Barrel Back Restaurant Review

We came during the off season...can't wait to see it in season

Great food. Been there multiple times never had a bad meal. Steak sandwitch is the best. Wings are delicious

The brisket was amazing! Great views and service!

The whitefish sandwich is very good as well as the cuban chicken sandwich. It is right on the water and has great views.

The food is amazing. We were there for a nice relaxing dinner and it was perfect. The craw fish mac was great for an appetizer. Both the maple brisket and salmon were delicious.

I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of the outdoor seating. Everything was very good, potato soup is a must try.

I always enjoy the Barrel Back. I was surprised to see so many negative reviews recently posted. My husband and I had dinner there last night. Although it was much busier than we expected it to be on a Thursday night, due to a group having a Christmas party, we were still seated immediately, received great service and the food was delicious. No complaints!

Have always lived this restaraunt. It gets quite busy in the summer time however during the winter it is easy to get in and out and is quite cozy. They have an ever changing special selection that is always delicious. Lastly their chicken wings are the best I have ever had.

Wonderful food and such a relaxed atmosphere, even in the winter! Get the Walleye Almondine.

They need to bring back the chicken salad wrap, and their whisky prices are outrageous.

We went here by recommendation and were not disappointed. The staff was friendly, the food was tasty, and the view of the lake was a nice bonus.

Excellent food, drinks and service with a magnificent view!

A little expensive. Cool atmosphere. Would love it in the summer with everything open. Excellent food

Small menu for breakfast, but very good. Waitress top notch. Pricing on the high side $14 for eggs and bacon.

Excellent restaurant... quality food, quality staff, great place to go for a unique adventure

Food was great and service was excellent! Great view of the lake

Excellent restaurant with fantastic views of Walloon Lake in the middle of a cool little village. Diverse menu with plenty of good options.

So awesome! Extensive amount of gluten free choices....even desserts!

Food was phenomenal! Service was good and owner was very attentive even though they were incredibly busy!! Highly recommend!!

Fantastic views... great smoked meats...very attentive and fun staff!

Excellent family atmosphere. Helpful staff. Great food.

Great service and excellent drinks! The food is not the greatest.

Very packed and busy (as expected around 6:45) but food was excellent and service was great.

Good food, unique atmosphere, a bit on the pricey side vs. others with comparable quality food, but others lack the unique atmosphere.

Always great food and a great atmosphere - day or night.

Always delicious meals & friendly service. The outside bar area is a fun place to be on a summer day on beautiful Walloon Lake.

TRY THE FRIED PERCH DINNER!!
Everything else i've had at The Barrel Back has been really good - but the PERCH last night was great!
Their Sunday morning breakfast's are great too, especially if you're looking out over Walloon Lake as the sun is rising and shining on the lake...

Excellent food! Great view of Walloon Lake and the hills surrounding it. Good service everytime. Friendly staff that try to help you get what you want. Yup!! I like it there.

Excellent service, food was great! One of the best Ribeye steaks I have eaten. Waitress was very polite and always paying attention.

It's one of my favorite places to go up north Michigan!

I liked it. Good atmosphere. Food was good. Would return. Bought a gift card for my friend.

No!! No Way. Nope. Keep scrolling or you ll ruin your night.

Great place to go in every season! Excellent menu, great service and terrific view!!

Really enjoyed the smoked wings. Very few things to select from on breakfast but it's really good, whatever you get

Cool place, great service and good food. Bananas Foster Bread pudding was excellent!

Don't miss out. Everything about this place is amazing! Food, cocktails, location, ambiance, staff... It's all worth it.

Food was great and service was excellent! Great view of the lake

Very nice meal, good service and a beautiful view! Would highly recommend

Views, atmosphere, and staff were excellent, the meat in my brisket sandwich was very dry. The waiter told me to get an extra side of the horse radish sauce to make it better. Great recommendation! Love this place, one of my favorites in the area. Their whitefish sandwich is my favorite.

Really cool atmosphere on the water. The smoked wings were amazing. My wife had the potato chip crusted whitefish and was very happy. Service was awesome. Will definitely be making a return visit.

By far one of the worst experiences I've had at a restaurant. I entered Barrel Back with a group of acquaintances. The one who decided on eating there I know through school, and was (I do not know if he still is) in charge of some of the bussing staff, has a girlfriend who works there, and his mother works there. Once inside the building he began joking with some of the cooks. The cooks didn't seem to like him and threatened to mess with our food. At our table, my acquaintance told me that he has seen people in the kitchen spit in food; drop food on the floor, pick it up, and then serve it like nothing has happened, and has seen staff pick their nose and stick what comes out in customer's food. If this wasn't bad enough he started talking to the bar tender using very vulgar language, escalating to the point they started yelling at one another.

Awesome environment, live music, great people, great food. Decent prices.

Delicious food, marvelous views of Walloon Lake, especially at sunset.

Suberb wait staff. Amazing menu and a lot of good food. Looking very forward to a return visit.

Great place, nice view from the balcony. Very good meal

Great view, good food, very yuppy crowd though. But that's not their fault. LOL

Recommended by family Blaho and Barney - very delicious

Great views of the water, reasonably priced food with "seasonal" staff. Should you expect more? Yes; our primary server was among the most ungracious people we've encountered in our travels.

