Bywater Cafe at Michigan Beach

Cute beachside place to grab something to eat. We had the fries, Bison burger sliders and the red beans and rice. Prices are reasonable and the food was good. Enjoyed the service.

I've had courteous service and delicious food every time I've eaten here. Is it as fast as McDonald's? No. McDonald's is over on Bridge St south of Carpenter if that's your standard. Of course, McD's lacks bison sliders and fresh baked scones--and a beach. Thank you, Bywater Cafe.

A great location to stop by for a quick bite to eat while out at the beach. I tried the smoothie, magnificent shakes, root beer float, and the Coney. The friendly staff brings it out to you when it's ready.

Very good cafe right on Michigan beach, in Charlevoix. They have all sorts of snacks like mozzarella cheese sticks, a bag of hand cut French fries, salads, burgers, bison burger sliders, and my favorite smoked whitefish cake sliders. These are like little crab cakes on a nice fresh slider buns with a fresh mix of greens and a remoulade.

I have been here a handful of times over the past couple years. Last time I was here I brought my 90 yr old client with me for a lunch date and she and I had an amazing time. We loved our chicken salad wrap and our seasoned bag of fries. The setting was perfect and the owner even brought our meal to us while we sat at the beautiful painted tables to our surprise we found out she even hand painted the tables and chairs. Highly recommended and sad that its only open for the summer season but definitely understand since its at the beach!!!

Decent ham sandwich with Cole slaw on it! The view here is incredible, parking was free, ate under a shade tree when it was 75, clear skies, a cool breeze blowing in, doesn’t get much better than that.

Hardest thing about end of summer is saying goodbye to the Bywater. Go through French fries withdrawal all winter. End of season brought some limitations to menu, which caused us to get something other than our regular order and so happy to have a new favorite. Thanks for all the great meals this summer. Look forward to 2023.

My family loves the Bywater Cafe!!
Annie takes great pride in making sure her food is fresh, fair priced and always made to order.
It saddens me to see negative reviews about there being “too many hand cut fry’s” or “bland”, or that it’s a “concession stand”….or that Annie or her staff would be considered “racist” ( that couldn’t be farther from the truth)
Annie has young-teenaged kids working for her, for many of them it’s the first job And I have never been treated unkind by any of them.
Annie not only runs this cafe but she also takes great care of making sure the litter is being kept picked up not only on her patio but on the beach as well.

Simple rules to live by while visiting…
Be kind to the staff
Don’t vandalize their property
No smoking on patio
Pretty easy!!

Bywater cafe Staff & Annie, don’t worry about the petty comments left by angry, entitled customers.
Anyone who knows what a great place this is, will keep coming back.

We love the ByWater Cafe! Seriously my favorite spot to eat with my young kids. Awesome food they kids andI like, quick service, kind. Kids can play at the playground, they have great desserts! Pickle spears and Mac and cheese bites are awesome! It’s a wonderful place for a relaxing fun outing! My kids also really love picking out what beautiful painted table they will sit at! They all chose different ones 💜💙 if you have kids, I wouldn’t go anywhere else. Easiest place to enjoy a meal out with kids

This is one of my favorite places to eat! The food is fabulous, but save room for dessert. The service is always wonderful, and they even have contactless ordering this year. If you are looking for great food, and a beautiful view, this is where you want to go!

Best views of Lake Michigan! Lovely walk-up cafe with some surprising food options. Cherry chicken salad sandwich on a croissant, fresh cut French fries, and after 5pm some insta-worthy extreme milkshakes for $10.50 a piece but looked like they would beworth it! Gorgeous view from patio seating.

ByWater Cafe is an amazing place to come get some lunch on the beach. Has a wide menu and an amazing variety of food. Vegetarian options are available. Friday night Low Country Shrimp Boils are the absoulet best! Very good service and gets very busy in the summer but is worth the wait for those great fries and homemade ice cream sandwiches. Smoothies are amazing, tropical is by far the best but each one is very very good. Everything they have to offer is great. The owner Annie Russel is a very hard working, Kind, and caring woman who knows how to run her many businesses and is very understanding. The staff is very kind and considerate and always checks up on tables, always offering refills, free ice creams after a long wait and will bring everything out to the patio when it is ready. Always ready and professionally prepared to deal with difficult situations. All in all Bywater Cafe is by far a hidden gem of Charlevoix, been there for 6 years and counting and is awaiting locals and always tourists to come down and grab some Cherry Chicken Salad, or some Fresh Whitefish Tacos, and a Green Goddess smoothie.

I love this place! It is the best cafe, the food is amazing. From a cheeseburger and fresh cut fries to fish tacos and key lime pie. Top 3 places to eat out in Charlevoix! Everyone needs to experience the By Water Cafe!

The Food is Delicious, more then you could ask for at a lakeside beach restaurant. The cafe has lovely chairs and table to enjoy your meals as you view the most beautiful scenery of Lake Michigan and the staff is top notch and very friendly and helpful

Great food and great staff! Annie has a great menu that is so much more than a beach menu. And it is so reasonable! Love this place and you can't beat the view!

If you're looking for great food with a great view of the lake, this is the place to be!

We discovered this adorable little cafe on our family trip to Charlevoix while walking along the beach. The staff was very friendly, and they offer a lot of food options with very reasonable prices for familes.

I can’t say enough about the Bywater Cafe. The food is excellent and the employees are awesome, especially the owner, Annie. The location is perfect and so is the ambience. 5 stars ALL DAY! Love the Bywater!!

Don't be fooled by the concession stand appearance of this historic stone building at the beach in Charlevoix. You can definitely get sno-cones and hotdogs, but the menu is way more extensive and includes many vegetarian options. We three had burgers, fries, and pickle chips. The burgers were meltingly tender, made with local Olson's beef. The fries were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, just as you would expect, and look to be handcut. They come in a paper sack and are more than enough for three to share. You can eat on the patio, but we took ours to go, as there's a lovely shaded pavilion just a short walk away with a view of the pier, the beach, and the lake. I would strongly recommend a stop at this hidden gem in Charlevoix the Beautiful, particularly if you're on Park Street looking at the Mushroom Houses or standing by the channel watching the boats go in and out of Lake Michigan.

Absolutely love this Café. Fantastic food at great prices with a beautiful view!
What more could you ask for?