Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar
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I would certainly recommend the restaurant, but not the shrimp & grits. The ambience, staff and location are amazing. Plenty of great options on the menu and appreciate seeing more "foodie" places in the area. Husband liked the fry bread entree but felt the bread was fried too long making it hard yet chewy. I went for the shrimp and grits and while I finished my plate, wouldn't order it again. The grits were stiff and bland. Bland to the point I don't think even salt was used. If you've never had grits and had these for the first time, you'd probably never have them again. The shrimp Cajun seasoning was done well, but it was like the shrimp was pre-cooked, then cooked for this dish with the seasoning making it very tough and overdone. Like needing a sharp knife to cut through and what little pink was left was only in the thickest chunk. The cornbread was dry and to the level of nature valley crumble. The collards were cooked well, though the sweetness stood out so much only because there was not much other flavoring on the dish with the Cajun seasoning strictly with the shrimp. Again, I finished my plate, was just underwhelmed and would not order this dish again, but excited to try other dishes and find what they really shine in.
Heather HammondHeather Hammond
00
A lot of people talk about giving 6 stars or whatever for very good exprleriences. Hear me out...100 stars. This is an expensive restaurant, and it is not a fast restaurant, but even places in the twin cities that are supposed to be the epitome or decadence and class I have found to be more expensive and less than acceptable wait staff service. While there were intermittent delays between being seated, ordering, and service, I had found the atmosphere to be about reproach, a beautiful view and a positive atmosphere. Our waiter, Jimi, was great at explaining things from drinks to apps, kept a strong rapport, and when we did recieve the food, was positively astounded. I had the chicken taggliatelli, which was somehow moist beyond my imagination and also crispy and crunchy and exceptional. My daughter had the best grilled cheese execution I have ever witnessed, our chorizo stuffed Bleu cheese dates were on par with Volstads Emporium in the cities. Truly an amazing capitulation of the evening, and 160% worth the wait and the time. I will be heavily recommending this location to others.
Jon KistlerJon Kistler
00
Pros: Wonderful concept bringing fresh, local produce and vendors to the table. Our host was warm and welcoming, and quickly sat our party of four in while the crowd was starting to pick up. Our waitress, Laura, was very helpful answering our questions about the menu and local beer availabilities. There were floating servers who diligently filled our water every half glass empty. The venue is well maintained and modestly decored with art pieces from local artists displayed throughout the space. They are also available for purchase. Plenty of seating space between patrons for privacy, especially during the busy hours. Cons: Food-cost proportion was not worth it for us. We were willing to pay for the dishes, but we were disappointed with the unimpressed, bland tastes with most of the dishes we had. We started well with a cup of the carnivore soup (a jerk chicken soup), Berry salad, and elote. The soup was flavorful. The salad was refreshing and we enjoyed the smooth, melting cheese and spiced almonds complimenting each other. The elote was nicely grilled, but there were a few burnt areas hard to chew on. For entrees, we ordered the shrimp boil, smoked cheddar Mac and cheese (pictured), burger (pictured), and steak (pictured). The shrimp boil had a nicely spiced sauce to it, but it was heavily plated with potatoes. There were only two pieces of shrimp and four thin slices of sausage. When we told that the $24 plate had only two shrimp in it, we were told that there was supposed to be three (imagine our wide-eyed reaction to that). The Mac and cheese tasted like a homemade Velveeta Mac and cheese, creamy and bland. I couldn't taste the smoked cheddar at all. The burger was juicy. It reminds me of a Five Guys burger. The fries had some good seasoning. Good combination with a cold IPA. The steak was accompanied with more potatoes. My friend asked Laura for steak sauce and were told that they do not supply steak sauce, however there is some kind of inside sauce drizzled over the steak. It was cringey to watch our friend salt his steak at almost every cut and bite. Portion was good, except for the shrimp (more like potato) boil, but overall presentation and flavors were hard to capture and invest in.
July Vaj XyoojJuly Vaj Xyooj
00
The service was great, our SERVER was very attentive. However, the dishes we had left much to be desired. The mussels had a nice broth, but the mussels themselves were pretty flavorless and had an unpleasant bitterness. The bread was not nice and charred like in the photos. It was barely crisp and very pale, but it was the best part of the meal. My boyfriend ordered the Birria Yucca Torta but was he got was a yucca sandwich with cosomme that looked like left over ramen broth. This is not birria and should absolutely not be advertised as such. Nothing from the sandwich was braised in the broth. Serving a potato sandwich with broth on the side is not a birria torta. Thats what this is, a potato sandwich. No where did it say on the menu that this was a vegan option. Even if it was, there wasn't a significant source of protein in this dish. He had to order a separate burger patty for his sandwich which we were told was an extra cost of $8 after we explained our confusion with the dish, but we did receive a comp at the end. If you are fine with this type of torta, there's one more thing to note. This is small. This is not like the big torta you would typically get when ordering at a Mexican restaurant especially considering the price To top it all off, the blonde female employee wearing a white and blue/gray jumpsuit was just a treat. She stood around chatting rather loudly and said, "What's with everyone today? Have you been here all day? Everyone sucks today!" She must be a manager because she seemed to think it was ok to stand around and complain in front of customers while others around her worked. As I mentioned, our server was absolutely fantastic. She is the only reason I am giving 2 stars instead of 1. There are much, much better options in Duluth.
Goldie Grace TugononGoldie Grace Tugonon
00
Would like to give them another chance sometime. But after years of coming up north from the cities and seeing that they’re always booked and there is always a wait for a table, I thought the food would be much better than it was. The Thai Curry was a complete disaster. It was about 150 calories of veggies/noodles in a lake of about 3000 calories of sauce. Extremely poor quality, very unappetizing, and the tofu protein option comes out deep fried- for those who don’t already know, deep frying anything not only allows that item to be extremely low quality before entering the deep frier, but the very act of deep frying something is one of the biggest drivers of metabolic dysfunction in the world. So this dish could have been great but was instead a total bust and gut bomb. The service was fantastic, the patio and indoor ambiance was also lovely, but the poor quality of the food and high prices is reason for my low rating.
William BolandWilliam Boland
00
Lake Ave is my family’s go-to spot when we’re celebrating something or just feeling a little fancy on any particular day. I had the steam buns back in December (celebrating holiday break kick-off) and I haven’t stopped thinking about them since. My family was thrilled to see them on the menu when we visited this past weekend (feeling a little fancy on a Saturday). We’ve been many times — I guess we like to celebrate/feel fancy — and we always leave content. Portions are always just right, presentation is supreme, the service is top notch, and despite some low key fancy vibes, it is very much a “come as you are” type of place. I love the menu changes that are made periodically, as it highlights the creativity of the chef and the Lake Ave team. This is especially true for their vegan options (pot pie is 💯, steam buns are dream-worthy). This is a feel-good establishment and I am so glad to have them nearby.
brittany primbrittany prim
00
Nearby Attractions Of Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar
Great Lakes Aquarium
Bayfront Festival Park
Aerial Lift Bridge
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
Pier B Resort Hotel
Marcus Duluth Cinema
Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview
Holiday Inn & Suites Duluth-Downtown by IHG
Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center
The Inn on Lake Superior

