Isle Royale Forums

any receommendations on restaurants around Grand Portage. will be going up to catch the ferry over on 6/19 and should be going thru Grand Marias, etc friday pm on 6/18 and then back out on 6/25. tia

Umm... Well... There's not much IN Grand Portage.

I've caught breakfast at Ryden's Border Store, and had dinner at the Casino/Hotel. Not a bad meal, but not much to write home about.
If you head down toward Grand Marais, there is Naniboujou, if you want a unique dining experience...

Capt Don might have some good ideas on where the locals may go... But it might be Grand Marais, too!

Grand Mariais would be fine. staying at rydens friday nite before going over.

The Angry Trout in Grand Marais is excellent but just a tad pricey. It's right on the waterfront. We always stop there. Fresh Lake Superior fish is the specialty.

Bob

I think I've eaten in Grand Marais 3 times -- at Sven & Ole's, Sven & Ole's, and Sven & Ole's. Guess I'd go to Sven & Ole's . Obviously I'm no good at all for other recommendations or comparisons. (BTW, Sven & Ole's is pizza)

Ditto on the Angry Trout. I always have to stop there when I'm up this way. The trout is wonderful.

There's a newish place right on 61 in Grand Marais that has rocking fish tacos. Don't remember the name, something like Taco House. Cheap.

If you're at Ryden's and the timing works, you can't go wrong with their breakfast, unless the timing causes you to miss your boat.

There's Rydens, the Casino and a place inside the gas station / mini mart that sold hamburgers and subs. You could fire up the stove and make something in the VII parking lot. Really not that much available in the Grand Portage area.

I will jump on the Angry Trout list of fans. Pricey but excellent food. For great burgers, My Sister's Place is the way to go. The Gunflint Tavern is probably my favorite though for great healthy food and a fine selection of micro brews. Java Moose for great coffee and ice cream. Sven and Ole's has the best pizza in town.
South of the Border Cafe is the best choice if you want an excellent breakfast before the trip. That is what we did on one trip. They open at 5am so that was a big plus. All of these places are in Grand Marais though, not Grand Portage and as others already said, not much there.

Just remember if you stay overnight in Grand Marais the night before, you are looking at about a 40 minute drive to the VII dock in Grand Portage so plan accordingly! That is why South of the Border is perfect for an early breakfast before you go.

I also went to the new Taco House as Kevin mentioned last fall. I did not have the fish taco but I can say the beef tacos were soooo good!

I believe that the VII leaves a half hour earlier this year (7:30) from past years (8am) so I don't think you would have enough time for breakfast at Ryden's that morning but I would call to be sure.

Lets see... for breakfast, Rydens or SOB are identical, good, greasy and quick. The grill in the Grand Portage trading post has a great breakfast all day, super pancakes, burgers are big and very good and they have the best prices of any resturant in Cook County. They are not open early enough though to make the boat in the morning. For dinner in Grand Portage you have the store or the lodge, Friday night is seafood nnight, it is really decent, pizza in the bar is really good, better than Swen and Oles in my opinion and much cheaper, bad thing, they close at 9pm. Dinner in Grand Marais... Angry Trout has good food, small portions and large prices, Hughies Taco House is good, but you're still hungry as you walk out the door and your wallet is a lot lighter. Best bet in GM, Dockside Fish Market, great food and reasonable prices, and they're my friends. Sorry, don't mean to be so hard on GM, but it is a tourist town/trap. For a nice dinner, Nanibijous Lodge is really good and priced right, it sits just east of the Brule River bridge by Magney State Park. I would not recommend cooking in the marina parking lot, that is for the campgrounds across the bay.

When I called Rydens for a reservation, I believe they said they're open at 6 for breakfast so plenty time to make boat.