I was pleasantly surprised with the Buck. Â The place has an overall average review on Yelp, but I think it deserves better.
As others have mentioned, there are tons of craft brews available although I opted for the $2.50 PBR (don't judge- that is an awesome price, I love PBR and I had just finished a couple wine tastings and was just looking to stay quenched up on the rooftop).
We ordered the soft pretzels as an appetizers. Â They were fantastic, melt in your mouth goodness- just as they should be. Â We were hungry and could have eaten 5 orders but stuck to the one. Â We asked them for a half order of onion rings after seeing the waiter come out with an order and OMG those were the best onion rings I have ever had- super breaded and filling, but absolutely delicious and well worth ordering.
I selected to Build-A-Burger and made a very simple burger of beef patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and honey mustard and teriyaki/giner mayo on the side (couldn't decide between the two- I didn't mix them!) Â My husband got the Buck which comes with cheese, bacon and grilled onions (he doesn't like onions so I told him to get them on the side and I tossed them on my burger). Â My parents both got the teriyaki salmon. Â I tried my husbands and my Dad's and both were great. Â Mine was fantastic as well and was only $7 with sweet potatoe fries- holy deal!!
I'll be back, Buck, and may even make my next dinner an order of onion rings with a side of beer. ;)
This place is pretty solid.
I'm never amazed by the food (except for the buffalo chicken dip, which I somehow end up ordering every time), but it's a great place to head to after work and have a few drinks with friends. Their beer list is extensive, and they usually have some good specials during the week.
I love going there for happy/hoppy hour and hanging out on the couch/lounge area they have upstairs. Our server is almost always friendly and they have an outdoor patio, that you can watch the sunset from.
Try the s'mores fries if they're on the menu. They're so good, they could almost be a dessert.
It might not be the first place I bring up when thinking of ordering dinner, but it's definitely earned its place in our bar rotation.
I'll sum this place up in a couple brief sentences:
The Buck has 74 draft beers; both local and MI crafts (Bells/Founders) to International and beyond. Â
Great burgers, homemade chips, onion rings, and all the fixens.
And the view from the patio to the beach is quite awesome as well.
Go check this place out tonight!
Just have taken them down to a 1 star due to getting an response about my honest posting of the facility on here. I am not here to ruin a business and love this site, but it is not for the buisness person or the employees to come on here and accuse the posters of lying. This site is a food judgement site and if you read all my post they are honest and to the point. SO, please responde honestly and not in a hate filled posting about how great you business is to you and other. It all about me LOL jk.
Review Source:I visit The Buck at least once a month. The servers can suck and I would hope they eventually work on teaching them to cater to the customer's needs more. Â People need to realize they can't always get what they want, it's not a fancy restaurant, and being picky snobs, complaining non-stop makes any cook or server want to run.
What's good in my opinion is depending on what's ordered. I do suggest the make your own burger, it's amazing. I usually get eggs and bacon on it, my friend usually gets pineapple and bacon. Their sweet potato fries are amazing too, crunchy/crispy on the outside, mushy on the inside-perfection! Â Haven't had any problems with their food yet. I suggest giving it a try and have an open mind.
I try not to go too much on negative reviews because I feel some people are too picky. With that being said, we picked this place simply by chance coming home from Boyne Mountain. My fiancé was scared to try it because of the negative reviews. I convinced him to give it a chance because the rest of the group thought burgers and beer sounded good to break up the drive. Walked in and was greeted timely and politely. Beer selection was awesome. I think the waitress told us 31 beers on tap plus additional bottle selections. The menu is small but definitely has a great variety plus daily specials. I got the honey fried chicken and it was definitely some of the best I've ever had. My fiancé had a burger with Amish habanero cheese which he thought was tasty. My dad had The Stuffed Mexican and raved about it. My step mom had the soup bar and thought it was tasty as well. The house fries and the sweet potato fries were both really tasty. My chicken came with house made creamed corn that was amazing and nothing like you would expect a creamed corn. It has jalapeños, I think red bell pepper and seasoning, not like canned stuff at all. They have a Bloody Mary bar on Sunday. Overall, we are all very satisfied with the service, the food and quality. Definitely will make another stop back and hope those who haven't tried it won't be swayed by the negative reviews. I would recommend a flight of beer with your entree.
