LakeHouse Wine Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Cornelius

So here goes; I REALLY want the Lake House to work out. I have lived close by for over twenty years. I have seen everything since Midtown Sundries come and go.

Had dinner; sat at the bar. The bar staff is fantastic - friendly, attentive and trying really hard to make sure their guests are happy.

While this review isn't overly positive, I am committed, and will be going back to give it a second and maybe even a third chance.

That said, there are two issues that exist at The Lake House - the food and the space. First challenge is the food quality (Korean Rib App, Sea Bass and a Burger). The food was just OK, It wasn't hot and the food quality seemed as if it was "assembled" rather than an emphasis on being "fresh". Also, I do not care so much about the cost , but for $110 + tip, I'll go to 131 Main. I feel like every restaurant in this area is trying too hard. Why not do fewer things but do them really, really well?

This brings me to the second point, the space. This space is just too large to house a single restaurant. It is also really dark. Why not sub divided the space into three our four spaces and have the best of all worlds, even if it means taking on a few partners? Have a bar with bar food and a patio that operates like a "lake hangout/sports bar", break off a section for "fine dining/steakhouse", then cut the other section or two into a combination of "burgers, pizza and/or Tex-Mex". Almost like Barcelona Burger situation in Mooresville. Keep the menus simple but do them well.

Again, though I am just an average joe, this isn't your average "food" review...I want this space to work, we desperately need it...

We took our out of town guests by boat to have some cocktails and maybe appetizers. We all had nice coverups on. The receptionist made it very clear that if we only want drinks we must sit at the inside bar or on the outdoor sofas (which had no umbrellas for shade on a 85 degree day). We were not permitted to sit at a table unless we were ordering a meal. We went to the inside bar and asked if we could take our drinks to the patio bar understanding it it wasn’t open. She said that would be no problem. We sat at the patio bar and immediately a waitress claims very boldly that there is no service at the bar. We kindly responded that we knew that but the bartender said it would be ok. Less than 5 min later a couple nicely dressed sits at the bar next to us. Next thing you know, there is a bartender with menus and water glasses served without any glance in our direction the entire time we were there. I was very embarrassed to bring our guests to place that I once knew as nice place to bring people from out town on the boat. I now understand why this restaurant was so vacant with patrons. Menu prices are $40+. Clearly this is not a place to come with your boat. Maybe they should close up their docks and place a dress code sign if they don’t want to service boaters. I will NEVER patronize this restaurant and gladly share my experience with my boater friends. It’s a shame because there are not that restaurants...

My husband and I came here expecting the food to match the price and I think it’s far from it. We were recommended the “whipped” goat cheese to start. I included a picture of the pound of definitely-not-whipped goat cheese, with random boba balls on top? And it was obviously just out of the fridge so incredibly hard to scoop onto anything. Not pictured are the thin apple slices around it and some bread slices that did not cover the mound of goat cheese served. Absolutely bewildered at this combo. We’re not picky, but this was extremely confusing.

My husband was also recommended the lobster roll which he said was mid at best, and I had the Caesar with chicken. I asked for more dressing and didn’t get it for about 30 minutes because they had to make more. Also, the chicken on top was seasoned well but it was cold even though it was served on the side on a separate plate. It was fine, just not worth the price.

My son had the meatball appetizer. Honestly a pretty good meatball, just cool, not hot. And my daughter was fine with her pasta and marinara, a hard one to mess up.

Overall, I just feel like the presentation of the food and the taste is just not worth the price. I will demolish food that doesn’t “look” upscale just as long as it tastes good which nothing really did. Disappointed that we spent $100...