Mission Table

This review is strictly for their wedding and group event services.
My husband and I got married at Bowers Harbor/​Mission Table last June. We’re from California, so planning this wedding across the country was challenging enough, but the ladies from Mission Table made it very easy. I met with Barbara when we visited and toured the site in early 2014. We were able to reserve and make all accommodations via email, which was super helpful due to the time differences. Eventually Kate took over and helped us create a smooth event. I was so impressed with their professionalism and how everything was mostly handled when we arrived the week before.
The *only* issue we had was a slight miscommunication about the wine. We thought we could buy wine from Bowers Harbor Vineyard next door and have it served at the reception, but due to some law that was impossible. I left with a few cases of wine to enjoy on my own, so not the worst thing that could happen :)
Overall the planning and communication was great. The space was beautiful and private! They closed down the front of the restaurant so we could enjoy the space! It was wonderful to be able to use the upstairs room to change, and the Mission Library space was incredible. Thanks Mission Table and Bowers Harbor!

I had the best dinner of my life last night at Mission Table! The service was exceptional. Raj was outstanding. Everything we ordered was perfectly prepared and flavorful. I can’t wait to come back!

Sitting at Mission Table as I write this. Had very high hopes, especially after hearing all great things. well, this place did not live up to the hype in certain ways. Other reviewers talk about the service being distant, lacking focus, etc. I agree. I arrived to a relatively empty restaurant, yet waited about 7 minutes before the server came over. a server who never told me his name either.
server never stopped by to ask how the meals were at any point during the main dining process. He did ask me how that dessert was, so bonus points for that! I did the three course tasting for $ 25, which is a total bargain, so another huge plus there. The rabbit was a bit dry. The quickly breaded and fried cauliflower with garlic and jalapeño vinaigrette was quite tasty. Nice coating, and a firm texture remained intact. The local caught trout was cooked perfectly. Presentation of this dish was beautiful!
Again though, that service. irks me. even though you are friendly when you approach the table, as a server, a few stops during the dinner process is important. ask me how i enjoyed each dish, etc.
anyway, glad I tried this restaurant nonetheless. Beautiful property!

Overall, the food was very good but the experience was disappointing. My husband and I made reservations here for a Saturday night while on our honeymoon, when we arrived we were offered a choice of seating at the bar or outside. We chose outside and it was too dark to see each other across the table. Our service was lacking and we felt we were forgotten about half the time. We paid our $ 100 bill and looked forward to going home.

This lakeside setting in a grove of trees on West Grand Traverse Bay can’t be beat. The dining room is a mix of rustic chic craftsman furniture, big stone hearth, rich wood beams and expansive lake views.
Started the evening with three glasses of wine from 2 Lads winery (pricey but good at $ 11 a pop for pinot noir — and yes, Michigan actually delivers a respectable pinot. Thanks chef Piombo at Nonna’s for the tip).
Although we were there during peak season, the dining room was nearly empty, about half of the outside tables filled. Not sure if it’s the price point or the distance from downtown Traverse City (about half an hour north)
My roasted beet salad was incredible flavor mix: sweet/​salty juicy beets, pickled paper-​thin shaved radishes (need to learn to make those) and the creamiest goat cheese from local farm I’ve ever tasted on bed of mixed greens lightly dressed in a vinaigrette. Oh. My. Gosh. $ 9.
I wanted to taste the house-​made spirits, but the vodka martini was harsh (I’m a Greygoose or Chopin girl), not smooth.
What followed was anticlimactic. The tomato basil risotto was bland and a bit watery. The marscapone barely discernible, the parmesan a whisper. This is farm to table and the tomatoes came in very late up here this year which may explain the diminutive thumbnail piece of tomato. Skip this at $ 9.
I wanted to taste locavore cuisine and ordered the treaty lake trout, which was prettily plated but oddly dry, served on a bed of fingerling potatoes in «ramp butter» a wild onion, leek. Sounded great but couldn’t taste it. $ 26.
The husband’s maple brined pork tenderloin was a hit, served with smashed redskins at $ 23. Dinner for two with one drink came in at $ 110. Pre-​dinner drink $ 30. Not quite worth the price.