Review Source:Being a vegetarian and visiting home in St Joe, it's always a stretch to find food going out - especially because my family are all meat eaters. We ended up here and everyone in the party enjoyed their food. I had the veggie burger and it was great paired with sweet potato fries. The service was good and it had a cool vibe. A bit pricey with all the add ons to your burgers, but we had a nice family dinner and everyone enjoyed their food.
Great beer flights and hopefully this place does well. That building seems to have had a bit of bad luck the last few years.
Went for lunch and was not impressed. Â They were not very busy (1st clue) and yet the service was less than mediocre. Â My friend and I each had one of their featured burgers (we had to go back to read the board at the entrance since our server never said anything) and while not horrible, also not worth $9.50! Â Menu isn't very exciting. Â They should maybe stick to getting the basics right...good service and a menu that is worth coming back for.
Review Source:Really great turkey burgers...I have ordered a burger to-go from the Buck three times and each time it has been delicious. One instance in particular, I hadn't eaten lunch and it was almost 8pm. The Buck burger I "made to order" ended up being a tasty treat to end a long, long day.
Sweet potato fries are alright here but I am a big fan of their burgers!
MUCH BETTER than Ryebelle's (rock hard bun, soggy basket, cold fries)
Could have been better. Â While our actual meal was good. Must say that I agree with what most others have said. Staff and service needs work. Â There is a lack of front of house management. This is evidence by many of the off duty staff hanging out at end of the bar, wandering into the kitchen and chatting up those employees that are actually working. Â These are all distracting and take away from the total experience.
Review Source:Came here for lunch on a Friday so it wasn't very busy....
We were a large group and were seated promptly...the menu has a build your own burger option and  many manly choices all the guys couldn't contain themselves...hahah
Someone in our group ordered some Shepard pie/pot pie..which they raved so much about.
Everyone really liked their burger...except me!! I actually ordered a turkey burger....and well it just wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I also said I wanted it well done...and it wasn't...the patty just wasn't good...some turkey burgers taste just like beef...this one did not.
If it were up to my food I would give it less stars....but everyone around me seemed to enjoy their lunch. :-)
I went here back in August with my mom, brother and his girlfriend.  We stopped by to celebrate my mom's birthday.  Our server wasn't very social, and didn't seem to be interested in waiting on us.  Refills were slow, request for a birthday dessert for my mom were slow  and getting the check at the end took a mini eternity.  Perhaps they were under staffed?  There were two girls hostessing.  Either way, the service was the negative factor in the whole experience.
The food was good, the decor very nice...however, I would avoid if you're looking for good service, perhaps the bar is better?
Upon completing my fruit-picking and feeling "real country" I decided to go into town to get some grub. The place I initially intended to go (as recommended by the locals) had a 45 min. wait, so I stumbled upon this little burger joint.
I gotta say, I got everything I could ask for. I don't really know what all the negativity around this place is about. Let's focus on the burgers. There are numerous burger options, including a $6 build-your-own-burger menu (ummm.....$6?!? Even McDonald's is more expensive!) Plus, for an additional dollar, you can choose a side: fries, sweet potato fries, and a bunch of other options. I dunno, seems good to me.
Both mine and my partner in crime's burgers were delicious. He's a "medium well" guy and I'm a "medium-rare gal." Both burgers were cooked perfectly and tastes fresh and juicy. I truly loved it. The service was impeccable, our girl checked in on us several times to ensure we were enjoying our meal.
If you're a beer connoisseur, the options are aplenty. Local, imported, draft and craft beers--oh my! Check out the beer menu, you won't go wrong.
