Palette Bistro

It was a wonderful and resplendent experience with a gorgeous view and excellently complex and inspiriting flavors that were perfectly balanced. The cured pork chop was excellently cooked; the crab cakes my Father enjoyed and the mushroom soup I ordered were perfectly executed. Although I did not drink (as I was driving) it was a rare pleasure for me to see a tantalizing cornucopia of reds on selection. It comes highly recommended for the inner Dr. Hannibal Lecter in us all.

10 stars for this place! We were seated in the bar area and greeted so kindly! We had the Feta App & seafood Paella! The drinks, food, and service were amazing. Hidden gem in the heart of downtown Petoskey! Will definitely make the trip back!

Living in Petoskey for several months for work I ate at most of the places in town. This was one of my top places to go and eat. Myself and my coworkers stopped several times and we were never disappointed. They had a seasonal menu that had pork belly and it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant. Their Crème Brûlée is top notch, and even though I found I don’t like mussels, the sauce they came in was delicious. Though it is on the pricier side the flavor from apps, to entrees, to dessert are well worth it.

We went for brunch. There were five us us. We were seated promptly, drink orders went smoothly. Cocktails and orange juice were great. When it came time to order, I asked if I could get the eggs Benedict with fried egg, instead of poached (I don’t do runny yolks). The waitress told me no, they couldn’t do that. That’s how I order it at all of the other local restaurants, with no issues. So, I ordered the frittata. It was burned, as you can see in the photo. My friend ordered the sweet potato hash. It was basically a bowl of $15 broccoli soup, with sweet potatoes and peas. It was delicious. But, the menu clearly states that it comes with pork, fried egg and sour cream. We asked our waitress and she said it’s all ground up in the soup. Why have the menu state a “fried egg” or “pork”? We were very confused. Maybe it’s should say “pork, egg and sour cream broth”’. Our waitress left us perplexed multiple times during our visit. Maybe she was having an off day. As always, the view is great and we try Palette every now and again. Probably won’t do brunch again. The happy hour is our favorite. Forest floor soup and baked feta are always amazing.

Wait time too long it took them 55 minutes for apps the portion size was WAY to small for the price our food got cold waiting the lamb meatballs was mediocre the pasta sauce tased Jared the braised short ribs were a little too salty the paella is DEFINITELY not worth it over all this was very disappointing take your business elsewhere. Would not recommend.

Best margarita, the salmon glazed with potatoes and the beef with goat cheese, was delicious. The flavors were amazing. I'm definitely coming back another time when visiting. I'm glad we stopped here. The service was good and the view was so beautiful, especially this time of the year. The foliage and the crisp weather. Really enjoyed our dinner there.

Amazing food, my partner got the scallops and loved them. Great drinks, the fresh blueberry compote in my drink was so good. exceptional service by Rilla (I hope I got her name right because she was so nice)! We will come here again!

The food is so good, you can easily overlook the missteps. The balsamic vinegar with the bread starter is a knockout. So simple, so tasty. The "Forest Floor" mushroom soup was to die for. It's so easy to overdo mushroom and truffle flavors but this was so smooth and perfectly savory. The paella could've been extra awesome but it really needed salt. The pizza's flavors were amazing but the crust was waterlogged and disintegrating (we still ate the whole thing with utensils - couldn't hold it at all). The lamb meatballs were so tasty but the pasta sauce was so garlicky it felt like my mouth was on fire! Again, small issues but my husband and I both agree we'd go back in no time. Still five star review, still an excellent dinner. Oh, and the service was on point!

Palette Bistro is a really nice place to have some dinner. They have a view of the water especially if you dine upstairs. My Forest Floor Soup was delicious. I had a cup that was filled with roasted shrooms, leeks, and cream. I wish I had a bowl! My main dish was the beef tenderloin. It was cooked a little more than I wanted, but it was still good. Either way we had a great time with good company.

