Sandusky Eats of Note

Founded in 1900 and still family-run, Toft’s is the oldest dairy in Ohio. The parlor scoops about 50 flavors made on site. There’s usually a line on a summer evening, and it moves quickly.

A local breakfast standby since 1966, with a few hundred reviews and a steady four-star average. Pancakes, omelets, and a Monte Cristo people order by name. It sits on the road to Cedar Point, and the wait builds after 9 on weekends.

The Berardis started selling fries from a green wagon in 1939 and ran the french fry stand at Cedar Point until 1978. Same fries today, plus breakfast, scratch soups and homemade pie. Local Readers Choice awards for fries, breakfast, lunch and desserts.

Sandusky’s original pizza, run by the same family since 1936. There’s a Put-in-Bay location too, which delivers late.

Fried Lake Erie perch, walleye and shrimp from a walk-up window, with tables outside by the water. Seasonal hours.

The nice dinner downtown. Fine dining, bar opens at 4 and the dining room runs 5 to 9, Tuesday through Saturday. Does private dinners for 16 to 50, so it’s an option if a branch wants a night out on its own.

Open-air decks built out over the harbor, serving since 1985. The lobster bisque is the dish the island is known for; there’s also perch, walleye and a kids’ menu. The decks seat a large group without a reservation headache.

Pizza, subs and burgers since 1949. Big room, used to feeding groups, and easy to find from anywhere downtown.

Known for its breakfast, and open through lunch and dinner. Tables overlook the harbor.

Soups and sauces made from scratch daily, plus meatloaf, walleye and perch tacos. Quieter than the places on the strip.

The bar runs 405 feet 10 inches, with 160 stools and 56 taps, and held the Guinness record for longest bar until a Tennessee distillery took it in 2023. Live bands every day from June through mid-September, a patio, and pizza and wings from the kitchen. Open 11 am to 1 am, April through October.

The island location of the Sandusky original. Delivers across the island late into the night.