Darrow's Family Restaurant
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
Travellers' Choice 2024
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Food and ambience
Local cuisine, American, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
“My wife had the meatloaf and though she loved it, took about half in a box.”
“My favorite items are the fresh fish, particularly the perch or the whitefish...”
“It was an entire half chicken (good sized) and the stuffing was so yummy.”
“... for something local. 2 of us got White fish and 1 got meatloaf special.”
Does this restaurant serve Romagna food?
Details
About
American & Family cuisine
CUISINES
American
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours
FEATURES
Takeout, Seating, Parking Available, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Mastercard, Visa, Discover, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service
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4.5
2,426 reviews
Excellent
1,596
Very good
541
Average
174
Poor
49
Terrible
66
Tony S
1 contribution
Aug 2024 • family
I went there on a week day evening with my parents and it was very busy, but only waited about 20 minutes. The food was very good. I got the fish and really enjoyed it. The best thing was the homemade pies. They are delicious. I definitely recommend if you want a good home cooked meal at a reasonable price. This is my parents favorite restaurant in town. I definitely will be back when I visit Mackinaw City again.
Written 31 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vickie
Saint Louis17 contributions
June 2023 • family
Absolutely delicious breakfast. We shared a breakfast three pieces of toast, three eggs, three sausage, three bacon, a slab of ham and fried potatoes for 14.99. Very clean and well-maintained with home cooking
Written 7 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ron H
Rockford567 contributions
May 2024 • couples
Darrow's has been around for years and has a reputation for good food, friendly service and the place to go in Mackinaw. We stop here every time we're in the area and have never been disappointed. Being a family-owned restaurant, they make you feel like family and the staff is as good as the food. You'll be served quickly, waited on efficiently and you will leave full and happy. Expect to wait for seating during the tourist season and go for an early dinner to avoid the crowd. They are consistently excellent in all aspects, and I give them a grade of A+ for service, food and atmosphere. Highly recommended!
Written 16 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Iulius S
80 contributions
Aug 2023 • family
This is one of the most sought for eateries in Mackinaw City. It was full when I arrived but it took 10 minuted for us 5 people to get a table. They don't have alcoholic beverages on the menu, so it has an eat-and-go kind of atmosphere, with the service being also really fast. The portions are quite large. They have plenty homemade pie sortiments to choose from.
Written 18 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
colormeelmo
Farmington Hills369 contributions
June 2022 • none
We stopped in for a late lunch last Wednesday to see if it was as good as the reviews. The place was almost empty, which was nice not to feel rushed and our fish dinners were not only excellent, but the portions were huge, we left thinking maybe we should have split the meal between us. We had ordered two slices of their highly recommended pie but had to get them to go because of how huge our meals turned out to be. We opted for the free upgrad to salads and they were large as well. We will make it a point of eating here in the future whenever we are in the area of passing by there.
The only thing that was a negative is that the older lady that waited on us was very unfriendly the from the moment she first approached us. Maybe she mistook us for people she had had problems with in the past, but we had never been there or seen her before. We go out of our way to be nice to wait staff since we did these jobs once ourselves when in school. My wife, who never has a bad word for anyone said the moment we walked out, "Wow, what a b...h she was."
Written 19 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisamarie L
Madison957 contributions
June 2024 • family
This place was highly recommended to us so we made sure to stop here for dinner while in Mackinaw City.
We were all pretty pleased. The one downside for me is that the menu wasn't exactly to my tastes or what I was in the mood for at the present moment (especially as we'd had a heavier lunch) - lots of meat focused, heavier, American style food. Think stuff like meatloaf, whitefish, breaded chicken, sandwiches/burgers, etc.
I ended up settling on a raspberry chicken salad with grilled chicken and it was very good, and also probably the biggest salad I've ever seen, haha. The portions do not need go to that hard! The others with me were also quite happy with their choices (Turkey club, parmesan whitefish and my kids enjoyed their chicken tenders). Service was great despite it being busy and it's clearly a popular place!
