Two Rivers Restaurants - Water's Edge

Lighthouse Inn/Water’s Edge Restaurant
1515 Memorial Dr
Two Rivers, WI 54241-3599
(920) 793-4524

The Lighthouse Inn in Two Rivers, Wisconsin is home to the Water’s Edge Restaurant. Two Rivers has been a summer destination for my family and I since I was little. We used to camp at Point Beach State Park every summer. Recently, we have begun the annual tradition of salmon fishing on Lake Michigan. Always a treat, we have traded in the camper for a hotel, and we always stay at the Lighthouse Inn.

On Friday night, as our group was arriving at different times, we went to the bar for a drink before dinner. Though busy, the staff was very attentive, keeping our glasses full, and making polite, friendly conversation. Drinks were reasonably priced, with a large selection of beers available.

Once we were all assembled, we made our way into the restaurant, our waitress brought our water and bread immediately. With 6 people, we had many questions, and our waitress was very honest. First informing us that there were only 3 orders of one of the specials left, then letting us know that the baked haddock came out as a very small portion.

To start things off right, we ordered the appetizer Sampler Platter. From the menu: “Combination of broccoli bites, mozzarella sticks, cheese nuggets, & our homemade onion rings. Served with roasted red pepper sauce and marinara sauce … $9.95″ The broccoli bites were awesome, like deep fried bites of cheesy broccoli soup. The mozzarella sticks were good, not too much breading, plenty of stringy mozzarella cheese. The cheese nuggets were everything a Wisconsin fried cheese curd should be, though they were a bit small. The homemade onion rings were my favorite part of the platter, thin, lightly battered, and perfectly fried, not too greasy. Quite a bit of food for $9.95.

I ordered the fried cod. Not very adventurous, I know. Mom and I were splitting our two dinners, and went with one fried fish meal and the other baked. The friend cod was good, big pieces of fish, battered and fried to a golden brown. Exactly like a Wisconsin fish fry should be. The homemade tartar sauce was a great treat, and a good balance for the fish. The price of my fried cod was $9.95. It came with a salad, vegetable medley (green beans, yellow beans and carrots) and choice of potato. I went with the baked potato, very good. The vegetables were good, nothing special. Well prepared, but lacking seasoning.

The other half of my meal, the portion my Mom ordered, was the baked whitefish. From the menu: “Baked fish prepared in Chablis, butter, and lemon & served with drawn butter…$10.95″ I loved it, the fish was mild and flaky. You could taste the lemon and Chablis. The drawn butter was unnecessary, the fish was so good, but I used it anyways, as it made the fish even better. Plus, I am a huge fan of anything I get to dip in butter. Typically, I order fried over baked, but in this instance, I definitely preferred the baked whitefish to the fried cod, while others at the table preferred the fried to the baked. Just a matter of taste I guess. We ordered onion rings as her side. They were the same that we had on the appetizer platter, very good.

My dad got the Herb Crusted Salmon. From the menu: “Norwegian Salmon fillet baked in a blending of herbs & breading and topped with a cucumber dill sauce … $15.95″. He reported that the salmon was good. He would know, he typically orders salmon out wherever we are. It must have been good, by the time I was ready to taste it, there wasn’t much left!

The Summer Harvest Pasta was ordered. From the menu: “Cavatappi pasta sautéed with olive oil, squash, asparagus, red pepper pesto, sun dried & grape tomatoes (vegetable side not included)* … $13.95″ With all the veggies in the dish, the vegetable side wasn’t missed. The pasta was flavorful, and vegetables were cooked well, not mushy or overdone as can easily happen in these kinds of dishes. I love sun dried tomatoes, so this was a great dish in my opinion. New to the menu, I would guess it becomes a summertime favorite!

Another order of fried cod was ordered, and loved.

My boyfriend ordered the Broasted Chicken. From the menu: “Marinated and lightly breaded chicken broasted to a golden brown exterior with a moist and tender inside.” The $12.95 4 piece meal was ordered, as I let him know I’d be wanting to try it for sure! The chicken was awesome, I love broasted chicken, and this was no exception. The skin was crunchy and well flavored, the meat was tender and not overdone. Though a bit dry in my opinion, it was still really good. It was my second favorite meal ordered, coming in after the baked white fish of course!

Overall, the Water’s Edge restaurant at the Lighthouse Inn is a wonderful place to spend the evening. From the bar to the service to the food, it’s a great environment, with an amazing view of Lake Michigan right outside. There is outdoor seating in the bar area, and windows so big you’ll feel like your outdoors in the dining area! Always a favorite place to go, this Wisconsin restaurant didn’t disappoint, as usual.

The meal fueled a great night’s sleep and gave us the energy for the 3:30 am wake up call that was necessary for our salmon fishing adventure early Saturday morning. When in Two Rivers, check out the Lighthouse Inn and the Water’s Edge restaurant!