The Casual Chef Café & The Pumpernickel Inn
16090 Red Arrow Hwy, Union Pier, MI, 49129
The Casual Chef Café & The Pumpernickel Inn Menu
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Address :
16090 Red Arrow Hwy
Union Pier, MI, 49129 - Phone (269) 469-1200
- Website https://pumpernickelinn.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
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Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Breakfast, Lunch, Dessert
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : No
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : No
Dogs Allowed : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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Ay D.
Dropped into the Casual Chef Cafe during a slow period on Sunday morning. The server took forever to get to us, and we noticed another table getting pretty fed up with the wait. They ran out of the ingredients for the bagel and lox, which was one of the few decent looking things on the menu. The server looked a little flustered and mumbled something about "it's hot in the kitchen." Huh? Why wouldn't a kitchen be hot? A minute later, we heard an angry short order cook cursing up a storm. So it was temperament hot, not necessarily temperature hot. The waffles were decent with whipped cream and strawberries on top and the apple sausage was pretty tasty. Saw that the pancakes were thin, tiny, and burnt - glad we didn't go with those. The eggs and toast were pretty pitiful - you could do a better job at home on this dish with a massive hangover.
(1)Frank R.
they did not want to serve us, I suspect racism was the reason, read the micheal j review on this page, we went together. Amazing thing that Michael forgot is that the hostess offered to suggest another location where we could go...farther away. That convinced me that it had to do with the color of our skin & not the content of our character
(1)Sue H.
What an experience! I should of read the reviews before going in this place! We were looking for a place on red arrow highway for breakfast on Labor day morning, saw a sign in the cafes window "serving breakfast" Great!!First walking in we were totally ignored felt like we were invisible, finally I asked a young waiter if we could sit any where, he said yes. We noticed two large tables had a "reserved"card on the tables. (Never got used). We sat, about 10 minutes later we got coffee, ten more minutes later the young boy took our order. 15 minutes later he came back and told us they were out of bacon! Finally he served the eggs, and barely toasted toast, we never received the potatoes or fruit bowl! After we ate the eggs we told him to forget the fruit and potatoes. Oh pancakes came after we ate the eggs! As we finished a family came in mom,dad,grandma and three children, figuring out where to sit because the two large tables had reserved signs on them, they were told sit any where, then minutes later they were told they couldn't be served, they had two many people in their party!! Our mouths dropped open and all we could do was laugh! Don't know how this place stays in business! The one star is for the poor kid who had to do all the dirty work for the useless cook in the kitchen! Never again!!!
(1)anne k.
We stayed in union pier and this restaurant / ice cream place was around the corner from our house. I wish I could do two reviews of the same place, but I can't so I will do them both here: 1. Gelato: It was great, they have a great selection and everyone in our group found what they wanted. Only two people working and they didn't have a real system down on orders and taking payment so that was a little annoying, but the gelato was really good. 2. Cafe: HORRIBLE SERVICE. We got there at around 12:00 and there was one other table in the restaurant. The waitress eventually took our order and then disappeared. 30 minutes later we flagged her down and she apologized for the wait and explained that the chef was unloading a truck (at noon on a friday) and the second chef didn't know how to make the ravioli I had ordered. She asked if I wanted anything else and promised to bring it right out. I ordered a veggie sandwich. 15 minutes later still nothing and she wasn't even in the cafe area. We got up to leave and passed her on our way out. Her comment was "I understand that you have to go...." No apology or anything.
(2)Josh H.
The negative reviews surprise me. I have eaten here several times and have never been disappointed. It is a small, cozy place - not the place for a group - and I certainly don't find that to be a criticism. I have not had the pleasure of trying the breakfast, but I have had several business lunches here and have yet to be disappointed. I have never felt the service to be poor, but know where you are - this is a small place and during peak timing, God forbid a peak day such as July 4, you will wait. This is not McD's and it will not have 4 or 5 wait staff working on moving you in and out for seating maximization.
(4)Darkling S.
I've been visiting this Harbor Country area for two decades but never had the occasion to stay overnight or sample the cafe. So this weekend I made a spontaneous trip to search for antiques and photograph the lakeside. Glenn has a few rooms upstairs that are brightly painted, clean and very affordable. The sitting area downstairs separate from the cafe and ice cream shop has Wifi and my room, number 1, also got excellent reception. No TV and no phone but this is a vacation retreat. Breakfast in the cafe is included - any breakfast choice and there are many! Even tho it's located at the main intersection it was quiet - not much traffic and no sirens! They have BYOB. Finally, the public beach is just a half-mile walk west and there is parking. So this is my new hangout in Union Pier. Try it.
