Bill Fritts’ Browns

I am on the lake every weekend, every time we decide to come to browns we regret it while sitting inside waiting for our food. Sure this place is convenient because its on the lake and easy to pull into but every time we eat there someone in our group gets sick. I think they leave the ranch out all day. The waitresses are RUDE and so entitled. They act annoyed to be doing their job. If you go in here on a Saturday or Sunday expect it to be a 3 hour thing, MINIMUM. Again, Its an easy convenient place but its not even worth it, your better of taking your boat home and going somewhere on shore to eat.

Best spot on Lake St. Clair for boaters and best spot on Harsen’s Island for eaters and drinkers!
Also, best annual Halloween Party in Michigan. It’s the first Saturday of October every year.
Read the JobbieCrew article about Billy Fritts!

Decent food, but that doesn’t matter… you go here to have FUN and PEOPLE & BOAT watch.
On a hot summer day, no place better!!! COLD BEERS and guarantee you’ll have a few laughs along the way!

Went to Browns yesterday for Madison Monday but didn’t order a Madison burger because they have gotten small from what they were last year. I ended up ordering the walleye dinner, big mistake !! Only one piece of fish and it still had the bones and skin still on. The fries and cole slaw were good but I didn’t order a $ 15.99 walleye dinner for the fries and cole slaw.

Lots and lots of boaters. Great people watching. Shared a Madison burger, with fries and coleslaw. All was good. Burger was supposed to come with thousand island dressing, never happened tho. $ 3ice cold draft beer. A great patio on a summer afternoon!

Very busy place on the weekends. Filled with locals and boaters. Great Bar with awesome food. Excellent service but expect to wait a bit because they are busy. Food is fresh and hot, best shrimp I’ve ever had. Prices are reasonable and kids meals are huge. It gets hot when the sun shines in but plenty of open windows and fans to cool off. Love this place.

Spent the day on the boat yesterday and visited Browns for lunch. It was the first visit there for all of us. Hands down the best Bloody Mary I have ever had. The food was fantastic. We had the shrimp basket, philly steak and cheese, the mushroom swiss onion burger, the pulled pork and a chicken wrap. Not one bad thing was said by anyone! Our server (didn’t catch her name) was not the friendliest. But the food, location and bartender will definitely bring us back!

Brown’s is fantastic! Their food is tasty and inexpensive and their drinks are awesome. They also thoroughly impressed me by tracking me down through my bank to let me know that I had left my purse there! Wow! Thank you so much, Brown’s!

This is a dive bar on the water on Harsens Island and should be judged accordingly. On a hot day it’s going to be packed with boaters and revelers looking for a meal and a drink before they head back out on the water. I’ve been several times and usually get a madison burger or fries or onion rings, which are delicious. The menu is burgers, sandwiches, fries, onion rings and the ilk, about what you’d expect for a bar. The service can be a bit slow when it’s crowded, but the waitresses try hard and the crowds can be rowdy. If you’re going to be offended by bare chested guys, girls in bikinis, the f-​word flying around and more then a few intoxicated patrons, you should probably avoid this place. I always enjoy the break and the chance to relax and have a drink and people watch.

Only go to Browns if you have a boat, have been drinking a lot, or are starving. Everything is fried. If you have to eat there stick with a burger. Julia, the waitress, was less than helpful. If you get there by car, definitely head over to the Schoolhouse Grille or Sans Souci instead.

This is the place on Lake St Clair for a great lunch, good drinks and the Madison burger.
OMG that burger! Once you’ve had one you’ll be hooked. Then you will crave them, day and night, all winter long, while they are closed during the fall and winter months.
This is a basic nothin’ fancy bar accesible from land and the water. They cater to a boater crowd and it’s reflected in the simple décor, the drinks and the solid basic fare they serve.
Fritt’s bar in Mt. Clemens is owned by the same folks and has a similar menu. Not a bad place, but that sun soaked, Margaritaville feeling just isn’t there.
It;s a you’ll love it or you’ll hate it kinda place, me I love it!

