lāk Columbia — Restaurant in Columbia

A Night to Forget at LAK: A Show of Errors

Last night, the wife and I decided to indulge ourselves with a show at Merriweather, followed by what we hoped would be a memorable stay at the Merriweather Lakehouse, topped off with dinner at LAK. Spoiler alert: the only thing memorable about this experience was how utterly terrible it was.

The moment we sat down at LAK, we were presented with the Prix Fixe menu. I suppose our server could sense our confusion because when we inquired about the regular menu, he reacted as if we’d asked for his firstborn. With a sigh and a look that screamed “how dare you,” he disappeared, only to return begrudgingly with the standard menu. Red flag #1.

Optimistic despite the rocky start, we ordered an appetizer from the regular menu. To our surprise, it was quite good. Hope was briefly rekindled. But then came the Korean fried ribs, served with the kind of flair that makes you think you’re in for a treat. Unfortunately, the excitement ended after the first bite. They were so salty that we considered applying for an FDA sodium warning label. Red flag #2.

Undeterred, we pressed on and ordered the entrée: a filet with smoked beef cheek, “1000 layer” potato (more like 15 layers on a good day), and a potato purée. The purée must have taken a detour through Siberia on its way to our table because it was stone cold. The filet, presumably sous vide, looked like something that might belong under an old hamster rather than on a plate. It was cold, stringy, and as flavorful as cardboard. The “sear” it had was as though it had briefly napped on the kitchen floor. As for the smoked beef cheek, we had high hopes. It looked promising with its bark and juiciness, but once again, it was a salt bomb. Inedible. Red flag #3.

At this point, my wife just wanted to escape, but I figured a polite word with the waiter might salvage the evening. When I explained that the meal was subpar, he snickered and sprinted off to fetch the GM. Red flag #4.

Enter the GM, who decided to turn our dining experience into a courtroom drama, interrogating us about the meal as if we were the ones who had messed up. Red flag #5. The climax of this culinary disaster was when the GM charged us for one meal, despite us barely touching any of it. It felt like we were in a bizarre negotiation. Red flag #6.

As a parting shot, we asked if we could at least get dessert, since we had paid for a meal we didn’t eat and it was included in the Prix Fixe menu. After what felt like an eternity, the dessert arrived—shoved into takeout boxes, looking as though it had been packed by someone with a grudge. Game over.

In conclusion, if you’re considering dinner in the area, do yourself a favor and choose literally anywhere else. That is, unless you have a salt deficiency, enjoy terrible service, and relish the idea of haggling with a manager over a meal...

I own a baking business. So this year I decided I would treat myself to thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, since I would be tired from preparing & delivering my company's Thanksgiving day orders and wouldn't want to cook. I booked a reservation on OpenTable for lak. They were offering a Thanksgiving Day "Experience". Well, I experienced the experience and wouldn't suggest that any one experience it again. They offered a buffet style dinner for $58pp. The time was from 2-7pm. My reservation was at 5:15. I arrived around 5:10. Upon approaching the buffet, I instantly noticed that there were items that were not replinished (and never were for the duration of my stay). I proceeded to make my first plate which consisted of mashed potatoes, mac&cheese, green beans, turkey, gravy, and sweet potato casserole. I had to go to the carving station for the turkey and sweet potato casserole. Let's discuss this food. EVERY SINGLE ITEM ON THE BUFFET WAS ICE COLD (well except the soup and gravy)!!!! IN ADDITION...The mashed potatoes weren't mashed; the mac&cheese was just that...macaroni noodles with cheese and a bread crumb topping. The green beans would have been delish if they were warm. The turkey was good but the portion was for a 6yr old, and the sweet potato casserole had Quaker Oats on top. Now not only can I bake (check out the 5star google reviews of my business Teya's Tipsy Treats)...I can cook!!! Building a house in and residing in Columbia for over a decade has not removed the the know how of southern cooking. Homemade mashed potatoes will absolutely have lumps but it will be creamy with the addition of milk, butter, and a blender. Same with the mac&cheese...there was NO MILK or butter which makes it creamy. Instead it was just cheese and noodles popped in the oven with the weird bread crumb topping. AND WHY...why is raw oatmeal on the top of the sweet potato casserole??? There were 3 carving stations. The first was the turkey. The other 2 were prime rib and salmon. But wait...WHERE IS THE HAM??? SMH. Now, I don't eat beef and I know that folks enjoy medium rare meats. But the prime rib was so red on the inside that it could have jumped off the table, walked to the garage, hopped in a car and drove off. Basically, it was alive. The salmon was reheated for me (second plate) as a courtesy of the carver. It was over seasoned. As the owner of several small business, I understand the need for a restaurant to want to generate income on a day that they would normally be closed. The idea was good; the execution...not so much. They need to hire me to do a master class on Thanksgiving Day dinner. AND LEAVE THE TOPPINGS OFF OF THE SIDES!!! This was my first time to the restaurant and likely my last. The 2 stars are for the staff. They were friendly and...

A friend and I headed to the hotel bar to get our weekend started as we saw how awesome the bar and restaurant looked on the website. We read the reviews and saw nothing but praise. We had already decided what we wanted to eat, but wanted to go to the bar first as we awaited a friend, and then head to restaurant. Instead, as we seated ourselves at the bar, we were completely IGNORED by the bartenders. Intentionally. There was even a point when all of the bartenders gathered in front of us and didn’t say a word. We weren’t greeted, they didn’t ask us if we needed or wanted anything. Granted, only one of the bartenders handed us a menu (after 5 minutes of sitting there) but then walked off and never checked on us again. And for the record it was not busy that day.

Another 10 minutes goes by and still no acknowledgement of our presence at the bar, while they attended other patrons. It wasn’t until my friend had to get the attention of one of the bartenders to put in her order. And once he had taken her order, he STILL did not acknowledge me, and did not ask me if I needed or wanted anything.

By this time, our friend arrives to the bar and we let her know that we will be leaving. My friend overhears one of the bartenders saying that we had an "attitude". This bartender didn’t even acknowledge us to begin with. The bartender returns with my friend’s drink where she had to tell him I too wanted to put in my order and that’s when my order was taken.

Long story short, we left. I am absolutely disappointed in the LACK of service we received. I’ve been to many hotel bars and NEVER seen this kind of microaggression. It was clear they did not want us there. And with a hotel located in one of the most DIVERSE cities in Maryland, I was not expecting this kind of treatment or behavior.

They either need to retrain their bartenders on customer service or hire new ones. I would never recommend this...