Plank's Tavern on the Water Review

Food too expensive for what you get and not much to choose from

Delicious food, friendly staff and management. Delisious cocktails and strong beer selection. Will definitely come back.

While I ve eaten here many times and most times the service is great and so is the food, it left a bad taste in my mouth when I came in to the building and saw a server near the bar wearing a politically themed mask, I understand we all have opinions but I d rather not have to deal with someone else s while trying to get breakfast. The restaurant should know better.

Very attractive place but food sometime disappoints. Weird transition time between lunch and dinner. The restaurant does not serve any food for an hour.
Otherwise I like the location, ambiance and the crowds.

Loved the atmosphere and outdoor seating. Crab cakes and burger were delicious

Nice place to get a drink. Food is generally OK depending on what you order. Usually isn't very busy so you can get a table. Nice outdoor dining on the water as well if you like sitting on the deck.

Great service from Kyle. Loved the food. Would stop again next time in town

Beautiful lounge, nice bartenders. Here for a wedding and enjoyed the "after hours" past the reception

Very nice place! Nice small menu but everything was great. Beef short ribs were perfect, the fish and chips were really good and a large portion. Not sure about the herbed fries....little too much rosemary i think it was. Only thing we didnt like. Little pricey but worth it. We will be back!

One of the best places to eat in Benton Harbor, especially if you're looking for a fancy meal. Everything I've had here has been really delicious, from the Mahi-Mahi and the Bagel with Lox, to the Sunday Brunch. I want to try something different each time I go. Great cocktails and beer on tap. The atmosphere is also really nice - sit by the fireplace, along the beautiful bar, or out on the deck by the water.

Great waterfront dinning, great service, excellent food. All at a great price. By far best breakfast in the area. Jen the manager makes
sure everyone has a wonderful experience.

Was just ok. It took a long time for the food to come out (burgers). And there was floaties coming out of the melting ice in my cup. Servers were good. Nice view if you can sit outside

I went for the brunch and the food was delicious and the service excellent. The portions were very big

Went on a super busy day with a ridiculously large party. Things started out great! Staff was friendly, tables were great, service quick. And then the food failed to come. For a really, really, really long time. As in over an hour. So why the 5 stars? Because a manager came over and said the only thing we would have accepted: I am really sorry. We totally dropped the ball. This is not indicative of our usual performance. I make no excuses; I will make an adjustment on the bill and sincerely hope you give us another try. One human to another. We were all seriously impressed!
The food was delicious! And the server exceptional. We all left very happy and will be back for sure!!

Really nice place with great views ! Service and food was really good ! They even bought us desserts ! Thank you.

Very good food and service! Wine lost was Ok, but you have options to work with. Will definitely go there again.

Original Review (8/23) : Overall I would say 3/5. The location was great, right on the water. The food was also pretty tasty. Unfortunately, the service was really realty bad, almost to the point of irritation. We had a small group, 6 adults (2 kids). We had a reservation for my mom's birthday. It took over an hour to get our food. We watched tables come, eat, and leave and we still didn't get it. We asked about it and were told it would be a while longer.

I am sure the waitress forgot, which happens, because after that she didn't come to the table, and even had someone else bring our food out. We didn't ask for any discount or anything, and when we got our bill there was a 20% gratuity added. I understand it is policy, but to have a 250 dollar bill, and almost 50 dollar tip was incredibly disappointing considering how long we waited.

Like I said, it is a good location and the food tasted good, but I don't think I will be going back because the service was borderline unacceptable.

Edit (8/25): I don't want to put the servers name on google reviews, I feel that is not super appropriate, despite the issues we had. Our reservation was under my name at 6:15 on Sunday 8/23. My phone number was attached to the reservation and it would be okay with me if you wanted to contact me that way.

Second Edit (9/9/2020): The issue was not ever resolved, which is unfortunate because when the owner responded to my review I was hopeful that we might be able to have a conversation about it. My original review stands.

My meal from Thanksgiving was wonderful. I just picked up my beautiful meal for Christmas and it s amazing.

Thank you so much
You are awesome

Restruant and food wonderful. But just like
many restruant in St Joe, service slow and terrible but nobody seems to care...

Great food and atmosphere! A little pricier than it's rating online through Open Table, but for Valentine's Day, it was worth it.

Attentive waiter who was not at all pushy as we took our time for a meeting with drinks and appetizers. The giant pretzel was HUGE and the dips were delicious!