This bar is exactly what it says it is — a beer and food shack on the water. We were there on a weekday so it wasn’t very crowded. Boat slips are in great shape and easy to manage. Lots of cold beer and food choices, everything we had was very good. Our friendly waitress, Jamie, even volunteered to help with our GPS. Our average age is 73 and have spent a lot of time in waterfront hangouts!

Speaks for itself. We got there almost every sunday on the skis or boat after being out on the lake. Service is slow because there are a million people, but who cares, you are on the water! No shoes, no shirt no problem here. It is also nice that their is a boat launch right across the street. The Madison burger is terrific, as well as the fries. Im sure I will find myself there this weekend.

I’ve never been to Harsens Island before and my family and I ventured out on a Sunday afternoon drive.
My Mom always raved how great Browns is so I had high expectations. I was quickly disappointed the second I walked through the wooden screen door.
My family and I walked in and we were told their would be a 15 minute wait. I couldn’t understand why. The place was dead and their was at least 10 waitresses standing around texting on their iPhones.
When we were finally seated it took out waitress over 20 minutes to get drink orders and introduce herself. She then told us they were out of about 10 common menu items (fries, rings, chicken, etc)
My family and I ordered cheese sticks as an Appetizer. Very tasteless. Then again they were out of ranch to dip them in!
I ordered a fish sandwich as my meal. I assumed that since the restaurant was on the water that the fish would be fresh. The bun was way too large and hard for the tiny over fried piece of fish. I would have been more satisfied getting a fish filet sandwich from McDonalds.
I wouldn’t suggest this for a family get together, especially with younger children. I felt like I got an STD just walking into the bathroom with all the half naked men and women around.

Pulled up the boat to the dock and enjoyed this place — kinda the same ambience as being at an oyster bar /​seafood restaurant on the beach in Florida. Lots of families enjoying their Sunday breakfast/​brunch in the open area.
At the bar, my group enjoyed the build your own Bloody Mary bar with good mixers and good ingredients. Even brought me out the celery salt when I requested. I had the fresh local fish sandwich and it was tasty as were the fries. Plenty of beer choices to whet our whistle.
Bartender was friendly, snapping a group photo for us. And when we told her we were on our way to Muscamoot Bay — she showed us aerials taken the weekend before. Nice that someone takes the time to «mingle» with the guests while still able to attend to everyone’s needs.
Looking forward to my next trip and a stop here!

Nothing screams summertime like having beer in a plastic cup while having a burger in an open air bar on the water. This was the case at Browns Bar on Harsen’s Island. Browns is nothing fancy pretty much waht you see is what you et type of place. There were folks in overalls, camo, and the latest trends having drinks and eats. A plastic cup of Miller Lite here was a mere $ 2.50 and the burger is $ 7.50. This is very reasonable until you tack on the $ 6 for the ferry ride. It is a rockin place and the food was even better so in my mind it is just all worthwhile.
We both sampled the Madison burger. The madison came on Texas toast and was loaded with bacon, sauteed onions, swiss, and 1000 Island Dressing. Clean this was not. It was sloopy like it owned me!
Burger– 4
Price– 3.5
Service– 4
Overall– 4.75 (hands down due the the overalls, camo, and patriotic signs on the wall)
Burger– 4
Price– 3
Service– 4
Overall– 3.5
On Mondays this palce deals a two for one Madison Burger deal. There is also a HUGE Halloween party at the bar in October that sounds like a worthwhile trip. But this is all probably expected from a bar that has been in operation since 1946!

I can’t believe I’m the first to rate this Harsen’s Island gem. It’s only open from May 1^st until the middle of October, but this place is a great time. The screen door and plywood floor set the tone as you walk in the door. Definitely kind of a «shack,» but it’s a cool shack. Very casual, no shirt, no shoes, no problem kind of place. Good burgers, good fried foods, good atmosphere and good drinks. Super friendly, super cute waitstaff, tons of room to dock a boat, but get there before 7:30pm on the weekends if you want a dock. It fills up quick. Bar generally closes around 10:30 — 11:00 pm, but for those few hours it rocks.
Lunch until early dinner is casual and quiet. Great bloody mary bar on Sundays (for after church, of course). Overall this place is just a great, casual, good time, with a great view and friendly staff. Definitely the friendliest bar on the Island! (there’s only two!)