Visits

Aunt Geneva's Luncheon Restaurant Guide

Why this guide is named "Aunt Geneva's Luncheon Restaurant Guide" is a personal story that I'll briefly share with our readers. Last year our Aunt was put in a nursing home in Oak Harbor and each month my sister and I would visit her. At first our Aunt Geneva would go with us to lunch, but eventually she wasn't able to leave the nursing home. Last fall she passed away and my sister and I decided to continue our luncheon meetings both in memory of our beloved aunt and also because it gave us a chance to see each other each month. It has been a wonderful experience for both of us and I strongly encourage everyone that if you have a family member that you don't see on a regular basis, that you meet once each month for lunch. Your life will be enriched for it.    

Now, the rating guide. I rate a restaurant based upon the experience I have at the restaurant. The food may be good, but the overhaul experience bad so it gets a low rating from me even though it might get a higher rating from my sister, wife or daughter depending upon who I may be eating lunch with. The quickest way to get a bad rating from me is to have a noisy place - the music to loud, televisions to loud, etc. I like it peaceful and quite when I'm eating. I'll try to explain my impression below and you can draw you own conclusions. I usually only eat out a few times a month - once with my sister and once with my daughter so I have high expectations when I eat out.  

My Rating

Guest Rating

Salmon Run @ Sawmill Creek Resort: Really can't say anything negative about this restaurant located in the main building at Sawmill Creek Resort. Nice and relaxing atmosphere, good service and excellent luncheon menu with generous portions. Homemade chips are a plus. Ask for a seat beside the window to enjoy the salmon run atmosphere.

Damon's @ at sailing club in downtown Sandusky: I've probably eaten at a handful of Damon's around Ohio and they've all been good experiences. This Damon's is less of a sports bar and more of a waterfront restaurant. They still have the same menu including their famous Onion Loaf and their tender ribs. I love the food at this place and the atmosphere is good. Service is a little overbearing, but the rest makes up for it..

Manny's Sports Bar @ Route 250 & Bogart Road: I've eaten here many times and enjoyed it every time. Food is excellent, menu is well thought out and atmosphere is basically a sports bar with lots of TV's, but they do keep the TV sound down. More of a mellow, middle aged crowd at lunch time. I heard the Register paper gave this restaurant a bad review. Please...what planet was that reviewer from? This is one of the best places to have lunch in this area.

Angry Trout @ Bay View, Ohio: Only open for lunch in the summertime, but one of my favorite places to have lunch. Nice patio area for outdoor dining with a bay view across the road. Very good selection for lunch, good service, excellent food, good atmosphere in a small family run style restaurant. And the tourists haven't yet discovered this place for lunch which makes it even better for locals in the summertime.

Terry's Tavern @ Bay View, Ohio: It's almost impossible to review Terry's Tavern without comparing it to the Angry Trout which is about a block away. Terry's is a blue collar bar that has a good basic food menu. The Trout is white collar with a more upscale menu. Terry's doesn't have the ambiance of the Trout, but they do a good business and serve good basic food. Service was VERY slow because one waitress had to handle the whole room. Basically a neighborhood bar with a friendly attitude.

Wonder Bar @ Downtown Milan: Milan has five restaurants of various types on the square and the Wonder Bar is in the oldest building on the north side of the town square.  Nothing fancy here - more of a saloon look inside - small menu but food is good and drinks taste great in a cozy bar atmosphere. Service was ok.   

Ruby Tuesday's @ Sandusky Mall: Frankly, there's not a lot I like about this place. Higher priced menu, average food, ok service and generally noisy atmosphere. Way to busy for me to enjoy my lunch with kids/infants often screaming and crying in the restaurant. Very good salad bar although they don't keep it restocked properly at certain times of the day. They spend a lot of money hyping this restaurant and it doesn't live up to it's hype. I eat here about three times a year and I love salad bars, but have never seen this one fully stocked.   

TGI Friday's @ near entrance to Cedar Point: Located on the water with boat parking off the patio. Outdoor dining on the patio with a bar that also opens to the patio. Large restaurant with lot's of atmosphere, but when I was there the service was bad, food was average and frankly, it was disappointing. Patio dining was a plus which brings it up to two stars, but they didn't live up to their reputation. 

Oak Harbor Hotel Restaurant @ main street in Oak Harbor: Not sure exactly what the name of this restaurant is because the hotel is closed but the restaurant is in the hotel on main street so you can't miss it. Average menu, clean and homey atmosphere and good service. I don't really get to Oak Harbor that much, but if I were there this is where I would eat. And believe me I've tried others in the area.

Brown Derby Roadhouse @ Rt.250 &2: I remember when this was just a Brown Derby and famous for it's steaks. Now they've converted it into a Roadhouse and it left me cold. Very loud, redundant and bad country music on the speaker system, nothing special on the menu and service that was adequate at best.  Trying to decide what was worse - the paper table cloths (off a paper roll) or the music?

Kentucky Fried Chicken @ Norwalk: I don't usually rate fast food restaurants because the food tends to vary from one trip to the next, but I will make an exception for this place. I do get a craving for KFC every so often so I probably eat chicken here about three or four times a year. Always a disaster. This is the worst KFC I've ever eaten at. They must never throw anything away because the chicken they serve is always dried out from sitting under the heat lamps for a very long time. Their food has the consistency of beef jerky more than tender, moist chicken.  My experiences can be summed up in one word:

Restaurant Guide Page Last Updated: 05/08/2008