Bungalow Inn Serves a Reuben, Walleye and a Full Day of Comfort Food

A Reuben with a serious local following is a fine reason to stop at Bungalow Inn, but it is hardly the only one. This is an all-day restaurant built for the pleasant problem of choosing between pancakes and eggs, a sandwich and fries, or a full dinner of walleye, steak or ribs.

The menu covers breakfast, lunch and dinner without making the visit feel narrowly timed. A couple can settle into a booth for coffee and biscuits with sausage gravy in the morning, then another table can be considering prime rib and an Old Fashioned later in the day.

Inside, the setup is comfortably uncomplicated: a large open dining room, a bar near the entrance, and a mix of tables, booths and bar seating. Multiple televisions are visible from the dining room, while the overall atmosphere remains suited to a meal and conversation rather than a rushed stop.

The Reuben is the order that comes up again and again at Bungalow Inn. It has the status of a house favorite, the sandwich regulars point to when someone asks what to get first.

There is also a turkey Reuben for diners who like the same familiar format with a different filling. The sandwich selection gives lunch a straightforward, no-fuss lane on a menu that can otherwise lead quickly toward steaks and seafood.

Burger choices are not an afterthought. Along with an olive burger and a bourbon-glazed burger, the restaurant offers build-your-own burgers. A burger has also been prepared without a bun for a diner making a specific dietary adjustment, a useful bit of flexibility without turning the menu into a special-diet promise.

Crispy fries and tater tots fit naturally alongside the handheld side of the menu. They also make it easier for a table to order in different directions without anyone feeling stuck with a side they did not want.

Breakfast here is meant to be a meal, not a token early-day offering. Plates can bring together pancakes, eggs, sausage and toast, with enough pancake left over that taking some home is not unusual.

Biscuits with sausage gravy, hash browns and eggs are among the familiar breakfast comforts. The kitchen also handles specific preferences such as soft bacon and eggs cooked over medium, which matters to the diner who knows exactly how breakfast ought to arrive.

A particularly civilized touch is the hot coffee carafe brought to the table. Instead of trying to catch a refill at the right moment, diners can pour another cup while lingering over toast or working through the last of the hash browns.

For dinner, Canadian walleye is one of the recurring favorites. The fillets are known for being thick and fresh-tasting, with a crisp coating that gives the fish some welcome texture.

The walleye can be paired with choices such as tater tots, salad, garlic mashed potatoes or hot bread. That range is useful at a mixed table: one person can go for the classic potato-and-bread dinner while another keeps the plate a little lighter with salad.

Rainbow trout takes a similarly traditional dinner route, paired with garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli and hot bread. Tropical rum salmon and jumbo coconut shrimp offer a more varied seafood turn when fried fish or steak is not what sounds right.

The sides deserve their own mention because they do much of the comfort-food work. Baked potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, broccoli, crispy fries, tots and garlic bread appear throughout the meal options, letting a plate stay as hearty or as vegetable-minded as the moment calls for.

Bungalow Inn also has the sturdy dinner choices that give it a supper-club-style side after dark. Steak options include king-cut ribeye, sirloin, New York strip and prime rib, alongside ribs, smothered chicken and chicken sandwiches.

Prime rib is a regular dinner possibility, and it makes a convincing bar meal with an Old Fashioned. The bar serves cocktails and draft beer, offering a comfortable option for a solo diner, a casual date night or anyone who would rather have dinner at a stool than at a full table.

A rack of ribs is there for the appetite that wants to commit. For a smaller detour from red meat, smothered chicken and the restaurant's chicken sandwiches keep the poultry side of the menu from feeling like an obligatory afterthought.

When local asparagus is in season, deep-fried asparagus becomes a distinct draw. It is exactly the sort of limited-time order that can change a routine lunch into a reason to come back.

Seasonal items are best treated as a nice surprise rather than a guaranteed order, but the asparagus fits the restaurant's larger style well: familiar food, generous portions and an occasional excuse to add one more thing to the table.

The seating arrangement gives Bungalow Inn a little more range than a one-room neighborhood restaurant. In addition to indoor tables and booths, there are bar and counter seats, an outdoor patio or terrace, and private dining-room seating for larger gatherings.

Groups have been accommodated at sizes around a dozen people and beyond, including early-morning diners and parties arriving without a reservation. Group and reservation arrangements are worth confirming directly, but the restaurant is plainly accustomed to feeding more than just pairs and foursomes.

Corner tables offer a quieter-feeling choice within the room, and air-conditioned dining areas help make a long meal comfortable. At busier periods, the dining room can get fuller and the sound level can rise to a moderate hum, as it does in most popular local restaurants.

Bungalow Inn works well as a break from golf-course fare during a golf trip, but its appeal is broader than that. The broad menu means one diner can make a meal of a favorite Reuben while someone else goes straight for walleye, breakfast or a steak.

Service is known for being friendly, quick and attentive, with hot food arriving promptly. That keeps the place useful for an unhurried dinner and practical for a meal squeezed between the rest of the day's plans.

A free parking lot with plenty of spaces removes one small nuisance before the meal even begins. Once inside, the only real decision is how far down the menu to wander.