Harbor Lights Grille

Our first time coming here, but definitely won’t be our last! Their dessert offerings alone are worth the stop, but the lunch club sandwich and whitefish sandwich were also delicious! Beautiful spot on the lake. Our server, Charles was awesome! Stop in you won’t be disappointed!

7-20-24 Went back tonight for fish (Parmesan encrusted and broiled)-both delicious and we have found our new (to us) favorite local restaurant officially 👍

8-4-24 We had Charles as our server yet again and he is just the best! Chef Ben kills it every time-tonight we had Parmesan encrusted whitefish and smothered chicken, both delicious and that chicken soup is just perfection! See you soon!

8-24-24 We literally come here every weekend, everything is amazing and Charles is the best!!!

This is a hidden gem! We were staying on the lake and this was recommended to us. We had a wonderful take-out steak dinner the night we arrived. When I picked up our food I explained that I had to do take out because we have 2 dogs with us and don’t want to leave them. We were told we could bring them as there was four top out on a small deck. The food was great and cooked by someone who knows how to cook. Even the mashed potatoes and gravy were light and fluffy with some larger chunks for texture. We went back for breakfast and it was so peaceful and nice to sit outside and enjoy a great breakfast with the dogs. I had the Brittany special and the pork cutlets were tender and moist. Dad had the corned beef hash and it was clearly homemade. Highly recommend you start your day here and/or finish it!

Loved this stop! Came here for breakfast, and it didn't look busy, but I found out one of the workers called in because their dog had passed. Our server was her mother and filled us in on it. Our deepest sympathies for her and her family.

Despite being understaffed, their team did a fantastic job of getting us taken care of. That coupled with the delicious food and beautiful scenery made this a favorite for my wife and I.

Beautiful views. Great dinner. Service was friendly. Romantic lil dinner date with hubby.

My husband and I have eaten here twice - once for breakfast and once for dinner. My husband had the steak bites off of the appetizer menu with a loaded baked potato and I had the fried shrimp platter. Everything that we ate was delicious. The staff there are extremely kind and attentive. The view of the lake is a much added bonus. I also recommend trying the cinnamon buns which are the size of a pancake. Delicious food!

After trying a few places in Mackinaw City and Saint Ignace with bad experiences with them all we tried Harbor Lights Grille. Wished we would have started here. I would not have burned my money in town. On the last day of our trip we drove down to Carp Lake to try this beautiful restaurant on the edge of Paradise Lake. We sat overlooking the water and had a great breakfast. My wife ordered a small breakfast of one egg, sausage and toast. I had the Southern Omelet with hash browns and Sourdough toast. All very good. We left from there and drove up to Whitefish Point Lighthouse and sat on the beach for a while. We started planning for dinner and both had the idea to stop at the Harbor Lights Grille on our way home down state. We both ordered the homemade meatloaf dinner. It said 10 ounces but seemed like a full pound. We both ended up taking some with us. It was very good. We highly recommend this restaurant and hope to get back ourselves. You will enjoy it.

A real hidden gem off US31 on Paradise Lake! We ate dinner and breakfast there, and both meals were excellent, particularly the stuffed hash browns and Cinnamon Roll French Toast breakfast 😊! They have the largest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever seen. Service was excellent as well. We’ve eaten at a couple places in Mackinaw City, and I would drive the 10 minutes to get here, except if you want a drink (alcoholic) with your meal.

We really enjoyed our food. Our server, Paula, was amazing. This will definitely be a place we return back too. Excellent fish. Their cheesecake was the best I've ever had!

This place is so good, we ate dinner there one evening and went back for breakfast! For dinner we both ordered the whitefish, regular broiled & panko crusted. Both were phenomenal beautifuly presented and some of the best we've had, we are very discerning fish eaters. Pic is the panko crusted whitefish. If ypu make it up to tje Carp lale, Mackinaw area, make it a point to stop here!

This place is awesome! If you’re near Mackinaw City, skip those restaurants and come here instead.

Incredible. The house-corned beef was exceptional. Best blueberry pancake I’ve ever had. Cinnamon roll to die for. And the location and friendly service— wow!

Last meal in the UP, I'm glad it was here. Sweet, friendly staff. Beautiful lakeside views while you enjoy breakfast. Perfectly crispy hash browns and delicious sausage.

Delicious! We had a party of 8 everyone got something different and everyone was very pleased with their meal. Bonus you get a view of the lake. This is a hidden gem because just driving by you might miss it.