(4)Mike R.
This star is for the servers and the quality of the food only. Apparently the owner/casual chef (a bit TOO casual) has never actually worked in the food service industry where you need to rely on repeat business. Stopped in for Sunday brunch recently. Upon being seated we were told "it's going to be a while for your food because the kitchen's backed up". An inauspicious start and definitely a warning sign. Saw two other couples leave after being seated and then ignored. Had to flag down the "hostess" - who did everything to avoid making eye contact with us - in order to just get some coffee. 15 minutes later we had our order taken, then told after ordering that one of the items wasn't available. Fine, changed that order and in a reasonable amount of time our food arrived. Tasty, but nothing to really wow me. Right after receiving our food our friends - another couple - joined us and had their breakfast orders taken. 30 minutes after having their orders taken they were told that the "chef was cleaning the kitchen and wasn't making any more breakfast". Apparently he doesn't notify his wait staff when he decides breakfast is over. Instead of apologizing and comping the Coke and coffee, the waitress presented the bill for those two items to our friends with all of the other items crossed off. In addition, they had difficulty adding a dollar tax to our bill and couldn't get the math right after two tries. I feel sorry for the staff, but the owner shouldn't be patronized for his treatment of his staff and customers. Never again.
(1)Chris R.
Food is good if you can get the cook to work. We have been here a few times and haven't gotten food because there isn't enough staff. Sign says open, but nobody is home. Cannot figure out how to run a business this way but maybe things will change and we will try again next summer.
(1)Carol T.
This update is just to comment how interesting it is that the more recent negative reviews keep ending up being moved to the "filtered' zone. It's almost as though they're being flagged or something. The bottom line for this place is that the chef is incapable of cooking more than one or two meals at a time, and rather than correcting for his lack of skill, he punishes his wait staff and his customers by refusing service and closing the kitchen even after orders have already been placed. I am amazed that he is still in business.
(2)alexander p.
Went here this morning (Labor Day) and got a bagel amongst other things... Opened it up from its surround wrap to discover mold on it!!! Shocked...
(1)Karen G.
Very cute inside with a interesting wide ranging selection of soups - like 15 of them and at least double that in ice cream selections. They ever give free tastes. I had the ham and brei cheese sandwich- it was really good on like a petzel bread. But please be aware- its TINY. I really could have easily eaten 2 orders plus of it. I thought it was not nice to have that small of a sandwich for a lunch entree. My mom had the grilled chese which was really good. Bt the one side of it was very burnt. We thought it was funny that teh cook flipped the sandwich so the burnt side was down. This is also a little ding in the enjoyment of the place.
(2)Steve D.
This is one of our favorites places for lunch. Not sure why the reviews are so low. The food is always been for the 8+ years we've been coming very good. Service, like most places here, is hit or miss but always friendly if slow and unattentive. Try it and you will probably be back for a small quaint delicious detour from red arrow highway at the union pier intersection.
(4)Paul L.
This is for the casual chef and not the Inn. Two kids running the whole floor with a full dining room. Ordered one of the salads which came with Raspberry Vinaigrette. We requested a Balsamic instead. We waited 30 minutes for the replacement dressing to come. Why? The server, who was extremely nice, had to write a ticket in to the cook, who is the owner. We asked to take the salad off the bill and the server said she has to get permission from the boss, which was the cook. He wasn't responding to either. When the dressing finally came, it was your typical Balsamic. It had the flavor but the consistency was like gravy, thick. Too bad because the menu looks good. The owner/manager/cook is not offering any customer service.
(1)Joanna J.
Thank you Glenn for your response. Two people from our party walked in and the hostess simply said that they will not be serving us. She offered no explanation, nor did she ask for the number of people in our party. The rest of our group were in the car and had not yet entered the building. Therefore party size obviously had nothing to do with not being served. Another couple behind us were also refused service, which they said was common for this cafe. A professional explanation from the hostess as to why were we would not be seated would also have been appropriate. I can also understand being refused service if the cafe was very busy from other diners, or Inn guests. The cafe only had two other couples being served at the time that we arrived. If reservations for large parties are required perhaps the business name "The Casual Chef Cafe" is a little misleading. How would visitors to Union Pier know that reservations for breakfast to a "casual cafe" were required?
(1)Mark T.