Service and food were great. Not too bad on the price. Sat outside and watched the boats. Great view. First time there. Great experience.

Christmas Eve, busy. Ordered beer, wine and Roast beef sandwich at the bar. Prompt attentive service, great sandwich. Nice place with fireplace and cozy tables. Water view.

Good service and drinks. I had the Cheesesteak Sandwich and it was delicious!

Half the staff was great other not so much very pricey for good food

Good atmosphere, service, and generally good food presented well. Kind of pricey for the quality of food.

Nice atmosphere and a great place to get breakfast.

Very good food and good selection. Service was also very good

Terrible service for the second time. 1st time shame on them. 2nd time shame on me. There won't be a 3rd time.

First time in the area and got in late at night so I dont know if there's much area, but I would recommend looking elsewhere.

When you charge $18 for a burger as a patron I expect something better than a pre-formed, previously frozen, flavorless, greasy patty. Topped with lettuce 2 days past its prime and near burnt bacon.

Then breakfast a tiny omelet with a huge plate of over cooked hash browns that have soaked up so much oil it drips off the fork. The omelet was supposed to have tomatoes and green peppers in it, but I could find nothing but onion and spinach with a couple mushrooms.

Two stars only because my server was very nice and attentive and the coffee was drinkable.

The food, location, and atmosphere were great. Oysters were amazing, entrees were perfectly cooked and great flavors. Service was terrible but I think we might have just gotten a bad apple. Would definitely go again and just avoid that waiter.

The shrimp and grits is my all time favorite but the avocado toast is a close second! Yumm

Tequila lime shrimp with bow tie pasta! INCREDIBLE!

First they gave my order to another person then chased him down to get it back the black bean burgers was awful and the kale salad was changed in house but not on the menu to a fruit style salad after the one taking the order described it as it shows on the menu and would not do anything to fix the problem very disappointed

New update found out the bartender was wrong and the GM is taking care of the issues

Found this place during a weekend getaway. The service and food were pretty good. I would go again.

Fun location by the water, great railroad station style. Food was excellent!!! Best pizza I've had in a long time. Small pizza was fairly large and could feed more than one person. Bread sticks were good, have garlic on them in case you don't like garlic but we enjoyed it. Service was spot on, wouldn't change a thing.

Cozy atmosphere, good food (I had the crabs cake Benedict), and good staff as well.

Superb sevice by Jaime. Food was delicious and well worth the price. We really enjoyed eating by the water in the outside area.We have not had Food like this since Italy.

Terrible. Took 2 hours to get our food and the food was average at best. Too bad.

The food here is amazing, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The best part to me is being able to have a drink at the outdoor bar right on the water.

I went there for buffet breakfast, they have a lot of variety, it was excellent for me and my son since he ates little from everything. It has a beautiful view, nearby river.

Always good food and lovely patio area. No indoor dining, but heated patio so you can sit down and enjoy your meal in the fresh air.

Food and service were excellent. The outdoor seating was beautiful. Great music. A very enjoyable meal.

Love this place. Whether it's for a drink and an appetizer with a colleague after work, or a delicious lunch or dinner with my husband, or brunch with my whole family, you just can't go wrong at Plank's. Great service, great food, great drinks, and something for everyone.

I stay in the hotel several nights for work. I should say that the kitchen of this place is pretty good. You can find good meat, increible breakfast, and a huge variety of wines and beverages. As always big portions. The stuff is super nice and always smiling. Totally recommended!

Although Plank s Tavern on the Water is several years into its existence, I had yet to have a dining experience there. Granted, I had met there before to connect with friends at their dockside tiki bar along the St. Joseph River but had not actually sat down for a meal until recently.
The upscale gastropub, located inside The Inn at Harbor Shores is bringing exquisite food to casual dining. They basically have four dining areas, depending on your preference and the weather. Between the tavern area, the restaurant and the outdoor patio, they can seat up to 160 people. They just recently added a new waterfront dining area and are installing two fire-pits. Now you can eat and drink right at the water s edge.
We started with a Charcuterie Board appetizer. This alluring presentation had a variety of meats, spreads, exquisite cheeses, jams and artisan crackers. This a great appetizer to share with a group.


