Food/Dining : Fish Creek

The English Inn
3713 State Hwy 42
Fish Creek
920-868-3076

The English Inn, under new ownership since summer of 2005, is better than ever.  We wanted to head back to this wonderful Door County restaurant to see what’s changed, and we were very pleased indeed!

The restaurant provides an elegant, yet casual, feeling when you enter.  Sit at the bar while waiting for a table and enjoy a glass of fine wine, chat and relax.  Or head into their well-appointed dining room, which is spacious, tidy and comfortable with a medieval flavor, wood beams, stained glass window accents and metal sconces.

Their motto is “Maintaining Olde World Class with Traditional Supper Club Portions,” and they do just that.  You will enjoy the food, and get plenty of it, in a wonderful atmosphere!  There is lots of space between tables, and you can even elect to dine at the bar, which is also spacious and comfortable.

Open only for dinner, they specialize in making your dinner a wonderful experience.  Open every day during peak season (May – October) and weekends November through April, you will find the English Inn a delight.  They also have special Holiday brunches – call for details.  The lounge opens up at 4 PM, and in peak season, on Friday and Saturday evenings, your will hear some nice background music from a live keyboard entertainer.  Nice, fun, elegant yet relaxed.  Let’s take a look at what they offer.

The Menu

They offer something for everyone with some nice twists and personal flair.  All dinners come with fresh, warm bread, your choice of a creative salad like spinach or a mandarin orange salad, or soup, plus your choice of a potato or vegetables.

From the sea, you can choose from whitefish prepared in several different ways – like blackened, French broiled or Au Gratin.  Other choices include sautéed shrimp, Lake perch or walleye, a baked grouper, a seafood casserole, lobster and more.  From the land, choose from prime rib, porterhouse steaks, rib-eyes, filets, BBQ ribs and more.  Roast duck, shiitake-crusted chicken breast and other pasta entrees and combo entrées are available.  There is a lot to choose from.  There’s even a “lighter” menu, side salads and appetizers, of course. So you can have one great meal, and pair that up with some very nice wine offerings as well.  There are also some nightly specials, and a Friday Night Fish Fry, which we know is very good.  Check their menu: Click here!

On the wine list, they offer some desirable cabernets, zinfandels, shiraz, pinot noirs and more on the red side of the ledger, and chardonnays, Rieslings, chenin blanc, pinto grigio and others on the white side.  A nice selction of sparkling wines are also available.  Enough of a selection and price range to have a nice pairing with your dinner selections.  Want a Dom Perignon?  They have it.    Other vintners included Silver Oak and Duckhorn.

About half the offerings are also available by the glass, in case you don’t want a whole bottle for your party, or if some in your party prefer something different.  I like when restaurants offer enough of a selection by the glass – makes it easy!

What We Had

Known for its Beef Wellington, which is available every night (but does not appear on the menu), one of our reviewers had to try it.  Our other reviewer this time ordered a filet, and clam chowder.  We each had a nice glass of cabernet to accompany our meal.

The Beef Wellington, a traditional English dish, is a generous portion of beef tenderloin (or beef filet), with a puffy, flakey pastry shell baked all around it.  Ideally, order medium rare and it will be perfect.  We chose the potatoes au gratin.  The pastry crust was flakey on the outside, and on the inside the juices of the beef were just starting to permeate the shell.  The meat was perfectly done, tender, juicy and mouth-watering.  The crust was buttery and a delicious compliment to the meat.  The au gratin potatoes were delicious, baked just right and went well with the dinner. 

The filet was nicely seasoned to highlight the natural flavor of the meat, and absolutely “done” to perfection.  The clam chowder was rich, thick and had lots of clams – awesome.

We had no room for desert – we devoured these wonderful meals and sat back and relaxed.  The service was top-notch – friendly and efficient.  We thoroughly enjoyed our dinners, and will return again and again.

The English Inn also has facilities and the ability to host weddings, private parties or conference gatherings.  Call them for details.

We enjoyed our dining experience at The English Inn and we think you will enjoy yours as well.  It’s great, casual dining.  It is located on the far north end of Fish Creek, almost in Ephraim.  As you are heading north on Highway 42, you will find The English Inn on the right side of the road.  There is plenty of parking, and their sign tells you if there is immediate seating available, which is nice.  Open for dinner only.  Whatever your plans are in Door County, make The English Inn one of your dining experiences – we think you will return again and again, as will we.  And please tell them that DoorCountyNavigator.com sent you!

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