Serena was great and we met they owner who takes great pride in preparing great tasting food that is also healthy. You can just stop in for some gelato, Starbucks coffee or enjoy the sunshine in this very well lit place for a terrific breakfast or lunch.
(5)Patti D.
Cute cafe and adjacent ice cream shop - super delicious homemade ice creams & gelatins, sundaes, etc. Even though they don't offer floats I just bought my own IBC root beer from the cooler in the store, asked the counter gal to drop two big spoonfuls of ice cream in a cup and top the ersatz float off with some whipped cream! No problem! Delicious, especially when enjoyed from the open-air side porch!
(4)Courtney W.
Tried to go here for breakfast on a Saturday at 930, with a party of six in August. There were numerous open tables including one with six chairs. We were told it was a 45 minutes wait. So we left.
(1)Rebecca C.
Gelato This place has the best Mi Gelato! Take the kids and go !!! Many flavors and you can sit outside I you like. They also have great soup
(4)Johanna G.
We stopped there on 8/4/13 while driving from Traverse City to Chicago and despite the OK food, it was a bad experience. The servers acted as if they were doing us a favor and when I asked for more onion, it caused a major kerfuffle. Apparently, the kitchen staff do not like to give anything extra, even a slice of onion and even when I offered to pay for it. We also had to wait a ridiculous amount of time even though the place wasn't crowded at all. Will never stop there again.
(1)Michael F.
What a delighful little little sandwich and gelato shoppe. Hand crafted sandwiches, homemade soups, and a wider than usual vegetarian selections. Cute atmosphere and friendly staff.
(4)Ashley P.
Took the fiance for a weekend trip for his birthday in late-July and found this place while searching for B&B's. This joint seemed like the perfect fit for the trip: - cheap nightly rate of $90/night with complimentary breakfast - full-service cafe open late - right on Red Arrow Highway between New Buffalo and Warren Dunes It was great! We stayed in the Beachside Suite and, while the room was small and had no TV, the bed was comfy-cozy and we actually enjoyed being forced to slow down and just enjoy the here-and-now. And while there was no TV in our room, there's a private sitting room for folks staying at the B&B. Oh, and their gelato/ice cream is so good! I highly recommend the s'mores and bananas foster. They had some other pastries and pies, but since it was so hot out, we stuck to gelato. This place was great, especially for a quiet weekend getaway. Honestly, there's enough to do in the area that you won't even miss not having a TV in your room.
(4)CJ Q.
5 stars for Good food. 2 stars for the wait. Creative, well thought out menu items. Soup of the day was like 8 or 10 hard to decide on just one options. Cute atmosphere. Super nice server. But the chef couldn't keep up with a full cafe. Not sure if they were caught off-guard for a busier than usual off-season wknd (Harvest Days Fest) or someone out sick? Just be sure you're not already starving before you walk in just in case. Highly recommend crabby burger.
(3)Ed R.
Poor service high priced mediocre food prior 1 star ratings correct.
(1)Bob K.
Had there share of service problems when busy but food was great. Just informed THEY ARE OPENING SOON! That is good news. Nice menu and care is taken by kitchen to make it as you like it. Gelato is to kill for. Go here and you will be happy you did. If place is busy...be patient!
(4)Jason L.
Don't get a bad impression of this place based on some of these reviews. Look, it's a tiny breakfast and lunch place in Harbor Country. It's not a diner. We have breakfast here most weekends, and the service is heavily influenced by the number of customers being seated. (I am a Casual Chef apologist, I admit) This is NOT a place for groups. Menu is simple, food is prepared well. Great quiche. Great place to sit back and read the paper, drink some coffee, relax. Y'know, CASUAL, like the sign says. Don't be in a hurry, where do you need to be? If you're uptight, or expecting this place to be something else, you're not going to have a good experience. Also a good place to grab a soda or some Palazzo's (Michigan local) gelato the rest of the day while on the go.
(4)Rob P.
