Portside Inn

My family ate here for years growing up, but I hadn't been back in at least the last five. This was one of our staples as far as eating out went, because they had a little bit of everything for all of our differences in tastes. I was always a fan of the Southwest options, but others in my family enjoyed the seafood, pizza, etc. We all had our own favorites and they were pretty different from each other. That is part of why we all loved coming here.

The Portside is original to Marquette and has been open since 1983. This pub style restaurant has a nautical theme. All of the ingredients they use are as fresh as they can get them, taking advantage of using other local sources such as Huron Mountain Bakery for their bread, Marquette Meats for their steaks, Thill's Fish House for their seafood, and local farms for fresh produce.

For an appetizer, we ordered their famous Breadsticks with the garlic cheese spread and marinara sauce. The dough is made from scratch, and to me is very similar to their pizza dough. The cheese spread is amazing, and has a pop of garlic and cheddar cheese. If I would ever suggest ordering anything while eating there, this is one of my 3 favorites and is a must!

My husband ended up ordering my second favorite thing on their menu, which would be the baked French Onion Soup. The onions are caramelized to perfection, with large chunks of French bread all underneath a blanket of melted provolone cheese. I am not a soup person. In fact, it's the last section that I usually look at on a menu. After ordering Portside's French Onion Soup when I was little, I used to try it everywhere to see if they even came close in comparison to being THIS good. I've only had one that has come close so far, but still doesn't top my favorite.

And for my ultimate favorite thing on the menu, the Chicken Chimichangas. I rarely order anything different for my main course, because as soon as I had this, I was hooked. The picture doesn't even come close to showing how large these things are. I can usually finish one, and then take the other home to eat cold for lunch the next day. The tortillas are stuffed with a shredded chicken and onion mixture, topped with salsa and melted cheese, and a few olive slices thrown on top. It also comes with a side of rice and refried beans. I know it is really strange for my favorite thing at a pub to be on the Southwest menu, but once you try it you will understand.

This restaurant is a great place to eat and get a few drinks. Be warned, because on the weekend you better either get there early, or be prepared to wait. It gets packed pretty quick. It is okay for families, but the noise level is usually pretty high. The staff is friendly, the food is amazing, there is no reason not to check it out!

The Portside Inn, Main Site

Unnoficial Portside Facebook Page