The BEST restaurant in Traverse City! Creative menu, great views of the lake from the patio. If you want a restaurant away from the crowds of downtown Traverse City, head here! Very relaxing and romantic. I have visited the last two times I was in the area and will come back every time I visit Michigan.

Have been looking forward to this for awhile, as my wife and I love good restaurants. But, after being sat (with reservations) nobody showed up for 15 minutes. We thought of leaving and when the waiter finally came? We expressed our unhappiness; his response was to walk away. So we left and had a great meal elsewhere.
Fuck Mission Table; we all deserve better.

I was with a party of 5 and we all really enjoyed our food. I thought the gnocchi was quite good and I have never had better scallops. There was really no room for improvement. However, because of the service, I will not return. Our server kept us hostage while he talked about himself and his life story before even taking our drink order. Then he pretty much made himself scarce the rest of the evening. No one was offered a refill on wine or non-​alcoholic beverages. I had a tonic with lime and it was gone with my appetizer and that was that. When it was time to use the restroom I went to the bar area to ask for directions and then just stood there because there were no employees in sight for the longest time, even at the hostess stand. We waited forever to get the check while our waiter waltzed around the room visiting with his other two tables and then, when we were leaving, I held the door for an empty-​handed outdoor server who walked through without even acknowledging me or touching the door. Sadly, the terrific food simply did not make up for the poor service experience since there are places where you can have great food AND service in TC.

Nice venue, but the meal left something to be desired. Had the gnocchi and some foodie form of nachos for appetozers, which were both good. The entrees (pork for me, scallops for my husband) were good, but neither featured a vegetable. Also, both were quite salty. We got a the rye bread with crème fraîche and avocado fudge for dessert, but the bread was dry and the avocado fudge was quite strange. Staff and view were both lovely.

My wife and I enjoyed dinner here recently on a weekend visit to Traverse City. We were seated outside on a perfect summer evening, with a nice view of the West Bay. The setting was stellar.
The food and service were also great. I had the duck confit while my wife enjoyed the short ribs, and both were excellent. Our only wish is that Mission Table offered wines from outside of Michigan… they are completely loyal to locally produced wine.
Lastly, the connection to Jolly Pumpkin is an added benefit. We paid a visit to their taproom prior to dinner and it was also a great experience.

Excellent atmosphere and food. A nice out of the way place with character, a view and great food. I enjoyed a ribeye which was perfectly cooked and truly delicious.
Certainly worth the ride from T.C. Its the kind of place that you want to go back to so you can share it with friends.

I want to start out by saying that I’m not usually one to complain about restaurants. I eat out a lot and, for the most part, the reviews I write are positive. So when I write a bad one, you know it’s really bad.
It really makes me sad that I cannot give this place a good review. I went into the experience with every intention of liking it. I just feel the need to write about the experience so the owners are aware. I went for dinner over the weekend with a date for a special occasion (birthday celebration). We made a reservation, but it wasn’t needed; it was nearly dead on a Friday night, which, considering the busyness of the rest of the area on a Friday night in July, seemed pretty strange (red flag?). Right off the bat, we were kind of disappointed that they don’t have any cocktail options other than the stuff they make. The liquors they make just aren’t good in my opinion, which is a personal viewpoint. I’ve had their «whiskey» before and it’s clear (weird) and just has an odd taste. I think the alcohol percentage is lower than «normal» in their spirits, also. Your other options are beers they make and a few wines from the area, so the bar selection is very minimal. If you’re looking for a nice standard martini or something as a pre-​dinner cocktail, there is no option. That obviously wasn’t the worst part, but I wanted to note it; the worst part was the food. The food was mostly just bad, and not cheap, either. We started off with the gnocchi appetizer, which had a strange minty almost toothpaste taste to it– it was not good at all. In fact, it was downright gross, the flavors were just odd, and it almost made me feel too nauseous to try any of the other food. I mentioned this to the waiter and he kind of blew off my comment and didn’t offer to do anything about it. OK then. We also had a cauliflower appetizer which was OK only, not much flavor or anything special about it. We then had salads which were decent-​ish but pricey. I had the Burrata, which was like $ 14, and you got a tiny piece of cheese, some sad old looking greens, and two slices of tomato. My date had the blue cheese salad which was also just meh. For entrées, I had the scallops, which were by far the best thing we tried. My date had a fillet, which he had to send back twice, even though he’s not that way AT ALL, and would usually rather just suffer than complain. The first time the steak was so overcooked it was impossible to eat. When it came back medium rare as he had requested, we then realized it was just not a good piece of meat. It was chewy and stringy and in no way tender, extremely disappointing for a $ 40 «fillet.» The waiter offered to give us a free dessert since everything was bad, but the desserts were all weird. For example, there was something that had avocado and chocolate in it. Honestly, not one we even wanted to try for free on the menu. So, long story short, out of the six items we ordered: one was absolutely disgusting, one was completely inedible, three were merely so so (yet overpriced), and one was decent. We turned down free dessert because they all looked bad. I am adventurous and open-​minded when it comes to dining out, and as a local I love to support the local farm to table type places, but this place was just not good. I don’t understand why it has so many good reviews? Could it have possibly just been an off night for them? Did the chef quit? This restaurant is in a beautiful location, and has the potential to be really great, but it’s not. Really disappointed in the food. Yuck. They may be better off just expanding Jolly Pumpkin brewery into this space. Two stars because I feel too bad to give it one star for some reason.

