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Parents will appreciate that with the rare exception, everything on the menu at any of the three restaurants, is freshly made by hand each day. No need to worry about preservatives at a restaurant owned and operated by the Zehnders.
Oma's Restaurant is the original restaurant at the lodge and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oma is German for "grandma" and yes, the food at Oma's is as abundant and delightful as the food you would expect to find in the home of and old-world grandma. Homemade chicken noodle soup, German potato cheese dumplings and strudel should satisfy most children, but the more adventurous may enjoy jager schnitzel or German sausage topped with sauerkraut. The gluten-free menu is a real plus for some families, but the Sunday brunch and signature Banana Bread French Toast will keep tummies full for the rest of the day.
The Ratskeller is downstairs on the same level as the Family Fun Center. This cafeteria-style restaurant offers equally fresh goodies for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but the menu is more limited than Oma's and includes a few more fried, fast-food style choices. Live entertainment, such as karaoke, is a part of the atmosphere.
Lorelei's Lounge is open to children until 10 p.m., but it certainly has more of the Bavarian Beer Hall atmosphere to it, particularly when the nightly sing-along begins! Sandwiches and bar food fill the menu, but if you prefer, it's rarely a problem to order something from the menu at Oma's located just next door. On nice days and evenings, tables often spill over outside onto the patio or onto the the Fischer Platz where live music and polka make the meal even more enjoyable.
However, food in Frankenmuth and especially in the Bavarian Inn Lodge is all about fried chicken! In a large, festive, Bavarian style restaurant with multiple dining rooms and an abundance of German influence in decor, the fried chicken dinner is an experience for all families. Go hungry and plan on utilizing that refrigerator back in your hotel room! The service staff dons old-world German costumes and the food just keeps coming -- homemade breads, salads, soups, side dishes, relishes, noodles, potatoes and then the fried chicken dinners that began the Zehnder family business back in the 1950s. Go and enjoy. It will be a most memorable part of your family outing.
Note: Technically, the Bavarian Inn and the Bavarian Inn Lodge are two separate businesses operated by different members of the Zehnder family. The Bavarian Inn (restaurant) is across the Cass River, accessed via the covered wooden bridge from the Bavarian Inn Lodge (hotel). It's certainly a pleasant walk of about 10 minutes, but there is also a shuttle that runs most evenings from the hotel.
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