The Boardwalk

Basically if you go to put in bay you are doing yourself a disservice if you do not visit the boardwalk/​upper deck before leaving.
The word of mouth is not wrong, the lobster bisque is worth the ferry ride cost. Perfectly rich and creamy and loaded with lobster chunks. It will keep you coming back over and over.
And hope for a nice day and sit out on the patio/​deck, the view is awesome.

What can I say, we dined at the upper deck earlier today and it was a bit mediocre for being «One of the nicer places on the island».
Let’s start with the lobster bisque; the first bread bowl that was served came out lukewarm. We sent it back and 10 minutes later they brought us out a new one that was better but still very watery. We also had a Caesar salad that was probably the best thing they had and some blackened walleye that was way too salty and overspiced. We also ordered the coconut shrimp that was fairly decent.
All in all it was a sucky experience for supposedly being one of the better places on the island. I would have to say 2 ½ stars for sure. The view was nice!

Stick to this restaurant if you would like decent seasoned food on this island. Saturdays was the best meal for us. The del monte steak was on point. Mixed cocktails were good. This place is known for their lobster bisque. It was average to a foodie person. Probably good to someone that haven’t traveled and dived into delicious seafood.
Customer Service was nice; everyone was friendly and was anxious for your experience to be good.
I gave the top score to this place; even though Put-​In-​Bay isn’t known for a foodie place but to have decent seasoned food; this would be your best place to have a good meal.

Very good lobster bisque, up there with the ones that I have had at east coast restaurants. That’s all I had, so I can’t say much more about, but I would definitely try this place again.

Lobster bisque is incredible. I’ve had $ 15 lobster bisque, and it didn’t even come close to having the amount of lobster this bisque has for $ 8. Great atmosphere and service as well. All around great experience. So far on this trip we’ve made the bisque a daily must have.

We ate at the Upper Deck, the sit down portion of this large restaurant.
The food was adequate, certainly nothing special. The service was surprisingly good, Timothy I think. It is a large space, many of the tables having a good view from the raised vantage point.
Getting inside the air conditioning was a nice break as outside is so filled with gas fumes from all the golf carts and scooters. The décor is nice for a touristy restaurant/​bar.
The prices are of course outrageous. We spent $ 50 before the tip for mediocre food and two sodas. But Put In Bay has become a tourist trap.

Great atmosphere and fast friendly service. Food was good. not great. a little pricey. got the walleye sandwich which was huge. also got the lobster roll which was small for a 17 dollar sandwhich but still pretty tasty.

Lobster Bisque was worth the price tag. We had to wait in a decent line to get the Bisque and a Mahi Mahi sandwich to go. The view at the restaurant was awesome. The Mahi Mahi was just OK. View was awesome. We were downstairs in quick service area that wasn’t the full service. Great idea if you want a quick lunch.

Yummy yummy yummy! We came here with a big party and they accommodated us with no problem! About 20 people! Ashton was our server and he did an INCREDIBLE job!!! I have to make sure to give him a lot of credit! I had the crab cake salad. It wasn’t the best ever, but it was good. My cousin had the potato chips with balsamic and blue cheese crumbles appetizer. This is enough for 4 people! It’s a huge appetizer! My husband had the bread bowl lobster bisque. All of it was good! For a drink I had the peach Bellini! OMG! SO GOOD!!! We all had a great time, and would go back if we ever went to Put-​In Bay! I love how it overlooks the water and all the boats etc! Very cool bars inside and outside as well!

Fresh seafood!
It was all very delicious.
Lobster bisque, you gotta try that!
It was soooo good.

Visited Put-​in-​Bay for the first time EVER and this was our first stop. I was very impressed with the lake views and quality food.
I enjoyed a turkey burger with a black pepper aioli that was outta this world. The real MVP, though? The Rum Runner frozen cocktail with a floater of Captain Morgan. What a great way to start off our beautiful day on the island!

One of my favorites on the island. You really can’t get better perch than here and the lobster bisque is the real deal. I am always shocked at how much lobster is in it. I had a great meal last night. Yes it’s pricey but perch always is and you have to remember that lobster isn’t cheap. I also like the vibe here. Great cocktails.

Very nice facility with a great view. Clean, the food was tasty. Service was average. The price? Crazy. It wouldn’t be so expensive if you got average-​sized portions. You look at the menu and think «That’s a little high, but how often do you eat here? Let’s splurge.» Then you get the food and wonder where the rest is. Then you have to order more food to make up the difference. THEN it gets pricy. But make no mistake– the food is good. Get the lobster bisque.

