I love getting to go here whenever I get a chance to visit Traverse City. Kind of off the beaten path of Downtown. This place has a brewpub vibe while also offering their own beer and others brews as well so they can serve pretty much anyone. Their food is top notch and a great place to drink some good beer and eat some good food. Simple as that.***Update***Went again, still great! Great NA selection!Parking: Parking is kind of a disaster, but that has nothing to do with the business. Just the location
The Rare Bird is the ideal balance of accessible, yet elevated fare that surpasses expectation. Service is attentive, on-point and always friendly. The atmosphere is modern but not "too hipster". The menu is creative and brilliantly executed without being too far off the beaten path. There is something for everyone here at a very reasonable price. It's a gem in Traverse City for good reason. They deserve your business.
Angie Winn
Love the vibe & great food. Ordered the Korean pork belly tacos. Sooo good. Perfect amount of spice. We also got the trout dip and buffalo chicken sandwich. Everything was tasty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jerry P.
Great find and hit it during happy hour so found some good drink values. Food was very good and atmosphere is relaxed. Service was great and we loved the large booth seating. Definitely on our list of gems in TC and thought the value was quite good.
Kerry E.
Love the draft list and food selection all with a chill comfortable vibe. Service is always solid.
T D.
Stopped by here after a day of wine tasting. The service was just okay, you could tell they were just trying to get through their shifts. The food was very good, but we weren't too impressed with the beer. We like doing flights, and they are super strict with what you can sample (only first 4 on the menu, no substitution). If you want to bring new customers in to try your beer, why would you not allow to sample from the entire beer menu? Overall due to odd strictness of the beer flights and iffy service, we would not return.
Larry Cowper
Service was more than horrible. 100% NOT customer oriented. Very unfortunate, great opportunity to be great hopefully they make some changes and right the ship.
Ross Schueller
Great food, great service, great beer... TERRIBLE bar stools. Seriously, those aren't seats, they're torture devices.
Zach L.
Service was great, everyone was welcoming, nice and knowledgeable. Had a burger with the loaded fries and it was so good, we will be back
George S.
Great food, great service and great beer. Ambiance was also unique and fun. Overall a very positive experience. Only downside side was the weird parking.
We stopped in Rare Bird after receiving three recommendations from three very different people. Yelp reviews looked promising as well. We arrived during Happy Hour and we were seated immediately in a large booth. The space is large with booths, bar seating, and high tops. The booths are roomy and accommodating. Lots of natural light and shades for when the sun does shine in Michigan. Our server was attentive and provided great recommendations for beer and dishes. The only draw back I would note is that they have one set flight of four beers, but they do offer plenty of tastes before you order a pint. To the food. As I mentioned we arrived during Happy Hour and their HH offerings are pretty extensive and we mostly shared several small plates. Those Sweet Chili Brussel Sprouts were quite possibly the best sprouts we have ever had. Lots of flavor, not just balsamic, and they were juicy. All too often we find they are dry and charred to a crisp. The tacos and nachos had good flavor and fresh bright ingredients. Hubby was very pleased to find fresh jalapenos, not jarred pickled peppers. Beers. Good selection. The No Pressure stout was seriously smooth. Didn't become bitter at the end which we find many heavy stouts can be once they warm up a bit. We would definitely stop in again next time we are in the area. Thank you, Rare Bird for a great experience!
J Andrews
Great drinks, food, and service! Love their little outdoor area in the summer.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel Sticks
Jeff Bear
Very fun place! Incredible food and service. Would highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Logan Hobbs
Being a bird fan, I was delighted to find this brewery. The atmosphere is great (and very bird-forward), the beers are creative and wonderful, and the food was scrumptious. The blackened Mahi tacos were especially enjoyable.Vegetarian options: Quite a few to choose from! Lots of salads, and you can make substitutions on other items to make it vegetarian.
The beer was good. Food was NOT. Very easy drinking. We had the Vajaha and the El Alemana (or something like that).I got the banh mi sandwich with fried chicken. The chicken was terrible - hammered as thin as a toothpick in some spots and way overcooked. My wife watched me taking a bite and it was so stringy and tough that i couldn't bite through the meat and pulled wit the entire sandwich.I wouldn't come here to eat. But I would come here for the beer.
