The Mitten Bar

Stay far away from this place!!! Service is horrible. Tried this place twice. The first time, we had to ask to be served. Tried it again, just for the benefit of the doubt and the second time was just as bad. The website states their closed on Sunday when in fact they are open. Not a fan of being served cold mac and cheese. The nachos were just ok. Ordered cilantro lime rice; the rice was plain white rice. Told the server the food was cold, he just looked at us.

Super place, most reviews here have nailed it on the head. The only things I could think of to improve it is to ditch the stage and make more room for beer fans. I think people come for the ultra fresh beer, and music can happen without a stage taking up valuable drinking real estate, especially when the stage isn’t being used, 2) the bar tenders shouldn’t have to leave the bar. Ever. Servers are needed for the tables. There seems to be a service disconnect I hope they rectify soon.

I’ve got to admit, a lot has been written about the Mitten Bar for a beer lover like me to read over the years and I came into Ludington incredibly excited to try it. I left slightly disappointed.
Not in the look or feel of the place. Not in the service. But rather, the incredibly limited selection. Had a Backwoods Bastard from Founders on both our brief stop ins. Very good, but the entire selection is scrawled on a chalkboard with about 12 total choices. I guess, with the hype and the reputation, I was expecting a little more than the limited taps and the fairly non-​descript choices (BB notwithstanding).
Still, a good drinking choice in a place slightly devoid of them. Just a case of my own expectations getting the better of me.
3.5 stars if I could.

I’m not a big beer drinker, and that’s putting it mildly. I’m also not big on the «hippy» atmosphere a lot of these breweries are taking on. But I enjoyed my stop into this bar. I actually wanted to buy one of their mugs, but the bartender said the potter couldn’t keep up with demand. Good for them.
Bartender was friendly, and offered up a few test swigs. Answered all my nagging questions, too, without even a trace of annoyance :). The DIPA was good, and I’d be interested in trying others.
Bar was clean, their menu was reasonable for this type of establishment, and the fact all their beers are from Michigan is always a plus.

Delicious Michigan brews on tap, great food selection. Always exceptional service from the bartenders. No complaints.

Maybe my expectations were too high. Interior was nice, beer selection was actually a bit smaller then I expected (though very solid choices), but the service was lousy. The bartenders were seriously pretentious but didn’t seem to be able to back it up with knowledge of what they were pouring. I can hang with the snobbiest of beer snobs, but the ‘we’re-doing-you-a-favor-by-getting-you-a-beer’ attitude was a real disappointment.

Awesome selection of Michigan beers here.
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Did I say Awesome yet?
If you want to take a (literal) beer tour of the state of MI, you can come here and save a lot of the time and driving. If smaller-​batch beers are your thing, you will feel happy here.
And if whiskey is more your thing, there is a hole in the wall you can go through and get decent whiskey by the half-​ounce (Barley and Rye) before coming back though the hole for more beer. If only these two co-​owned places had better food than they do to go with their great beer and whiskey selections…

Great place with so many craft beers to choose from. Lots of music and you can order food from the restaurant next door. Yum!

Fun hang out in downtown Ludington! This is a must visit for craft beer lovers. The Mitten offers selections from various breweries in Michigan… And ONLY from
MIchigan.
It is attached to two other bars and once you purchase your drink you can carry it back and forth. So, if you’re not a craft beer drinker, you can still check in out!
Other perks? Free popcorn. Hey, who doesn’t like a little snack while drinking?! One been told that the little containers they provide for popcorn are great for taking meals to work later on.
Staff is great and the owners are very nice (and are often there working). Also, they offer a Mug Club for those who visit often. It’s a buy-​in and your mug is created for you. They offer discounted drink nights as well as a members’ dinner monthly (which I hear is very reasonably priced).

It was a pleasant surprise to meet the owner of the Mitten Bar while I was bartending at a spot here in Detroit. She recognized the Mitten sticker I had slapped on the cooler and asked who put it there. Such a nice chance run in. I really do love The Mitten bar and look forward to the next time I’m sunning myself in Luddington. Drink Michigan Beer!

I really liked this place. Staff was friendly, good music, great atmosphere. They are serving all kinds of alcohol brewed in Michigan. You’re not gonna find any imported beers like Corona or whisky like Jack Daniels. Great place! Worth visiting.