We ordered the whitefish / salmon dip to share. The dip was flavorful with small bits of whitefish and salmon in a cream cheese base; very well done. The toast that was served with the dip was too greasy and hard; you may want to request something softer (like bread) or thin and crunchy (buttered crackers) if available.

We ordered cocktails with no fruit (lemons, limes); they arrived with limes. We mentioned this to our waitress who abruptly pulled them from our drinks and threw the fruit over the rail onto the sidewalk below. Pretty snarky move ... one star down.

I had the summer salad and added the smoked chicken; the serving was large, the fruit was fresh and the chicken had a great smokey flavor.

My guest had the Angus burger; it was cooked perfectly and served with freshly sliced toppings. They requested mayonnaise and ketchup. Our waitress returned with the items and threw them on the table. We said thank you; there was no response from her ... two stars down.

Our primary server never asked ... would you like another drink, would you like anymore water, is there anything you need, would you like dessert? Instead she simply placed the bill on the table ... wordlessly. No "thank you for joining us today" ... or a single "you're welcome" to our many thanks ... third star down.

It's unlikely we'll return; there are many places where the view might not be so great and the food a little less tasty, but the service is warm and outstanding. Sorry folks ... two stars.

Food was good view is great. Service was also very good.

Between the food and the view, this is a must if you're in the area.

I was visiting northern Michigan for the first time and went with some family. We went in early June before most of the crowd had arrived for peak season, so we were seated right away.

The food was excellent and had many gluten free options, which was important for our party member with celiac.

Situated on the second floor overlooking Walloon lake, the expansive, mostly outdoor, porch seating was perfect for a sunset dinner. With full height garage doors to enclose the decks in colder weather, it looked like it would be a great year-round spot.

I grew up around the area, so it's really cool to seeing the Walloon Lake village growing up to include such a cool restaurant. It's a place that is both welcoming to Tourists and welcoming for Locals, which is a really hard place to operate.

Good food as usual. Order everything. Last time we went we had theyy Jambalaya. So tasty.Very nice atmosphere. Good lookout from the lake. Will be returning time over time. No covid distancing there which we do not mind.

Interesting deco...beautiful views but not comfortable place to enjoy a meal unless you like eating in a wind tunnel. The food is just ok. My hamburger was cooked correctly but tasted like fish and my fries were soggy. The bread before the meal was good but the butter had an odd taste. I thought maybe it was something local or some specially so I asked the waitress, she said in was from Gordon Foods. It had a sour taste. We leave our butter out all the time but never have had it sour so not sure what the problem was. The staff was attentive but the young waitress seemed to gather near the hostess station and visit. The whole set up was kind of awkward.

I have been a jack and coke girl for years but lately it burns my stomach so I switched to Jameson and ginger ale. Now not everyone has ginger ale but they will fake it with sprite (or 7-up) and a little coke, which I don't really mind too much. My really beef it the ratio of Jameson to mixer. If I wanted mostly Jameson I would order in on the rocks, I like a good 50/50 mix so that my drink is smooth. Call mt weird but that's my pet peeve.

So would I recommend this restaurant...if you want to sit on the water and the day is not sure winding and you like fishy tasting under cooked food...then yes.

We had a wonderful dinner. I had the roasted romaine salad with smoked chicken. Delicious! One friend had the chopped salad and loved it. Another had pizza and it was great. The portions were generous. Our server Melissa was excellent. I had the Avalon Chardonnay and it was good. I highly recommend this place.

Great food, great service, piano music was just perfect for atmosphere. Fantastic view

Good food. Good music. Wonderful staff. Had a great time. Just as much fun as last time we were there. Always a must stop when we are up north.

Nice restaurant in Walloon. Good selection of beer and drinks. BBQ is good and the rest of the menu is also very delicious. If you go in the offseason (Winter) they are offering some incentives to come back which are really worth it.

Our waitress was Tommie, and she was spectacular. The gluten free food is amazing, and the views. Even better. Very cool place.

This is one of my favorite restaurants ever! My husband and I stopped in one winter night recently on our honeymoon after being referred there by a few friends and immediately got snuggled by the gorgeous fireplace. We were serenaded by the lovely live music of Holly Keller, which was at a perfect volume & only added to the gorgeous ambiance. Our waiter was awesome and so chill! While we waited for our order, we enjoyed the view over Walloon Lake out of the mini garage doors upstairs. I had the pulled pork sandwiches and my husband had the southwestern soup and the apple & Brie bread. Everything was OUTSTANDING and mouthwatering. We even felt comfortable enough to get up and slow dance after dinner. What an amazing atmosphere, delicious food, and great staff. We were happy with our experience start to finish! Do not hesitate to enjoy Barrelback!

I've never actually been here so I cannot give a bad remark.

Service, menu choices and the ambiance were outstanding! I had the full order of spare ribs and my lady had white fish. We cannot say enough good things about the restaurant. Simply a great place to relax and have a great meal. Congratulations to the owners, management and staff that make this place great!

I grew up around the area, so it's really cool to seeing the Walloon Lake village growing up to include such a cool restaurant. It's a place that is both welcoming to Tourists and welcoming for Locals, which is a really hard place to operate.