Taking a roadtrip to Michigan's Little Bavaria to celebrate a birthday has become a family tradition. Today is my wife's birthday and we made the hour long trek north on I-75 from our suburban Detroit home to the city of Frankenmuth in Michigan's thumb to enjoy the world famous chicken dinners served at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant.
Frankenmuth is known for its Bavarian-style architecture, family friendly activities, the country's largest Christmas themed store, and restaurants that serve German food with Old World flair. Indoor water parks, eclectic shopping, a charming downtown, frequent festivals and more make this a favorite place to go for an excursion. You always feel WILLKOMMEN in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
We keep coming back though for the chicken dinners. Served family style in three courses starting off with traditional German staples of beans, coleslaw, cranberry relish, stollen bread, pasta salad and noodle soup; followed by the main course of all you can eat fried chicken accompanied by buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and stuffing; finished off with a desert of housemade ice cream. Plus if it is your birthday you get a slice of cake.
Join the Bavarian Inn Restaurant birthday club and adults get a free meal to celebrate your special day. That is a great deal as a Family Style Chicken Dinner at the Bavarian Inn costs $26.99 per person. They'll send you an email around your birthday each year if you sign up that provides the birthday person with a free meal with the purchase of another one of equal or greater value. We've been taking advantage of this offer for years going to Frankenmuth to celebrate both my wife and I's birthdays. These make for nice, memorable outings with our kids that have made these birthday celebrations a beloved family tradition.
This was our our first visit to Frankenmuth since the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic swept through the state. Yes there was some tension in making the trip but we masked up and were greeted by an establishment that was taking its patrons' health safety very seriously. Occupancy was reduced, diners were spaced out throughout the restaurant, staff all wore masks and you could see them making an extra effort to wipe things down with sanitizer. Since the tables around us weren't filled we were able to take off our masks while eating without feeling uncomfortable or ill at ease.
This dad blogger had a very nice experience at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant with his family. This roadtrip brought back a sense of normalcy as we've really stuck close to home during the last six months. Yet we still remained cautious about the public health threat of coronavirus as masks were back on after our meal and cleaned up with a healthy dose of hand sanitizer when we returned to our car. While it wasn't as casual of an affair as in past visits a happy birthday still was had!
Disclosure: My family received a complimentary stay and dinner at the Bavarian Inn in exchange
for this review. Opinions expressed are honest and my own
Willkommen! Welcome to Frankenmuth, Michigan's Little Bavaria. We had ourselves a wonderful Easter weekend family getaway at Frankenmuth's Bavarian Inn.
During our road trip to Frankenmuth, we stayed at the Bavarian Inn Lodge. The place exudes German hospitality through the staff's friendliness and the Bavarian charm of the resort's architecture and décor. In addition to its 360 European-themed guest rooms, The Bavarian Inn Lodge features an indoor family fun center with an arcade, 18-hole miniature golf course, splash pad, several pools adjoined by giant-sized hot tubs, and two water slides.
After playing in the family fun center, take a leisurely stroll across a quaint covered bridge to enjoy a meal at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant which is known for serving world famous chicken dinners. The restaurant is situated across on the opposite bank of the Cass River from the Lodge. My kids loved running across the bridge's wood planks over the river. There is also a shuttle bus that takes guests between the Lodge and Restaurant or you can drive your own vehicle over the bridge as well.
The Bavarian Inn Restaurant serves its meals family style with Bavarian flair. Food is brought out to the table for everyone to dig into enjoying together. A chicken dinner includes a course of beans, coleslaw, pasta salad, stollen bread, and cranberry relish.
The second course of a Bavarian Inn Restaurant family style chicken dinner is the main meal. It includes a platter of fried chicken along with bowls of buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Oh this food is so good!
Their fried chicken is really tasty but is even better when you sprinkle some of the restaurant's special seasoning on it. I liked the Bavarian Inn's chicken seasoning so much, I bought a container of it from their gift shop to bring home with me. A perfect souvenir to continue remembering the great meal we had at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant after we've returned home.
In addition to the waitstaff being outfitted in traditional German garb, you can also eat your meal to a Polka serenade courtesy of the restaurant's in-house accordianist. Check out the hand-painted fairy tale murals spread throughout the place that enhance the Old World charm of the restaurant. The surroundings compliment your meal in providing a unique dining experience.
The Bavarian Inn has Michigan's best selection of German beers as well as Heidelberg Light and Bavarian Inn Dark which are brewed exclusively for the restaurant. They also have a craft brewed root beer that has a rich vanilla undertone to it available exclusively from the Bavarian Inn. Being that we had the kids along with us for this trip, we indulged in some root beers rather than alcoholic drink during the meal.
CLICK HERE for a coupon for half off a Bavarian Inn Restaurant family style chicken dinner. Have your own family getaway to Michigan's Little Bavaria to enjoy a world famous chicken dinner. Don't wait to long for a visit though as this coupon expires June 30, 2019.
After dinner it was time for some more good times at the Bavarian Inn Lodge's family fun center. We played a round of put put on the hotel's miniature golf course. Then I showed off my pinball skills to the kids on the Star Wars machine which was one of the 150 games they have in the arcade. Plus we took a late night dip in a pool that had a waterfall to get drenched in.
My 10-year old twins favorite part of this trip though had to be the water slides at the Bavarian Inn Lodge. These slides really have some zip to them and our children kept riding them over and over again. Your heartbeat will kick up a notch as you race through the dips and twists of these fast-paced slides. Definitely a fun activity for kids and parents alike!
My family's visit to the Bavarian Inn Restaurant & Lodge made for an exceptional road trip. The Bavarian Inn absolutely earned A Geek Daddy nod of approval for its delicious meals and fun activities that made for a fantastic weekend family getaway. Head over to bavarianinn.com to plan your own family vacation visiting Frankenmuth, Michigan.
Thanks to the Bavarian Inn for hosting my family so we could do this ageekdaddy.com review. Opinions expressed are honest and my own. In fact, we plan on going back to celebrate my next birthday on our own dime taking advantage of the Bavarian Inn's Birthday Club. Wiedersehen Frankenmuth until our next visit!