We arrived at an awkward time (3pm-4pm) when it was only small plates. But we were so hungry from a long road trip, we decided to try it! And it worked out great because we got to try a lot of different things. Food: all were excellent. -Braised short rib: meat cooked well and super tender. -Forest floor soup: so flavorful -Sea scallop: cooked well; not rubbery. Only wished there was more! Only came with 2 sea scallops. -Palette salad: super fresh, very healthy, the right amount of dressing and a perfect mix of veggies -Winter caprese salad: also super fresh. I wish there was more salad; it was majority tomato and mozzarella. -Calabria pizza: my mom's favorite; she's still talking about it a week later. Amazing flavor and cooked so well. Service: so friendly. They offer black pepper on everything and dealt with all of our family's many asks.

We usually don't go in for these pricey bistros, but today was a special occasion. Celebrating the union of my cousin and her partner, both in from New York. We really wanted a deck spot but it being February, no dice. This venue has incredible views of the bay and features scrumptious plates of Mediterranean cuisine. What's more? A myriad of great wines. It's not always fair to these places, but we just happened in with our party of 10. They immediately sat us and served all 10 drinks within five minutes. That's impressive! Credit Jasper! I can see where Jasper is a valuable member of their team. He's both knowledgeable and sports a wonderful personality. His suggestions really helped those that have never eaten this food to understand and order something palatable (see what I did there? Palette/palatable) The cost is out of this world, but it appeals to the correct palette (OMG, I did it again). The right folks "get it" the other folks forget it. Some quick recommendations: Try the crab cakes. You'll sweat you're in Maryland. The Seafood Paella is the cat's jammies, and finally, the Surf $ Turf Gnocchi-Beef tips, shrimp white wine chimichurri. While we averaged a little over $50 a person, I feel it was well worth it. 02/24

So many great meal choices to choose from. The food is great. Servers are attentive and friendly. Ambiance is nice. The braised short rib is awesome as is the mushroom soup.

What's funny about this place is that I'm pretty sure I've eaten there before -- 15 years ago when I was up in Petoskey for work. It's a very pretty space with two floors and overlooks the Bay. Parking was free after 6pm on the street. They have a fair few options for vegetarians and vegans. We started with some cocktails which were refreshing and delicious. Their menu confused me: I couldn't tell what angle they were going for: Tapas? American/new contemporary? French? Random? My husband and I split a few plates: - forest mushrooms soup - this was so good; tasted like clam chowder but with mushrooms - patatas Bravas - crispy potatoes but I wish there was an egg! - vegetarian paella - this was pretty bland and lacked all kinds of flavor. But overall, the ambeyonce was great in there, wonderful views and our server was attentive and friendly!

I very seldom finish my meals when I eat out. The food here so delicious I cleared my plate. Our server (I can't recall his name) was excellent with helping my husband and I select our dinner. The views of the lake were amazing. Thank you Palette Bistro for making our evening so special.

Everything here was perfection. The view, the service (Jeff, our Justin Timberlake look alike) and the food! Highlights were the forest floor soup, a light broth of mushrooms, leeks, white wine, butter & garlic. Absolute incredible. Gazpacho was refreshing with crisp bites of bell pepper & cucumber. So refreshing! Mussels were tasty and flavorful and the Palette burger had a tangy balsamic and pickled onion flavor. Tangy & Yummy! The quiche of the day was fluffy and lightly goat cheesy with fresh vegetable flavor. All in all, a wonderful experience.

What a lovely first visit to Pallette Bistro. Amazing view of Little Traverse Bay from dining room. (An "enclosed" outdoor patio, but only available by stairs). We arrived for a 4:30 reservation so we could partake in their Happy Hour small plate specials. We tried almost everything! Started with Watermelon Gazpacho, yum! Followed by House Salad and Margherita thin crust pizza. Actually a best-ever thin crust. Every bite was flavorful. Next came two crabcakes as our entree, with a beautiful bread service. Ended with Baked Chocolate Pudding (definitely not your Mom's instant Jello pudding). Topped with ice cream and whipped cream! Shall we yum again? For sure!! We'll be back.

