The Boulevard Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Clear Lake

On our way to Minnesota, we passed this restaurant and decided we would try it on our way back into Iowa. This was a mistake. Upon entering the restaurant, we were immediately met with the unmistakable scent of a fryer and dust ridden floors, decor, and just about everything else. Despite these warning signs, after a long day of driving and a hungry toddler, we decided to sit down anyway. Upon entering, it took at least five minutes for anyone to acknowledge our presence and a longer amount of time before anyone actually assisted us. The restaurant at that point had only two tables and a single bar patron, so I’m unsure as to why our wait to be seated was so long. Once finally seated, after looking around, it was clear the floors had not been swept or mopped in a long period of time and the sunlight filtering through the windows highlighted this. The open shelves were adorned with dusty sculptures and were dusty themselves. Even the walls were dusty. We asked for two waters and some milk for our toddler, waters were brought to us, but they then informed us that they were out of milk. (Understandable, happens sometimes, but sounds like they weren’t aware of what they had for stock?) My husband ordered a drink from the bar, an autumn themed beverage that the drink menu listed as being bourbon and Cabernet, and our server had no idea what it was and had to check if they had it. After he confirmed that they do indeed have that beverage, he placed the order in. We order a kids Mac and cheese with fries at the same time. While we waited for my husbands drink, we looked over the rest of the menu and decided not to order our own entrees due to the state of the restaurant and service. We didn’t want to spend that much on food in a restaurant that clearly isn’t kept up with, and we are so glad we made that decision. After about 10 minutes of waiting, the kids Mac and cheese was brought out to us, but was ridiculously hot. The Mac and cheese was really dry and the fries were okay. After another 5-10 minutes, my husbands drink finally arrived. He took one sip and gagged, it tasted as if they filled half of the glass with simple syrup, it was sickly sweet. After waiting for another 10 minutes (at least), our server finally came over to check on us and we informed him of this issue. My husband explained that he wasn’t expecting the drink to be so sweet as the menu mentioned nothing about simple syrup or possibly cherry juice being added into the drink. The server told us that once the drink hit the table, his “hands are tied” and he couldn’t do anything for us about it except for adding something to it to make it taste better. The drink was beyond help, adding to it wouldn’t have helped. We asked if we could speak to the manager and were informed that the manager wasn’t there and that it’s just their policy that they can’t take it off of the bill or really do anything about it once it hits the table. He offered to call his manager which we asked him to do, and the manager apparently wasn’t willing to comp the drink either. The server then offered to add more wine into the drink and my husband said yes, because if we are going to pay for it, we may as well try. After awhile, the server finally brought out the wine to add to the drink, (almost a full glass of wine) and it was still really sweet. We asked for the bill finally and paid on our phone so we wouldn’t have to wait a prolonged period to leave this establishment. As we were exiting this restaurant, we passed by a table that had recently received their entrees. Just by looking at the food, we were able to confirm our suspicions because it all looked unappetizing and low quality. If I could leave no stars, I absolutely would. I would not recommended anyone to spend their hard earned money at this...

I'm originally from Los Angeles. Taking nothing away from local area restaurants (there are some real gems here) but, it's been a while since I've experienced a place like The Boulevard Bar & Grill. The Boulevard is spacious and comfortable. An open design with lots of room to move and breathe. I found the atmosphere to be light and modern. Inviting colors and decor. The furniture choices reflect a nice level of class while remaining comfortable and providing enough variety of seating for every preference and body size (I'm a big guy). The service was excellent. Not only attentive, but sharp and accurate. I was impressed by their ability to remember my order without having to write it down. I never had to ask for a refill or a napkin - they were on it. Another aspect of service that is often overlooked is the banter. Some people like a lot of conversation, some like none. I felt that they were great at picking up on that. They offered me the right level of interaction - friendly, interesting, but not overbearing. As to the food, we ordered sweet potato fries, deep-fried mushrooms, and the flatbread for appetizers. Our main courses were ribeye steak (for me) and the salmon (for my wife). Baklava for dessert. Now, you should know, my wife doesn't typically like sweet potatoes or mushrooms very much. I expected she'd stick with the flatbread. So... it was really surprising when she couldn't stop eating my sweet potato fries and deep-fried mushrooms - LOL. The mushrooms, by the way, are not your typical fare. Rather unique. Great flavor & texture. Even held up overnight in my fridge when I took some home. Biting into the flatbread pizza was like eating a crispy cloud. I worried at first that the feta cheese would be too sharp or the marinara would have too much tang, but all the ingredients complimented each other beautifully. The steak and salmon were both cooked perfectly. The seasonings, garnish, and sides were well-proportioned, full of flavor, and well-balanced for the dishes. Let's talk about baklava. If you've had it, you know that some versions can be overly sweet, syrup-covered, and dense. It should be moderately sweet, hearty, crisp & flaky. The Boulavard hit the mark on this one. Serving it with a dollop of whipped cream (which itself tasted and appeared to be real whipped cream, not that stuff in a can). Finally, the bar. I thought the lighting was beautiful. The bar is long, spacious, and contemporary. All the aspects you would expect are on hand. And a bit of a pleasant surprise: many bars & grills offer pool tables but often the placement is kind of confined - making it harder to enjoy a good game. The Boulevard must have taken notice of this because they offer two pool tables and both have good spacing. Plenty of room to draw back that stick for a shot. The tables have their own area so you're not having to deal with being in the way of servers or patrons. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience. We're heading back this weekend with a group of 11 people because I'm looking forward to introducing my friends and family to The Boulavard! Thanks for your time. I hope this helps your decision to give this new place a try. May you be...

UPDATED 2/18/24 I'm trying very hard to find reasons to like this place, as there are very few options here locally. However, I'm just finding it very hard to justify going back again. Last night I ordered through Iowa Eats and was disappointed, not only with the food, but the delivery was an hour and a 1/2 late, so I did not hold the standard of food accountable to the restaurant only. I decided to go back tonight and try again with the exact same order only this time picking it up myself so that I knew it was fresh and hot. Again, I ordered the fish sandwich and specifically asked for it to be deconstructed, as the previous night the bread and the fish was just soo soggy from the coleslaw (part of the sandwich) and the brocollini (side) that I also asked to be packed separated. To my astonishment, when I got home and opened the package, I saw that the the sandwich was fully put together in the same container as as the broccollini and once again the bun was completly saturated. GROSS 🤮! In addition, I bought a kids macaroni and cheese for 7 bucks. When I got home I was surprised to see that $7 macaroni meant out of a box... I assumed for $7 an order. I could at least get homemade macaroni. I feel like I have given this place 3 chances and have yet to find much appealing, which is a shame. Because I really like to eat out :)

GRAND OPENING BLUES? Let's just start by saying... we will go back in a month and see if it's any better. If not, it's a no go for us. *they were out of chicken wings, fried mushrooms, sweet potatoes fries, fish sandwich, fish & chips, grilled walleye and salmon. The Brussel Sprouts were under cooked and bitter and the bacon on top was burnt. The coconut shrimp tasted like bang bang shrimp... not coconut. But not bad. After playing 2 games of pool, we still hadn't seen a waitress to take our entree order. The pool tables are a bit awkward being so close to the dining tables. We finally flagged someone down to take our order. At this point, we were disappointed and ready to go home and eat leftovers, so we ordered a hamburger to split. The burgers were obviously cooked on a burnt grill, the cook was ok, but the char was a bitter burnt taste. The onion rings were cooked in old oil. My sister didn't really touch her half, and no we didn't take leftovers home ☹️ Clearly room for...