Kazarelli's at The Beach Club — Restaurant in Arnolds Park

An open letter to Okoboji, my family has been spending our summers on the lake since 1953. We've owned our home here since 1971, we loved Kazarelli's when it was across the lake in Millers Bay. We were so excited to hear that they had found a new home at the new New Inn. I would say overall our experience was good. Having reservations at 6 today pm and being there for 2 hours was a bit long. I know they are still working out the kinks of opening in a new place and we will definitely be going back. However the head chef and kitchen staff need some more time together to be more in sync. Two out of the 4 fish entrees were served raw and when our waitress told the cooks they sent her back to do their dirty work by telling us that that's the way it's supposed to be. Sorry but I have a brother who's a professional chef in Maui and he cooks Ono all the time, or as they call it at Kazarelli's Wahoo fish. The kids pepperoni pizza didn't have pepperoni on it at all. It had salami with big pieces of pepper. Most kids I know don't like big pieces of pepper or the fact that their pepperoni pizza doesn't have pepperoni on it. So yes there are some kinks especially for an almost 400 dollar bill for 5 people. But we will be back because they are worth a second try when they get their groove going it...

Love Kazarelli’s!! Our family goes every year as one of our traditions when we come to Okoboji. This was our first visit after they moved locations to the Inn. The food is 10/10. This time I got the New York Strip and the flavor was fantastic. Honestly, one of the best steaks I have had.

The reason I am rating it a 4/5 is the service and the patio. The service is slower moving, and more often than not, there are oversights. For example, ordering a drink, then not getting it, etc. If you come with expectations on the slowness and accept it as part of the charm, then you will enjoy it.

Last thing is the back-covered patio. Although beautiful, there are functional issues with its set up that made the experience unpleasant at times. For example, the covered part didn’t have any fans and is also closed off to the breeze, which increases the temperature and the number of bugs pestering you. There is an open cut-out where the smoker is, which the sun pours into, and whoever is sitting there is cooking. A simple shade could be installed to...

I called for reservation and it cost me $10 per person to reserve a table for eight. Total charges were a little over $85 with sales tax. About an hour or so before, one couple was unable to be there due to illness. I called the restaurant immediately and told them this. When we arrived they had a table for six set up. When we went to pay our bill I was still charged for eight people, even though I had called an hour before about the change. Instead of simply clearing the $85 charge they provided us with a bill that showed all kinds of weird discounts against the food order that we had. It was very difficult to understand. I spoke with our waiter, who said he would contact the owner and get things cleared up. When she appeared, she said that we still had to pay for the two people who did not show up even though we had called ahead of time. What was equally insulting was the fact that the restaurant was half full? It was not like there was any pressure for tables that night. Our food was mediocre at best. I would not recommend...