Plus, and I can only speak for the women's bathroom. They have drunken French octopus hooks on the stall doors. Check it out. Just that is worth it (=
I couldn't wait to try this place out. We had a short wait for seating outside. We sat at the bar and tried some local beers. My friend and I were both very happy with our burgers. So juicy and delicious. We both paid an extra $1 for the onion rings and agreed they were amazing. We started eating on the lower deck. It got VERY cold surprisingly quickly and there was no issue with us moving indoors to finish the evening with delicious chocolate martini's!
Review Source:I'm surprised by the poor reviews. We ate here a few days ago and it was fantastic! I had the stuffed bleu cheese burger. It was cooked perfectly and the flavors were yummy! My son had the hot dog and it was so huge (so huge we took a picture of it) he only made it through about 3 bites. We took the rest home for him and he enjoyed it again a few hours later. My husband had the brat with grilled onions. We all shared the home made chips, which arrived crispy and warm, and ordered the habanero ketchup for dipping. Best ketchup I've ever had! We live about 3 hours away so now I'm searching for recipes so I can make some until we're able to return next summer. I really wish we had remembered to ordered some to take home the following day like our waitress suggested because now my son is in the kitchen asking for 'the world's best ketchup'. Oops.
Until I read some of the other reviews I had no idea there was outdoor seating available. That's kind of a bummer. The interior is done well, but we would have sat outside had we known it was an option.
It seems like a lot of the reviews make a fuss that they charge extra for, well, pretty much everything. I found the extras to be worth the additional $, but perhaps the menu could do a better job of explaining why they are extra? Amish cheese? Sure! I'll pay an extra dollar!
My parents and I grabbed lunch here while checking out St. Joseph and had a really good experience. Â Service wasn't bad at all, though it was around 2pm so the lunch rush was pretty much over. Â I had the veggie burger with sweet potato fries and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious the sandwich was. Â My mom had the chicken wrap with regular fries and my dad enjoyed the perch sandwich. Â All of the food was really good but a little pricey. Â Most of the sandwiches ($8-9 on average) come with chips but if you opt for fries, coleslaw, or other side instead they charge an additional $0.50-$1.00. Â Lots of Michigan brews on the menu and I thought all of the prices seemed reasonable. Â They have $1 off at Happy Hour, which is 4-6pm and 8:30-10pm. Â Small bar area with limited seating but they have lots of tables upstairs and also have an outdoor patio that looked fun. Â I liked the inside decor and ambiance (big fan of chalkboard menu-esque boards), the paint scheme was modern and trendy. Â Overall a great experience. Â I will stop in again the next time I am in the area!
Review Source:They were able to accommodate a large table of 14 with reservations on a Friday night so we started out good. The menu is pretty simple with one of the best being the "Build your own Burger" which includes different meats to choose from then you can choose all of the toppings. Fries/sweet potato fries are extra. Common - include the fries!! There are many local Michigan beers on tap, which is also a good thing.
I liked this place but I didn't LOVE this place. The service was slow - even for a large party. The waitress had a few other tables besides us which were seated around the same time, poor planning on the restaurant's part. The food was nothing spectacular, I was hungry a couple of hours after I ate. Â The atmosphere was nothing to write home about. The only stand-out was the cinnamon dip that came with the sweet potato fries, YUM.
I visited the Buck again and I saw a slight improvement so I added another Star to my rating. Â I ordered their Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger with a side of Onion Rings. Â The Burger was cooked just the way I ordered it this time and the meat had a good taste too it. Â Â The Onion Rings were discusting. Â They were really soggy and tasted like Vinegar. Â The service was great though and the atmosphere was good as well. Â The Beer selection seemed even bigger than before. Â I'm sold on everything but the food but hopefully that just continues to improve over time.
Review Source:Staff is very friendly. you can't beat the selection of beers. Local and shelf. Atmosphere is causal with a modern flare. Comfortably dim lighting creates a relaxed comfortable scene. Classic rock pays lightly in the background enough to hear it but not a distraction. For a new bar it seems to draw a few "locals". Overall a great experience. Beer Prices are steep ... $4+ for a pbr
Review Source:We've been to the Buck now several times, a few times for brews only, one time for food. We were impressed with the brews selection and our bartender was knowledgeable and friendly. If you're just going for a few beers, their prices are lower than nearby Ryebelle's with a better selection.