LOBSTER LOBSTER LOBSTER!
If you think about it, the concept of having the best lobster bisque on a freshwater lake doesn’t make logical sense… but somehow it is what it is!
We visited some family that have a house on the island and they insisted that we have the bisque — which we took home and enjoyed as an appetizer to other items that we made… I had never had lobster bisque before, but HOLY WOWZA this stuff was GOOD!!! HUGE pieces of lobster and lots of them in a creamy, just-​the-​right-​amount-​of-​salt bisque.
We didn’t wait long at all for the bisque, and we ended up getting a lot of it, too. The staff were very helpful and swift at taking our order and getting us the food. The atmosphere appeared comfortably casual, as is most of Put-​In-​Bay in general, and it is situated right on the water for a great view. When we come back again and eat in I’ll update the review on that experience. However, 5 stars for the to-​go bisque experience!

Great for large parties!
I came here for a bachelorette party that 8 people and while being understaffed (on a Saturday night) we still had an excellent waiter! We didn’t wait long for our food and our waiter stopped by our table often despite being crazed.
The views are gorgeous and the food is delicious! I ordered the lobster ravioli and ate every single bite. You get about 6 ravioli which is a perfect amount for the price and for your stomach.

Bf & I were craving some Peel & Eat shrimp and were determined to find some as soon as we got to PIB. Our friends had mentioned The Boardwalk (Upper Deck) had some great Lobster Bisque so we headed over.
It was PACKED but luckily with just the 2 of us we got seated immediately inside. We went for the Peel & Eat Shrimp (½ lb. for $ 14), a cup of the Lobster Bisque ($ 8) and a Lake Erie Perch Sandwich with Onion Rings to split ($ 15 + an up charge for the onion rings)
The shrimp was REALLY good — I mean, we had been craving these for like a week. We got 12 in our ½ lb order. They were large and tasty, but the presentation was pretty lame. Just thrown on a plate with some packaged saltines. Meh.
The Lobster Bisque was AWESOME. I wished we had opted for a larger bowl or each gotten our own. Chunks of lobster meat, not too rich… mmm I want more right now!
Our sandwich was pretty lame for the price, I expected it to be a bit larger. It tasted okay. I was kind of disappointed. The onion rings, however, were amazing.
I ordered the sangria, which was good but I realized I wasn’t in the mood for it once it had arrived (didn’t sit well on top of what else I had been drinking). Bf ordered a Strawberry Daiquiri and was in fruity drink heaven. I wished I had gotten one of those!
Our server was pretty friendly and treated us well. She seemed patient and calm, which says a lot when you’re serving a bunch of drunk people.
Overall, I enjoyed parts of our meal a lot and wished I had looked over the menu a bit more. If we go back, I know I’ll definitely be sticking to the Shrimp & Bisque!

Definitely a high priority pace to stop for dinner if you are looking for a place to eat at Put-​in-​Bay.
We at in the top level dining room though there are a number of small walk up style food vendors on the first level.
The service was pretty good but what was really impressive was a classic american by the water menu with their own character making the selections unique to their establishment.
They tout the «best lobster bisque in Ohio». It’s pretty good and as far as Ohio goes they may be safe making that claim though if they went to Maine it would probably just be good, not «…the best.»

First time visitor and felt obligated to try the lobster bisque since everyone raves about it. The bisque was super thick with loads of lobster. Yes, a bit salty but had other flavors too. Not the best, but not bad. I had a cheeseburger, asked to have cooked medium well, but came out with pink throughout. This is a real turnoff for me. My husband had the chicken bruschetta sandwich and really liked it.
Service was decent, prices are what they are expected to be in a resort town. The views are great, the restaurant felt clean, so all in all an OK experience. I think menu selection is key here.

Stopped at the boardwalk for dinner with a group of 8, we ate in the ‘upper deck’ portion of the restaurant. Ordered a mojito — not too shabby. Shared their lobster bisque bread bowl as an app with my girlfriend, the left-​over bread was soaked with bisque and delicious. As an entrée I ordered the Cajun mahi-​mahi, it was a small portion but not bad at all.
heads up — when ordering market priced steaks the price can be over $ 50 — my buddy found this out the hard way haha.

I had the best king crab here! Lots of drawn butter and lemon, it was divine!
And the lobster is fresh and kicking until you get it twenty minutes later at the table!
What a difference it makes to eat it fresh! $ 29.99 gets you a 1 ¼ lb lobster, coleslaw, a roll, and a cup of their delicious lobster bisque!