The Wild Rover

Apparently a bartender at The Wild Rover believes serving water to a customer is a waste of time. I’m not sure what his name is, but he has dark brown hair, with a beard, and is always wearing a button up shirt with a tie. He’s worked for the Rover for awhile.
On Sat 10÷3÷15 my buddy went up to the bar and ordered himself a beer and a water (the water was for me because I wasn’t drinking) The bartender had no problem giving him the beer and taking his money but never poured him the glass of water. After standing there for about 15min. He asked him again for the glass or water. The bartender acknowledged him but STILL didn’t bring him the water. Instead the bartender continued to take other customers orders and making drinks. At this point my buddy and his friend had finished there beers (while standing there waiting patiently) So I went up to the bar to see what was taking so long. I inquiried about the water. He looked at me and said quote «I’m only serving people who are paying for drinks» I told him that my buddy IS A paying customer, and That I want my water now. He did proceed to pour me a glass of water and when he handed me the glass he told me «I better not see your face up here again»…about an hour later my glass was empty so another friend went up to the bar to get herself another beer and a refill of my water. Very politely she asked for a beer and a refill of water. The same bartender looked at her and said «FUCK NO!» and walked away.
I have visited the Rover several times but unfortunately have had similar incidents like this before.

A mediocre experience dressed up in a tuxedo.
This restaurant appears to be in its death throes at the moment, having been put up for sale and slashing its hours. Having eaten here a few times, I couldn’t say I was terribly surprised. Each time was a disappointment. The first time, I visited on the premise of their good selection of draught beers, but ended up leaving disgusted after I sat at the bar for 10 minutes waiting for the bartender (who was too busy talking to a bunch of frat boys on the other end of the bar) to even acknowledge me. The other times I came here to eat, and while the food wasn’t terrible, it didn’t leave me impressed either. Service was slow.
I think what bothers me most about this place is that it turns into a bumping nightclub after a certain hour. They were playing Lil’Wayne when I walked in, REALLY? An Irish pub! GTFO! I didn’t stay long, because I felt like I might get knifed or beaten for looking at someone the wrong way. Eating here again after that would be a huge turnoff, because you have to wonder what went on at your table the night before.
Hopefully the new owner, whenever the place sells, makes the changes that need to happen to get this place back on the map. It is a great location and a beautiful storefront with lots of potential.

I am normally soft when it comes to these reviews but the food here is weak at best. I can make better instant potatoes in the shepherds pie and the gravy is out of a can. Poutine isn’t even right. I mean how do the lights stay on!!! What happened to restaurants that actually MADE food???

We really liked this place. There’s a good selection of craft beers on tap, and the menu had a nice variety of Irish/​British pub food. We sat at the bar, and Kristy was friendly and really seemed to know her beers. The food was tasty – real comfort food. It’s a nice cozy place, and we’ll definitely go back.

After a long trip from the Minnesota North shore, we decided to stop here on our way to Manistique, MI. The place was lively with live music, my mom and son shared the shepard’s pie, which both of them liked. That is saying something as my mom makes shepard’s pie quite often, she particularly liked the parsnips. My wife and I had the special that day the 1 dollar tacos, we each got one with pulled pork and one with beef. These were nice sized taco’s with your standard gringo salsa, and lettuce and cheese. The pulled pork was not bad, the seasoning on the beef was awful, but for a dollar each really could not complain. Great beer selection, unfortunately, I had to drive another 1hr so I was unable to participate. Would definitely come back here for a bite, if I am ever in Northern Michigan University ever again.

The food is fantastic! You have to try the rudebaga fries! The beer list is fantastic… except they seem to be out of a bunch of the beers on their list for today and I seem to have wanted them! Frustrating. Service is friendly, though not always prompt when they are busy.

Good food but small portions for the price. Went at lunch. It looked like they had recooked some of the fries as some were burnt and some were regular. Got a turkey sanwhich and it was tastey but really small. Glad the table was sharing. Tastey but not worth the price.

Fish and chips poor quality. This is an Irish pub, you need to get that right. Poutine was a small handful of cold fries dotted with about a half dozen pieces of dried out/​overcooked cheese curds drizzled with a greasy salty gravy. Both items were poor quality and the worst I have eaten any where in the world. Quality has been waining here recently noted from previous visits. Service was good, a few beers on tap were out, but not a problem. Thinking about reducing our visits to eat there and find a better place.

The facility is nice, interesting Irish decorations but the food was just ok and the beer was flat and the bartender couldn’t figure it out without being told. After 3 attempts of getting a beer he finally had to go downstairs and fix the gas valve. I wouldn’t go back

Stopped by Saturday evening for dinner. The food was very good, once we got it. We actually waited longer than expected for our drink order and our food. The server couldn’t remember second drink orders, so they lost some sales.
They had nice entertainment, but WAY to loud for the space.

They’ve got a lot of beer on tap, but good luck getting a bartender or server to give you one. Wow, the service was horrible here. I wish I had cash to pay for our first beer so that I wouldn’t have had to start a tab. I figured it would be no big deal since we would probably be there for a couple rounds. But halfway through we were asked to leave our seats so they could set up for Club Wild Rover. They even asked a group of 20 or so pub crawlers to relocate. They relocated to a different bar and we followed suit. Well, after I waited FOREVER to cash out.

