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Great Lakes Culinary Institute, Traverse City, MI

Great Lakes Culinary Institute

4.8
4.8
114 Reviews
$30 and under
Contemporary American

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
  • Great for scenic views
  • Good for special occasions
  • Innovative
At Lobdell's, a Teaching Restaurant, you'll enjoy food prepared and served by Great Lakes Culinary Institute students and beautiful bayside views. Lunch is served regularly during fall and spring, while bakery and coffee service is provided in summer. Special events throughout the year include farm to table and world cuisine dinners, as well as cocktail and charcuterie events.

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, American, Bistro
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Tue, Wed 11:30–14:30
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Private Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Chef James Morse

What 114 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.9Ambience
  • 4.8Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Northern Michigan / Upper Peninsula

    Best Food

  • Northern Michigan / Upper Peninsula

    Best Ambience

  • Northern Michigan / Upper Peninsula

    Best Value

  • Northern Michigan / Upper Peninsula

    Great for brunch

  • Northern Michigan / Upper Peninsula

    Innovative

  • Northern Michigan / Upper Peninsula

    Healthy

  • Northern Michigan / Upper Peninsula

    Great for scenic views

  • Northern Michigan

    Best Food

  • Northern Michigan

    Best Ambience

  • Northern Michigan

    Best Value

  • Northern Michigan

    Great for brunch

  • Northern Michigan

    Innovative

  • Northern Michigan

    Healthy

  • Northern Michigan

    Great for scenic views

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Great Lakes Culinary Institute offers a dynamic dining experience with "excellent food and service." The students' dedication shines, as they provide "attentive and knowledgeable staff" in a "beautiful setting." Menu creativity and "spectacular views" enhance the visit. Reservations are popular, reflecting its status as a "wonderful culinary experience."

114 Reviews
  1. Ira VIP

    San Francisco8 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    A wonderful dinner with Spanish cuisine and beverage options to pair with it, including Spanish wines. The service was very good and the sunset view was fantastic.

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  2. Kimberlee

    Charleston7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent dinner! Would love to see more of these throughout year!

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  3. Doug

    Indiana3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    We have never had a bad dining experience at Lobdell's. We enjoy supporting the culinary institute and interacting with the student staff. The food, service, and ambiance are all exceptional and the price is comparable to any good Traverse City restautant.

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  4. OpenTable Diner

    Northern MI1 review

    5.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Phenomenal experience, beautiful view and incredible food. Our service was excellent. We got to enjoy the World Cuisine class’ Spain dishes. We loved our dinner and will happily make another reservation!

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  5. Jackie

    Unspecified1 review

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    If we could choose anywhere to eat, our first choice would be Lobdell's!! The food is 5 star quality and the ambiance can't be beat anywhere in TC. You can also buy pastries and food at their front desk area even if you don't eat in the dining area. A++++

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  6. Connie

    Northern MI11 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Introduced a friend to Lobell’s. He loved it as did I.

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  7. Rebecca

    Northern MI4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 4 March 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The dining experience is ALWAYS a step into a quality atmosphere with an unobstructed view of West Bay. The student staff is both informative and never intrusive. The dining area is spacious with tables and seating well thought out - acoustically other activity is not intrusive. The menu selections are creative and fit any appetite and cocktails allow the unfamiliar to experience a unique beverage. The whole dining experience ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

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  8. Ailyn

    Northern MI1 review

    4.0

    Dined on 4 March 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 5
    Overall it’s great! Except the time to wait for the food is forever. Not good for people that has 1 hour lunch, hour reservation was 12:15 and our food was served at 1:20pm inhale food for 10 mins. To be able to go back to work. Therefore wasn’t enjoyable.perfect for retired folks and nothing to do after lunch.
    Great Lakes Culinary InstituteResponded 4 days ago
    Hello Ailyn, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at Great Lakes Culinary Institute. We're glad to hear that you found our restaurant great overall, but we're sorry to hear about the long wait time you experienced. We understand how this can be frustrating and we apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. We strive to provide a comfortable and enjoyable dining experience for all our guests, and we're sorry to hear that we fell short in this instance. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future. Best regards, Great Lakes Culinary Institute Management Team

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  9. Ira VIP

    San Francisco8 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 27 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The GLCI student's do a great job putting on an excellent dinner experience. We enjoyed the food and there were ample beverage options available.

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  10. JudyB

    Southwest Florida6 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 27 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent creative menu, perfectly planned & executed! We love eating here!!

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Great Lakes Culinary Institute is rated 4.8 stars by 114 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Google Map for Great Lakes Culinary Institute

715 E Front St, Traverse City, MI 49686-2619

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary American, American, Bistro
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Tue, Wed 11:30–14:30
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Private Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Chef James Morse
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Impressum
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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