Great Lakes Aquarium
4.5
(2K)Click for details

Bayfront Festival Park
4.7
(1.4K)Click for details

Aerial Lift Bridge
4.8
(1.3K)Click for details

Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
4.4
(1.2K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar
Grandma's Saloon & Grill
Canal Park Brewing Company
Pizza Lucé Duluth
Little Angie's Cantina and Grill
Northern Waters Smokehaus
Vikre Distillery
Vitta Pizza Canal Park
Hanabi Japanese Cuisine
Bellisio's Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar
Silos Restaurant at Pier B

Grandma's Saloon & Grill
4.2
(3K)Click for details

Canal Park Brewing Company
4.4
(2K)Click for details

Pizza Lucé Duluth
4.5
(1.3K)Click for details

Little Angie's Cantina and Grill
3.7
(1.6K)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
394 S Lake Ave, Duluth, MN 55802
Map
Phone
(218) 722-2355
Call
Website
lakeaveduluth.com
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.4
(520 reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Inventive New American cuisine pairs with regional cocktails in a casual space with outdoor seating.
attractions: Great Lakes Aquarium, Bayfront Festival Park, Aerial Lift Bridge, Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, Pier B Resort Hotel, Marcus Duluth Cinema, Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview, Holiday Inn & Suites Duluth-Downtown by IHG, Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, The Inn on Lake Superior, restaurants: Grandma's Saloon & Grill, Canal Park Brewing Company, Pizza Lucé Duluth, Little Angie's Cantina and Grill, Northern Waters Smokehaus, Vikre Distillery, Vitta Pizza Canal Park, Hanabi Japanese Cuisine, Bellisio's Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar, Silos Restaurant at Pier B

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