What a nice little surprise on our travels! We stopped for breakfast, it was hard to choose what to order, most of my favorite breakfast dishes are on the menu! I ordered the steak and eggs, which I received to perfectly as ordered! My daughter got the skillet which she enjoyed as well. My husband ordered Doms breakfast and cinnamon roll french toast..which is huge! The waitress was super friendly, courteous, and extremely hospitable. The restaurant provided a cozy and comfortable atmosphere with a beautiful view of Lake Paradise. Overall an awesome experience that we hope to enjoy again. Thank you so much!!

This is our go to breakfast place! We love the quiet sunrise over the lake in the winter with the porch converted into a Christmas collage. The servers are always friendly, and the food is fresh.

Great dining experience. Went for breakfast, was greated by a friendly hostess, Angel. We had a large group and received excellent service from Heather and Angel. Our food was excellent and was exactly what we ordered. This is our yearly stop when come up.

This was my favorite lunch in all of Michigan! Excellent food and service, the cod special was amazing! Couldn’t beat the beautiful view of the water and it felt like we were almost in it. You gotta leave the big city for real food and not overpriced. Don’t forget homemade cheesecake!

We came Saturday morning for breakfast(Labor day weekend) and we really enjoyed this restaurant. Food was good, prices are on point, and our server was great!

My wife and I were vacationing at a family cottage in Carp Lake. We ate 3 breakfasts and 2 suppers there.

The food is excellent! On Sunday mornings, they have breakfast pasties, filled with eggs, hash browns, breakfast meats and topped with sausage gravy. It's a must have!

The second time we were there, we had the Broaster Chicken with fries and onion rings. Delicious! If you're familiar with Broaster Chicken, then you know how good it is! Outside of that, the sidewinder fries were fantastic. They are fries that seem to be cut in a crescent shape. I never had them like that before and I cannot recommend them highly enough! I ordered the onion rings for myself and was definitely not disappointed. They were beer battered and beautifully fried with a nice sweet onion in the center. Yum!

The third time was for another breakfast. My wife had a breakfast skillet thing that had an egg on top. That was very tasty! I had Cinnamon Roll French Toast with sausage links and an egg. It was amazing! I never thought of using a cinnamon roll as the bread in French Toast. It only needed a light drizzle of syrup. The French Toast batter complimented the cinnamon roll perfectly!

The fourth time we were there, my wife had the New York Strip and I had the Cajun Blackened Whitefish. The steak was done perfectly. It was medium rare and seasoned so skillfully that it did not need anything added at the table -- not even a grain of salt!
I had my Whitefish, which was just as excellent! It was seasoned with authority, creating a outer crust that complimented, but did not overpower, the Whitefish. As far as sides, I had a wild rice pilaf, which was made in their own stock, and a salad. My wife had a baked potato, and some very good, homemade chili.

Our last stop was when we were leaving to go back home. We stopped for breakfast. My wife had the steak and eggs. The steak was just as good as the New York Strip from the previous time. I had a French toast with bacon and an egg. That French toast was amazing with it's eggy goodness. The bacon was cooked perfectly.

We also ordered dessert on 2 occasions. For the first occasion, we ordered the lemon meringue and the coconut pies. They were very good! The lemon tasted like my MIL's super secret recipe! That says a lot because I don't like lemon and my MIL's recipe (and now Harbor Lights) are the only ones I will eat! The coconut pie was amazing as well! You can tell a master baker made those!

The second time we had dessert, we decided to try a couple of their numerous cheesecakes. My wife ordered the Lavender Cheesecake, which was very good! I wasn't certain about the Lavender flavor, but it worked really well with the creaminess of the cheesecake. I ordered the cinnamon roll cheesecake. It's a taste combination that everyone should try. It is a perfect balance of the cinnamon and the cream cheese. It was just beautiful!

The restaurant is right on Lake Paradise, with a dock that welcomes boaters and has amazing views of the lake. The interior is pristine, with all sorts of sea/lake decor that offers a warm and inviting atmosphere to all who enter.

Finally, the greatest part of these experiences are the people that work there. Every one there were so genuinely nice and helpful! By the end of the week, we were starting to be on first name terms with all the waitresses. And you will be hard pressed to find a harder working crew, especially during rush times.

I can honestly say that, if you're in the area, Harbor Lights is a gem waiting to give you a pleasant experience with amazing food and fantastic people.

I really enjoy this place each summer. I was here yesterday with my wife for some steaks. Though we ordered medium and they came almost well done, this place deserves 5 stars. Why? The waiting staff is always kind. Food is almost always correct. Breakfast phenomenal. We came back now for the daily tomato bisque soup my wife is craving from yesterday. They dont have it so were trying a new one and a different entree. Ive been here 8-10 times over the last couple of summers after work and its worth the short drive from mackinaw. The desserts, pies and ice cream parlor is cool option. Its tough to beat the homemade style options they offer. Great views of the lake too. I Highly recommend to lots of tourists as well while i’m at work.