Thirsty Otter Tavern and Resort — Restaurant in Balsam Lake

Update to below review. Pay attn to food quality. Previous review gave 4+ stars. not same today.

I don't write this to scare you off. You should always go try the food yourself. But maybe use some discretion.

This place has new owner, which means in reality all reviews should be disregarded. As owners change, so maybe does staff and food quality, both in good way or bad. Getting to the bud, the owner may have kept the cook.

Last time I went hear was a few weeks back. Not sure if they still have it, they served chicken and beef with gravy. This "special" costed and may still cost $15. It consisted of something meat-like put between two slices of raw bread and gravy SMOTHERING it. Does this owner hate customers?

You may cook beef yourself, which is tender and flakey. This was hard and thinly sliced stacked up in maybe 6 to 8 slices. It was not that kind of beef but maybe a type of Salsbury steak or something. It was 100% lean, no fat, all the same brown color. Bread was normal. Also were mashed potatoes which were good. Gravy was fat-laden and it thickly covered the entire meal. If you lost your gallbladder, you know what will come next after consuming this. It was lukewarm as was also chicken gravy meal my friend ordered. $30 for these two. I could get 4 huge pizzas for that and they would last me over a week.

Also ordered $8 or $9 side of cheeze curds which would be hard to get wrong. Along with two drinks, 2 person meal cost over $50!! I've been to a few others you can see I reviewed. They could feed three people with decent food for a bit over $50.

Owner also bought place next door, Indianhead Support Club which was a real nice place to eat. See my review. I won't ever set foot in this or other ever again until another owner takes over of them both. Don't want to chance of wasting money there as well.

Granted, I could have complained and get meal free or something. I'm from MN, I have to be nice, no complaining. Server was very nice. Didn't want to upset them.

Last time place was busy/packed, was summertime. This time only two couples were there. Maybe word was out already.

All I have to say is imagine Chef Ramsey coming into your place. Would you put that special in front of him? sure, you may if you hate Chef Ramsey. Maybe instead you should serve top notch food and not something served in a prison not that I've ever been there.

as mentioned, I welcome everyone not to avoid Thirsty Otter and go order the special. See if my review matches yours.

They do have a canoe on ceiling and some things around on the walls. Decor reminded me of Tippy Canoes place in Osceola. That place can feed three for around $50 which you won't regret.

Thirsty Otter is always busy for people like to collect and hang out with others. I went there with three people I know to discuss things we've covered before but over different menu choices.

This time I ordered the grilled cheese sandwich which was not your ordinary cheese sandwich with two slices of bread but had three slices with two different cheeses and chips which can be upgraded at a cost fries or waffle fries. We also ordered cheese curds which by restaurant standards seem to be a small amount.

The grilled cheese was grilled and cheesy. If you're looking for a grilled cheese there's a place on Highway 8 more Westward which was way better. Look for that review. The cheese curds were cheese curds just a small amount though seems like a half an order. I had the rest of someone else's waffle fries and those were very good the regular fries okay. The drink selection is standard bar Fair. Lemonade is some canned something which is nothing to write home about.

We sat outside and it was noisy even outside so if you're hard of hearing you may want to bring some hearing aids or sit close.

Never got a chance to look at the dessert menu it was never offered.

The waitress we had was very friendly and stopped by occasionally to refill drinks. Nothing was missed in the order which is what...

In December 2021, I came from out of town, stayed at the Balsam Lodge for a weekend getaway. For being a small town bar restaurant, the food here was INCREDIBLE. I don't like much BBQ sauce on my BBQ meats and the meat (full rack ribs) was still exquisite (BBQ sauce asked on the side). The jalapeños bites were fresh because it was super hot when it came out. After being cooled off, it was delish! The waffle fries were very minimal HOWEVER, I asked for seasoned sour cream (which they had) and it didn't disappoint. Most places are incredibly selfish & stingy on their seasonings in seasoned sour cream and this place wasn't. It tasted so good, i didnt mind that I didn't get a good portion of waffle fries. The other item was chicken ranch pizza. OMG! Every inch was covered. I was EXTREMELY dumbfounded by how well the food was and the amount of food. Not to mention, I asked for a Mojito, which ACTUALLY came with mint leaves. Almost every other bars and restaurants I've ever gotten a mojito from gives me about 3 leaves and/or the leaves are black. I was super impressed by the drink actually tasting like mint and having mint. If was ever near this area again, I would come here hands down, to try the other menu items. Here's another note: I ate at the "Balsam Lodge supper club," it was horrible compared to your service and food! Thank you also, for...

This has been one of our favorite places in the area for years. Not anymore. We were there on Thursday for the rib special. My wife ordered soup, and I ordered ribs. Almost an hour after ordering, we asked the bartender (Dawn) where our food was. she apologized and said she forgot to put our order in, and that it would be out shortly. We sat and watched customers who sat down over an hour after us getting their food - including ribs. After an hour and a half, our food came out. Soup and a tuna melt. Ordered ribs, not a tuna melt. Eventually got ribs, which were very good, but did not make up for the horrible service and the wait time. And then we wanted to pay our tab - and Dawn was nowhere to be found. Located another waitress to pay our tab (no discounts - free "additional drink" if we wanted). Absolutely the worst restaurant experience we have ever had. We will never be back again. Being short staffed does not excuse this kind of service. Order not placed, and people all around us getting their food - including what we had ordered. Unfortunately, we will never be back again. Just one dissatisfied customer, and you...