Maynards — Restaurant in Excelsior

This place is always busy during the summer months when the weather is beautiful! But then they have really good food, a great location on Excelsior Bay (on Lake Minnetonka), in Excelsior, Minnesota! They have great outdoor seating right on the water, an outdoor bar, fire pits (even outdoor propane heaters if it gets too chilly), a place for live music, plenty of dock space for boat parking - which we always use - and wonderful dock "kids" who know what they're doing! So don't forget to tip them out before you leave the dock! The interior is made up of modern clean lines, well kept, has comfortable seating with a panoramic view of the bay, even the large indoor bar has a great view. As for the service... This crew is always on point even during the chaotic summer days on the outdoor deck when it's packed! After you managed to fight off other patrons that were eyeing your "already promised" outside table give your server a brief breather! And don't turn into a sudden jackass or b*tch because your hungry kids, or grand-kids, haven't gotten their meal in 10 minutes or less...this isn't McDonalds (walk a 1/2 block up the street for that!)! When it's crazy busy...of course it's going to take a bit longer to 1.Get your Drink Orders put in to the bar, then delivered 2. Take your Food Orders & get that sent in to the kitchen 3.Remembering that there's several hundred other people at this restaurant that are ordering inside & outside their food & drinks too! 4. So it takes a while to get your food & drink... Be patient!...Don't blame your server (unless they are at fault)!! And... Remember, they too are doing the best that they can to serve you! They are also trying to make a living, if they were good to you, did their job you better be tipping them out at least 20% and tipping them in cash! Funny thing, a lot of the public doesn't know this - Tipping your server on a credit/debit card costs them on average .04 - .06 cents on the Dollar. That may not seem like a lot but YOUR credit/debit card charges them for your "paper" tip. Then your server also has to (by law) claim that tip which is then taxed! Think about it... those petty penny charges start to really add up in the long run!! Please tip them in Cash! They will still have to claim some of it, but Not all of it! As for Maynards food.... It's really good and reasonably priced. My family & I have been eating here on and off for years now. There are so many good food choices, you won't be disappointed!! I have to say that my favorite has always been their Walleye Sandwich (pictured), the Walleye Fish & Chips (pictured) and the other dish is the Low Carb Burger - 8 oz. Ground Chuck topped w/ a portabella mushroom & maytag bleu cheese. I also enjoy their Fire Cracker Shrimp Tacos, Steak Bites and other then the yummy Waffle Fries their Coleslaw is SO good! It's not soaked in mayo sogginess that drowns out the veggies! I'm not a fan of creamy coleslaw so this is somewhere in between, they also add fresh Cilantro to it and I love cilantro! The only reason why I gave Maynards 4 stars is because the place can get really noisy, especially on the weekends. But it is kid friendly offering lots of things to do outside...

(Although our overall experience was great, I'm giving one star for service and only one overall star because for the past three weeks, they have not been able to run gift cards when people want to pay with those. We came there because we had gift cards we wanted to use. After enjoying a great meal and having an awesome waitress, we were told we couldn't pay using gift cards until they learn what's wrong and why they can't run peoples gift cards. This is an issue Maynards needs to fix immediately and not let a month go by with this problem. At a minimum, they should have a sign at the hostess stand saying they are unable to process gift cards at this time!)

Maynard's is always a great place to eat and enjoy a beautiful summer day. We went there for my birthday and had an excellent experience (except for the gift card problem). The food was fantastic, the staff was great, and the atmosphere was fun.

We started with the firecracker shrimp as an appetizer... and it was phenomenal. I would come back just for that! I got the chicken sandwich with waffle fries and seasoned sour cream... which I absolutely loved every bite. The other members of our party got the steak quesadilla and walleye sandwich. All of our meals were excellent.

The patio/outdoor seating, as well as the bar, are first come, first serve, and if there are open seats, you can just sit down. The dining room, you must be seated by the hostess or host. We went on a Sunday at 2 p.m., but we made reservations for the dining room just in case. We were glad we did because it was very busy. We got seated right away and also had a great view of three large tv's.

I recommend making a reservation, especially on the weekends.

They serve Pepsi products with free refills. We don't drink alcohol, so no one in our group participated in that.

The only major issue (which I addressed at the beginning, but want to write a bit more about) or downside we had was when the bill came and we were using gift cards. They informed us that for the past 3 weeks, they have not been able to run any gift cards. We were pretty shocked, and that was definitely frustrating. Our waitress did apologize, and she regretted not informing us before we ordered any food. I could understand a day or two, but this has apparently been going on for almost a month, which is something they need to get fixed as soon as possible!

Maynards also has free cornhole outside. Just ask the hostess for a set of beanbags.

We would love to come back, but won't until they fix the...

Never again. You’re paying for the property tax & view. Mismanaged. Not semi-quality bar food or drinks.

Food: We got the Italian waffle fries (nothing special), a few drinks (watery or just boozy, no in between), and salmon bowls (spicy, not flavored otherwise- I just ate the rice & fish).

Atmosphere: We got there on a Tuesday at the front end of happy hour & sat on the patio. Like most patios, you can’t make reservations - no problem. However, most places don’t allow waiting guests to hover/stalk/harass on the patio & in the parking lot for seats or lot spots. Patios usually have waiting guests in an area, so guests can enjoy their dining experience. If you count the kids that were sent by parents (think ‘Children of the Corn’ behavior), 7 people stood staring at us at the edge of our table while repeatedly being allowed to ask me/us when we’d be done, if we could be done soon, told their waiting for us to get done, and when would we be done. One kid was sent by a parent & stood for +5-mins unattended (after the parent had harassed me & I said we’re still eating & talking) at our table, closer to me than my friend was seated. I asked the child if I could help them, and the child said they & their sibling were sent by the parent to stand and watch us and ask when we’d be done. To top it off, two older men came over asking also. Even after I told the first man that we had a right about being there eating & talking, the second man stood leaning against me & the table, trying to look down my shirt & over my food/drink (unsanitary). He wouldn’t leave & kept asking questions when I had to tell him to leave us alone like I’d told multiple others. At this point, our kind but over-worked server came over to apologize & they’d try to keep more from doing it, but we still had two groups come up before we left.

Parking: Maynard’s (free) parking lot was just as bad… think Mall of America parking the day after Thanksgiving. I am not African American, but am a person of color - there were very few POC present on the patio or inside when we visited. My time & money will be better spent in the future enjoying dining nearby, or having cocktails nearby then taking a meal to go and enjoying a picnic on one of the benches or picnic tables with the same or better view. Service was 2-stars simply because our server was clearly working hard trying to meet the demand, but food & atmosphere would be less than 1-star...