Gruenke’s First Street Inn

We were up in Bayfield in February for a little winter mini vacation. We had supper at Gruenkes, as we had already been there before and knew that the two of us who are vegetarians wanted to have the pasta parmesan. It was so so good. While the tomatoes were the pale variety from the grocery store, there was a nice amount of peppers, onion and mushrooms in the pasta along with a good red sauce and some parmesan. Add to that thick and tasty garlic bread and it was a wonderful meal. My non-​vegetarian friend had the walnut crusted trout with the rice pilaf and a side salad. She said that it was very good, though the pilaf was a little bit bland.
It was a quiet night, so we got extremely attentive service. All in all it was not our first time there and it will not be the last.

Pretty cool place. Lots of «stuff» on the walls to look at. Good service and good food. Wife had the fish platter. All fried with a light batter. Whitefish, trout, and whitefish livers. Yes, whitefish livers! Apparently it’s a delicacy. If you’ve ever had chicken livers, fish livers are much more mild. We both liked them. I had chicken Parmesan that was ok. It was a pretty small chicken breast but it was good. It was served with garlic toast but they just use white bread. Being from Chicago we can get all kinds of great Italian bread. I’ve never seen Italian bread in the north woods so I guess you make do. It’s a cool place. I’d go again.

Thought this place was a nice cozy nostalgic restaurant, boy was that wrong. The fried green bean app was truly the only thing worth eating. The burger is low quality and greasy, french fries cost extra, they tasted freezer burned and undercooked. My wife had broasted chicken it was overcooked and had a weird taste, she did not eat it. Got a soup as replacement, that was mediocre. The hostess took $ 1 off our bill, thanks bunches eh? The only bright point of the place was our server. She was awesome and made the bill right in the end. I would not go back.

I found the fish fry a little heavy. The atmosphere was crowded and noisy. The waiting staff were really friendly and the pie was ok.

I forgot I came here 2 years ago until my fiancée and I were walking up the street for her birthday. Well, the atmosphere is pretty cool and the menu on a newspaper is kinda cool. When I first moved up to Des Moines, I came with a co-​worker friend during labor day. It is your typical diner with typical fare. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable. We both had the fish platter and it was good. Kinda wished there was a view of the bay but that’s okay. It can get pretty crowded and you will be waiting. I would recommend finding something closer to the dock so you can have a view like at Pier Plaza.

Cozy to the max. Wandering around the quite Wisconsin town of Bayfield, we stepped into this place by accident and ended up coming back again. We settled into a cozy booth for dinner, complete with a locally made Nut Brown beer and Lake Superior caught whitefish sandwiches. The vibe is very warm and inviting and the service (and food!) was delighful. Everyone we ran into recommended their breakfast, so we came back a couple days later for it and were not disappointed. This place has a small-​town, diner-​y vibe that is very welcoming to old and new faces.

Gruenke’s is a cute little place right in downtown Bayfield. It’s basically a diner (lots of willful «nostalgia» on the walls, meatloaf available, etc) that also serves a fish boil from time to time.
Prices are relatively reasonable (especially for lunch) and the people that work here are very nice. The food is «pretty okay». My sandwich was «meh» but hubs had whitefish which he really liked. So maybe go with that, or try their whitefish livers which they’re supposedly famous for.
While you’re waiting for your food you can check out the menu/“newspaper” they give everyone. It lists all the «celebrities» that have eaten here over the years. It’s pretty much no one you’ve ever heard of and JFK Jr.

Good coffee (from the local shop) and tasty filling breakfast. They also do dinner. They have a bar and ok dinner menu. This place has been around a, while and I read they do fish boils on fridays outside over the fire.
Dinner was ok. Local whitefish was good. And of course we had to try the fish livers. I was scared to eat them, but a lot of people enjoy them!