Bear Pine Bar and Grill

Course was beautiful and in great condition! The greens rolled true! Challenging course that is still very playable! I will be back to play again!

Played today; course was in great condition…. Lush fairways, solid greens that rolled true. Was concerned after reading some of the previous years reviews, but the new ownership has done a fantastic job. Will definitely return.

Lots of improvements with new ownership group amd easy

I have never been treated so well at a restaurant. Id give 6/5 stars if I could.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place came recommended to me by a friend for a great place to get a steak. My experience was a little different. First off the building/location is beautiful. It’s right on the lake, offers outdoor seating and the resort building is awesome. Very rustic! They had a performer playing guitar on the patio who was awesome! Probably the highlight of our trip.
We came in and were greeted by a young lady who sat us out on the patio. We started things off with some cheese curds that came quickly. Actually a little too quickly as they were raw and doughy. It was an easy fix and they were more than happy to make us a new batch. I ordered a steak medium rare and it came very over cooked (see pics). I’m not one to send food back so I definitely wasn’t going to do it twice. So I ate what I could. It came with broccoli that was so salty I couldn’t eat any of it. I don’t want to come off as “that guy” (and you can read my other reviews, I’m not him) but this was just bad. Bad and expensive! My girlfriend got the prime rib also medium rare and she said that was good. But she also got the super salty broccoli and couldn’t eat it. The service wasn’t the best. We weren’t told about the specials, weren’t checked on ever and just seemed to be kinda ignored from the get go. I don’t know if we came on an off day or they had a new cook and new staff on hand or what. I told my friend about it and he thought that was strange as he’s been here a few times and thought it was great. I really wanted to like it and would enjoy staying at the resort in the future. If that does happen, I might just skip the meals though. Sorry guys, I can’t recommend off my own experience.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 3

Can't say if the food was/is any good, because we never received any. In fact, no one even bothered to come to our table in 20+ minutes, to ask us if we wanted water...or to greet us...so we left. Scenery is nice, service is LOUSY, food will have to remain an unknown for us...as we won't be back.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

Nancy & Ava the bartenders were the highlight of our experience. They are quick, attentive, and delivers top notch customer service with a great sense of humor. They both went above and beyond all expectations of what a great bartender should be.

A charming bar and grill that overlooks the beautiful Bay Lake.

This review is an update:
The service was good but not great this time around (June 2025) and the food quality has gone downhill from the last visit.

We tried the Mexican Shrimp salsa thing which is kind of akin to a Cheviche. But this version has a couple of negative quirks. The flavor was way too acidic and likely would benefit from a sweet element from pineapple or mango or something to balance out all that vinegar taste. The shrimp is also whole shrimp and would benefit the diner to have the shrimp chopped up so it would pair with the tortilla chips better. It's kind of awkward sticking a whole shrimp on a chip.

Next up, the Broasted chicken sandwich. This sandwich would have been great had the chicken been of better quality going into the broaster machine. This chicken clearly had either sat out to dry or, more likely, suffered from bad freezer burn. The end result was a VERY dry, stringy breast that was mostly inedible.

So if you must go, I would stick with the pizza. It's much harder to get a pizza wrong. I had thought it would be impossible to get broasted chicken wrong but that's what we got.

Disappointing Start, Great Finish—Thanks to the Marina Crew! We were really looking forward to our stay at Ruttger’s Bay Lake Resort, especially since our kids were so excited to use the pools. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we were disappointed to find both pools closed—a fact that was never mentioned on the website or during booking. The website was also out of date, with no notice about the pool closures or the restaurant being closed. This lack of communication was a huge letdown for us and especially hard on our kids. After receiving a text that our room was ready, we checked in only to find the room still dirty. The staff did try to help by sending a manager intern, who found us another room, but that one was also dirty and needed cleaning. We ended up waiting an additional 30–45 minutes before we could finally get settled. Once we were finally in, we found the condo-style cabins to be cute and comfortable, with a nice deck and great views of the golf course and lake (though some big pine trees block part of the view). There’s plenty of parking, and the property has several docks for fishing and a large marina, which was a big hit with our family. However, due to pool construction, the trail to the marina dock was blocked, forcing us to take a much longer and less convenient route. We had fun fishing and caught some big sunfish off the main marina dock. The restaurant had a nice deck and a DJ, but closes pretty early and the food is quite pricey. The community fire pits are a great touch, with plenty of wood provided for guests to enjoy a classic evening of s’mores. As a gesture of goodwill for the pool closure, the resort offered us a two-hour pontoon rental, which was appreciated but didn’t fully make up for the disappointment and lack of communication. We tried to rent a fishing boat, but it had mechanical issues. The marina crew was super helpful and gave us a good deal on a full-day pontoon rental instead, which turned out to be the highlight of our trip. Big thanks to Rob and Casey at the marina—they were friendly, hardworking, and made our experience so much better. The kids had an absolute blast on the lake! We also enjoyed the ice cream shop and took out kayaks and other water toys, which were reasonably priced and lots of fun. At first, we weren’t sure if we would return or recommend Ruttger’s to others, but the marina crew truly turned things around for us and made the end of our trip memorable. I would recommend this resort to families and groups, but I really hope management improves communication, keeps the website updated, and ensures rooms are ready and clean for arriving guests. With a few improvements, this could be an amazing place for a family getaway.

Breakfast was fantastic. The most simple things are so much better when someone else cooks!

It’s a resort bar with cold beer, friendly staff, and good pizza.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The lake is beautiful, staff is friendly, great for the whole family and tons to do in and around the area.

A charming bar and grill that overlooks the beautiful Bay Lake.

The service was great. The food was good except for the artichoke appetizer which I would not recommend. But hey, at least they try new things, right?

Pizza was good and so was the walleye.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Great time sitting on patio overlooking Bay Lake, Tonight we had a seafood boil. Will definitely be back for it again. Didn't even need the melted butter dipping side, because the lemon garlic butter juice was awesome. Will try Cajun next time. Have had new garlic dill boasted chicken sandwich too. Never had a bad meal there yet. Seafood boil is every Friday 5-8 in summer season.

Dietary restrictions: GF & DF

Kid-friendliness: Yes right next to beach

Wheelchair accessibility: Yes

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great Food and Great Service!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5