For our food outing, we both had burgers. I had read reviews on here that burgers were way overdone. We did not experience that at all. Our food came out fast and hot, and both our burgers were delicious. I also enjoy their handmade chips.
I know they made some updates inside, however I didn't notice an exceptional amount aside from the new booths downstairs. All in all, the ambiance is very nice and feels upscale.
We'll be back! Even if the burgers are a bit expensive, they were delicious.
I have read the other reviews on here, and some of them I agree. Lets start with the negatives aspects.
NEGATIVE - The prices are not bad, but they certainly not good. the added price for each little topping is kinda annoying. And having a burger place where the frys are extra, yes annoying.
And YES, the service was pretty poor, but not a two-star-review poor. The staff that we had contact with where overly friendly and always had a smile on their faces, but beyond that they were pretty useless. It took a while to get one to our table, took a while to get water refilled, and took a while to get our check. And wouldnt you know, you look around and BAM, there they are, all together, all next to the kitchen congregating and socializing, on their phones, literally. (possibly waiting for food, but still, anyone that has ever worked in a restaurant knows that standing still means your doing something wrong.)
But lets focus on the POSITIVES. For being a new place with all new wait staff and cooks, they are doing an average job making the best of a new system. It was exactly what I would have expected. Â
Food- we had burgers and an appetizer, all which were pretty damn good. The burgers were asked to be prepared Medium and medium rare, and they could not have been prepared better, exactly what the definition of medium and med-rare should be. Impressive. The frys were of good quality. the ingredients are mostly from local sources, (although our lettuce was "sad" looking,) the toppings and sauces were all extremely tasty and fresh. the bun was not my favorite, but the choice of meat on the bun was fantastic. The onion rings were full of flavor, maybe a bit on the overbreaded side, but good.
Beer - HOLY COW, 26 beers on tap, many of them local, but then i found my favorite from San Fran (anchor steam). Their are many others in bottles also, so this place is truly a beer drinkers home!
Atmosphere - tastefully done, decorated appropriately, and has an amazing outdoor deck. two dinning levels, two bars, and a huge passthrough to the upstairs. they get an A plus for inside.
Location - on the main drag downtown, but just on the south edge of the action.
Finally, this place has a lot of burger competition (many on the same street) and will have to think about daily specials and happy hours to stand out and remain competitive. They close early (10pm weeknights, and midnight weekends) while other local places are open late. I would think for the summer they would want to keep the hip young crowd looking for craft beer and stay open later, but nonetheless they have my approval. I will be back for many times to come and look forward to the staff getting better and new craft brews on tap!
The food is terribly over priced for what you get. Â $9 for a Veggie Burger (Morningstar farms patty) with chips! Â And an extra $1 for chewy onion rings! Â On top of it all, the service is terrible and unprofessional. Â The only thing the place has going for it is an outside deck and a decent Michigan draft beer selection...
Review Source:I've been there twice now and have either asked for a large table or a table on the rooftop deck. We were told both times that it would be at least a half an hour wait - even though there were multiple free tables (downstairs when we were trying to get a big group sat and on the deck when we were attempting to eat up there). The hostess told us that they couldn't seat people even though they might have free tables in order to give the waitstaff a break - I may not have a PHD but an easy fix would seem to be to hire more waitstaff - and stop sending paying customers away!!!
Review Source:My suggestion for the owners is to find some of the memorabilia that made this place special when it was really "the buck". Â I'm not saying put red shag carpeting back on the walls, but don't be afraid to be proud of the past! Â Don't let it become just another yuppie food/drink joint. Â We (st. joe) already have the Pumphouse for that! Â Also, the younger staff seemed a bit removed from the concept of "customer service" --could be a generational thing, but I think better training would help.
