Discover more about the 13 best places to eat in Cadillac, Michigan, which are listed alphabetically.

Thank you to Cadillac, Michigan, for hosting my stay.

Annie’s Baked Goods

If you’re staying in a vacation rental and don’t feel like cooking, yet after a day at the lake, getting the whole gang presentable for a restaurant is overwhelming, Annie’s Baked Goods has the answer. The baked goods extend past cookies, brownies, and pies to meal options like quiche, chicken pot pie, stromboli, and sausage-cheese breakfast casserole. These are family-sized portions, so creating a delicious meal with little effort is easy. You can even pick some of them up several days in advance because they’re frozen and ready to bake at home. Check out their daily grab-and-go menu to see what’s on offer.

Another option is the sweet treats. I bought some cookies for my road trip home.

Located away from downtown, on the southeast corner of the Plett Road and 13th Street roundabout in a stand-alone building, parking is easy. They have a walk-up window and no indoor seating. A picnic table out front, weather permitting, allows you to enjoy a pastry and your morning cup of coffee. But, if you don’t feel like getting out of the car, you can use the drive-through on the east side of the building.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Annie makes her cinnamon rolls fresh every Thursday. If you want a dozen or more, you can order them for pick up any business day with a three-business-day lead time.

After 26 Depot Café

At After 26 Depot Café, individuals with special needs find purpose and a place in the community. The restaurant’s mission extends beyond the typical restaurant’s objective of feeding people. The After 26 Depot café provides employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities and cognitive impairments.

The phrase “After 26” refers to the age at which individuals with developmental disabilities and cognitive impairment can no longer attend public school in Michigan. Once those with special needs can no longer attend school, they’re often left with nothing to do.

My pick on the menu was the seasonal crepes. The light golden-brown crepes were filled with cubed apples sautéed in butter and lightly spiced with warm fall spices like cinnamon. The apples were mixed with a cider reduction, then rolled up in the crepes, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and topped with whipped cream for an Instagram-able presentation.

The lunch menu offers soups, salads, and sandwiches. It also has heartier choices like burgers, fish and chips, chicken tenders, and fries. A Michigan favorite is the Cherry Grove salad, which starts with a bed of greens topped with dried cherries, Mandarin oranges, red onions, feta, and pecans. The chef dresses it with a cherry vinaigrette. Add grilled or crispy chicken or smoked salmon to make the salad an entrée.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Weather permitting, sit on the patio for a stunning view of Lake Cadillac. I had a chance to enjoy the fall color with their outdoor seating. The hardwood color change included bright reds, golden yellows, and orange.

Benny’s FroYo

If you’re looking for something to cool you off on a hot summer’s day, Benny’s FroYo is the place to go. This family-owned business makes frozen yogurt from milk on their dairy farm. They typically offer eight flavors to choose from on any day. They also have a wide selection of toppings to make it a frozen yogurt sundae.

Piper’s Pro Planning: If you want to purchase farm-fresh meat or cheese, check out the grocery case at the front of the store. It’s a great place to pick up something for dinner if you’re at the end of the day and haven’t decided what you’re making yet.

Blue Heron Café

The Blue Heron Café is where the bakery meets the café. Like other historic buildings on the street, they have decorative tin ceilings and old-fashioned light fixtures. They lean into their name with heron-themed artwork adorning beige walls.

I had the breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs, cherry jam for sweetness, crispy bacon, ham, jalapeno honey mustard for a touch of savory to balance the sweetness, and white cheddar piled on grilled sourdough. My daughter and I shared this sandwich, as I wanted to try some of their bakery items, and the fact that I preferred no scrambled eggs wasn’t a problem. They cut the sandwich in half and put the eggs in only half. My daughter kept going back to the breakfast potatoes that accompanied the sandwich. They’re baked first, thinly sliced, and then fried on the grill. We couldn’t stop eating them.

Their house-made everything bagels are another treat. But all the baked goods we tried were good. And I found they had great prices, too.

Piper’s Pro Planning: While they’re only open until 2:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday, you can pick up one of their family-size frozen dinners to eat at your vacation rental or home.

Chunky Bear Coffee Roasters

Walking into Chunky Bear Coffee Roasters is like walking into a friend’s living room. You’ll find different spaces throughout the shop to gather for a relaxing cup of coffee with a group of friends.

