June 2025 – The Seabiscuit Cafe Mackinaw Island, Michigan

The first thing I need to address is the name of  this establishment.  The ambience in the Seabiscuit doesn’t exude ‘Cafe’.  It’s more accurately ‘Pub’.  This isn’t a bad thing, I like a good pub. The central feature is a bar. There are a half-dozen TVs playing sports, many high-top tables, all of the wood is dark and the tables are crammed in close.  The term Cafe’ usually implies coffee, and while I’m guessing they could produce a cup of coffee, the main beverage on offer here is beer.  The Seabiscuit movie was playing on a TV in the corner and a large plaque with the name dominated the decor.  

Now, on to the experience.  Our server was wonderful and accommodating of my wife’s food allergy.  I ordered the whitefish and chips, which was delivered in short order with batter coating and fries (chips!) worthy of any pub I’ve been to (Ireland and England included).  

Upon diving into my meal I was reminded that I’m not a huge fan of Great Lakes whitefish.  (Haven’t had it in years) In this case it was a bit dry and lacking in flavor.  I think this is more the nature of whitefish (I’m used to cod and haddock or walleye) than the preparation on offer by Seabiscuit.  I would recommend the french-dip (which looks amazing) or other pub-fare offering unless you’ve acquired the taste for whitefish.  My wife got a side salad with her meal of Mac and Cheese and it looked tasty.  I snuck a couple of cucumber slices and they were fresh and tasty.   The Mac and Cheese wasn’t anything extraordinary, but competent and pleasant as you would expect for comfort food.

I did enjoy a couple of cocktails, gin and tonic, which were nicely done and of appropriate strength.  Our server was attentive, friendly and efficient.  Given we were on the island on the Friday of a long holiday weekend, the island was commensurately crowded and by the time we got up to leave the line was out in the street.

As a side-note, if you want a quieter time on Mackinaw Island, go during the week. Otherwise you will likely wait in line for everything.  

Overall rating is 3.5 out of 5 stars for total experience. https://seabiscuitcafe.com