This Isolated Michigan Restaurant Is Famous For Its Friday Fish Fry

Nothing about the drive prepares you for the parking lot. Miles of trees, a two-lane road with no cell service, plus a hand-painted sign pointing toward a building that looks too small to hold the crowd already gathered inside.

The wait is part of the experience: you stand near the door listening to locals talk about snowfall totals and whose kid made varsity this year. When the plate arrives, it is exactly what you hoped for.

Golden batter over lake-caught fish, a pile of coleslaw, plus enough fries to make you forget the hour you spent getting here. People drive from an hour away every single Friday.

They bring coolers. They bring folding chairs for the overflow seating outside.

The kitchen has done this for decades, and nobody who tastes it questions why. The best Friday tradition in Michigan keeps itself alive at the end of a road most people never turn down.

Start With The Fish Options Before The Sides

The smartest way to order here is to choose your fish first, because the lineup is broader than many rural fish fries. Long Branch Saloon offers perch, pollock, cod, walleye, shrimp, and combo baskets on Fridays.

That range matters, since each option eats a little differently once it meets the house batter.

Cod gives you those larger flaky sections, while perch feels a bit more delicate and sweet. Pollock is often a good middle ground if you want something light but still satisfying, and combo baskets make sense for anyone who dislikes committing too early.

I like that the menu does not force one version of Friday on every table. Once the fish decision is made, everything else becomes easier. The potatoes, slaw, beans, and rye bread are supporting players, but the basket begins with the fish itself.

The Fish Fry Is Far From The Nearest Main Street

Long Branch Saloon is at W8400 County Road 388 in Faithorn Township, using a Vulcan, Michigan, postal address. The restaurant sits well off the main highway network, so keep the complete rural address in navigation rather than aiming only for Vulcan.

The final approach follows County Road 388 through wooded countryside with few commercial landmarks. Continue into the small Faithorn community and look for the roadside saloon building, slowing down early because the rural address can appear sooner than expected.

Turn into the property and use the customer parking beside the restaurant. From there, walk directly to the main entrance; kitchen hours can change, so call ahead before making the longer back-road drive.

Pay Attention To The Batter

What makes the Friday fish fry famous is not only quantity, but the batter. Long Branch uses the original batter recipe from Rosie Gunville’s mother, which gives the fish a house identity instead of the generic crunch you find in too many supper-club copies.

That detail sounds small until the basket hits the table. The coating is the point where texture either wins or fails, and here it is remembered as part of the restaurant’s story.

Because the recipe has been carried forward within the family, the fish fry tastes tied to place rather than trend. That continuity suits a saloon with deep local roots.

You notice it first by sound, the faint crackle as the crust gives way. Then the fish stays central, not buried under a heavy shell, which is exactly what a strong batter should do.

Do Not Treat The Potato Choice As An Afterthought

Every Friday basket comes with a potato choice, and that is more interesting here than it first appears. You can pick french fries, steak fries, curly fries, waffle fries, sweet potato fries, a baked potato, or potato salad.

Many places offer a token side, but this menu gives you room to steer the meal.

If you want classic fish-fry energy, the fries keep things familiar and crisp. A baked potato slows the plate down in a good way, especially if you prefer your fish to remain the obvious star, while potato salad leans more old-school and picnic-like.

The range makes the basket feel customizable without becoming fussy.

That flexibility matters when several people are ordering together. Different potato choices can make the same fish basket feel surprisingly personal, which is part of why repeat visits probably stay interesting.

Notice How The Standard Sides Complete The Plate

The fixed sides tell you a lot about what kind of fish fry Long Branch wants to serve. Every basket comes with coleslaw, baked beans, and rye bread, which gives the meal a pleasingly grounded, Midwestern completeness.

Nothing here feels ornamental or thrown on the plate out of habit.

Coleslaw brings the cool crunch that fried fish needs, especially when the batter is doing its job. Baked beans add sweetness and heft, while rye bread quietly links the meal to a regional fish-fry tradition that values contrast over excess.

Those choices keep the basket from tasting one-note. There is also something reassuring about a place that sticks to this format while still offering plenty of fish and potato variation. You know the structure, yet the meal never feels rigid, and that balance is harder to achieve than it sounds.