Really, REALLY great spot with a beautiful view - ask to be seated upstairs. Small but fabulous menu. Very accommodating staff from the hostess to the servers. Ask for Jasper - a true pro! There were five of us so we decided to share three pizzas & two orders of lobster cavatappi, and we each had a salad, 3 Caesar & 2 the broccoli salad. Raves for the broccoli salad, decent on the Caesar, which came sans dressing, seemingly, but when we asked for more,it became apparent they had originally forgotten it. Saved the day, tho! Pizza & pasta were outstanding with leftovers on both. Owners are the Wineguys Group who also own one of our favorite spots, City Park Grill and one other. We frequent CPG, and will Devi Italy addPa,Etta to our regular rotation.

We got the table that faced the lake, which was nice for sunset. Fantastic service! All the staff from start to end of dinner were so kind - our waitress gave us all the time we needed while we waited for the other half of our party. Appetizers were great, the bacon wrapped dates and the corn soup my friend got were big hits. I ended up getting the seafood paella which was OK. It was heavily tomato based and did not have the socarrat that is definitely a factor for paella. It was a bit too saucy/wet for my liking, but will say the seafood was cooked well. Last thing - for a restaurant that serves mainly Spanish foods, was a bit disappointed they didn't have Spanish wines to choose from. Great service and location, but hoping for more from their food next time I come to Petoskey!

Delicious food, great views and good service. All things that I love in a restaurant! We were recommended this spot by a friend for a great view for sunset. We arrived around 6pm and were seated promptly and had a lot of spots to choose from and once we placed our drink orders in... the crowds came in and every table with a view was taken. The restaurant isn't super big, and I'm not sure if they take reservations, but we enjoyed our experience. We had the bacon wrapped dates and butternut squash soup to start, I got the pasta with meatballs (it definitely had a fancier name than that) and my boyfriend got the half rack of lamb. Flavor wise, everything was great! We enjoyed it but definitely a little on the pricey side. But that's what you get for a nice dinner and a view.

The food at this restaurant is mostly delicious, but the value for the money is not good, and I'm not one of those big all-you-can-eat buffet type of goomers. (I have 50 years of fine dining experience.) The hostess needs some basic training in manners, so that she could perhaps add "please" instead of just saying "follow me" to the table. The homemade mushroom soup was delicious. However, the cup of soup and bowl of soup are not more than one or two ounces different in volume. The soup bowl has a great big wide lip around it, and the volume of actual soup in it is maybe one or two ounces more than the cup, which is five dollars less. Maybe that's why the waitress suggested this rip-off. Some of the entrées are a good portion size for a pre-adolescent or a little old lady, but not for most people between age 14 and 70 or 75. The walleye tasted good, but there were no more than seven or eight bites in the whole portion! It was only accompanied by some risotto that had a few peas in it, and a small pile of arugula, and nothing else. I don't know how they can masquerade this as being in the "Large Plate" menu category because it was clearly served on a small plate - a little hors d'oeuvre size plate. Such audacity the restaurant has to pull this bait-and-switch! The salmon, however, was sufficient size for most adults. So best advice to you if you want to waste money at this extremely noisy restaurant is to ask your waitperson specific questions about the size of the portion of each entrée you are considering ordering, because some of them are just little snacks that will leave you very unsatisfied if you're more than just a little bit hungry. Our waitress was nice, but not particularly attentive. Our food was brought to the table by some guy we hadn't seen before. Although they have some delicious food, this is far from being a highly recommended restaurant.

Probably the best restaurant in this little town. This is my first time Petoskey and if I'm ever back I'm definitely coming here. Top spot for flavorful quality food and superior service. They can accommodate large parties. We had about 20 people. There's an upstairs in addition to a large downstairs. Food was hot and came out quick. I added a few pictures of the dishes which is on their updated menu. Not a person in my party had a negative thing to say about the food. Please see their honest opinions below: Caesar salad- you know it's going to be a good salad when it has anchovy Caesar dressing. A top option to start off your meal. Beef tenderloin- horse radish is not overbearing which was important for those ordering. Not a drop left on the plate. Cooked to perfection. Lamb bolognese- all I can say is quality. Good seasoning. Perfectly cooked noodles. Nice section of greens to the side to compliment. Lamb chop- incredible but had a kick. Spice and savory with the Greek sauce was perfect pairing. Kobe hanger steak - medium rare. Cooked perfectly. The combo of the mushrooms and the fingerling potato's was phenomenal. The tomato jam gave the sweet and savory needed. The ounces was about 6-7 which was a perfect size.

