The Lake House Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Franklin Township

We have driven by the Lake House Tavern for may years, and yesterday was my wifes birthday, so she decided we should give it a try. All the way home we were kicking ourselves for not trying it sooner.

The atmosphere of The Lake House Tavern transports you to Bar Harbor Maine, where you know the seafood will be beyond fresh and completely amazing, the good news is this is right here in our own back yard, and we don't have to worry about running into a moose!

We had reserved a table via "Open Table" which is a great perk for the restaurant. We were lucky enough to sit by the window and look over the lake, the see the moons reflection. It was the perfect setting of atmosphere, and you just knew this was going to be special.

Our culinary guide for the evening was Mandy, and she came and she gave wonderful suggests about wine parings with the food without taking off quickly like in so many other restaurants. More on Mandy in a bit.

We started off with the Walleye Bites that came and an amazing Beet yogurt raita a perfect way to set the stage for the main course.

My wife had the Beer Battered Cod and Chips, she just raved about the flavor of the fish not being drowned in heavy beer batter. I stole her Coleslaw and found it to be fantastic. My meal was the Atlantic Salmon with roasted potatoes, green beans, sweet corn, tomatoes and a smoky tomato butter that was beyond any Salmon I've had in years. With Salmon it's either perfect or dry, there's really no in-between. The fish was perfectly done, but chef didn't stop there, he proved exactly why Salmon Skin is called "The Bacon of The Sea" . The skin was perfectly crisp with a whisper of salt ; in my opinion he could make that an appetizer all it's own!

Now, about Mandy. You go to a restaurant for food, you go back for the people. Mandy was truly a joy, and someone that made the meal feel like a dinner with friends or family than just a "restaurant". She really cared about our whole experience, and it showed in a major way, especially when she found out it was my wifes birthday, she made us feel as if we were the only people in the restaurant. We laughed, we poked at each other a bit just like family, and we just felt the warm satisfaction of an excellent meal, and making new friends.

That is what's special about the Lake House Kitchen, I would suggest you go and find out for yourself about this Royal Diadem in the crown of Portage...

I was very excited to hear this restaurant has reopened. Made lunch reservations and stopped by on a Saturday. The outside and inside have been painted and substantially changed. Gone are the gawdy boat house decorations and that awful smell the old restaurant had. Inside is modern and chic with a nice sea side bistro feel.

The lunch menu is not what the old restaurant served. Items have been updated and are more trendy. Salads, grouper, calamari, smoked salmon dip, burgers, lobster roll, po boys etc (dinner menu is different). Items ranged between $13-20. Most items served are with coleslaw and french fries. The also have a small but very nice kids menu with burger, quesadilla, or chicken tenders.We ordered calamari, lobster roll, shrimp po boy, and kids quesadilla.

The calamari was out quickly and came with an Asian sauce. It was good but not great. The body pieces were a bit overdone and underseasoned, while the tentacles were very fishy and gritty.

The sides: fries and coleslaw. Coleslaw needs to be scrapped, bland and boring. The fries though omg! They are so unique and were delicious. Everyone, even my child, loved the fries.

The po boy was very good. The Brioche is very heavy and thick which I thought took away from the enjoyment.

The kids quesadilla was ok. The cheese is a sharp cheddar and I thought it tasted good. My kid did not concur.

The real disappointment was the lobster roll. At $20, this dish was a very poor rendition of a Maine style lobster roll. It had all of the ingredients, but feels so dull and cheap. The lobster portion is on the small side (1/8 to 1/10th of a lb at best). The Brioche bun is completely useless on the sandwich too thick and covers the taste of the ingredients. You will get a vague flavor of celery and dill, nothing else. If you want to make a good lobster roll it takes atleast 1/4lb of lobster. You also must have that lemon component and a buttered and toasted hot dog/sausage roll. I would recommend changing the dish or removing from the menu completely.

The other highlights were the staff, the creative drink menu, and view. The staff was very attentive, warm, and welcoming. The drink menu has many classics and fun new drinks served in fishbowl, sea shells, etc.

I was mediocre on my visit but will return to see if things improve in...

The evening started out rough right from the beginning. We noticed a difference in the menu. The one on the internet has a roasted quarter chicken in a garlic sauce. The one there only had a though prepared differently. We were told we couldn't get the internet preparation. My husband ordered plain lemonade, I ordered the specialty peach tea. His tasted like water, mine like chemicals. We reordered, me a highball, him a soda.

Then it took a good half hour to get 2 fish and chips dinners. I cannot have anything spicy so I asked to sub out the hush puppies for corn fritters. When the food finally did arrive I did not receive fritters, I got hush puppies. I told the server who said she'd get it in right away. When we tasted our dinners, the fish was lukewarm and the fries and fries were cold! Since Cole was also busy running the bar we just started eating it anyway. Halfway through our meal he came and asked how it was and we mentioned again that someone was supposed to get my fritters. He said he'd check on it right away. He also offered to remake the dinners, but we'd been there an hour now and just wanted to head home.

When he came and cleared away our plates, he apologized again and asked if we needed anything else. I said, the bill and my fritters. They finally came when we were ready to leave, but my husband was so fed up, they got left on the table so I never did get to taste them.

While Cole was pleasant to deal with, we were really disappointed that nothing was adjusted on the bill. My husband left 2/3's of his fries, I left all of mine, and part of his fish and hush puppies. We paid $60 of our hard earned social security money on a very...