This review is for the Casual Chef Cafe, not the Pumpernickel Inn. I ate here yesterday. The name of the restaurant says it all. The chef is casual indeed. It's like he just doesn't care. When I first looked at the menu, I saw pancakes for $3.95. I thought that was a great price. Then, I got the pancakes, and they were incredibly greasy and not so tasty. These may have been the worst pancakes I ever ate. Just to clarify, I ate about a half a pancake. It was like he had a list of pancake ingredients and just threw them together on a griddle without measuring the correct quantities. The bacon was incredibly crunchy. Some people like their bacon that crunchy. That's not really my preference. One of my friends also ordered a side of bacon. It never came out. We mentioned to our server that his side of bacon never was brought out. She just kind of nodded, and she did subtract it from the bill, however, she never tried to rectify the situation by bringing out bacon. The toast was OK. They serve Starbuck's coffee. I noticed all of our coffee had bubbles at the top, so I'm guessing they never cleaned all the soap out of the coffee pots or something? When I go to Starbucks' or brew coffee (any kind of coffee) at home, my cup is never filled with bubbles after pouring it. Go to Blue Plate Cafe a 3 minute drive down the street instead of this place. You won't be disappointed.
(1)Julie Z.
Arrived hungry at 4:45pm. Menu looked great, never got to eat there, stopped serving sandwiches at 4pm. Really?
(1)Lanae S.
Less than a star. Saw the "Breakfast" sign and went at 11AM on a Sunday (usually a major brunch day). Waited patiently, then 2 of us ordered breakfast and 1 person ordered a salad. Waited patiently. Waitress came back and said, either all order breakfast or all order lunch, no splitting between lunch and breakfast allowed..... Ok the 8 yr old who wanted the salad picked a breakfast item. Waited patiently. THEN she comes back and says, we're no longer serving breakfast!!!! What??? We took our coffees to go and left. Unreal. So never ate the food, but just couldn't get thru the shifting sands of their rules. I felt sorry for the servers in their servitude. Give me a break (fast)! A breakfast Nazi lives! On closer look, it's a dump, dirty plates everywhere including on the ground.
(1)Kathryn B.
Been sitting for ten minutes.. There is only three other tables in here and we have not yet been greeted by the teenage server. About to walk out! Service here sucks!!! If you are a local you wont get service, maybe if you are a fip they might acknowledge you? I won't be back..
(2)emily m.
Well the menu looked great for lunch ! Unfortunately there was zero service!!! Two teenagers were working. One "cooking" and one serving ice cream from the ice cream bar to 20 people. No one in the restaurant. We sat at our table for 20 minutes without a single acknowledgement. Not a professional establishment. This is 4th of July weekend and it was lunch time!!?? Perhaps there had been some great unexpected catastrophe with staffing ? Too bad. Menu looked yummy.
(1)Mike L.
I have same review posted under Pumpernickel Inn as well as the whole place is intertwined. That said, go elsewhere. You can get good service elsewhere. Why deal with this frustration. Ok, I've had a great breakfast here before, but they go out of their way to make me dislike them. Where do I start.... First the service is HORRIBLE like really bad. You look around and there may only be 2 or 3 other tables seated, but no matter their staff just doesn't care to treat customers well. The wait after order is loooonnnngggg. On my last, and final, attempt to give them redemption I ordered a fresh fruit plate with my French toast (which took an hour to arrive at the table) I got literally 3 grapes, 2 strawberries, and a 1/4 banana.... For a cost of 5.99!!!!! WTF?? After I complained the manager response was that's what it is. Fair enough, but now I'm done and I caution you in advance. MGR comment claims I had wrong place. I can assure you I didn't. From the tea kettle collection, muffins and coffee self serve from the center table to ice cream served in adjacent area.... This is the place. AND no worries I won't be going back and anyone reading this shouldn't either.
(1)Andrew S.
This is the worst service I have had in a long time. When I asked the host for a table he was currently in the process of bussing, another Busser dropped a stack of 6 plates on the ground which reined priority at that point. This delayed our seating approximately 20 minutes, finally when we got to sit down the time had passed for breakfast and they would not accommodate us. Do not eat here unless you enjoy inconvenience and have time to waste.
(1)Roseann M.
