Lake Eustis Waterfront Grille — Restaurant in Eustis

I'm giving this one star because there are an excessive amount of 5 stars, which are obviously fake.

Today was my first visit. I was immediately taken to a table on the main floor. Noise was horrendous, and the person seating us was well aware because there was a noisy group of seniors who were having some sort of regular lunch meeting. We were seated based on waitress rotation, and not on our needs. After I complained about the noise (acoustics are dreadful due to glass walls and tall ceilings) our waitress asked if we would prefer to eat on the next level where it was quiet and had excellent views......duh.

Menu was easy to interpret...that's a big plus. How many of us have had to spend 15 minutes to wade our way through a disorganized menu?

We ordered two lunch salads, which were quite large, a coke and a water. Order was promptly prepared since no cooking was required. Atmosphere was excellent, second floor had a couple of sofas to sit and order drinks should you desire not to sit at the bar. That was pretty nice actually. Waitresses were not that old, early 20s dressed in Eustis most elegant attire.....T-shirts and cutoffs. That's not good. Do you think that 5 star restaurants around the world employ waitpeople from this age group? Probably not. Nonetheless, our waitress was quite nice, but returned with that dreaded question that makes me want to put my finger down my throat and that we are forced to answer....."does everything taste good?". That's one of those trick questions where you are forced to say yes, not matter what. Why do foolish waitresses ask such a pointless question. It's because their manager told them they had to. It's really none of their business if the food tastes good or not. The food is what it is. Food generally is not going to taste bad, barring sweeping it off the floor and serving it. What they should be asking is....do you have everything you need?. The quality of the food should be addressed at some time later either in the form of a tip or a review, such as this.

My usual complaints on these local restaurants are nearly always the same. Not a great deal for the money. For our 2 salads, they spent a whopping $1 on lettuce, 25 cents on onions, $2 on chicken breast meat, 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese, and 25 cents on salad dressing. The bill came to $42 which included a $5 tip. For me, this is an absurd rate of return and is clearly driven by greed rather than good business decisions. For that kind of money we could have gone to Outback and had a real 5 star meal. This place is too big for their britches and needs to bring their prices down to a reasonable rate of return...you know......like 200% instead of 1000%. If they did that, the place would always be packed with happy, hungry and thirsty people. They would get repeat business over and over and over, instead of someone that comes just once every month or two.....or never again, as in my case.

They have two large bars, and I am guessing that they make more money at the bar than their food orders. Whatever works for them is okay with me. But I won't be back until they address the really bad acoustics and the really bad food prices. They most likely will respond with "our prices are in line with the other restaurants in the area" or my favorite...."Everything has gone up because of covid". That may be true, but it still doesn't justify charging $42 for $4 worth of cheap lettuce and diced chicken (which probably delivered frozen from supplier). Restaurant owners think their customers are so stupid that they would never be able to do the mental math on how much they are being overcharged.

I realize that their new building mortgage is probably a small fortune as well as utilities. But that's not our problem. You were the ones that thought you could swing the overhead and make a living. And now you know the realities of starting another eatery in the tri city area.......like we needed...

Lake Eustis Waterfront Grille

My Sunday Golfers group go to different restaurants every Sunday for lunch after golf. On July 20, we all went to Lake Eustis Waterfront Grille. There were 12 of us and this is the 2nd time we’ve eaten at this establishment. Both times we were seated in their large room upstairs which overlooked Lake Eustis. A beautiful view. There was also a bar upstairs as well as downstairs and outside in the parking lot. The first time we ate at this establishment, my group though the food was fantastic, service was impeccable, and the overall experience was fantastic. So I decided to give it a try again.

I’m the one that normally pick the restaurant. Our server this time was Meagan. Meagan greeted all of us with a smile and was very pleasant. For having to serve our group plus other groups up there, Meagan did not miss a beat. She always checked on us to make sure everyone had a drink and that no one needed anything. She made sure we were happy with our food. No one in my group felt that anything took too long for our orders. Bravo Meagan, because of you, and because of the service you provide, the different food options and the beautiful view of the lake from the restaurant, I will be bringing my group back again. I think I would like to try every dish listed in the menu. Not all at once of course but a great execuse to keep coming back.

When I pick a restaurant, service and the food are the two main factors I look at if I’m going to bring my group there. We’re all from The Villages and I’ve selected restaurants as far as Orlando for my group because I also want us to try different ethnic food. I normally go to the restaurant first with my spouse and I observe everything including service, location, ambiance and items in the menu. Normally I’ve already done my homework using yelp, looking at reviews, checking their website and looking at the menu. I like a menu that has a variety of food options. I want to hear my group say, “there is too much to choose from. I can’t decide what pick.” That way I know the restaurant has something for everyone. Lake Eustis Waterfront Grille has a variety of food selection and a good cocktail selection.

To management, what a wonderful place to go to. The service your servers provide is amazing. This is the third time I have eaten at Lake Eustis Waterfront Grille. I have also been there with my spouse and in-laws. For those that have never eaten at this restaurant, I highly recommend it. You will not regret it. Try the Lavender Lemon Drop Martini or...

Stopped in on a Monday afternoon for lunch and a couple drinks. Some friends had been here and recommended so we were excited to try it.

It's a little unassuming and we passed it by at first but it's pretty nice inside and has a beautiful lake view as well as overlooking a small marina. There's even a boat ramp here and what looks like room for trailer parking across the street.

It wasn't super busy being 2 pm on Monday, but was well staffed and everyone was very nice. We sat at the bar and Katie was great.

I had the Eustis Marina Margarita (pictured) and it was just right.

For starters we had the Gator Bang Bang, kind of a take on Bang Bang Shrimp. Gator can be tough and chewy, but this was was probably the best I've had. Bites were lightly fried and tender. The bang bang sauce was tasty.

For lunch, I went old school with the Classic Reuben. The portions of corned beef were tender and tasty. Would've liked a little more meat, but it wasn't skimpy. Just don't expect the NY deli stye piled to the sky sammy. For a side, the sweet potato fries were good as well. The second entree was crab cakes. Cooked just right and the garlic aoili sauce added a nice flavor.

I'm a fan of Key Lime Pie and they just happened to have it on the dessert menu. The grahm cracker crust was nice and thick, but just soft enough to not crumble. The key lime flavor was really good, and slightly tart. I kind of liked the balance to the sweetness. The whip cream was light and not overly sweet. I'm not usually a fan of whip cream but it was one of the better ones I've had and balanced all the flavors nicely. I grabbed a pic but I'd already snagged bite. Sorry. 😂

There are 2 full bars here. One on the main level, and one upstairs. The upstairs room is pretty cool with a nice view of Lake Eustis. It would be great for a private event, too. Each bar has a few TVs but probably not a great spot for sports unless they're playing your game and you're sitting at the bar.

They have a large outdoor seating area. It's shaded and screened with a few ceiling fans. There's also some more outdoor seating as well. I'm sure busy days are packed with a fun vibe.

Eustis and Tavares are a couple of the hidden gems of Central Florida. The Harris Chain of Lakes is awesome with wide open bodies of water and there are plenty of ways to get your boat launched. Having cool little spots to enjoy some great food and cold beverages with a view is even more of a bonus.

Add this one to your to do list. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Sean...