Let me start by saying that this restaurant should not advertise Happy Hour as they do. Unless you get a beer or wine you might be okay with Happy Hour drink prices. Any type of mixed cocktail is lacking in alcohol. My drink I ordered, a cosmopolitan was heavy on lime juice and it tasted like it had a thimble full of alcohol. The mushtoom soup that everyone raves about was watery and lacking in flavor. Caesar Salad had a pre made dressing that was not a Caesar salad dressing I have ever tasted. Margherite Pizza was burnt, no fresh mozzarella, and tasted like it was bought at the grocery store.

Amazing view. Great service. A bit pricy but ... happy hour from 4-530p makes up for it. $5 drinks and 40% off small plates :) We got the stuffed dates, crab cakes, and calamari. Dates were by far the best.

Dinner at Palette Bistro in Petoskey, Michigan was wonderful! We had a window seat overlooking Little Traverse Bay. The atmosphere is very nice and our server was so friendly and attentive. My husband had the pork chop and I had the Margherita pizza, both were wonderful! Because we had an early dinner, I was able to take advantage of Happy Hour which I highly recommend.

New chef?! Welcome: Love your fantastic bean soup!! Goes well with great beer and wine selection. Looking forward to more additions/substitutions!

Small menu but excellent!! Service was wonderful, thank you Freddy!! Fantastic view of Little Traverse Bay. Great food combination!

Not a bad place just didn't really meet our standards for the food. A little too overpriced for what we got. Service was excellent! We got refills on the bread and dipping oil, they saw we loved it and they brought us more, also ended up going out and buying the oil ans vinegar they serve here! Amazing! Out of 6 of us only 2 liked their meals. We felt like it lacked a lot of flavor, my husbands medium $50 steak came out more like well done, and it really lacked flavor, like it wasn't even seasoned with salt or pepper. the polenta served with it I gotta say, it was the grittiest polenta I've ever had at a restaurant. The lamb pasta dish was very very dry, the meatballs were lamb and that's it! Ground lamb, or that's at least what they tasted like. The seafood paella, was okay, lot of flavor there, a very good kick to it, so if you don't like spicy food don't get it. The muscles in it were a little questionable...a few of them were almost completely black in color. Overall, no I don't think I'd choose this place again.

Surprisingly good food in this small restaurant in the downtown tourist area. Not inexpensive and limited menu, but tasty food and multiple outdoor tables on two floors. Food: 4/5. The Forest floor soup and salmon were very good but the paella was too spicy for my taste. The chorizo in the paella overpowered any seafood flavor. Service 5/5 Efficient and pleasant Facility 3/5. Nice reuse of an older building -crowded & loud inside but more space on the first floor outside. Location is conveniently downtown.

This used to be good but with change in ownership it's gone way down hill. Also it is very noisy and no elevator for seniors when the downstairs is full.

It had been a while since we've been here. The location has an amazing view of the bay and it's great spot for a date night. I had the seafood paella and it was good, lots of flavors and the dish was well balanced. My mother had the forest floor soup and it did not disappoint. It was tasty and very flavorful. My father (who is from Baltimore so he's a bit of an expert) had the crab cakes which unfortunately missed the mark for his Baltimore palate: too much bread and fill and not enough actual crab. The accompanied kale is too tough and needed something more delicate. As a starter, he had the caprese salad and it was excellent; highly recommend. All in all, we enjoy this quaint spot and will be coming back.

Great evening with friends. Good food, great wine and drink recommendations. We had pizza and apps and were super happy. We did request a window table and were not accommodated. Only thing not great about the night

Despicable service - absolute disgusting service. I called and reserved a table for 12 guests. When we arrived they wanted to split our party in two tables and when arrived the waitress decided to become aggressive and attack me stating we were told about the split table. When I informed management he could careless. Go elsewhere, there are several other places around that actually care about their customers.

