Dining choices are pretty limited when you’re visiting Cedar Point, the Roller Coaster Capital of the World, in Sandusky, OH. While the park itself has plenty of spots to grab a bite to eat on the run, sit-down restaurants nearby are hard to find.
The Hotel Breakers, on property, has a T.G.I. Fridays, Tomo – a hibachi restaurant, and a Perkins. Outside the park, and a quick shuttle away in the nearby marina, is a Famous Dave’s BBQ and the restaurant I’m talking about today – Bar Harbor.
Our trip to Cedar Point was a surprise to me! My husband booked this vacation for my birthday and I had no idea where we were going until we landed in Cleveland and made our way to Sandusky and saw the signs for Cedar Point.
For my birthday dinner, he booked reservations at this waterfront restaurant just outside the gates of the park. Since we were staying at Hotel Breakers, we took the shuttle to the restaurant for our 8pm reservation. We decided to dine outside on the patio overlooking the marina where a duo offered up live entertainment. Inside, there is a bar and a dining room for those who wan’t to cool off after a long day in the park.
Our server came over to introduce herself, took our drink order and let us know about the evening’s specials. We both ordered a Tito’s vodka martini – dirty – and it was done perfectly. A huge plus, since it’s really hard to find a bar that does a good dirty martini. So things were definitely off on the right foot.
The menu features appetizers like shrimp cocktail, fried calamari and escargot. Since we’re being dare-devlis in the park riding extreme coasters, we decided to start off dinner being a little extreme as well and went for a first for both of us, the escargot ($12). They arrived served in garlic shallot butter with a piece of garlic toast.
While it wouldn’t be my first choice in an appetizer, I have to say they were pretty good! The butter sauce they were soaking in had a great flavor, they weren’t chewy and combined with the cheesy garlic toast, they were a good starter.
We also ordered the Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio ($11). Thinly sliced tomatoes topped with honey goat cheese and a basil oil and balsamic glaze were arranged on a large plate and were simply delicious. There was enough to share and if you like this combination of ingredients, I highly recommend it over the other salads on the menu such as the garden or Caesar.
Other starters include French onion soup, lobster bisque and crab cakes.
After appetizers, we perused the menu that includes a selection of pasta (risotto, shrimp and scallop linguini, cheese tortellini), seafood (lobster tail, king crab legs, grouper, salmon, perch, walleye), as well as chicken, a filet and New York Strip.
One of the night’s features was Prime Rib. Since there was an end-cut available, I chose that and asked for it to be served with a baked potato. The rib itself was cooked medium, was very tender and well seasoned. Overall, a very enjoyable dish.
My husband went with the filet mignon ($39), medium, and added a lobster tail ($32) to it to create a surf-and-turf dinner. The lobster was served with drawn butter and was sweet and tender. The filet was served with a port-wine demi glace and was also tender and lightly seasoned.
Both entrees were served with carrots, the vegetable of the day.
Throughout the meal, our water glasses remained full and the martinis kept flowing – each one just as good as the first. Service was on-point and flawless. Our decision to dine outside was a plus, as the views of the harbor, the warmth of the fire pit and the entertainment made for a great dining experience.
We didn’t get dessert, as we were pretty full. After dinner, we took the shuttle bus back to the park for a few more hours of fun before calling it a night.
With the limited dining options around the park, if you’re looking for a relaxed night out where service isn’t rushed and the food is good, Bar Harbor at Cedar Point is a good choice.