We stopped by on a whim and was pleasantly impressed! Service was great, talked with the owner and had a fun conversation with him. Loved all the plants 🪴 that made the pub atmosphere warm! Will definitely stop by here again! If you love bread, you'll love the ginormous pretzel!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Squid XIII
🍻 The Horse’s Mouth Tavern – Belding, MI
If The Harmful Rooster is the ambassador of average, then The Horse’s Mouth Tavern is its slightly more ambitious cousin—still committed to the middle of the road, but with a craft beer in hand and a twinkle of effort in its eye.
The vibe? Cozy enough to make you think someone once cared about ambiance, but not so cozy that you’d cancel your plans to stay longer. The food? It exists. Burgers, wraps, and a monster pretzel that’s more memorable for its size than its flavor. The drinks? Plentiful, with 22 beers on tap and a Michigan-made draft root beer that tastes like nostalgia filtered through a flat Mountian Dew.
Service was friendly in that Midwestern way—warm smiles, casual banter, and just enough attentiveness to keep you from wondering if you’ve been forgotten. It’s the kind of place where you could imagine a decent night out, provided your expectations are calibrated to “pleasantly fine.”
But once again, the evening’s true climax came not from the tavern’s offerings, but from the walk that followed. The Flat River Trail, winding gently from the tavern’s doorstep, leads directly to the Veteran Memorial Bridge. And there it was again: graffiti, defacing a monument meant to honor sacrifice. My date—a veteran—was devastated. Tears, heartbreak, and another meal returned to nature in a violent, gut-wrenching moment.
It’s hard to separate the tavern from the trail, the beer from the bridge. The path from dinner to desecration is too direct, too symbolic. It’s a reminder that even a maximally average night out can end in emotional ruin when civic neglect lurks just down the sidewalk.
In summary: The Horse’s Mouth Tavern offers a slightly elevated take on mediocrity, but the emotional fallout waiting at the end of the trail makes it hard to recommend without a warning label.
Stopped her for lunch while passing through town. Great service. Menu had a wide variety of items. Food was good. Cool atmosphere too. Would come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hannah Christensen
WET BURRITOS 🌯 My hubby and I ordered to BURRITOS online came out to almost 40 dollars before giving a tip, turns out they give themselves one automatically before you pay of 6 dollars. I tip after checking my service out not before immediately a red flag. Got our orders if it would have been me picking up I would have asked for a refund. We order two burritos with one having jalapeño and one not everything else was the same. When I got it at home both were covered in jalapeños and only one had onions. Can't get the spice out of my mouth even after pulling them off mine. Not impressed 😕 . Thank you so much for tipping yourself horses mouth even though your service was 💩.
Food: 3
Service: 3
Beth Van Prooyen
Jen's and Troy have a fabulous place! Food is very good and it is fun to hang around. They treat you like long time friends!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rob Thurston
Great food and service.. would have luke to have seen some Keno or something though
Owners are great! Beer selection is great!! Food is good quality bar food, with moderate portions. Did I mention the beer selection was great?
It's just a nice solid and predictable small town Taphouse. The owners are often there working and they often make improvements.
Elizabeth Brown
I definitely love going here on the weekends. The staff are amazing. The atmosphere is always fun and the food is really good. You can get a soft pretzel that is bigger than your head and absolutely delicious.
Bill Thomas
Great thick Burgers. Everyone enjoyed the food. Waitress was awesome. For a casual environment for lunch this is a good place to come. Waitress was very pleasant, with a great sense of humor. I wished they had coffee available. Overall, a restaurant worth trying for sure.
Yummy!!! The tacos were delicious and crunchy!
We stopped by on a whim and was pleasantly impressed! Service was great, talked with the owner and had a fun conversation with him. Loved all the plants 🪴 that made the pub atmosphere warm! Will definitely stop by here again! If you love bread, you'll love the ginormous pretzel!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
🍻 The Horse’s Mouth Tavern – Belding, MI
If The Harmful Rooster is the ambassador of average, then The Horse’s Mouth Tavern is its slightly more ambitious cousin—still committed to the middle of the road, but with a craft beer in hand and a twinkle of effort in its eye.
The vibe? Cozy enough to make you think someone once cared about ambiance, but not so cozy that you’d cancel your plans to stay longer. The food? It exists. Burgers, wraps, and a monster pretzel that’s more memorable for its size than its flavor. The drinks? Plentiful, with 22 beers on tap and a Michigan-made draft root beer that tastes like nostalgia filtered through a flat Mountian Dew.
Service was friendly in that Midwestern way—warm smiles, casual banter, and just enough attentiveness to keep you from wondering if you’ve been forgotten. It’s the kind of place where you could imagine a decent night out, provided your expectations are calibrated to “pleasantly fine.”
But once again, the evening’s true climax came not from the tavern’s offerings, but from the walk that followed. The Flat River Trail, winding gently from the tavern’s doorstep, leads directly to the Veteran Memorial Bridge. And there it was again: graffiti, defacing a monument meant to honor sacrifice. My date—a veteran—was devastated. Tears, heartbreak, and another meal returned to nature in a violent, gut-wrenching moment.
It’s hard to separate the tavern from the trail, the beer from the bridge. The path from dinner to desecration is too direct, too symbolic. It’s a reminder that even a maximally average night out can end in emotional ruin when civic neglect lurks just down the sidewalk.
In summary: The Horse’s Mouth Tavern offers a slightly elevated take on mediocrity, but the emotional fallout waiting at the end of the trail makes it hard to recommend without a warning label.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Food was good, get the large pretzel as an app.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soft Pretzel Beer Sponge, Olive Burger
Stopped her for lunch while passing through town. Great service. Menu had a wide variety of items. Food was good. Cool atmosphere too. Would come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
WET BURRITOS 🌯
My hubby and I ordered to BURRITOS online came out to almost 40 dollars before giving a tip, turns out they give themselves one automatically before you pay of 6 dollars. I tip after checking my service out not before immediately a red flag. Got our orders if it would have been me picking up I would have asked for a refund. We order two burritos with one having jalapeño and one not everything else was the same. When I got it at home both were covered in jalapeños and only one had onions. Can't get the spice out of my mouth even after pulling them off mine. Not impressed 😕 . Thank you so much for tipping yourself horses mouth even though your service was 💩.
Food: 3
Service: 3
Jen's and Troy have a fabulous place! Food is very good and it is fun to hang around. They treat you like long time friends!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food and service.. would have luke to have seen some Keno or something though
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great place to eat and a cool atmosphere.
Fun place
Restaurantji Recommends
Great place, top notch food.
Owners are great! Beer selection is great!! Food is good quality bar food, with moderate portions. Did I mention the beer selection was great?
It's just a nice solid and predictable small town Taphouse. The owners are often there working and they often make improvements.
I definitely love going here on the weekends. The staff are amazing. The atmosphere is always fun and the food is really good. You can get a soft pretzel that is bigger than your head and absolutely delicious.
Great thick Burgers. Everyone enjoyed the food. Waitress was awesome. For a casual environment for lunch this is a good place to come. Waitress was very pleasant, with a great sense of humor. I wished they had coffee available. Overall, a restaurant worth trying for sure.
Best Bar menu in B-town
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