Look Around Before The Food Arrives

Long Branch Saloon has a Wild West look, but the room does not feel staged or theme-park precious. It feels lived in, friendly, and very much like a gathering place in a small Upper Peninsula community.

That matters because the food lands differently when the setting matches the meal.

The business dates to 1887, and the current bar area was built in November 1994 before later kitchen and dining room expansions under Jeff and Tammy Kiser, who bought the place in 2006. Rosie Gunville is now taking over from her parents, so the space carries both age and continuation.

You can sense that the restaurant has been built over time, not invented all at once.

Before the basket arrives, the room already tells part of the story. It prepares you for comfort, steadiness, and a place that knows exactly what people come for.

Use The Fish Fry As Your Entry Point, Not Your Whole Plan

The fish fry is the headline, but it is not the whole restaurant. Long Branch also serves steaks, burgers, pizza, chicken, wings, ribs, pasta, sandwiches, soups, and homemade desserts, which means a Friday visit can satisfy mixed cravings without anyone feeling dragged into a single-theme dinner.

That breadth is useful in a remote spot where you want one stop to work for everyone.

What impressed me most is that the menu does not read like filler wrapped around a famous special. Homemade pasta sauces suggest genuine kitchen effort, and the appetizer list goes well beyond the predictable with battered cauliflower, battered mushrooms, and mac and cheese bites.

Even the oversized Junk Basket has its own personality. So yes, go for the fish fry first. Just remember you are visiting a full restaurant with a strong everyday identity, not merely a Friday novelty.

Consider The Covered Patio If You Want Breathing Room

For a place known to get busy, the covered patio is more than a pleasant extra. It gives Long Branch another layer of usability, especially when Friday traffic builds and the indoor dining room feels a little compressed.

In good weather, that outdoor option can soften the rush without losing the spirit of the visit.

The setting around Faithorn already has a sense of distance and open air, so sitting outside suits the location. You still get the food people came for, but with a little more breathing room and a slightly slower rhythm.

That can be the difference between a quick meal and an evening you actually settle into.

If you are deciding between convenience and atmosphere, the patio helps you keep both. It is a practical detail, but practical details often shape the memory of a restaurant more than grander ones do.

Keep The Hours Handy Because Remote Means Timing Matters

Remote restaurants reward a little planning, and Long Branch is no exception. Current listed hours show Monday through Thursday from 11:30 AM to 8 PM, Friday from 11 AM to 8:30 PM, Saturday from 11 AM to 8:30 PM, and Sunday from 11 AM to 8 PM.

When a place sits this far off the main path, those numbers are useful knowledge, not trivia.

The location near the Wisconsin border and close to the Menominee River makes the drive part of the experience. Because of that, it is smart to pair your trip with a meal window you trust rather than improvising late.

The phone number, +1 906-438-2377, is worth saving if you want to check on seating or takeout.

You feel the isolation more on the road than at the table. Good timing turns that distance into charm instead of inconvenience.

Ask About Homemade Treats If You Have Room

A restaurant can fry fish beautifully and still lose the thread at the finish. Long Branch does not seem built that way, since homemade sweets are part of its broader appeal and fit naturally with the rest of the menu.

In a place this rooted in family continuity, dessert feels less like a flourish than an extension of the kitchen’s habits.

Some visitors have noted occasional cupcakes on Fridays, though not necessarily as a regular printed menu item, so asking politely if anything homemade is available makes sense. That kind of small question often reveals the personality of a place better than the obvious order does.

It also gives dinner a gentle final note after a rich basket. Even if nothing sweet appears that night, the possibility is worth remembering. Restaurants with this style often reward curiosity more than speed, and that is part of their charm.

Understand Why It Feels Like A Hidden Gem

Calling Long Branch Saloon a hidden gem is accurate, but the phrase needs specificity to mean anything. This is a restaurant near the crossroads of Faithorn, tucked into a small community and reached by intention rather than accident.

Its appeal comes from the combination of location, continuity, and food that clearly matters to the people running it.

The Friday fish fry may be the most famous draw, helped along by multiple People’s Choice recognitions for Best Fish Fry and Best Restaurant. Still, the real strength is how the place balances scale and familiarity, serving hundreds of baskets without feeling anonymous.

That is harder to pull off than flashy menus and trendier interiors suggest. By the time you leave, the isolation makes emotional sense. Distance has preserved character here, and the meal gives that character something generous and tangible to hold onto.