Lake House Restaurant Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Columbus

We get there and business is very light; five servers for nine seated tables, including us, that average a 3 top, with a handful of bar flies.

Hostess seats us at a dirty table - no worries, she’s gonna clean it up for us, much appreciated - then proceeds to wipe the table down with a dirty rag and no sanitizer, managing to leave the previous patrons’ coleslaw at various corners of the table.

Whatever, it’s a restaurant and I grew up in the era as an adult when you could take your plate back to the buffet without getting a new one. Is what it is.

We sit there for 16 minutes (I know this just because I texted our friends to let them know we were downstairs and we were on a deadline) without anybody acknowledging us, period. The manager - if he wasn’t he’s the oldest bus boy in the history of bus boys - walks by us repeatedly without saying a word.

When the waiter finally does come, it takes us almost ten minutes to get our drinks, and there are a few beers but nothing crazy. Waiter finally comes back with our drinks and takes our order. Ask them if I can get the Kobe burger cooked to order. Says yes, but they can only go as low as medium. Hey, your restaurant your rules. Medium it is. Companions order basic bar food and we have our drinks and food is in we’re still on schedule no worries.

Thirty minutes later still no food and every single member of the table has been out of drinks for at least fifteen minutes, yet none of the five servers in a restaurant - inside and out has now ten tables - bothers to check on us. Food finally comes out in dribs and drabs, and yeah, wouldn’t ya know, we did want some more drinks.

Only, we don’t have silverware. Nor do any of the other tables seated around us. Do you even know how to restaurant? Thought it was weird when the hostess didn’t seat us with them. Nah, it’s part and parcel of the incompetence.

The fried fish is wildly undercooked for everybody who ordered it, which is kinda funny given that my Kobe beef burger is the color and consistency of a hockey puck. Why do you have a Kobe burger if your grillmaster is gonna turn it into roadkill? Why is the fish less done than my burger? Why has our waiter been by our table three times in an hour?

It’s a terrible, terrible meal staffed by servers who don’t know what they’re doing and a kitchen staff even more incompetent.

Go to Ingles, grab your kitchen gear and stay in if this is what the lake has to offer. Truly an embarrassing fax of what dining out is...

WHAT A GEM OF A FIND!!

I took my 98 yr. old neighbor to see the Flower Bridge in Lake Lure. Since there isn't a lot of options for fresh seafood in Hendersonville I was on the search for a good seafood restaurant. Lake House Restaurant did not disappoint! My only complaint was that it was a bit hot, but in all fairness we were seated in the inside patio surrounded by windows, during the hottest part of the day. Non-the-less, the server and staff immediately resolved the issue by setting up a fan which worked perfectly. They are a bit farther out than I expected and I had my concerns, but I am so glad we drove the extra distance. The upper dining room was fully wheelchair accessible and very easy to maneuver.

The food was excellent, fresh & flavorful, with large portions. I had the fish, scallops, and shrimp platter. I would have sworn they were all caught that morning.

As a retired restaurant manager from the bayou country of Louisiana, I can also say that even the freshest seafood can be ruined by frying in old oil. NOT the case here!! I just can't say enough about how flavorful this seafood was. Perfectly seasoned, perfectly fried, perfectly fresh, perfectly HOMEMADE, down to the French fries and Cole Slaw! My neighbor had the ribs. I didn't taste them but he said they were great and the meat was so tender that when I tried to cut the ribs apart the meat just fell from the bones.

Since I was only able to eat half, I took the rest home, skeptical that it would still be as good the next day, especially the fries.

WELL SURPRISE ME!!!

It was so good yesterday that I couldn't wait to eat the rest of it and threw it in the air fryer for breakfast. I can honestly tell you that it was just as tasty, fresh, crisp, perfectly delicious as the night before!! Including the fries!

It is a 45+ minute drive on whining roads but we both agree that we will be making that trip much more often now that we have found the LAKE HOUSE RESTAURANT!!

IT IS WORTH EVERY TURNING MILE!!!!

The only reason I didn't give a full 5 stars is the parking. It is very limited space and a bit narrow for turning around. As we were leaving I noticed that some cars were parking across the street, not an option for us. I don't know if they own that space or if it is just an empty lot but it would be well worth the investment to make it a viable parking lot and make more of the spaces in the current parking lot handicapped space.

Looking forward to...

Only way to experience this place is to be outside on the patio right on the lake with gorgeous, breathtaking, mountain views. Plus in the middle of nature how can you beat that!?! You may even be lucky enough as we were; to be entertained, by the occasional momma black bear & her cubs down in the water just living their best life...❤ (please do not approach or feed. Use caution and common sense..I know it seems to be a super power these days but please be respectful of nature and the establishment includes guest around you ) Did I mention the she-crab soup and pecan encrusted rainbow trout ? Can't think of one complaint; great atmosphere and vibe. Younger servers sometimes make an occasional what seems to be obvious, silly boo boo but they're young ...we're all human and we all have/had to learn at some point nothing out the norm especially, for that industry. Great experience hands down ...across the board. My husband and I even had to bring the whole family here when we got married at the Lake Lure Inn and spa in October!

P.S.- Get there at a decent time; as they do not accept reservations! Which is bittersweet but fully understable so it's first come first serve and of course the people come especially for the view so be prepared for longer wait times for the patio. (Good things come to those who wait they say) this is the case here, it's most certainly worth every second of the wait. I will also include last but not least don't let the amount of people waiting in front of you discourage you from eating there or even compromising your first choice on where to sit because those men and woman bust their little behinds to keep those tables coming they are very effective in what they do without feeling rushed. Just relax..breath, sit back soak in the views, have one of their amazing hand crafted cocktails and trust the process that first bite will tell you everything you need to know 😀 😉 🥰 as you can see I'm obsessed so go check it out..make sure to take care of your servers they work very hard and all for tips from people like you and I! They sure will not disappoint!! Grateful to have had one of my favorite places in the entire country pull thru such a tough time as covid because not everyone(especially, smaller local businesses) were as blessed 🙏🏻 so please go show...