Avoid this place it's a dirty tourist trap. We went there on a recommendation after walking out of Freighters restaurant. First we ordered a Whiskey old fashioned, the server came back to the table and said the bartender didn't know how to make them so my wife had a bottle of warm beer and I had a nasty whiskey sour. They use sweet sour mix instead of 50/50 or Squirt. DO NOT order any drink with sour.
The real reason we went there was for a Ribeye steak. We ordered mine Med.Rare wife's Med. Mine was MED. WELL Â hers was WELL done. That we could tolerate. These pre-packaged ( GFS ? )steaks were so tough my wife's fork bent when she tried to cut it. We each took a bite and there was NO seasoning on them at all. The waitress came and asked how our meals were and for once we were so disappointed we told the truth. She said they no longer season the steaks because people were SCRAPING it off and complaining.
So I just had an olive burger again no seasoning, blah and tasteless. Wife had a rueben same thing. Our kids split a ball tip steak that my 8 year old said tasted bad. We all ate that (didn't want to send 3steaks back). There are dead dusty animals everywhere, place was dirty looking, service was mediocre at best. Food and drinks were terrible. This place is a tourist trap and if you are reading this avoid it.
The Antler's is somewhat of an institution in Sault Ste. Marie, a bit similar to the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver I suppose but on a much smaller scale with not quite as many exotic meat items on the menu and definitely not the exorbitant prices! Â
The collection of taxidermy is impressive, and the atmosphere is definitely eclectic - lives up to it's name for sure. Â The food, meh - it's decent but not spectacular, but then again, you're paying reasonable prices unlike the Buckhorn Exchange. Â Those that said it was sub-par obviously have fancier tastes than me, or maybe I hit it on a good day. Â The wild game lasagna was interesting but again not something to rave about - I'd agree with the reviewer that said it could have used more wild game taste.
The bells and steam horns, well - you should hear them once, but once per dinner is enough! Â All in all it's an interesting place you really should visit if you're in the Michigan UP! Â There's not that much else up this way in the frozen north is there?
Went to Antlers last night with a number of business associates. Â Located just east of "downtown" Sault Ste. Marie. Â I've been there several times and have usually been generally satisfied with the meal.
Interior decor is a hoot. Â Lots of stuffed and mounted animals - presumably this is where the place got its name. Â Now...on to the food...
Appetizer consisted of a basket of fried pickle chips...tasty but really salty. Â Good thing the beer was cold.
Dinner - my business associates were bummed that the Whitefish wasn't available. Â After an earlier whitefish lunch I thought they'd had their fill, but apparently not so. Â The waitress said that they had some but didn't want to sell it - apparently because it was a little too funky. Â Kudos for at least some effort on quality control.
I settled for the ribeye steak...medium rare. Â Steak was decent, with the appropriate amount of fat...but was a little beyond medium rare. Â Baked potato was undercooked...maybe that's what ended up medium rare. Â Mixed veggies were fine...zucchini, broccoli, and carrots.
My associates seemed to enjoy the salmon.
Waitress was a little crusty to start off, but opened up a bit as the evening progressed.
Will probably be back next time I'm up in the area. Â Decent, predictable place...
Before visiting this restaurant we were warned that it was a bit more hype than actual quality and taste. I have to say that I disagree. Perhaps in years past their standards had dropped, but the meals I've had in the few recent times I've eaten there were pretty good. I just ate the wild game lasagna last night and it was very good though lacking in "wild game" taste. My girlfriend really enjoyed the venison pie. Another at our table ordered the salmon dinner and it looked delicious as well.
The one thing that really turned me off about this restaurant is the crappy noise they feel they must create to interrupt your dinner. Periodically they will turn on a flashing light and starting tooting noise out of some steam pipe whistles while singing some jingle off tune. It is absolutely horrid and does little more than make you want to leave. If they would wise up and cut out the annoyance and focus on serving tasty food and beer they'd rack up another star in this review.
Nice atmosphere except for the buzzer - its different inside with all the stuffed animals. The service was good, my food only acceptable. My whitefish on the plank was very dry, does not taste fresh and was only warm. We were a party of 25 people and I saw the food of the rest our party. It looked better - I tried the fried pickles - good! I tried a piece of a Hamburger - good! But only my fish was not that what I expected. Look at the sign above the kitchen door - it says: Microwave inside. Are they really cooking or only reheating??? If you you have good cook he never will use a Microwave. Try it at least one time and think self about it if you like it or not. Its hard to find some good restaurant in the Soo. This was not the one...
Review Source:This was always a fun place with great service and good food. Â Now it is just decent food with service that is not too bad. Â Our waitress was great but in watching the other waitresses, I think we just got lucky. Â The place is dark, dingy and just feels dirty. Â I am really disappointed in our visit to the Antlers and can say I would not reccomend you waste your time. Â The tradition of the place just does not warrant a return visit.
Review Source:This place is a former speak-easy, with tons of stuffed animals all over the place. Our 2 kids LOVED it! The food was very good, and we had NO wait to get a table. (I'm told the current street construction around the area may have been the cause for this) But, if you are in the area you should make this a planned stop!
