Florian II Lakeshore Rib and Steakhouse - Baileys Harbor
The Florian II Steakhouse is located in Baileys Harbor on HWY 57. This is the quintessential family owned business, the restaurant having been in the Kwaterski family for over 54 years. The rear of the building offers a picturesque view of Lake Michigan from the dining room, an airy and fairly spacious room with a comfortable and friendly atmosphere.
Walking into the Florian you are immediately taken into the typical 'Wisconsin Supper Club' setting. The bar area is quite dimly lit, there's space for live music and a video game area to keep the ankle biters entertained.
I've chatted with the owners on various visits, they're very down to earth and friendly folk, who proudly preach that their operation is almost entirely operated by members of the family.
The first time I dined at the Florian was on a Friday, so the Fish Fry was the order of the day. All entrees are served with their signature salad bowl, a huge offering of fresh, crisp salads - lettuce, tomato, onion, mushroom, cucumber, with a dressing of your choosing.
The fish was very good, the service good too.
The second time I dined there I dined alone, and ran into a little snag with the waiter. He was fairly busy, and when I asked for a bottle of Tabasco to flavor my steak, he kinda told me in no uncertain terms that he was very busy, but he'd see what he could do. After waiting 10 minutes with no luck, I walked up to the bar area and obtained the aforementioned bottle of hot sauce under my own steam.
He was a snippy little jerk when he presented me the bill, and I let the owner know that this guy was doing his business no favors.
The food on that occasion was a tenderloin and baked potato. The steak was below average, quite tough and cooked to a temperature was too high for medium.
I've always said that I like to give restaurants another chance, and this was the case with the Florian II. I dined there again for the final time in Fall 2010. It was a fairly quiet night, heading towards the end of the tourist season, with the bars and restaurants starting to wind down. This time I went up a notch on price and plumped for the "US Choice Porterhouse", a $23.00 menu item at the top of their steaks list.
What arrived on my place wasn't anything close to what I'd expected. The steak was dreadful. It was the typical broiled from frozen type of meat that you get when you order steak and eggs in a roadside breakfast joint. The steak was bland, tough, gristly and devoid of any grill marks. I have to say that when you dine out, there's a certain level of expectation that's created subconsciously by the environment of the restaurant - in this case, I'm dining in a "Steak House", I'm ordering a 'Choice Porterhouse", I'm paying "restaurant prices", I'm eating in what appears to be a supper club style of dining facility, where most supper clubs serve up a good steak. So I'd been primed to expect a decent steak, yet there was nothing prime, or 'choice' about what I was served.
I'm not one for making a fuss about restaurant food. I think I may have only requested some kind of 'discount' twice, maybe three times, in all my years of dining. And this was no exception. I drank up, paid the bill and left quickly, never to return.
Sorry Florain II. You're nice people and I appreciate your family oriented style of operations, but I've had two steaks from your restaurant and they both sucked.
Ratings? -
Make up your own.
Florian II is located at -
8048 Wisconsin 57
Baileys Harbor, WI 54202
(920) 839-2361