Written 28 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil M
Mount Pleasant129 contributions
May 2022 • none
Darrow's offers a comprehensive menu of reasonably-priced and taste-tempting selections. They offer sandwiches as well as meals. The wait-staff is extremely attentive to the customers they serve. This is a restaurant the whole family will enjoy!
Written 16 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jill G
Farmington Hills3 contributions
Sept 2024 • family
We had dinner one night and breakfast the next morning. At both times we were seated as soon as we came in, greeted by our waitress within minutes, our order was taken as soon as we were ready and our food was served remarkably quick. The food was good and plentiful. The staff were friendly and pleasant. We would definitely recommend - avoid the tourist trap restaurants that offer a discount from your hotel and eat here.
Written 1 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Penny B
Essexville6 contributions
Sept 2023 • friends
We met up with friends for a quick weekend trip to the Island. On our departure day we had breakfast here and are all so happy we did! The restaurant is immaculate and the food was delicious. They served homemade syrup options of blueberry and strawberry in addition to real maple syrup for our pancakes. A real treat! The service was fast and friendly. We will definitely dine here again!
Written 11 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sunlover057
103 contributions
Sept 2023 • couples
We stopped here yesterday for breakfast, and were so glad we did. The building and the lot it sat on were very well kept, made a good first impression. It was busy but we got a table right away. Service was great, as was the food. I had the corned beef hash, it came with 2 eggs, 2 biscuits and sausage gravy. I believe it was all homemade, everything was delicious. My husband just had eggs and biscuits, he also enjoyed his meal. We will be sure to stop again when we are in the area.
Written 12 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mit
7 contributions
Aug 2023 • family
We had 9 people and 9 great dinners. The service was friendly and fast. The food was fresh and tasted like good home cooking. Sandwich, soups, hamburgers, white fish, salads were all great and reasonably priced and lastly the pie was outstanding.
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
908karlener
Big Rapids4 contributions
July 2023 • family
Darrow's is a great place for family meals. This visit we had a group of 11 family members and they accommodated all of us at the same table. The food is always wonderful and the waitress we had when we went for breakfast was great at handling our large group. Great experience and food.
Written 19 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angela D
27 contributions
Aug 2022 • none
The food here was awesome! while we were waiting for our seats I was watching the waitresses bring the food out from the kitchen and when we sat down I described to our waitress a plate I had seen and said "I would like that" it was the whitefish basket and it was delicious. The kids had burgers and shrimp basket which they all enjoyed. Definitely a place for a great meal.
Written 15 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jennifer P
Marquette28 contributions
May 2021 • family
We had been repeat customers over the years but today Darrow’s lost our business for good. We had a party of four in which we were waiting for the 4th person to arrive. We ordered our food, waited for it to be delivered, and were actively eating when the 4th person showed up (that was about a 20 minute span). During that time the waitress kept asking if the 4th person was going to show (she stated the restaurant was serving at half capacity). I was also asked if I needed a box for my food, in which, no I didn’t...I was actively eating and had only finished about a 1/3 of my meal at that time, and at one point the waitress told me the restaurant was now at full capacity (this restaurant has been at full capacity with people waiting 45+ minutes in the past—I know because we’ve had to wait in the past for a table). The vibes we were given by our waitress was hurry up and eat and hurry up and leave. In the time it took for us to order, wait for our food, eat, wait for our 4th guest and have them order AND eat was under an hour. If I wanted a fast food experience, I would have chosen a fast food restaurant. We had purposely chosen Darrow’s for the food and it being a family SIT DOWN restaurant. Next time we’ll pass. There’s too many competitors in Mackinaw City to settle for rude service.
Written 21 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mark M
Fort Collins31 contributions
June 2022 • family
This small family restaurant offers huge portions at good prices. The food was delicious. Mackinac smothered chicken was great, the baskets came with a huge serving of fries. We got there early, around 5pm, at were able to get a seat without waiting, but there was a constant line waiting for seating after that. Thw kids meal portions were large as well. The staff was extremely attentive. It's worth the wait!
Written 15 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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