Review Source:Asked a local and was directed here. The outside looks like a dive, but the inside is full of taxidermy. The food was fantastic and so was the service. I had the buffalo burger! Delicious and tender. My husband had a Philly sandwich and thought it was wonderful. Recommend this restaurant to everyone.
Review Source:Was told by co-workers i had to visit The Antlers when i went up north. Glad i did. the place has awesome atmosphere with all sorts a stuffed critters. Check out the "Rare Fur Bearing Trout" by the bar. Service was good and the food was pretty good, but nothing too unique. Definitely recommend for a stop if you're in the Soo.
Review Source:The Antlers has changed alot since the last time I was there. Â The menu is much more eclectic now containing such items as antelope stew and deer sausage. Â We split a reuben which was artfully crafted on fresh baked bread. Â I had some sort of chicken stew in a sourdough bread bowl. Â I would return for both. Â I am glad to see that the decor has not changed. Â They even had a new bakery on the side of the restaurant now that opens at 7a.m.
Review Source:My family has been going to The Antlers for over 30 years and we've seen the ups and downs of this Soo institution. I'm happy to say that it's rebounded a bit from some troubles a few years ago. On my most recent visit, all food is now served on plates, not cheap plastic baskets with wax paper like before. The service is friendly, and the Paul Bunyan burger is a challenge again. I remember years ago when it was 1/2 lb AFTER cooking, then it became 1/2 lb pre-cooked. Not cool. Now, it's a double burger - two 1/2 lb pre-cooked patties. Bigger than the old days, but it tastes just like I remember it. The portion sizes on the other menu items looked good, too. The service was friendly, and they were nice enough to give a classic welcome of bells and whistles to my in-laws from Europe.
All in all, it's good to see the place going back to some old standards of service and food quality. I was worried before this last visit about what I'd find, but now I'm looking forward to getting back again!
The food was very good, we had 6 adults eat for $50, with a variety of burgers, fish, and chicken, no one was displeased with their meal.
The ambiance is fun, with all of the taxidermy and such.
The only annoying factor is the loud and obnoxious buzzer that is used to let the servers know their orders are up, I jumped every time I heard it.
Definitely gone down hill in recent years. Â This is a place you go to now just for the wall decorations or to read the menu, not the food or service. Â I ordered a steak remembering the good old days when they were great, it ended up being way overdone (I ordered rare) and chewy. Â Oh well.
Some say its a great place for the kids. Â Personally, as a kid I both liked and didn't like going there, as it is both interesting and a little horrifying to see all the dead and stuffed animals, including some traditionally scary ones (large pythons, bears, etc.) that I remember having to avoid looking at while I walked around. Â If you've got a sensitive kid, it might give them nightmares, but if you don't, it might delight them.
Yes, this place is a tourist trap and the food is not that good. Â I actually ordered macaroni and cheese here once, because I couldn't find anything else that looked good on the menu and I am pretty sure that it was mac n cheese from a box. Â (On the upside, it was only a few dollars)
However, if you are looking for an interesting dining experience and you want to see a wide variety of "stuffed" wild animals while you are eating, I think it might be worth going here at least once.
This is not the kind of place where you can have a nice quiet dinner, but I think it would be a great place for a tourist to bring their family. Â The quirky, fun atmosphere and the wild animals will give everyone something to talk about during and after dinner.
The Antlers. Â Hah!
Yeah, this place is as sub-par as it gets for me. Â Let's get the food part out of the way: Â It's not enjoyable. Â If you enjoy dropping a few bucks for food that is of poor quality (eg soggy greasy fries, steak that, as one person had put it, is "like chewing on a cow's butt", or a "healthy option" menu that consists of a chicken wrap that is basically a cold chicken taco loaded with cheese and sour cream on a flour tortilla) then by all means, help yourself.
The decor is interesting, but ultimately uncomfortable. Â You find yourself surrounded by trinkets, stuffed bears or other animals, and plenty of decapitated preserved heads hanging on the wall, collecting who knows how many years of dust, all looking down at you. Â The occasional siren and boat horn pierces the din of the sometimes-busy dining area, sometimes for a reason, but more often than not with no reason. Â It's a tourist trap. Â It serves its purpose well to that extent, as you pass through the gift shop before you get to the seating area.
The only redeeming factors are that, sometimes, you get friendly service. Â Of the times I've been there, I get good service about 25% of the time. Â I don't know why I subject myself to this place to even come up with a percentage like that -- oh yeah, now I remember, because it's a tourist trap, and some guy has told whoever that they've gotta try this place. Â The other factor would be the quirky menu. Â Plenty of Michigan Upper Peninsula humor, but that only lasts as long as you're reading the menu. Â It's the kind of place that offers a menu where a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could potentially cost more than a steak.
If you're told to go, it's because the suggester has fallen into the trap. Â Don't do it. Â Save yourself. Â You want a burger and fries? Â Try Jeff's 50's restaurant, West Pier Drive-In, or if you're up for it, the local bowling alley (which I'm told has the best burgers in town).
Kids seem distracted/occupied by this place. Â If you have kids, and they desperately need eye candy, well, that's your call. Â It would probably work.
Overall, you'd be wasting your time and money going here.
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