Kruse’s Deer Lake Inn

Excellent all around! Immediately greeted at the door, seated right away, bread and water right when we sat down. Terri was our very kind waitress. She was helpful and attentive. Excellent soups and yummy sandwiches. The cherry on top, many of the staff were wearing bow ties. Classy!

My New Year’s eve dinner was quite a disappointment. My favorite apricot salmon salad is bad ! The salmon smelled old and I’ve had a stomachache all nightI received no salad dressing and the bread we ordered never came!!!

Do you feel trapped in the Waterford area? Are the cringes of a culinary experience trembling underneath the tongue? Then smack your mouth and call it silly, hop in the car, and travel on the less desirable Dixie Highway and get some damn good food at the Deer Lake Inn.
Trendy is a word thrown in restaurants now a days to make them appeal like the bees knees. Trust the gut and don’t be afraid to walk in the doors no matter what your wearing. You will fit in here. Are you wearing a fur coat to dinner? You will match the décor. Look like Macklemore? Then you will look like the owner who waits tables with his staff. Dress like me and my partner in crime with the days work trailing behind us like dust bunnies? Then your right at home.
The heart of the Deer Lake Inn is the food and service that pours out of the restaurant. The friendly staff followed through with their A game during the entire meal, understanding the menu, filling out drink orders, and delivering us the wonderful goodness that flew out of the kitchen.
Order the chicken tortellini they said, it will be good they said; and it was. It was delicious. Cooked in a creamy tomato sauce with a hefty portion of chicken made the 15 dollar plate in front of me worth 30 in my mind. The French baguette that was served to us when we sat down dove right into the sauce covered in butter, and took my mouth back to my childhood of spaghettiO’s with butter and bread. The best thing about the dish is it was grown up, with a flavorful and colorful sauce that could be spiced up with extra pepper on the chicken of you wanted.
Now as the gluttonous bastard that I am, before I ordered the chicken I noticed a special for a lobster corn chowder. I ordered it. I know lobster is the oceans garbage and the high and mighty of the 1% made it special, but when it was brought to the table I felt like a king. The lobster was hearty and melted in the corn chowder. Beautifully colored, spiced with capers, topped with lobster, I wished the bowl was an endless portal from the heavens, but eventually the spoon hit the bottom, and a little piece of my soul sank into darkness and hid back into the corner of my repressed high school memories.
The only thing that kept bringing me back to the reality of my food fantasy was the rowdiness of the staff, and the volume of the restaurant. It’s not a deal breaker, but even though the layout leaves a tucked in and cozy feel, it’s open walls force the volume to be louder than that of a quitter dinning experience. The «rowdiness» I mentioned didn’t take away from the service, but everyone talked as if they were friends outside of work. I could tell they were talking about subjects that might be deemed for a college campus dorm. The loud, personal, inside jokes being told across our table made me feel like I was more of a third wheel to a frat house party, than a patron at a very cozy and professional restaurant.
All in all The Deer Lake Inn is a wonderful place that is authentic to say the least. It serves a clean menu with signature dishes that can’t be found anywhere else in the area. The restaurant is trendy, the atmosphere is perfect for any season, and quite honestly I can’t wait to go back and try some more.

Website says on Saturday they close at 11. Get there at 9:51 after a day of hunting and it says they close at 10pm

Pretty bad visit. Very noisy. Should be illegal to serve pasta like that. Had the pasta primavera… was dry, clumped, yuk. Menu boasted grilled shrimp but actual offerings were mealy and tasteless. The lobster crab cakes were pretty good. Can’t understand how something as complex as lobster crab cakes could be executed so well and something as simple as a pasta dish could be so horrible. This remains the most inconsistent Kruse and Muer venue in SE Michigan. Unfortunately for my family, it’s the closest.

Wow!!! And actually double WOW!!! What a great dinner!!! Summer Maine crab cakes app. Then the summer ranch twin filet. They were fantastic!!! The lot looked full so we sat at the bar, we were not disappointed.
The staff (Lindsey) at the bar was prompt and friendly and the bread was hot! Again, the experience and the food were both fabulous! Enjoy, we sure did!!!

I’m not a huge fan of the Kruse and Muer’s in Troy, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of this location. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised and very full by the time I left.
My only regret is that I ordered the salad with the Faygo vinaigrette and it was a little disappointing — no pecans as promised, though the berries and lettuce were fresh and delicious.
For the main course, I ordered the whitefish with ratatouille and mashed potatoes. The potatoes were amazing — flavorful and smooth, and the ratatouille root vegetables were very good.
The ambiance is admittedly a little lacking. I went to this location on a Saturday evening and it is definitely not a «cozy» atmosphere. There’s not a lot of room, and the dining area is very loud. Nevertheless, I think the food at this location is great!

aways packed and a little pricey drinks are strong and tasty. Servers are always repectibly dressed and the restuarant is very clean nice atmosphere can be a little crowded and loud at times. Nice variety on the menu. If you plan on going more than twice in a year sign up for there loyalty card. You will get a discount on everything and a fee b day dinner.