After two very pleasant nights at this Inn, and two good meals later, I am definitely a fan. My friend Miss Mary and I rented rooms 1 and 2 for two nights mid-week for $95 night. There were located at the end of the hall, past hallway door that gave us great privacy. My room had the bath, and we shared it. Although Miss Mary had visited this Inn several times before, more than 10 years had passed, and I had never visited. When I looked at the website, I'd thought that the color of the rooms was garish, and wondered if I would be able to sleep while that paint was yelling at me. Once I arrived and actually saw the rooms, it was clear that the colors, while deep, were muted, and that both rooms were well-decorated and welcoming. There are no phones and no TVs or radios, which was fine with us. The hotel does have free wi-fi, so if you can't stand being without your electrical lifeline, there is a connection. The Inn is located only a 5-minute drive from I-94, directly on the Red Arrow Highway. There is some traffic noise because of this, which you will notice if you have the windows open at night. There is also a train that runs nearby about 100 feet away, so that is noticeable too. Gentle Reader, I am able to sleep easily through all this. I live in Chicago. I was raised on the El, noisy neighbors, and barking dogs. However, if you are off a very sensitive nature, this might bother you. It's a matter of convenience. One thing that I didn't realize beforehand - we did not have any maid service. That means same towels, and nobody made my bed for me. Again - I am fine with that. If that means we got a better overnight rate (and we had a really, really good rate), fine and dandy. I've been making my own bed for many years now. If, however, you cannot stand to reuse the towels that were used on your own body, you might go elsewhere. There is a gravel parking lot at the side of the building that is convenient and close. Attached to the Inn are a deli and a small grocery store, so you can get all the beer, wine, lotto tickets and other sundries you need. The Inn does not have it's own store, nor does it need one with these two others sharing the same structure. I wish there had been a nice place to sit outside and watch the stars roll by, but there isn't. Again, it is at a convenient location, but it just doesn't have the outside space. There are a few chairs and a picnic table outside within a fenced area, next to the parking lot, but there's not a lot of charm there. It did provide a space to leave our bikes, though, so that was good. Now, to the Casual Chef Cafe - we had lunch there for two days, enjoying black bean soup, two kinds of salads, and a veggie sandwich. There is a large vegetarian selection. The food tastes fresh and delicous. The only issue I saw when I was there was that there was only one waitress serving 9 tables. As a waitress in a long-ago life, I can tell you, that station is really too big for one person to handle. Plus, this waitress was handling ice cream sales, and taking payments for lodging. She was very efficient, and kept running at about 90 miles an hour just trying to keep up, but she needs help. There was a sign out front of the building that read "help wanted now", and I hope the Inn's owner is going to hire another server. She was really busting her buns to do everything. I just think too much was asked of her. Bottom line, Gentle Reader: I would stay here again. And I have no problem recommending this place to you.
(4)Andrea J.
This review is for the cafe. We did not stay at the Inn. The obligatory one star goes to the servers and the selection of veg-friendly menu items in an otherwise non-veg-friendly area. The food was just ok; it was certainly not worth sitting through the kind of experience we had here. I am honestly surprised to see this place still in business. The owner/chef seems like an absolute tyrant, and to be honest, I'd like to tell the servers to save your dignity and get new jobs. No one deserves to be publicly humiliated the way these servers are. We wondered if the chef was just having a bad day, or they were short a cook, but from the other reviews this is an on-going thing. We spent our lunch in the most uncomfortable position - having to listen to the chef yell and swear and treat the servers like total crap, while they were forced to turn away confused and angry customers from an almost completely open restaurant. Apparently it is the chef's policy to not take new orders until all other orders are out on the table. I'm going to assume that he's never worked in a restaurant before this one, because even with a small kitchen, he'd know how quickly a policy like that fails. And it was apparent his policy was failing hard the day we were in there, given the large number of people who were turned away or just got up and left.
(1)Aivilo E.
This is for the restaurant, not the inn. I must have been here on the same day that Andrea J was who reviewed on 10/4/2011!!! I remember a major calamity happening coming from the kitchen, then a server quit, and we were told that we would not be served after we had waited a full half hour after we placed our order. My kids cried because they were so hungry when we left. Yeah, I actually have come back since then. Maybe I am crazy. I've eaten here maybe six times. Food is really, really good. Service is s-l-o-w. The employees are really treated poorly, it is true. I've heard it more than on one occasion. It's embarrassing for them and for the patrons. Now that I think about it, I probably won't be back ... it feels really, really uncomfortable every time I am in there. I always forget that before I go, because I like the food. Once we contacted the restaurant for information on catering an event for about 50 people. They never responded. In hind sight, it was a good thing that we found someone else ... this place is kind of like nitroglycerin. Back to the food - yummy, creative and healthy. There is something for everyone. It is a cozy little place that has good food. The theatrics going around you is really hard to overcome though.
(2)Barbara d.
Great, fresh food and wonderful prices. Cozy decor. Plenty of healthy and vegetarian options including a list of half a dozen soups. The curried squash soup and carrot citrus soup were packed with flavor and so yummy we are determined to recreate it at home. As others remarked, there was one server who had too much to do, but once we placed our order, the food came up fast.
(4)