was the best choice of the table. Everyone just tasted not very fresh (not to say it was spoiled, but just more of a frozen/made a couple days ago taste), and not very exciting. Service was slow with a number of forgotten condiments, missing silverware, etc. although the servers themselves were pleasant and friendly. For a Saturday night, the sparse crowd was telling of the fact that Loon River needs to make some real improvements to keep the customers coming. Happy birthday, Mom...I love you...but let's go somewhere else to celebrate next year.
(1)Debbie Z.
Went here after yet another funeral! Never had been here before, but I did read the reviews. It seemed like it took forever for the food to be put out into the buffet. We had vegetables with dip available, salad, roasted vegetables, chicken, some sort of pasta with tomato sauce, and roast beef. There were no buns when I went up to the buffet, but did replenish the basket after the line finished! For dessert there was some sort of chocolate mousse which looked pretty good. Chicken was dry, the buns were hard, the vegetables and salad were amazing! But of course, how can you mess that up when you choose what you want! It was okay, nothing notable definitely if this was a school it would be a solid "C".
(2)Sandra C.
My cousins had a funeral luncheon at Loon River Cafe. The best thing they had was the mixed vegetables. Also, the chocolate mousse was a favorite. I didn't have any beef, but others at my table said it was "cold". The chicken was good, though. The atmosphere was pleasant and service was good. If you're looking for a place that serves a nice boufet luncheon for a group of people, this would be a nice choice for you. The one thing that could have been embarrassing for many was that the bathroom doors did not say ladies or gentlemen. You just took a chance and hoped you had the right one. I think they were doing some remodeling, so this problem might be fixed by now. Anyway, I guess right. lol.
(3)Jay M.
The white cheddar potatoes where excellent the pork chops where amazing and the pot roast was done well. The reasons of the four stars and not five the spices of the chicken was good but a little dry and they over cooked my sirloin a bit more than I would like. I couldn't comment how the service was due to at the off time I went we were the only ones there.
(4)Dan O.
Wanted a little comfort food and Loon River Cafe was across the street from my hotel. Ended over for a little dinner at the bar. LR Cafe is large, spacious, and very comfortable looking. Bellied up to the bar, had a local microbrew, and ordered the pot roast sandwich with sweet potato fries. Nice amount of meat, tasty gravy, and the fries were hot 'n' yummy. I couldn't finish it all, so took the leftovers back for the next day. Have to come back and try one of their dinner entrees and soups!
(3)Leslie K.
Went here while not eating meat for Lent, and was sadly short on options. I decided to try the Salmon patties. They were good and actually had a lot of salmon in the mix. I also got sweet potato fries, which were great. There were some kinds of sauces on the side of both dishes, but I wasn't sure what they were. The salmon were plated on a fancy dish which was out of place with the stuffed hunting trophies on the wall. Decent food, slightly pricey, bar-type atmosphere. Lots of meat options, though for all the carnivores out there.
(3)Kanisha A.
Crab cakes were bland. Duck was tough. Watched 2 servers count their tips directly ON THE SALAD BAR!!! Notified management about it. Very apologetic, but still never sanitized the area. Never coming back!
(1)Tony S.
Award-winning Chef Ray Hollingsworth came up with the recipes served at this restaurant which builds it's menu on a Michigan theme. The bar and dining area are rustic. That's sounds like a great idea, the only problem is that Chef Hollingsworth is not in the kitchen to see how poorly his dishes are being executed. 2.5 Stars
(2)E P.
Ate here on a Thursday night. Service was good. Food was okay, nothing spectacular.
(3)Linda N.
First, Yelp offered 1000 points to make a reservation here. Non available? Only for 100 points? Hmmm..ok, made the reservation for 8 people at 6:00 because we had an 8:00 show to go to. Arrived at 6:10, our table hadn't been set up yet. After waiting another 10 minutes, we suggested they comp us a drink, which they did, but we had to wait again, as no one was working the bar. Mind you, they were not crowded. Long story short? Finally received our average food at 7:20. Waitress kept disappearing. Asked for the manager, and the waitress said he was coming over, but he never did. When this restaurant opened, it was quite nice. Now it is nothing more than an average to poor place attached to a family hotel, which explained the guy in the bathing suit walking through.
(1)Jazz F.
The staff is nice, but the bar is terrible. They use an electronic machine to measure out the shots AND have the nerve to charge 30 percent more than what I pay for a Makers Mark on the rocks in NYC! For much less in parts of Manhattan, I can get twice as much alcohol!!! There are plenty of other bars within a short distance that I would suggest you try.
(1)Sharief T.
Mediocore and strange selection on Sunday brunch buffet. Waitstaff was nice, but lots of confusion of who the actual person serving us was so omlett orders took over 45min. Also, ordered food for our little one, with the manager and that never came until we said something... the response, "I said yes you could order mac n cheese." So, the order never went in!
(1)Kathi C.