Paella was disappointing food was below average at best. Service was good waiter was very attentive.

Located at the north end of Downtown Petoskey, this restaurant was one of the only ones in the city offering outdoor dining throughout the winter. They have cute, little pop-up tents on their main floor patio and upper balcony, but they go quick -- be sure to get a reservation for one in advance! They were all filled up for the night when we called, so we ordered food to-go on their website. Their ordering platform made it really easy and everything sounded delicious. One of the dishes we ordered had run out, so their staff called us immediately to let us know and sort it out. They were super nice on the phone and ran out instantly with our food when we pulled up about thirty minutes later. I got the seafood paella and it was okay. I can't handle much spice and it was pretty spicy, which is something I wasn't used to, since Spaniards don't usually make paella spicy. Just be aware of that! Beyond that, the seafood and rice individually were good. I also got the Caesar salad and devoured that up as well. I can't wait for the day when we can dine here in person, the way we're intended to!

Palette Bistro is an outstanding find in Petoskey. Ingredients are high quality, fresh & well-prepared. The service is exemplary. This is a first class restaurant with a casual, good-vibe atmosphere.

A really awesome place to stop for lunch or dinner. Feels upscale, eclectic and traditional menu items to choose front. Great wait staff, very good service and customer oriented!

Great view, but the food just misses the mark here. It's a very tired menu and the execution is just lacking. Nothing tastes fresh or made with care. Just boring food. People will pay more (and come back often) for quality food in the Petoskey area. They need to step up their menu and level of care to get us back.

Food ok but not great Service was very poor related to kitchen We have been here for 1.5 hours still waiting for rest of the food for lunch

I don't understand what all the hype about this place is. It's not a high quality restaurant that's worth the hefty price tags attached to it. It's the type of place people come who have more money than time. The vegetarian paella wasn't good. The pizza was burnt around the edges, it was also soggy and thin as paper. A frozen pizza from the store would've been better. The spare ribs were decent but the sauce was a little sweet. I think the bread that was free was the best thing we ate. The waitress seemed to be gone for ages. It felt like an eternity while waiting for the check to arrive. The worst part of the whole experience was the table of eight sitting next to us who'd had some drinks and were painfully loud. The entire time they were this way. The experience was terrible. You couldn't pay us to come back here.

We had amazing food and service at the Palette Bistro. The kitchen was running a little behind on our daughters filet and management was kind enough to comp it and our desserts. It was unexpected but very much appreciated. We will definitely be back! PS The view was stunning from our table.

Awesome food for the value. Server was awesome. We live this place all year long. Love the outside seating.

Wine dinner was great. Food was delicious and paired wines were wonderful. Will definitely do it again.

Nope nope nope ! I've posted before tho too long to get into it.. Food was & is decent tho tho arrogant service experience accusations of our party of 8 being ages 35-70 as 2 were restauranteurs as being under the influence thus fr one of the original partners. Yes this was years ago as I've tried & tried again. Not recommend ..

First of all, this place is fantastic. Great feel, great service, delicious food. However, the other reviewers' photos are so incredibly awful, they could be case studies for how not to take photos. In most of the photos, you can't actually see the restaurant they're so dark. Which you'd think would be a bad thing until you view the photos that aren't dark! Whew! All kinds of awful angles, terrible composition. It's like your delicious food attracts abysmal photographers.

Our experience was via a Door Dash order so I can't comment on the service or atmosphere. I know some dishes aren't a good choice for takeout (things get soggy or aren't good warmed up) but that wasn't the issue. The forest floor soup was amazing, as was the creme brûlée. The baked feta appetizer was very disappointing- there was a brick of tough, unmelted feta in the center of a chunky tomato blend. After cooking the dish ourselves the consistency improved but the flavor was very bland - basically just feta, tomato chunks and olives. No hint of lemon yogurt or basil. The romaine in the Caesar salad was tough and bitter and the dressing was salty. The order arrived very quickly (we even needed to let the soup cool down for a minute) so none of the problems were because things got cold.