My photo said Panko Encrusted Flounder but it’s Parmesan not Panko. Yum!
Service was above reproach! Come see for yourself!

Great food. But way over priced. Very cramped also. Bob (our waiter) was very good. VERY small portions for the price. Great restaurant but too expensive.

We had a memorial luncheon for my father-​in-​law. They gave us a private room and plenty of privacy, time and space for our service. The food service was extraordinary. The food was delivered quickly and was excellent. Despite having 30 people we were served quickly & there were no errors in service. They treated us so well. Can’t say enough.

I’ve had two great experiences here, the most recent being my dad’s birthday this past Monday. Great atmosphere, really tasty food, and we had an awesome time joking around with our server, Mike. I like it because you can get great Kruse & Muer food in a more casual setting than their other restaurants. Not to mention, the patio in the summer is fantastic!

Lobster and Shrimp Pasta was good, a little small on the portion size. Could have had more than 2 pieces of Lobster for the price.
Sandy Riesling was delicious, and our server Nathan was absolutely phenomenal.
They’re busy, so be prepared for a wait.

The Chef does a wonderful job at all the seafood fare that Kruse establishments are known for. Servers are top notch professionals. You can’t go wrong here.

Half of the reviews on here are simply ridiculous and irrational. Really? You’re going to complain about the bar not being big or the restaurant being loud/​busy? Sorry to the DLI for being successful. Let’s hear something about the quality of the food and or service… I’ve been to this place quite a few times and I can tell all of you, the service is second to none, the servers here really care about their customers; the food is made with passion as I can tell you on from a personal standpoint. This restaurant is a great hangout and these yuppie Unilocalers have no idea what they should actually be posting about. Come on people!!!

Came here before a concert at DTE yesterday when both the Clarkston Union and Woodshop had long waits.
First of all, this came up after searching for a craft beer bar on Unilocal.It’s not. Two craft on tap, three in bottle (with much more emphasis on macro), so be aware.
Otherwise, food was good! A giant breadstick comes to the table (which is delicious and needs no butter). We had the dijon mussels and frites. The portion size was a bit small for a shared appetizer – 14 mussels and literally 10 shoestring fries. But, they were quite good. Fries crisp and tasty like McDonald’s, with nicely clean and fishy mussels with a rich cream sauce. We also had the jerk chicken pizza – very tasty, but more like a bbq chicken pizza with a very mild kick. The crust tasted similar to the breadstick.
Service was good, although our waitress put in the wrong table numbers for multiple tables, which resulted in lots of jokes about sharing food between tables.

I’m tempted to give this place 1 star but their food is pretty good, and the bread — well it’s a Kruse and Muir so yum. They are in an area that is starved for restaurants. Lots of residents, not many places to go. We sat at a table once and the waitress forgot to bring our salads that we ordered but are not part of the meal… but she felt bad and brought us a free dessert. I go for the fish tacos.
However, they have a ridiculous situation with the waiting area, or I should say no waiting area. Everyone gets to stand around the hostess station, usually for a pretty hefty wait. The teeny tiny bar area is completely inadequate. I have nightmares about their torturous bar stools. They are like something out of my dad’s 1970’s basement bar, only impossibly less comfortable. I like to sit at a bar from time to time to have a meal while watching a sporting event. They put the TVs off to the right side only, so you get to look at the back of your partner’s head if there is something on. Did I mention the bar stools are super uncomfortable? LOL. It’s as if someone made them to discourage anyone from sitting at a bar. Come on, they can do better than that at a Kruse and Muir.

Came here on a Saturday night and was totally impressed on the level of service and quality of food!
We were greeted and seated immediately and our waitress came right over to take our drink order. The place was pretty packed but our food came out fairly quickly. The 306 Chopped salad was phenomenal! Also had the pizza and it was more than enough food for two people for under $ 20! The best part of the meal was the service, not only did our waitress help us but everyone seems to work like a team here and everyone helped clearing tables and bringing out food and asked diners if they needed anything!

To small and no waiting area, even at the bar.
Once were did get seated, the food and service were good, but not worth the wait. Their deck looks promising and may give it a shot this summer.

Great food. Great service. the best of the classic Charley’s Crab fare with a backwoods twist.
My only complaint., the acoustics are terrible, very loud