I love getting to go here whenever I get a chance to visit Traverse City. Kind of off the beaten path of Downtown. This place has a brewpub vibe while also offering their own beer and others brews as well so they can serve pretty much anyone. Their food is top notch and a great place to drink some good beer and eat some good food. Simple as that.***Update***Went again, still great! Great NA selection!Parking: Parking is kind of a disaster, but that has nothing to do with the business. Just the location
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Beer Flight, Pretzel Sticks, Pub Burger, Burgers, Chicken Wings
The Rare Bird is the ideal balance of accessible, yet elevated fare that surpasses expectation. Service is attentive, on-point and always friendly. The atmosphere is modern but not "too hipster". The menu is creative and brilliantly executed without being too far off the beaten path. There is something for everyone here at a very reasonable price. It's a gem in Traverse City for good reason. They deserve your business.
Love the vibe & great food. Ordered the Korean pork belly tacos. Sooo good. Perfect amount of spice. We also got the trout dip and buffalo chicken sandwich. Everything was tasty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great find and hit it during happy hour so found some good drink values. Food was very good and atmosphere is relaxed. Service was great and we loved the large booth seating. Definitely on our list of gems in TC and thought the value was quite good.
Love the draft list and food selection all with a chill comfortable vibe. Service is always solid.
Stopped by here after a day of wine tasting. The service was just okay, you could tell they were just trying to get through their shifts. The food was very good, but we weren't too impressed with the beer. We like doing flights, and they are super strict with what you can sample (only first 4 on the menu, no substitution). If you want to bring new customers in to try your beer, why would you not allow to sample from the entire beer menu? Overall due to odd strictness of the beer flights and iffy service, we would not return.
Service was more than horrible. 100% NOT customer oriented. Very unfortunate, great opportunity to be great hopefully they make some changes and right the ship.
Great food, great service, great beer... TERRIBLE bar stools. Seriously, those aren't seats, they're torture devices.
Service was great, everyone was welcoming, nice and knowledgeable. Had a burger with the loaded fries and it was so good, we will be back
Great food, great service and great beer. Ambiance was also unique and fun. Overall a very positive experience. Only downside side was the weird parking.
Restaurantji Recommends
We stopped in Rare Bird after receiving three recommendations from three very different people. Yelp reviews looked promising as well. We arrived during Happy Hour and we were seated immediately in a large booth. The space is large with booths, bar seating, and high tops. The booths are roomy and accommodating. Lots of natural light and shades for when the sun does shine in Michigan. Our server was attentive and provided great recommendations for beer and dishes. The only draw back I would note is that they have one set flight of four beers, but they do offer plenty of tastes before you order a pint. To the food. As I mentioned we arrived during Happy Hour and their HH offerings are pretty extensive and we mostly shared several small plates. Those Sweet Chili Brussel Sprouts were quite possibly the best sprouts we have ever had. Lots of flavor, not just balsamic, and they were juicy. All too often we find they are dry and charred to a crisp. The tacos and nachos had good flavor and fresh bright ingredients. Hubby was very pleased to find fresh jalapenos, not jarred pickled peppers. Beers. Good selection. The No Pressure stout was seriously smooth. Didn't become bitter at the end which we find many heavy stouts can be once they warm up a bit. We would definitely stop in again next time we are in the area. Thank you, Rare Bird for a great experience!
Great drinks, food, and service! Love their little outdoor area in the summer.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel Sticks
Very fun place! Incredible food and service. Would highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Being a bird fan, I was delighted to find this brewery. The atmosphere is great (and very bird-forward), the beers are creative and wonderful, and the food was scrumptious. The blackened Mahi tacos were especially enjoyable.Vegetarian options: Quite a few to choose from! Lots of salads, and you can make substitutions on other items to make it vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish Tacos, Dirty Bird Fries, Blackened Mahi Tacos, Craft Beer, Sandwich
The beer was good. Food was NOT. Very easy drinking. We had the Vajaha and the El Alemana (or something like that).I got the banh mi sandwich with fried chicken. The chicken was terrible - hammered as thin as a toothpick in some spots and way overcooked. My wife watched me taking a bite and it was so stringy and tough that i couldn't bite through the meat and pulled wit the entire sandwich.I wouldn't come here to eat. But I would come here for the beer.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5