Hats off to this place gifting me with the best night of beer drinking I’ve had in my life. They had mostly Founder’s and Jolly Pumpkin on tap that night, and it seemed impossible to pick one that wasn’t absolutely amazing. Also, for the quality, CHEAP.
I went to Founder’s Brewery the next day looking to buy massive quantities of the Kentucky Breakfast Stout I’d had the night before and the bartender in Grand Rapids was incredulous. «Where’d you get THAT?»
Mitten Bar dude. What a gem in kind of a humdrum Grandma town.

I love the theme, interior and craft brews at the Mitten. The Bells Oberon mini keg flower pots are genius.
The barrel tables are cool, but uncomfortable. The stools don’t line up well and my back had a weird arch the entire time I tried to enjoy my brews.
Obtaining a beer was a challenge. Now, is there a waiter or isn’t there? I didn’t see one, so after 10 minutes I went to the bar on both visits. There really isn’t a good space to order your beers from the bar if a seat isn’t available. Several times I was that jerk who interrupted your conversation by squeezing in to flag down a bartender.
I believe there are a few sandwich options, but no real snacky bar food, except for frozen pretzels handled by the bartender’s unwashed hands.
If there is space at the bar, I will be back on my next trip to Ludington.

What a great place for a drink (beer, wine, liquor or Faygo) and a chat with friends and family!

I like this place a lot. Great selection of beers. Our experience did not start out great. We sat at a table then moved to the bar because no one would wait on us. When we moved to the bar, the waitress was like, «oh, you moved».
However, it’s perfect for an afternoon of drinking. My only qualm is that they really should add some no-​cook bar snacks like nuts.
Also, I heard they throw people out very rudely at closing time… I didn’t witness it, but a couple of our friends in Ludington refused to go with since they’d been shouted out of the bar one night. …keep it to the afternoon, I guess.

I’m a fan of craft beer. I’m also a fan of traveling. So when I travel to Michigan and find a bar dedicated to local craft beer, I’m in heaven.
I was lured into this dimly lit bar by a misunderstanding. They had a hand-​chalked sign outside that said «Beware! The return of… ZOMBIE KILLER. Drink if you dare! Before it’s all gone. (*evil laugh*)» I mistakenly thought they were promoting their own version of the Zombie cocktail, which is one of my favorites.
We bellied up to the bar, pulled out their giant stools and quickly felt right at home. The bartender, Lara, a young woman who had previously lived in the Chicago area, greeted us and took our drink orders. She was so friendly and talkative and told us all about the bar and their drinks. I came to find that the Zombie Killer is not a boozy concoction but actually a Cherry Cyser from B. Nektar Meadery — a Ferndale, MI company. It’s very similar to a Cherry Hard Cider but with a bit more bubbly action. It tickles the senses.
Michigan clearly has a great selection of local beer because the menu was extensive. If I hadn’t had my heart set on the Cyser, I would have had some trouble deciding what I wanted. The good news is that the bartender is very well versed in all of brews, so ask her for a recommendation and I doubt she’ll steer you wrong.

Great selection of beer and a knowledgeable staff. Great vibe in the place.
Food selection is small but tasty. The preztles are worth the wait.

Nice bar featuring products made in Michigan. Michigan beer, wine, booze, and everything else.
The selection of micro brews is very good. They have many beers on tap, and more in bottle. Bells, Founders, Arcadia, Dark Horse, New Holland, and more. They also have one beer in a cask.
This is a nice stop if you are in Ludington and want a micro brew. They do not however carry typical domestic beers.

I stopped in Ludington as part of a bicycle tour, and stopped here as the other local breweries had wait times of over an hour to be seated. I’m glad we stopped in here though. They seem to have the best variety of local brews that Michigan has to offer, and they offered sample sizes (for a fee of course) of all the local brews so you can try out everything.
I entrusted our friendly server with selecting my list, I told him what I like and what I don’t like. And he selected 6 local brews that were incredible.
Service was friendly, space was inviting. I would highly recommend it to the wayward traveler.

For the non-​alcoholic drivers in the group, the cream soda is delicious! For this designated rider, the choices of local beers was fun! What a neat idea for a great little MI resort town. They serve only MI beers and wines — tonite I am having a North Peak Archangel Wheat from Traverse City MI … sweet, light & with a hint of cherry! Yummy! And the bartender was very speedy with our tab as we dashed out to take advantage of a break in the storms passing that night. Two beers and a soda were $ 9.00 — what a bargain (yes this would be unheard of near Chicago!)