I'm faithful to the Michigan cherry salad, which comes with blue cheese, walnuts and the special cherry vinaigrette. The salmon is better than the chicken. You can also branch out and get the pot roast, buffalo ribeye or whitetail chili. All their beef and chicken are minimally processed, which is not always easy to find. I've also tried three desserts, all of which were tasty- snickers pie, berry cheesecake, and multi-layered chocolate cake. I've never been on 'wild game' night, but that looks like a fun feast too!
(4)Orson B.
Sorry beer selection for Michigan. A hillbilly bar in Grand Rapids has better craft beer options than this place. I had the French onion soup and a cherry chicken salad, which were average but nothing special. This place's main advantage to me is providing a place for a weary visitor at the Sterling Inn to come in after a long day on the road and have some alcohol without worrying about getting a DUI. At least they had Johnny Walker Black.
(3)Kathy W.
Loon River used to be a good place to eat. Made the mistake of buying a Restaurants.com voucher. First clue to a bad experience.. diner has to spend $ 25 to get use the $25 coupon.Generally ,it's $10. The Mixed Grill was a JOKE. I can stay home and pour vegetables out of a bag and thaw out a cheap chicken breast. I don't know what the mystery meat was.. but it was NOT a pork chop. The decor is so old and dusty.. you would expect the eerie taxidermy to come to life . Even they wouldn't eat the food.
(1)Paul P.
The salad was nice and cold....the leafy greens were crisp and nice.....one of the cherry tomatoes was MOLDY on the bottom. In another salad there was a romaine BUTT!!! They are suffering from cut, cut, cut, reduce labor costs, lose help and slack off on kitchen prep and squeeze what's left for every cent of profit. This strategy is doomed from the start!! I have plenty of kitchen experience. I know things happen and in the real world 100% perfect is rarely in the formula at a Best Western Hotel in a Detroit suburb especially.....they dont exaclty have a Michelin star!!! I sent the moldy cherry tomato back to the kitchen inside a bar napkin and finished my salad. The pan fried perch were completely unseasoned!! The ball here has been dropped by the ececutive chef....... fire everyone and start over!!! If I wasn't 63 I'd fill out an app and lend a hand!! BTW.....nobody said anything to our party of 4 re: the salad issues!!! When you stop caring what goes on the plate it's GAME OVER!!! The Sam Adams draft was good!!! The bathroom was clean! Not enough though!!!
(2)Heather H.
Sunday buffet with a group of friends. Weirdly curt service - even for buffet service. Food was ok, nothing spectacular. Had to pay for beverages like coffee/iced tea, which feels like rip-off when paying $19 for a mediocre scrambled egg and iceberg lettuce salad Nice break in the weekend for some girl-time, but wouldn't go back here by choice.
(2)Phillip K.
despite bad reviews on yelp, i had heard good things about this place. so when looking for a midway point to meet a friend recently, we decided on here. i should have listened to yelp. no need for a long review: do not eat here. from stringy venison appetizers to a poor staff (my 1/2 finished soup sat on the table until the end of the meal) to watery drinks to good but overpriced entrees (bison burger and steak), this was a forgettable experience. even the parking lot is too busy. one star for stuffed deer head, fox, and turkey on the walls.
(1)caroline r.
We came here on a week night and there was only 1 chef on hand. I believe our waiter was forced to tell us that because we had waited almost 30 minutes for our food to arrive. The michigan pot roast was good but it tasted like the pot roast was sitting in a crock pot all day. I'm not too sure about the thick cut pork chops. It should have been called a "ham steak on a bone". The place smells of dust and old carpeting. We also were seated at the section where the table vibrated. (lol) The very nice manager offered us a free dessert of our choice for the long dinner wait. The turtle cheesecake was good but not good enough to come back to.
(1)Kooky M.
The appearance of the restaurant was nothing note-worthy. The service was mediocre at best. It was incredibly slow. Our waitress was polite, but not very helpful. Our food was terribly mediocre. So NOT worth the price. I got white cheddar mashed potatoes. I swear they took the premade Gordon Food Service mashed potatoes and added in a barely discernable amount of cheese. There is no possible way that these potatoes were made fresh that day. None. I got the perch. Again - meh. Thankfully I had a coupon for $25 off an order of $50 or more. I would have felt very cheated if I paid full price. It's not that anything was so awful, it's just that it was so mediocre. If it was a diner atmosphere, and I was paying $8-9 a plate, I might consider going there again. But, even still, I'd probably go elsewhere where the food actually tastes homemade, and not frozen, or premade in some manner.
(2)CJ J.
I do not like the loon caf. Everything here is oily, fried, and fried again. The only time I enjoyed my time here was when the Warren office opened up the bar, had a buffet of food, and let us roam and mingle. Now that was a good work function! Of course colleagues get a little crazy after having an open bar and not knowing how to control themselves, but it was still a good time. They have a full food menu but everything is bar food-esque. Nothing is really fabulous. My colleague didn't even like their sundae too much! What the heck?! The Loon is chill if you're stuck in the hotel and want to head down, drink, and chat in a bar. Otherwise I'll pass.
(1)