Introduction

Bayfield's dining scene is small but distinctive, and several of its most notable restaurants are attached to historic inns rather than standing alone. We checked all of them below — all are operating with verified hours and reservation policies. Note: if you see references to "Maggie's" or "Wild Rice Restaurant" in older Bayfield guides, both have permanently closed and are not included here.

Pier Plaza Restaurant and The Pickled Herring Lounge

Pier Plaza is a single, integrated hotel-restaurant-bar complex dating to 1937 and now run by the third generation of the Johnson family. Pier Plaza Restaurant serves seafood with a focus on whitefish, including a Friday all-you-can-eat fish fry, while The Pickled Herring is the same complex's dog-friendly lounge and deck.

*Hours (summer season):

• Tue–Thu 11:00 AM–9:30 PM | Fri–Sat 11:00 AM–10:00 PM | Sun 11:00 AM–8:30 PM | Closed Monday. Ice cream window open daily noon–close.

*Reservations:

• Not required; casual bar and grill, walk-in seating (weekend waits possible in peak summer).

*Good to Know:

• May have a brief winter closure; confirm before an off-season visit. Local hangout since

Landmark Restaurant, at Old Rittenhouse Inn

Old Rittenhouse Inn, a Victorian bed-and-breakfast across two historic homes, houses Landmark Restaurant, an upscale American and French dining room known for made-from-scratch cooking and a five-course tasting menu option.

*Hours:

• Breakfast daily 7:30–9:30 AM; Dinner Thu–Mon roughly 5:00–8:30 PM (closed Tue–Wed for dinner; verify seasonally). Lunch by reservation only for groups of 20+.

*Reservations:

• Recommended/encouraged — book via OpenTable; "call early, seats fill fast."

*Good to Know:

• Closes briefly around Christmas, reopens for New Year's Eve. 5-course tasting menu $70+ (tax/gratuity extra).

Manypenny Bistro

A standalone restaurant blending American fare with Turkish influence — wood-stone pizzas, gyros, döner — alongside bakery items; frequently cited as Bayfield's top-rated restaurant (currently ranked #1 of 17 Bayfield restaurants on Yelp).

*Hours:

• Mon–Thu, Sun 7:00 AM–8:30 PM | Fri–Sat 7:00 AM–9:00 PM

*Reservations:

• Not accepted — first-come, first-served. Arrive early on weekends to avoid a wait.

*Good to Know:

• Reduced hours in winter; call ahead off-season. Dog-friendly patio.

Morty's Pub

A neighborhood pub since the 1930s/40s, known for 1/3-lb Angus burgers and fresh Lake Superior whitefish.

*Hours:

• Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00 AM–11:00 PM | Fri–Sat 11:00 AM–2:00 AM

*Reservations:

• None — walk-in pub seating.

*Good to Know:

• Open year-round under newer ownership, unlike many of Bayfield's seasonal spots.

St. James Social Restaurant & Social Lounge

Housed in a restored 1883 building, St. James Social serves sourdough Neapolitan pizza and seasonal, locally sourced dinners alongside an espresso bar; it was named to Condé Nast Traveler's "Top 23 Places to Visit in the US" in

*Hours:

• Tue 5:00–8:00 PM (pizza night) | Wed closed | Thu–Sat 5:00–9:00 PM (chef's menu) | Sun 10:00 AM–1:00 PM (brunch) | Mon closed

*Reservations:

• Via Tock (exploretock.com/st-james-social) — recommended, especially weekends and brunch.

*Good to Know:

• Housed with a boutique hotel and lobby bar.

Hoop's Dockside Fish and Chips

A seasonal, casual dockside spot serving deep-fried Lake Superior whitefish and chips, run by a six-generation commercial fishing family.

*Hours (in-season):

• Mon–Sat 11:00 AM–7:00 PM | Sun 11:00 AM–6:00 PM (service ends when fish inventory runs out)

*Reservations:

• None — order-at-window, dockside seating.

*Good to Know:

• SEASONAL — opens Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, then Fri–Mon only through Apple Festival weekend (early October), then closes for winter.

Greunke's First Street Inn & Dining

A combined historic inn and restaurant housed in an 1863 and an 1880 building, Greunke's serves a 1940s-style diner menu of breakfast, fish boils, and Lake Superior whitefish.

*Good to Know:

• Hours vary seasonally; call ahead to confirm before visiting.

Qab Qab Pan-Asian Deli

Worth knowing this is a genuinely new addition — Bayfield's first Pan-Asian deli, serving Hmong, Thai, and Indonesian dishes as a takeout-only counter, opened only around mid

*Good to Know:

• New enough that long-term hours and stability aren't yet well established — call ahead before making it the centerpiece of a visit.

Practical Tips

• Maggie's and Wild Rice Restaurant, once well-known Bayfield fixtures, have both permanently closed — don't plan a visit around either.

• Manypenny Bistro and Morty's Pub don't take reservations; arrive early on summer weekends.

• St. James Social and Landmark Restaurant are the two most clearly reservation-worthy options for a dedicated dinner out.

• Hoop's Dockside is strictly seasonal (Memorial Day–early October); it closes entirely for winter.

• Bayfield is intensely seasonal — August is peak season for all these restaurants, but hours shift or shorten significantly outside summer.

Sources and Verification Notes

Each venue's operating status, hours, and reservation policy were verified against official sites and cross-checked against current-dated Yelp and TripAdvisor listings. Maggie's and Wild Rice Restaurant's permanent closures were independently confirmed via Yelp before being excluded from this guide. The Pier Plaza complex's integrated hotel-restaurant-lounge structure was verified against its official site.