Went here twice for breakfast with the family when we stayed in Empire for the 4th of July week. Â
Good decent diner breakfast food. Â A little pricey for what you get, and no kids menu for breakfast. Â
They have some arcade games for entertainment, mine especially liked the "candy crane."
L-O-V-E-D this place!! Â We were hiking nearby and looking for a place for lunch. Â Having never been to the area, I went to Yelp to find some recommendations. Â Decided to check out Joe's and it was a great decision! Â The place is dark and "rustic" but don't let appearances fool you!! Â The waitress said they are known for their burgers and now I know why - YUM!!! Â And the homemade root beer is some of the best I've ever had!! Â I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger (actually crispy bacon on a burger and a GREAT patty) with sweet potato fries and the husband ordered the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger with regular fries. Â The only problem were each platter only came with one burger. Â Highly recommend this joint!
Review Source:I stopped in Joe's during a recent vacation to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. (What can I say, I'm predisposed to try any restaurant featuring my moniker.)
I was merely whelmed with the first visit, and on the second visit the whelmingness I felt dropped to underwhelmed.
First trip: Breakfast. It was good. I had corned beef hash - my vacation breakfast of choice. It was a solid, hearty meal and the waitress was nice and attentive. The bill came and it was a little higher than I expected, but I used to live in a tourist-driven area, and I know that prices are sometimes jacked up to help the businesses get through the rest of the tourist-sparse year.
Second trip: Lunch. I had the burger and the fried smelt. Heavy, heavy breading on the smelt. Burger was nothing special, but the price was. Everything we got there was priced high, but not to move. My daughter's small milk was $2. The small salad my wife got was over $5. I'm not adverse to paying these prices - heck I was on vacation - but the food didn't match up.
If you're really hungry this isn't a terrible place to go, but it pales in comparison to the pizza shop right up the street, adjacent to Gemma's. Skip this place and skip up the street - I promise you won't be disappointed.
Unfortunately, in a town of "finds", this place was not one. Â The homemade root beer was good, but the rest of the food was just ok. Â I ordered the turkey Boursin sandwich which was just ok and we also got the burger surf and turf with fried smelt. It was all just ok, nothing outstanding. Â Lunch for the 4 of us with just three meals (one of which was a kiddie meal) was $45. Â Very pricey for mediocre food at a hole in the wall.
Review Source:I love places like this. Â Not trying to be anything they aren't. Â This is burger, beers, old fashioned bar food in a joint type atmosphere. Â The beef is fresh, the fries are good. Â They're turning out food for an entire place from about 100 sq feet of kitchen. Â The service is unpretentious and friendly, and if you go with that attitude you're going to enjoy your meal.
It's a throw back to simpler times.
After a day of tubing down the Platt River, we were looking for a place to eat. Â I called ahead to notify them that we would be arriving with a party of 14. Â They would not guarantee seating until the entire party arrived. Â No problem, as we were all driving together. Â Once we arrived, they quickly cleared out the table and went to work arranging them together :) Â Most of the table ordered various burgers.. coleslaw and sweet potato fries. Â Everyone enjoyed their choices. Â Me? Â I chose the Black and Blue Burger. Â It was very good! Â Now, the food is good, the service is good, but be prepared to pay for it! Â The prices are steep. Â My burger/fries was around $10-$11. Â While everyone enjoyed the food, we all agreed the cost was pricey. Â But, we enjoyed the meal and would be back if we are in the area again.
Review Source:Good atmosphere, friendly waitress. Food was ok but overpriced. Good beer selection. Good sweet potato fries. We stopped in after a day at the dunes. We didn't have a meal or burgers; just drinks and appetizers (tator tots, nachos, sweet potato chips and cherry salsa). Â Maybe our review would be better if we had the burgers.
Review Source:It's an annual trek for my clan - a trip to the Sleeping Bear Dunes followed by burgers at Joe's.
Great atmosphere & burgers. Nice beer selection. Excellent root beer on draft for the under 21 set.
Try the surf & turf which in these parts means a burger and half pound of smelt. Great onion rings and sweet potato fries, too.
Just like you would expect a rural Michigan restaurant to be. Â Wood walls, drop ceiling, pinball and crane machine, extensive burger options. Â Sweet potato fries were yummy. Â Service was pretty good. Â Drink prices will quickly inflate your bill. Â Bottled beer $5.50 and the root beer on tap doesn't include free refills.
Review Source:I have been frequenting Joe's since I was little, very little. I used to love to come here after a day at the beach with my family and my grandma and I used to always split a giant burrito. But when we came in the winter it was always a burger and chili.
They have the BEST chili. I promise.
Now I mix the two and get the Texan, which is a chili cheeseburger. It's simply the best thing on the menu.
The prices are little ridiculous these days, but all the local bars prices out there have gone up, so I deal with it.
I am recently on a horrible diet of no lactose and no gluten, so last time i got the vegetarian cake appetizer with the quinoa. It was eh okay, I suppose when you're used to eating a chili cheeseburger, quinoa just cannot compare.
Their menu says they are known for their burgers, and I would have to say I would agree. Their burgers are fresh and good. They have that homemade taste which is a nice change from other joints. I just wish I had a better over all experience from the place. I think it mainly was our server that spoiled our experience here, but I would be willing to come back for another meal. I just hope I get a better server this time.
