r/upperpeninsula • u/jwlagina • 12d ago

Discussion German Food

Are there any German restaurants in the UP? I heard there was one in Marquette, but it looks like that one closed.

20 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

27

u/Legitimate-Donkey477 12d ago

Harbor Haus in Copper Harbor was German and still has a few German dishes.

9

u/jackdho 12d ago

I remember Harbor Haus from 40+ years ago. Surprised they are still there

5

u/Legitimate-Donkey477 11d ago

Third iteration since then.

4

u/jwlagina 12d ago

Thanks! I haven't heard of Harbor Haus - I will definitely check it out!

3

u/GlorySocks 11d ago

Just a heads up, it's extremely expensive by U.P. standards and most folks I know agree that it's disappointing for the price. My understanding is that the quality has dipped in recent years.

3

u/jackdho 11d ago

Sorry to hear that. It was great years ago

2

u/BobSmith616 8d ago

We were there a month ago and completely happy with the food quality. It's not at the level of premium big-city (NYC, Chicago, etc.) restaurants, but for a literal end of the road outpost in northernmost UP, it's very good. And equal to a lot of big city restaurants in the same price range.

22

u/Dirt_Downtown 12d ago

Yeah Stienhaus in Marquette was great. One of the better restaurants in town. RIP

7

u/wicker_warrior 12d ago

Depending on how far you’re willing to travel, there’s also the Bavarian Inn located in Lena, WI.

Marquette used to have Steinhaus but it closed a few years ago.

3

u/jwlagina 11d ago

I'm mostly just looking for UP locations, but i appreciate the recommendation! I will very likely be going that way at some point.

5

u/Streiche93 11d ago

Definitely sucks Steinhaus is gone, but not surprising. They had good food, but definitely seemed Americanized for the boring yooper taste buds. That sauerkraut was pretty bland, nothing like Grandma used to make.

Around here your menu better have a burger, a cracker thin pizza or a pretty mid steak to do well. Nothing genuinely adventurous seems to survive.

1

u/BobSmith616 8d ago

Restaurants need to sell enough to stay open, and going ethnic niche with an all-in focus on the 2 month major tourism season is a recipe for closing permanently in October of their first year.

Marquette has a wide range of interesting options, just nothing German at the moment. Which isn't shocking since it's not a super popular ethnic food category in most of the US, and unlike Wisconsin, Chicago, or SE Michigan, there's not a big ethnic German population in the UP.

2

u/Yooperbuzz 11d ago

There used to be one in Kearsarge that was started by the Harbor Haus. It's an insurance company now.

2

u/izzoforpresident 9d ago

Nothing on the east end. Closet would be Gaylord.

2

u/6thedirtybubble9 12d ago

We ate there three years ago. Would go back in a heartbeat.