We have been living in West Michigan for years and have never visited the legendary Bilmar restaurant in Grand Haven on the beach. Our conservative friend Mike (don’t tell him I said that) always raves about it, so we finally gave it a try a month or so ago.
This place is a historical place right on the beach. The look has been updated. It still has the typical bells and buoys blended into the décor and a few funky things like a sanitary door handle in the bathroom that you don’t have touch with your hands. Germaphobe heaven !
The Bilmar has a friendly small town atmosphere. A bit more casual style than you would expect for an upscale restaurant, but I much prefer too casual as opposed to too stodgy.
The waitress highly recommended the fried perch. It was… fried perch. I also ordered steak fries with it, not sure why. I guess I wanted to stick with the fried theme. My wife got fish cooked in parchment and declared it to very good. Not a West Michigan “flavor find” but very good. My buddy Mike odered a very large porterhouse steak. I was able to coerce a taste and it was again, quite good. Oh, I almost forgot, we ordered the stuffed mushroom caps and they were a traditional style and were really quite excellent
There are no beers on tap, but a decent list of bottled beers. Nothing notable under libations.
This is just a bit pricier than average, but certainly not exorbitant. Plan on around $17 to $25 for entrees
Just south of the state park at 1223 S Harbor Drive · Grand Haven, Michigan 49417 Phone: (616) 842-5920 Website: www.bil-margrandhaven.com
We had read reviews calling this an old person’s restaurant. It’s kinda true. You will get good food and friendly service. Be prepared to pay into the $20′s for most entrees and don’t expect anything innovative or uniquely flavorful. Except the stuffed mushrooms.
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