Review Source:This is a great place. We went there a few times, once for dinner and a few times for breakfast while we stayed in Empire for a few days. We really couldn't have asked for any better all-around casual dining. Â Burgers and fries - really good. Same for breakfasts (pancakes, omelets, eggs over easy, coffee) - all solid. The food was a step above the usual you find in northern Michigan, plus it's filled with locals hanging out and chatting. Nice, and great service -- and only a block from the lake.
Review Source:This is a bar that reminds me of Art's Tavern in Glen Arbor, only it's bigger and the service isn't as solid.
The Empire Wings were great. They were meaty with the right amount of sauce, a hint of cherry and a small kick.
I like to try meals that are out-of-the-box so I took at shot at the Homemade Vegetarian Cake. Think veggie burger with oats, dried cherries, sweet corn, red onion, red beans, garlic, tomato, etc. The Cake was too thin. It covered the bun but its underwhelming flavors were lost amongst the bread. They should double-up on the patty size.
On the night we were there -- a quiet Thursday after 7pm -- we noticed a number of waitresses hanging out near the front half of Joe's. But getting water refills or basic "how's it going" checkups were far and few between. Tip: When a customer orders wings bring extra napkins and some wet-wipes with you. And keep the water flowing.
Don't sit near the wall of video games. This area of Joe's can be a playpen if kids are in the place.
You won't be blown away, but if you're looking for a meal in Empire -- a place with some personality, a sizable menu, or room for a large group -- Joe's will work.
Decent burgers.
I went with a cheeseburger with grilled onions. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. The patty was slightly mushier than I would've liked. Their grilled onions are cooked almost all the way, after which they melt the cheese on top; I'm normally a fan of slightly rawer grilled onions, but I suppose that's just personal preference. And the bun was of the mediocre pillowy type that gets smushed down to nothing when you try to pick it up.
I also ordered a root beer, which they heavily advertise as being on tap. But, in the end, $2.75 for a soft drink is a little excessive. Having already been charged extra for the grilled onions and cheese on my burger, I suffered from a bit of sticker shock when I got my bill.
Should've read the menu a little more closely.
Very mediocre food, much worse than Empire Village Inn, the sister restaurant down the street. Â The menu boasts about the burgers, citing the NYT and other media accolades. Do not be fooled. Your 1/3 pound burger will be just OK. Â The meat is tasty, but the kids who are cooking have no idea how to cook a burger MR and not MW. Fried chicken was overcooked and not that flavorful. Â Sweet potatoes fries were the highlight.
Review Source:This is a quintessentially "up north" bar, perfect for this quirky little northern Michigan town.
Joe's is usually packed in the summer with large family groups and tourists, but go during the winter and it's a whole 'nother vibe. Visit Joe's about February and you'll find mostly locals in the winter who wander in and grab their own personal mugs from a rack on the back wall and stop by the coffee pot to fill 'em up before wandering over to the bar.
We've been hitting Joe's for years when we make it up to the area, and I've found it to be a great place to stop for a burger and a cold beer on a hot summer day or just the place to go for a hot bowl of soup on the coldest winter night.
Best bets are burgers or the smelt appetizer (best to share).
I guess I'm not getting the appeal. Â I tried Joe's twice on various recommendations. Â Disappointed with meals each time. Â I've had worse dining experiences, but I've certainly had better.
If you're out in the lovely and sunset-friendly Empire and can't wait to eat, then it's a fair meal. Â Nothing to write a postcard home about.
We love eating at the Friendly Tavern when we're in the Dunes area. We've eaten our way through much of the menu -- lots of appetizer, burger, sandwich and entree choices -- and especially appreciate the dishes utilizing local foods. Some of our favorites include whitefish fingers -- deep-fried, dippable strips of whitefish -- hot wings featuring local cherry hot sauce and sweet potato nachos topped with local cherry salsa. The restaurant has a laid-back feel that makes it a favorite with locals and tourists alike, and it's also family-friendly. And -- they brew their own root beer. Whether you're kayaking, dune-climbing or art-crawling around this scenic part of the state, the Friendly Tavern is a great place to stop for a beer and/or a bite to eat.
Review Source:Draft beer options weak, burgers fresh but lack seasoning, kid's menu pricey (and serve Kraft mac n cheese). After having Art's Tavern in Glen Arbor 2 days before, I was disappointed. Wish would have drove the extra 10 miles. Good, but nowhere a top ten burger.
Kudos though to the sweet potato fries (and check out Grocer's Daughter chocolates on M22 just south of M72). Service was fine.
After a full day at Sleeping Bear, we landed here - all 12 of us. Â They quickly threw some tables together and did their best to keep up with the chaos that ensues whenever 7 adults and 5 kids are gathered unexpectedly at a restaurant. Â We ordered tons of smelt - ahh, just like when I used to scoop 'em up by the dozens out of the *crick* by my childhood home-- plenty of burgers and fries on order as well. Â And chili. Â And pitchers of root beer.
Its a comfortable bar slash restaurant with almost anything you could want on their menu. Michigan fish abound! Â If I'm ever back in Empire, which is likely, I'll be back at Joe's.
Are you kidding me? Â No reviews yet? What kind of a world do we live in?
Dang. Â This place is the real deal - go here now. Get a burger. Drink some beer. Â Throw some money in the jukebox. Â Enjoy the fantastic service. Be very, very happy that you found it and come again.
Ultimate Northern Michigan tavern/restaurant. Period.
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