Known for the seasonal specialties, I visited in autumn and loved the apple cider chai. My daughter is a Red Bull fanatic and was pleased with the Harvest Red Bull. While roasting their beans on-site, they get their baked goods from Annie’s Baked Goods.

For a quick grab-and-go bite, try one of their muffin tops. Their paninis or charcuterie spreads are good options if you want something more filling.

Piper’s Pro Planning: The Chunky Bear Coffee Roasters is open seven days a week, from 7 AM on weekdays and 11 AM on weekends.

Clam Lake Beer Company

Cadillac was once known as Clam Lake, so the name Clam Lake Beer Company is a nod to the town’s history. The restaurant presents a casual dining experience in a relaxed atmosphere with exposed brick walls. The décor includes a traditional gas pump.

I suggest pairing the brick-fired pizza, some of the best pizza in Cadillac, with one of the 40 draft beers on tap. Try their secret clam chowder recipe, which, according to one source, only two people know.

The Cuban features carnitas pulled pork, ham, pickle slices, Swiss cheese, and mustard on ciabatta flatbread. Each menu item in the handhelds section comes with house chips, which can be substituted for an upcharge. I chose the onion rings, but other options included mac and cheese, traditional or sweet potato fries, or truffle tots.

While I didn’t try the smokestack panini, the sandwich sounded delicious. It consisted of turkey, candied pecans, Michigan-dried cherries, hummus, and Provolone on ciabatta flatbread spread with honey mustard. I love any dish with Michigan cherries, a Michigan regional favorite.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Clam Lake Beer Company is a dog-friendly restaurant where Rover can join you at one of the tables on the seasonal sidewalk patio. Call ahead to confirm that outdoor seating is available. If not, get your order and eat it at the nearby city park.

Mi Mezcal Mexican Café

Located in downtown Cadillac on North Mitchell Street, the décor at Mi Mezcal Mexican Café combines the traditional Mexican restaurant atmosphere with an upscale twist. The bar in the back of the restaurant features blue up-lighting, making it more modern than the traditional red, green, and white found in old-style Mexican restaurant décor. Light-colored exposed brick replaces the often dark wood in the traditional Mexican restaurant interior design.

The extensive menu offers a range of traditional dishes. When I visited, they also provided an entirely separate menu of seafood options. The menu has a Veggie Plate section featuring a variety of selections for vegetarians. The veggie fajitas included mushrooms to give them a meaty texture, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. They serve the dish with beans, rice, lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole. Like the other versions of fajitas, it comes with flour tortillas to make a delicious wrap.

I had a taco al pastor, which consisted of diced steak cooked with pineapple in red sauce. I enjoyed this dish because the meat included some seared crispy bits for added flavor and the slight sweetness of the pineapple.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Mi Mezcal Mexican Café is open daily for lunch and dinner.

Owl Eye Coffee Roasters

Aaron Fekete began working as a barista at the age of 12. Today, he owns Owl Eye Coffee Roasters. He’s worked and learned about the coffee business in Indonesia and returned to his hometown of Cadillac to raise his family and grow his local coffee business.

Owl Eye Coffee Roasters creates its blends using specialty-grade coffee from all over the world. Fekete’s passion for coffee helps him put a creative spin on his products. Their best seller is the Owl Eye Original Blend, a darker roast with the bitterness of dark chocolate and hints of sweet smoke. This isn’t your typical painfully sharp dark roast. It’s smooth and acid-free.

Take some time to talk to the barista about your likes and dislikes. Although I’m not typically a coffee drinker, I thoroughly enjoyed the mocha they created.

The café is a light and bright room where you can pleasantly sit, work, and sip coffee.

If you want to try specialty-grade coffee but won’t be in the area for a while, you can order online. Free shipping is available on orders over $79.

Piper’s Pro Planning: I drove by this shop at least twice, even with GPS. It’s the building with the white storefront.

Raven Social, One of the Best Places to Eat in Cadillac, Michigan

Raven Social features creative, seasonal, farm-to-table food and house-made desserts from Chef Connie Freiberg. Chef Connie’s thoughtful creation of tasty dishes with regionally sourced ingredients will have you returning again and again.

