Wanderlust Beer Garden — Restaurant in Forks Township

This review is for Dudley’s Lounge at Wanderlust:

We had been looking forward to trying Dudley’s for a while now and I would say we will be back for drinks. The decor is quite cool for the area and the cocktails and wine are very reasonably priced. It is a cozy, relaxed setting where we lingered comfortably for quite a while.

Just a heads up if this applies to you: there is almost nothing for vegetarians. To be fair, they were upfront about that when I called. I’d suggest since you have a lobster grilled cheese, why not offer a plain grilled cheese. Since you have chili nachos, why not offer meat-free nachos. Since you have a corn chowder with seafood, why not offer vegetarian corn chowder. That said, others at the table really enjoyed their beef dips, chili, and lobster grilled cheeses.

A couple of other observations: Using a radio station for music is a little distracting. We were right by the speaker and there were a lot of ads. I don’t think something like Spotify costs much and it would greatly improve the vibe. Or try a chill DJ. Also, the place is super kid friendly. I’m sure that makes it a wonderful option for many people. That said, it does kind of detract from the “speakeasy” vibe that I heard you were going for. The place instantly turned from cocktail bar to restaurant when we had a table of kids eating ice cream behind us. That’s totally okay, and the parents were super nice, it’s just a different feel to the place.

I think next time we will sit at the bar and do drinks only and we will enjoy...

After reading another critical review below, I wanted to edit what I originally wrote to give more constructive criticism and feedback for the owners to build on. I've been to concepts like this in Austin TX where it works and hopefully this place can revise to make it better...

The food is overpriced and was not good quality. I'm actually disputing it on my credit card. I suggest having multiple food truck vendors with different foods for variety. Also, let people bring in water bottles and set up water stations around the grounds for an easy refill. Who cares if you don't sell bottled water, you're making money on the beer and soda. The sign that says "please do not bring in water bottles" at the entrance is unnecessary.

There are too many kids, it's like an outdoor Chuck E Cheese's. Kids are great, and I'm all for a family environment, but something didn't feel right about it. The swing sets and playground, I don't know guys. Maybe like the other gentleman said, set up a cutoff time for kids. The dog friendly environment was fine, although it seemed like a lot of people didn't want to see dogs there. Weird vibes.

Overall this place has potential, I'm giving it 2 stars for that. I just wasn't impressed my...

Positives: It is a huge outdoor space with plenty of seating with separate areas to bring a large group. We had about 17 people all together which was perfect for a birthday celebration. The live music is also fun to experience as a casual night out.

Even-Better-Ifs: There are plenty of beverage choices but it feels like it could be less generic and more local oriented. It would be great to see local breweries on tap at least. You have 1 NA beer option and offered a NA pina colada but turned out to just be pineapple juice with orange juice - super strange. It would be really cool to see real plants as decor outside instead of the plastic kind, for the love of the environment and a better overall vibe.

Negatives: Out of our group of 17, no one liked their meal from either food truck. Everything was overcooked, dry and tasted old. It is also extremely expensive for the amount and poor quality. Two dishes were decent but not good. No one will eat here again.

Overall: Staff is very friendly and the large space is the reason we visit as it's rare to find in the LV, but there could be SO many improvements to make this place a 4 or 5...