There is no option of no star because that what this place would get. Horrible hostess, who calls out the costumers "FOLKS". We got seated in a dirty table and we were thinking to leave the restaurant. The only reason we stayed was our waiter, He's name was Daniel if I'm not mistaking. The best service provider in all the restaurant, I'm sorry my friend but I feel bad for you that you have to work with this kind of people. The food was delicious I must admit.

Let's just start with the service Tonya was amazing. I was so impressed with her knowledge of their food and drinks. My husband and I celebrated our Anniversary there last night. It was a Sunday and late September so not much action in the Restaurant. We sat at the window over looking the bay. It is a beautiful place to be. Now the food... I had the Beef Tenderloin, the portions are more than adequate and the flavor was perfect. It was served with Polenta which was so yummy and perfectly steamed Asparagus. My husband had the Kobe Hanger Steak. Now let me tell you he is very picky and will discard any tough piece( his plate was clean) and last but not least you HAVE to try the Chocolate Pudding! I have never had pudding with that texture ( more like a very light flourless cake) with deep chocolate flavor, warm and served with Vanilla ice cream and just the right amount of Carmel Sauce. I will be back for more!

A great view of the water and tasty dishes. Crab cake had visible crab in it. The shrimp was tender and flavorful. We also had a pizza full of flavor. The menu isn't very big and price point is higher but reasonable for what is offered. They have people who know how to make good food. A lovely place for atmosphere worth going just for that.

This place is a great find. I love that it's got a cute small town vibe but the food is super classy. I was into all of it. We made a reservation through Yelp and were seated right away. We had a table upstairs with a great view of the bay. I forgot to take a picture of the paella? Oops. You'll have to take my word for it. It was tasty and looked amazing. The bread appetizer was also fresh. The pizza was solid though maybe nothing life altering. Overall, I really liked this place. It had great vibes, views, and food. I'd come back here again easily.

Here on a Sunday night..... before a surgery tomorrow....and their wine list looked great but not for me tonite....wife had scallops, small plate 2 large very good and well cooked/,seared right and the butternut squash soup, quite good as well, we split a Margherita pizza thin crust crispy very good , and I had a forest floor mushroom soup (I would return just for the soups!!) and a Caesar salad which was well dressed and tasty but a little on the small side, wife finished w a cocktail and a key lime cheesecake which she swooned while eating. Service was very good and quite friendly overall. We look forward to a return visit when we return for my post surgery checkup!!!!

We like happy hours and this one is great. We had great cocktails and 2 small plates. The baked feta and the short rib dishes were delicious and a bargain. The staff and management were very attentive and the hospitality was top notch. We will be back to visit soon.... Maybe tomorrow

Great ambiance. Friendly wait staff. I love the Forest Soup. Sunday Brunch is fabulous!!! Great Coffee. I Highly recommend!

We ate lunch here and sat outside. It was a beautiful setting and the food was delicious! Our server was very attentive and friendly!

We had a great lunch, staff was great I'm recommending food items. We had two GF ppl in our party and it was refreshing to see so mama GF options available on the menu. The GF pizza was amazing and crispy. The rest of us had regular salami pizzas and the smoked turkey sandwiches which are also so good

We had an amazing dining experience. The views from our table were amazing (on the second floor). The wait staff was pleasant and attentive. And the food...wow! To begin, we ordered the "Forest Floor Soup" (mushroom & Leek - fantastic!) and the Palette Salad (with a delicious light and fresh flavor). Our entrees were the Vegetable Paella and a Broccoli Rigatoni. Both were wonderful. We were impressed by the range of flavors presented in each of the dishes. We'd definitely come back!

Terrific Harissa Salmon and Plath's Smoked Pork-chop. Service and view are top tier, give them a call before hand to set a reservation. Definitely recommend if i'm the area!

Been twice and found it to be a wonderful culinary experience. Great food, reasonable prices for the quality you get. Plus, the servers have been very personable without interrupting your dining experience.

Thumbs up all the way around. Good view with spectacular sunset . Food and service delightful