Mary’s Bistro Draught House
7463 Main Street Like I said in my last blog post, I rarely eat on Mackinac Island. It’s just so pricey.
I was heading back down to the docks to catch the ferry back to Mackinaw City for the night after a long day of work. I was pretty hungry and nothing in the City was really sounding good at the moment. I decided to just stay on the Island a little later and find something to eat.
My main issue with eating on The Island is the price. The food always looks so good and the few times I have eaten at restaurants there, it’s always been amazing. It’s just a pretty big hit to the checkbook.
There is one place I’ve passed for a few years now that I’ve always wanted to try. They have a great tap list and the menu looked really good. I figured since I was going to eat on The Island, I should give this place a try.
Mary’s Bistro Draught House is on the south end of Main Street on Mackinac Island near French Lane and across the street from the Lakeview Hotel. The restaurant is part of a long two story wood building that spans almost the east side of the block. The entrance to the restaurant is marked by a horse head and is right next to the walkway leading to the Mackinac Island Ferry (fka Star Line) Dock.
I was by myself so I didn’t really get past the bar area. There are a number of pub tables along one wall opposite the large bar. The space has kind of a lodge feel to it with the faux timber chair legs and panel walls. The tables in this area have a nice view of people rushing to the ferry to get back to the mainland.
I took a seat at the end of the bar. The chairs aren’t pub stools but are the same chairs used in the seating area. The bar is kind of sports bar-ish with TV’s every where but it has more of an upscale feel to the place.
There’s another dining room going back towards the back of the building overlooking the water but I never made it that far.
The tap list is huge. There are close to 50 taps with beer, cider, and pre-mixed cocktails. There is a video board with all the selections but it was easier to scan a QR code and scroll through on my phone.
I had a burger for lunch at The Chuckwagon but I decided to get a burger again for dinner.
I picked the Bistro Burger. For $18, you get a 7 oz custom blend beef patty, lettuce, and tomato. Everything else is extra. I added on cheese ($1) and bacon ($4) plus added fries. The regular fries are $4 but they have truffle fries for $5. I decided to spend the extra dollar.
Paying $23 for a burger seems a bit excessive but, (in my best Hank Hill voice) I’ll you what, that burger was one of the best I’ve ever had. It was tender and juicy that it just fell apart when I bit in to. It sounds cliche but it kind of felt like eating butter. It was just so smooth and the burger patty by itself was insanely flavorful. The add on of the thick crispy bacon strips and cheese melted in to the crevices of the burger were almost just an added bonus.
The few meals I have eaten on Mackinac Island always end with me complaining about the fries. They’re almost always extra and they’re never anything special. The Truffle Fries I ordered are not something I’m going to complain about. These are skin-on fries with a liberal dousing of truffle oil, salt, and parsley. Very rarely are fries worth the extra money. In this case, they absolutely were.
If you’ve already done the math, you know my bill was close to $40. Was it worth it? To me, yeah, I think it was.
People complain a lot about pricing and a lot of times, that’s justified. In this case, Mackinac Island is a tourist destination so higher prices are to be expected. In the case of Mary’s Bistro, the higher prices also mean a higher quality food. This burger, fries, and a beer was one of the best meals I’ve had in quite a while. Yeah, it cost me quite a bit, but I was still thinking about it the next day and damn near went back after my second day of work on the Island.
SW Michigan Dining 