We sat out on the patio for dinner on a Friday night. I’d definitely recommend making reservations! I think there was some type of wedding rehearsal or something going on that night too.
I had the strawberry and rhubarb mojito to start and it was really good!
Next up was the small plate pork butt gnocchi, and oh my goodness was it fantastic! The pork butt was so tender and really good, and the gnocchi was the best I’ve had!
Last up was the chicken entrée. I didn’t think it would top the gnocchi but it did! The fried chicken was tender and juicy but not fried too much. The bacon kale might have been my favorite thing though! The cheddar grits were yummy too.
The service was good, and our waiter was very good at explaining the dishes so we could decide what to get.
Overall, a great experience and we will definitely be back!

Good food and excellent service. Recommend sitting outside on the patio and food-​wise, the pork tenderloin. Rabbit salad was just not quite right. They have a great selection of beers by north peak (they have Maylem and Humongous — not even north peak itself has those) and jolly pumpkin. Wines by the glass are good value.

Had eaten here a few years ago when up on vacations in the area and it had always left an impression. Had my first smoked whitefish dip (the Northern Michigan staple) here and loved it ever since. Beautiful old building on Old Mission that always provokes a feeling of place.
Ate here to begin our recent honeymoon while staying at a local winery and loved the experience. Shared the updated smoked whitefish and a deep fried cauliflower/​romanesco with a garlic aioli that it could have used more of. Followed that up with the best bowl of cassoulet I’ve ever had. Impossibly comforting. Ended with the best dessert of our entire trip (with multiple meals at Cook’s House and Trattoria Stella) called the Walt Jr. Some type of pie/​torta made of layers of tortilla/​pastry? Defies description and incredible taste and texture. Wine list encompassing many of the bottles you can find right down the street but with mark-​ups that can make buying it hard to stomach. Fortunately, the on-​site Jolly Pumpkin satisfies any and all imbibing needs. A constant winner for years now.

We rolled up the dirt driveway and parked next to a Chevelle from the sixties. The parking lot sits directly next to wine vineyards. I imagined the old muscle car belonging to one of the Old Mission wine barons.
Mission Table, housed in a historic, sprawling building that renowned Michigan breweryJolly Pumpkin calls home as well, could not have been more cozy. There were comfortable chairs beside a roaring fire. The dining room had its own fireplace, and windows on the lake.
My girlfriend and I loved the food here, one of the best meals I have had in Michigan. Mission Table pairs classic technique with local ingredients, and the resulting dishes are high quality and flavorful.
We had lake trout in a light, acidic tomato broth, and steak in a rich sauce of beef shortribs. The locally grown vegetables were shining, at this time of harvest. My girlfriend enjoyed her cocktail. An interesting part of the restaurant is that they make all their own beer (Jolly Pumpkin), wine and spirits.
Right before the entrees arrived, the sun burst through the grey pall blanket of clouds on its descent. The bottoms of the clouds caught pink reflections. The resulting contrast was so surprisingly beautiful many of the diners, including me, stopped eating to step outside and see.

