Plank's Tavern on the Water - American restaurant in St Joseph - 800 Whitwam Dr, USA

I came to Michigan for a family reunion and decided to take a quick drive to see Lake Michigan. I wanted dinner at a restaurant with a view, so I Googled and found Planks. At my first glance, the menu didn't seem to "Wow" me. But, honey let me tell you, the food did WOW me! We ordered the bread with butter candle. Which was actually a candle made out of butter with a wick! Once lit, it melted the butter so we could dip our bread. We also ordered the kale salad and the brussel sprouts. Both were delicious 😋. My husband ordered a vegetarian pasta, with a cheese Alfredo sauce. This pasta was exceptional and ranks in his top 5. I ordered the sliders which were also delicious. Overall, I had an outstanding meal at Plank's. I would highly recommend this restaurant.

My wife and I came to this restaurant on a whim. Just looking for somewhere to go on a Tuesday evening. After a Google search Planks Tavern came up and there was a picture of an appetizer. It was bread with a butter candle. We had never tried that before so we decided to give it a whirl. We are sure glad we did! The bread and butter candle was delicious and fun and it came with a side of house made grape jam, and Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. I ended up trying the lobster corn dogs and my wife ordered the chopped salad. The lobster corn dogs were out of this world! My wife and I agree that they are easily in the top five bites of food that we've had all year. The chopped salad was wonderful too. It had blue cheese crumbles on it which, I don't normally like , but these crumbles paired well with the salad and we're actually quite tasty. All in all, the food was spectacular and the service was amazing. We will definitely be back and bringing friends. Especially when the warmer weather rolls in! I highly recommend this restaurant.

Food was very good. We had reservations for 11 on a Sunday and arrived around 10:30 and didn't have to wait. We ordered promptly and didn't have to wait long for the order to come out. I had the chicken and biscuits, with an over easy egg. My husband had the hash and eggs which he enjoyed as well.

The food is delicious, the atmosphere is great, and the staff was amazing. It doesn't feel like a hotel restaurant. It's just an added bonus that you can walk up to your room after dinner.

Really nice bar with great food! Kent was an awesome bartender. Had the fish and chips and it was delicious!

Great food! The breakfast burrito was delicious and enough to share. They let us build our own breakfast as well. The gravy is some of the best I've ever tasted.

As someone that has frequented this place for over 6+ years since I’ve moved to the area, there appears to be an obvious difference in the food quality. I visited in December and January and the place was empty both times (excluding myself and my guest(s)). The food is really mediocre and does not compare to what was served in the past. For instance, the shrimp and grits used to be served with cheese grits (perfectly blended together) and now it’s just shredded cheese sprinkled on top (so gross) and the shrimp aren’t as big. I ordered the corned beef hash during my recent visit on 1/13/24, which was my favorite dish for many years, and I was served primarily pieces of fat from the corned beef on top of potatoes with 2 peices of onion and no (visible) peppers. The meal look so crossed that I had to send it back and opt out of ordering with my group of 15. This makes me sad because this was one of my favorite restaurants for brunch, lunch and dinner. I hope they can get back to their original recipes, or else it will likely continue to go downhill. Beautiful atmosphere nonetheless.

I enjoy dinner here in the summertime, and it turns out that wintertime brunch is just as fantastic! Such a warm environment with nice water views. Friendly staff, excellent service. Stop and say hi to Concierge Luis.