Review Source:I went here a few weeks ago and was disappointed. Â I had a Turkey burger and it was really dry. Â
The burger baskets range from $8.50 to $9.50 and DO NOT include french fries. Â French fries are another dollar. Â Not sure why they just don't include the fries in a basket but, then again, the North Shore also charges extra for french fries.
Build a burger starts at $6 and then goes up. Â A slice of cheese is either $0.75 or $1.00, depending on what kind of cheese. Â You want grilled onions or any other topper, they're a $1.00 apiece. Â Not exceedingly bad but not the bargain reminiscent of the Silver Dollar. Â Is there any way they can bring back the batter fries?
For a place that has to survive half the year with business from locals in St. Joseph, I really hope they survive. Â Charging as much as they do for what I consider an OK product, I think they might be in for a long Winter. Â Most of my friends who have gone here also given this place a marginal rating. Â One couple I know went in, sat down and waited over 10 minutes and never got a menu or a waitress asking if they wanted a drink. Â That couple left, probably not going back anytime soon. Â This may have been to the place still being new and working out the kinks but I've heard that there have been issues for quite a while after they opened.
With Ryebelles, Schus and the Pump House all within a few minutes walking distance, this place will really need to figure out how they are going to stand out amongst all the choices. Â After the Summer crowds are gone and the advantage of the back deck goes away, people in town will think about their choices. Â Want a good, cheap burger, the North Shore Inn is riding high from Chef Ming Tsai's stating that the North Shore burgers were "probably the best in Michigan".
I really want The Buck to survive and do well. Â I think they need to take a step back and decide how they are going to differentiate themselves from their competition. Â Thanks to the Port 412 gutting the old Silver Dollar, The Buck has a really nice interior. Â The waitstaff are all very nice and friendly as well. Â All of them I met had great attitudes and were exceedingly friendly.
If they want to be THE burger place in town, their advantage is that they're in St. Joseph vs. the North Shore being a short drive North. Â I think the Buck is still working out the kinks of opening and wish them the best. Â The owner emailed me and was really nice in his tone. Â He mentioned that they're working on their burgers and let me know I originally misstated that the build a burgers started at $9. Â I was wrong, the build a burgers start at $6 and the burger baskets start at $8.50 and go to $9.50.
I'll be back and hope my next burger will be better.
I love burgers  and traveled the 108 miles from Chicago for a great one - but this place is horrible.  The service was terrible, the waitress disappeared because she had a table on the second floor (so I'm not important?), the burger was good, but many places better.  The worse thing was feeling no one cared I was there. I was a woman by myself so I guess they didn't feel I was worth alot of attention. Will never go back there. I find a better burger at Shu's or the Pump House, also in the downtown area of St. Joseph.
Review Source:We really wanted to like this place. The ambience is nice and we loved the outdoor seating. The burger I had was extremely well done. I don't think I have ever complained of a burger that was overcooked to my liking. I ordered it medium and it was hockey puck done. On the upside my fiancé ordered a chicken sandwich and he didn't have a complaint.
The staff is friendly but uneducated on the menu.
Wish I could say we'd go back this summer but it's doubtful.
I have to start off by saying that I am very surprised by all the negative reviews. Â My boyfriend and I went to The Buck last night and had a great experience. Â We did have to wait about an hour for a table, but it was very much worth it. Â While we waited we ventured upstairs to the bar and were able to sit at a table up there while we were waiting for a table to eat at downstairs, so the time went by quickly.
We started off with the Buffalo Chicken Dip. Â Phenomenal! Â I swear this stuff melted in my mouth, and my boyfriend loved it too. Â I then ordered the Blue Cheese Stuffed Burger (being a huge fan of blue cheese), and my boyfriend ordered The Buck burger. Â We both got the sweet potato fries on the side (yum!). Â Both burgers came out quickly and perfectly cooked. Â Not a single complaint! Â
Our service was great as well. Â It seemed like everyone working had a smile on their face and they were all working together, as we had a different server grab our empty plates from us. Â With past server experience, I know that that makes a huge difference! Â All in all, I think the Buck has a good thing going and we will definitely be back.
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