On May 1st, Sunset Grille on Whiskey Island will usher in the summer season with its annual Cinco de Mayo celebration. But that’s about the only consistent feature from the previous year for this lakefront property, which includes a marina, park and restaurant.

“We have new ownership, a new management company and new name for the restaurant,” says Tim Poole, GM at Whiskey Island Marina.

The new owner, of course, is the Cleveland Metroparks, which added the lakefront property last year to its portfolio of parks. The new management company is FDL Marine, which now operates the marina. And the new name for the restaurant is Whiskey Island Still and Eatery, formerly known as Sunset Grille.

Gone is the island-themed interior, says Poole, replaced by an all-new Prohibition-era décor.

“We’re going back to the history of Cleveland during the Prohibition, and the actual whiskey shanty town that used to be down here,” Poole says, referring to the period when distilleries dotted the peninsula.

The walls are festooned with old photos, editorials and artifacts from the period, including a tommy gun. An old copper pot still adds a bit of historic charm.

To go along with the new hardware, there’s a new chef, menu and updated kitchen. Chef Chris Grounds will oversee a straightforward menu of burgers, seafood and barbecue.

“It’s not a huge menu, but a high-quality menu,” Poole says. “It is all fresh food.”

The changes aren’t reserved for the interior. For the first time, the gravel dining area where the picnic tables reside has been replaced by a concrete slab, making it handicap accessible. There still is plenty of grass for games and hanging out.

The outdoor bar pavilion has been improved with a new 16-tap draft beer system.

Even the calendar of live musical acts has been beefed up, says Poole. 

This article appears in Apr 29 – May 5, 2015.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

7 replies on “New Name, New Theme, New Chef for Sunset Grille at Whiskey Island”

  1. the metro parks need to figure out how to let boaters access there three downtown restaurants.
    55th st. is a gas dock that really isn’t designed for pulling up, getting off and having lunch, Merwins is all tied up with docks for the rowing clubs, whiskey island is all private docs. kind of dumb to have water front places that boaters cannot access, from there boats.

  4. EAST 55TH HAS 6 TRANSIENT DOCKS THAT CAN BE USED AT THE END OF THE FINGERS AND 4 BY THE RESTAURANT. WHISKEY ISLAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN LIMITED ON TRANSIENT SPOTS. THE FACT THAT THE PLACES ARE BEING UPDATED AND IMPROVED IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME AFTER YEARS OF NEGLECT.

  5. Uggg Whiskey Island trying to be all fancy – seems like every year they get a new chef..
    Now changing the decor?? It’s a marina, leave it nautical themed.
    Place was more fun when it was a secret.

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