Good food and amazing customer service! Our server Candy, was a total sweetheart and helped with any questions we had. The scotch eggs were a yummy appetizer and the burger with Cajun seasonings was quite tasty. Long wait time, but worth it!

Been here more than once first review. It’s changed from how the place first started.
Decided to go with a friend on a Friday for lunch and found very customers there. Sat ourselves and promptly had a waitress greet us and ask if we wanted anything to drink. They have a pretty good selection of beers and it being Irish themed obviously Guinness.
The décor is OK nothing stands out either good or bad. Though when we used the restroom found no towels to dry hands which annoyingly stood out. What else stood out was the Manager (?) or maybe a waiter was eating on and off at a table across from us. If an employee wants to eat then just sit down like a customer and eat. Don’t take a bite, toss the burger back on your plate and walk to help a customer.
We both ordered unique beers which the waitress described correctly. Ordered the Cu Chalainn and the Guinness lamb soup. Food came out quickly and was presented well. Then more service issues showed up that other reviewers noticed.
I was given rutabaga fries instead of the plain ones, and that was corrected and the waitress apologized and made some excuse. My friend was eating the Guinness soup and I was thinking maybe I heard wrong and something else was ordered as the soup looked creamy white or maybe it was supposed to be that way. Unusual considering the darkness of Guinness. I was asked to try a spoonful and see if there was any lamb in there. Nope it was the potato leek soup, still good but not what was ordered. Again the waitress apologized about the mistake and corrected it.
Now the soups both of them were delicious, and recommend the Guinness lamb highly. The Cu Chulainn was very good, maybe not as piping hot as expected but very good. I’d pass on the rutabaga fries and the other fries were good.
Pretty good food and beer but the rest not so much. I’d give it another try but maybe stay at the bar so I don’t need a waitress or watch an employee eat while trying to help customers

The food, environment, and beer selection were all great. We love hanging out here.
The service is not great. Usually pretty slow… which unfortunately makes the experience feel a little over priced. Had trouble catching my waitress to get my water refilled. Kind of annoying, but we’ll be back. Rover has some of the best food in MQT.

This was my first time in the Wild Rover and it was a 33% good experience.
The Good:
The Cú Chulainn burger was outstanding! A great burger topped with corned beef, cheese lettuce and tomato on a great pretzel roll. The side salad was good mixed greens that looked and tasted very fresh. The homemade blue cheese dressing was amazing.
The service started strong, a good waitress that was attentive and made good suggestions…
The Bad:
The waitress kind of dissapered for the last ¹⁄₃ of the meal and we had to send someone to get her.
The Poutine was not good. The fries were wilty and greasy and just disappointing. It’s an Irish pub… for the love of all that’s holy, know your friggin’ potatoes!!! The cheese curds were deep fried and were the best part of the dish. The gravy was terrible. It tasted powdery like it was from a bag mix. It’s an Irish pub, how are you not making a Guinness based gravy from scratch? It’s not hard and would make the dish more palatable (seriously, you HAVE to fix your fries.)
The Ugly:
My wife’s chicken «Pot Pie». It was chicken stew topped by a pastry puff. A real pot pie is a mixture of home and comfort, your mother’s warm embrace and the feel of a crust that is bursting with slow cooked wonder. This was a hug from the sweaty lunch lady, salted with tears of disappointment. This was chicken stew, and not good chicken stew, about 6 ounces (filled only ¹⁄₃ of the bowl it was served in) and just topped with a puff pastry that was not even touching the liquid. So it’s like a cracker and soup, NOT chicken pot pie. To add insult to injury, it cost as much as my hamburger.
The short of it.
If you want a burger, salad and beer, stop in. If you want good fries, go someplace else.

It’s fine. There aren’t a ton of place in Marquette so this will be entering the rotation for when we travel through.
My intern had a french dip that she liked a lot. I had a shepherd’s pie. It tasted fine, but I personally prefer one with more vegetables. But if you like meat and potatoes, this is the pie for you.

Great craft beer selection. Top notch service and atmosphere. Very good Irish menu

Stopped here on the way to Copper Harbor. The outside looked really cool and the inside was decent. I ordered a Sheppard’s pie and some magic hat #9. The salad that came with was super basic but not terrible.
I will tell you to not use the bathrooms…

I visited from out of town with my parents who are locals. I had the salmon salad and was very pleased with the flavor, the freshness and the perfectly flaky filet. The fresh fried potato chips were excellent and addictive. Each of the 5 people I dined with were very happy with their selections as well.

Okay, novice food reviewers… stand back for your lesson in Irish cuisine. Apparently the taco bell kids from NMU can’t discern a quality restaurant from the slop most Marquette restaurants sell.
Who goes to an Irish restaurant and orders non-​meat-​based appetizers? This place isn’t the Sweetwater, Einstein! And biasing your review on the fact that you were too lazy to check out the spirits menu is their fault… fail!
So, for the adults in the room please note that the Wild Rover is an outstanding representation of traditional Irish Fare. The fact that this restaurant is in the UP where quality food is a RARITY is even more reason for all to check it out. The soda bread, boxty, bangers and champ are excellent. Furthermore, the fish and chips is spot on for what you would get across the pond. Plus, they don’t ask… they provide Malt Vinegar and Curry Mustard… OMG it’s like I’m on the Emerald Isle!!!
The Guiness Black and White Mousse was an amazing experience… picture Meg Ryan’s restaurant scene from Sleepless in Seattle… yep, that was my reaction too :)