I ordered the fresh Atlantic salmon fillet, seasoned and chargrilled to temperature. The dish had a dill aioli, a summer squash medley, and Parmesan risotto. While the chef suggested medium rare, I requested medium well, and it came out perfectly. I enjoyed the flavorful chargrill markings on the outside, yet it was moist on the inside. Rice is a traditional dish served alongside fish, but the Parmesan risotto elevated the side to a new level.

This was one of my favorite places in Cadillac. As a local culinary expert, Chef Freiberg uses local ingredients to create great food and one of the area’s best dining experiences.

Piper’s Pro Planning: This is one of the best restaurants in Cadillac; I suggest making reservations on weekend evenings.

Roasted Café

Roasted Café gets freshly roasted coffee from Rowster in Grand Rapids for in-house brewing. In addition to coffee and tea, you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, or a cocktail hour with appetizers. For breakfast, you’ll find favorites such as avocado toast and burritos. The lunch menu includes soups, salads, and sandwiches like the BBQ pulled pork panini.

They use local spirits in their signature craft cocktails, like Cherry Bounce from Mammoth Distilling in Traverse City and Petoskey Stone Gin. They also offer wine from around the world, including a couple of Michigan selections. Additionally, you can order a craft beer.

Piper’s Pro Planning: You can purchase coffee beans at Roasted Café to brew at home.

The Sweet Shop

While The Sweet Shop isn’t a restaurant, it’s the perfect spot to pick up dessert. If you’re road-tripping from downstate to Traverse City, you can pick up some sweet treats for snacks to carry you through. They’ve made handmade candies for over 50 years, one piece at a time. They have over 100 handmade white, milk, and dark chocolate candies. Their signature candy is the Snow Bird, a white chocolate confection named for those who flee Cadillac in the winter for warmer temperatures.

The perfect dessert in the summertime is one of their 12 gourmet hand-scooped ice cream flavors in house-made waffle cones.

In the fall, try one of their ten unique combinations of specialty caramel apples. These Honeycrisp apples are so large that you can easily have one for dessert for two or three days. I had the Death by Chocolate caramel apple, which included milk, dark, and white chocolate.

With more than 15 flavors of fudge that rotate through the seasons, the biggest issue is deciding what to order. They also offer wrapped candy like old-fashioned candy stores and various gourmet popcorn.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Once you’ve been to Cadillac and you’re hooked on these sweets, don’t worry; you can order online to feed the addiction. They ship worldwide.

Wild Flour Bakery

I loved everything about Wild Flour Bakery. Their décor could easily be award-winning; it’s that cute. Reminiscent of a grandmother’s house in England with antique buffets, a Wild Flour logo trimmed with antique rolling pins, and a case of English bone China cups and saucers, the design is light, bright, and fun. The giant wall clock features cups and saucers in place of numbers.

I love the calendar wall titled with a William Wordsworth quote: “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” Enjoy coffee while writing an encouraging letter to your future self. Put the letter, ready to mail, in a slot on the calendar when you want it mailed, and the staff will send it to you.    

You order at the counter with friendly service. The cashier patiently explained boba tea options to my five-year-old granddaughter, a first-time customer.

While they offer bakery items and coffee and tea, this is also one of Cadillac’s great places for lunch. Their offerings include a selection of house-made soups, fresh salads, and sandwiches. Top that off with a classic brownie in a great atmosphere, and you’ll be happy you came here for lunch.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Allow time to write a letter to your future self.

2 The Moon Bakery

Located in Lake City, about 14 miles northeast of Cadillac, 2 The Moon Bakery is in the greater Cadillac area, and I just had to mention it. Since it’s away from Cadillac proper, it’s a bit of a hidden gem.

The breakfast burrito consists of three scrambled eggs, chorizo sausage, guacamole, and pepper jack cheese in a flour tortilla.

I had the Italian sandwich for Sunday brunch, with a cherry turnover for dessert. Artisan focaccia bread with aioli is the foundation of this sandwich. The chef builds it high with Italian meats like pepperoni, ham, and hard salami. He adds Provolone cheese, red onion, tomato, and mixed greens and tops it with a red wine vinaigrette. This is a large sandwich piled high with flavor.

Piper’s Pro Planning: Before you go, check out their bread schedule to see which type of bakery bread is available on the day you visit.

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