The Lake House — Restaurant in Calgary

3.5/5 Stars**

Rustic romance, spectacular views, a large vintage fireplace to keep out of the cold: Need I say more? This restaurant has top-level high-class dining written all over whether it is the locally inspired cuisine or its country-chic atmosphere. The décor has a modernized glass wine cellar as you walk in and a bar from the 1800’s that has been restored to exceed expectations. Afterwards, you see multiple elk-horn chandeliers, an antique (looking) fireplace, and get a glimpse of their outdoor patio with a view of the lake. As it was winter, we got to see all the Christmas lights on the trees in the park. You can see the natural beauty and enchanting elegance that this place has to offer. No wonder they have corporate events, weddings, and private parties there.

Our group came to this place for dinner during the week and it is truly a luxurious treat for us all. Seated next to that wonderful fireplace, at these long wooden tables and chairs made conversing and socializing easy. They sure knew how to take care of us. Our server was an absolute delight as she was patient with our large group, answered our many questions with combined knowledge and a smile, and brought our food at the right time for all of us. It is so good to see that the restaurant and the servers were genuine. They wanted us there, made us feel welcome, and we sensed that they wanted us to come again. Thank you, Lakehouse, for that.

The food is all local, delicious, and beautifully presented. Each of us had a smile on our faces when we got what we ordered. Each plate looked like a work of art and it was a shame that we had to eat it. But we were not that ashamed because we enjoyed every bite. However, there is something that needs to be said. There was not a lot of vegetarian options in fact there only seemed to be a couple of items that a person could get off of the menu. One of those things being a salad which was absolutely divine but it would be nice to have more options.

This is an expensive restaurant but the good news is you do get quality. This is a restaurant where you can truly treat yourself but the only problem is you can’t go back too often when the price for a 6-ounce glass of wine is (on average) $16 and the salad is $20. We will be back of course. These prices will not stop us adventurers.

It also should be noted that this place was not easy to find but that could be because we came at night. The Uber driver had a bit of a hard time seeing this place to drop us off and pick us up when we were finished. Also being wintertime does not make it any easier either. This could be something very different in the summertime. It’s just when you don’t know the area well this could be a challenge.

In conclusion, this was a wonderful experience on the whole. Gorgeous restaurant, a few but tasty meals, and smiling faces all around. This is a restaurant you definitely have to try out when you are feeling decadent or just want to find a beautiful view to enjoy with a glass of wine. Don’t be afraid. ...

Booked dinner reservations for a friend’s birthday about 2 weeks ago and we saw the people one table in front of us had just left and it had a better view of the lake (for our pictures) and asked our server if we could move there in which she was responded that it was their rush hour (only half full as it was after 7pm) and said she would check and came back 5 minutes later to say she couldn’t move us because the next guests were arriving soon and was quite rude and snarky with us. 10 minutes later these “guests” arrived and the manager came over to say that they couldn’t reserve specific tables in which we understand but didn’t see the point of not being able to move us (a table of 3) when we requested and seat the couple that came after at our clean table that we just sat down in since they couldn’t reserve specific tables for guests. The manager was able to move us to a corner window after we waited about 10/15 minutes as he knew we were unhappy. He got an A for effort for rectifying the situation but the service is very mediocre compared to Chairsman, Hy Steakhouse, Flores & Pine, Teatro, Vintage Chophouse and etc. We ordered Salmon and it was good but they have a very limited menu. I have been here many many times and the reason we went on hiatus for abit was the awful or should I say lack of service we had a few years ago on every single occasion with various servers and this recent experience confirmed why we stopped coming frequently. No one wants to pay for fine dining and have servers who are irritated, short, rude and think your nuisance because you asked to be moved one table over because it was empty. Food has to be good but service is everything. They need to train or hire more personable, friendly servers. I can’t speak for every server there and don’t remember the name of the one who served us this day but she has dark hair and we were seated on the left side of the restaurant. Beautiful location just wished the service reflected the fine dining they want to...

I had high hopes for The Lake House, especially since it was our first visit and a special occasion — my boyfriend’s birthday. I had made a reservation in advance, only to show up and find out it had been moved without anyone contacting me. To make things worse, the restaurant was booked for a private event, and no one had the courtesy to let us know beforehand.

When I approached one of the male staff members to ask what was going on, he was incredibly rude and dismissive. There was no apology, no effort to make it right — just a complete lack of care. It was really upsetting, especially on a day that was meant to be memorable for the right reasons.

Unfortunately, after this experience, we won’t be returning or recommending The Lake House to anyone. A little communication and kindness go a long way, and sadly, we received neither.

Dear Erica, I’ve read your response, and quite frankly, I find it incredibly frustrating. My original reservation was clearly made for Saturday, March 15 — not Sunday, March 16. If your team decided to move it due to a private event, the absolute minimum I would have expected from a professional establishment would be a phone call to confirm the change. Instead, you sent an email that landed in my junk folder and then chose not to follow up in any meaningful way. That’s not “guest support,” that’s negligence. Any reputable restaurant with a proper sense of customer service would never rely solely on an email for a major change like this — especially when you had my contact information. The fact that your team made a unilateral decision to shift the reservation without a call or confirmation, and then had the audacity to mark me as a no-show, is absurd. This was a special occasion, and your lack of communication and follow-through ruined it. I suggest you take a closer look at what “hospitality” actually means before responding with tone-deaf, canned statements like this...