As I looked around at other guests dishes, I noticed they use a lot of micro-greens and edible flowers on many entrees. It makes for spectacular presentation and unique nuances to the flavor portfolio of each dish.
We decided to also try the BBQ Pork Ribeye. I didn t even know there was such a thing as a Pork Ribeye. Turns out, it s like a boneless pork chop taken from the rib area of the loin. Imagine the meatiest ribs you ve ever had, but without any bones or fat. It was tender, thick and juicy. The Traverse City cherry bourbon BBQ sauce had Asian hints that played beautifully together with the cut. This dish is served with a crock of goat and gouda baked radiatore. It s like opulent mac n- cheese! Many could make a meal out of just the radiatore. Fantastic!
We finished with blueberry cobbler with ice cream. It was served on a powdered-sugar-dusted cutting board in the shape of Michigan with the Plank s logo carved into the board. It was presentation was matched by the taste of the fresh blueberries in the cobbler.
Many think that Planks Tavern is just for hotel guests or that they are outlandishly expensive. I couldn t disagree more. It s very affordable, especial for the quality of food and service.
Planks Tavern is making a splash with its beautiful view, attentive service and high-grade cuisine. Great views of the river, outdoor dining when whether permits and fair pricing make this a good choice.

Was there about 2 weeks ago excellent service and the eggs w/grits and shrimp was good , should have taken some home I finished it all and was stuffed. Amazing service will go again.

Great food, great drinks and fantastic service. Views from the outside tables are fantastic.

Gorgeous place, right on the river. We had a great evening, with perfect weather, sitting outside on the patio overlooking the river. The food was good, but the wine selection was only okay.

This place is any absolute GEM! From their Bloody Mary's... to their food and service! After experiencing poor service at other local restaraunts the day prior... BOY were we happy to have come across this place! The atmosphere and location in the water is perfect. The extremely fresh and colorful dishes that were coming out left me wanting to try everything. For drinks we ordered the mimosas, grapefruit champagne, and bloody Mary... everything was so good. For food we ordered corned beef hash, chorizo and poached eggs, Apple and almond salad, and the smoked salmon BLT.... and once again they hit the mark. Delicious! The restaraunt has tempted us to stay at the hotel our next visit.

The food was fantastic! I had lobster mac and cheese. My husband had the Otto Chicken and friends had Kale and Quino salad with chicken and her husband had Pork rib eye. We all shared and raced about each dish. What really made this great was our server Joey. He is such an enthusiastic young man and is passionate about his job. He explained flavors of each dish we questioned and gave excellent recommendations!
I recommend this restaurant and highly highly recommend asking for Joey to be your server! You won't be disappointed!

I have so much fun at this beautiful hotel's restaurant. The drinks for cold the food was hot and the portions were satisfying. The view from the dining room was very beautiful. You couldn't ask for a better place.

Had a great meal. The sea trout is delicious, as is the Marina Meyer lemon salad.

They had really good food and really friendly service. I only went for lunch and I highly recommend the cheese steak sandwich. A little on the pricey side and it's kind of just a hotel bar/restaurant, but I will definitely go back to see what dinner is about!!

We've lived here 11 years and this might have been the best dinner I've had in the area. I had the pork ribeye, my wife had the lobster Mac and cheese - both were fantastic. The service was top notch. It was a great place to celebrate our anniversary without having to leave town. Will have to come back in the summer when we can eat outside overlooking the water.

A great brunch location and one of the phew, if not only place that sells mimosas. Mussels are typically served in the buffet.

I've visited Plank''s on a couple of occasions. The food is wonderful, and the servers are excellent. The food coupled with the view and atmosphere make for a wonderful dining experience.

Delicious! Plank's offers breakfast, lunch and dinner options and everything we tried was exceptional! From the hostess and bartender to our waitstaff and the restaurant managers, all made us feel incredibly welcome. Worth the drive up from South Bend!

Excellent food. Great service. Open deck over the summer is pretty cool

The steak was perfectly cooked, however, it was criminally underseasoned needing salt and pepper, the butter was slightly seasoned but needed a hit more salt as well. The potatoes also needed salt. Asparagus was well seasoned but woody. The drinks were good and worth it. Our server wasn't the best, but the hostess was nice and the other servers seemed friendly.

Love eating here. Great bar and great views from outdoor seating. Most of the menu is great too. Reason I'm giving them two stars is because there $46 filet is not representative of one of the most expensive pieces of steak I have ever eaten. For this price it should be spectacular. Hoping this review adds to a better steak presentation in the future.

For the record I will be back to eat here in the future and will update this review when I do.

Exellent service, delicious food, great ambience, and beautiful presentation.