Mission’s Table is one of those places you read about and you plan and make sure you get there. I have attempted to go here many times and they were closed, it wasn’t the right season, so on and so forth. So, when I finally made it there with some friends I was sooooooo excited. They are located in the same building adjoined to Jolly Pumpkin in a beautiful spot located on the peninsula. It’s a great drive on sunny summer day. The water glows of blues and turquoises and you wonder how you ever lived your life not being there.
Mission’s table is a more upscale dining establishment. I wouldn’t wear my flip flops and bathing suit here, but I doubt they would turn you away. They are used to having summer vacationers I’m sure, but this is a place where you get course meals and it just seems like bad etiquette to show up like you just came off the beach. We ended up getting a bottle of wine and sharing small portions. Every single thing that we order was absolutely amazing. Cooked to perfection!
We ordered the following:
Risotto — summer squash, leeks, serrano ham, wisconsin parmesan
Arugula salad — apples, feta cheese, dried cherries, white balsamic
Roasted red potatoes
Duck (which was amazing! And doesn’t look like it’s on the men currently)
Soup — I can’t remember what kind
If you are in Traverse City and it’s the right season AND you are foodie you should get here. You will not be disappointed in the food or the sights. :) It’s $$$$ so bring your big bills.

Service is ghastly! Hostess sat my party of 5 in a 4 top in the corner of the room, wedging us between a 5 too n another full 4 top. When inquired about the empty 4 near the entrance, by a couple she said it was reserved in that order. We has reserved our seats as well but an experienced hostess wouldn’t have had a trouble relocating us. Sure enough, the next reservation that sat down was a 2 top. The seat was drafty and really unpleasant to be airting in. Given my precarious seating arrangement, I was the 5^th awkwardly protruding out of the head of table, inches from the person behind me. I was constantly bumped by the servers going in and out of the server station!
Then the server was a complete jerk. He was very sarcastic and acted like a smart ass (pardon the language). I wasn’t feeling well so I requested to have a soup for my entrée. He huffed and moved on to the next person at the table. The silverware I got was mismatched. My table all had matching silver and I got the proper knife with 2 forks that look like it should’ve been at a diner! I requested the soup to be an entrée so I could at least dine with my friends and it came out as an appetizer! How hard is it to do it right? Not to mention, he completely forgot my friend’s order, brought out an extra order of something else. This is all after confirming with us our order beforehand.
I had about enough so I explained to the manager the whole debacle that had occurred within the first 15 minutes of us arriving. She was completely understanding and more than accommodating due to the bad experience. She moved us to the lounge section of the restaurant, giving us our own room practically. Helped us mode our dinner that had then come out. The second manager then came out and made sure our dinner was better. We also got a new server since who was much more competent! He was nice and personable.
The only saving grace for this place is its food and the turnaround the managers were able to arrange. so therefore they are receiving a 4 stars for that.

Incredible experience all around. Beautiful décor and ambience, definitely upscale, but not pretentious. Food knocked our socks off, especially the fresh corn soup, smooth and velvety and so delicious, also unlike anything we’ve ever had. Beet salad was simple, gorgeous and sublime. The Kobe NY strip steaks were nothing short of spectacular. The best steak experience in my life to date, hubby concurred. Wonderful staff. Looking forward to our next visit!

Full disclosure – I haven’t had a meal here but I still had a wonderful evening that I will remember fondly!
Came here still totally full from a crazy brunch so despite the fact that we had planned to sample some food and everything on the menu looked amazing (especially that small plate of scallops! Sigh) we stuck with cocktails and beer on the patio.
And BOY, what a patio! How much better can you get than a lovely wooden patio (with fire pit, although it wasn’t running during our visit) placed in a wooded area overlooking the bay. It’s the ideal spot to spend a cool summer night with a drink in one hand and the sunset coming down in front of you. LOVE.
The cocktail I had was scrumptious. It was a lovely vodka cocktail with lemon and thyme that wasn’t overly sweet and had the right amount of citrus/​herb balance. The beers on tap were from the next door neighbor Jolly Pumpkin and their pard’ner in beer crime North Peak, so it was indeed tasty.
The prices were reasonable, the view was amazing, and the staff was wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening for casual conversation (and a heated game of Trivial Pursuit Steal). Can’t wait for my next trip up north, this is first on my list to try for food since we didn’t get the pleasure this time around.