The Freighthouse Restaurant — Restaurant in La Crosse

I went here with my boyfriend for a nice special dinner because of the nice reviews we saw here on Google. Right when we arrived, there was barely anyone parked in the parking lot. We hesitated to go in because we didn't want to be the only ones eating at a restaurant. We decided to go in and try this place anyway. When we first walked in, it smelt like a nursing home. The air was musty and dry, and it just wasn't a pleasant smell. Other people were eating. One table had a couple of drunk men that were completely wasted and making a scene. The decoration of the whole place seriously needs an update. Service from our waiter was very friendly. She even said that she comes here to eat with her boyfriend. At first, my boyfriend and I were happy that the waiter said that. After leaving this restaurant, we realized that the waiter definitely lied to us about her and her boyfriend eating there. We ordered our food, and we were utterly disappointed with the amount of money we spent on it. The Chef just threw the king crab legs right on the plate on top of the prime rib. I think the Chef doesn't care much about the presentation of the food leaving the kitchen. Even the soggy salad was a disappointment for what it was and the price we paid. At the end of the meal, the waiter could see we were disappointed, and she gave us a discount on our whole meal. We won't be coming back to this place. It's a shame because this place could do well if they just had a better presentation with the place's food and decor. Also, I don't know if it was just my boyfriend and me, but the water from this place tasted like it had chlorine in it! Bring your own water to this place! We didn't even stay for dessert because we wanted to leave so badly. It was an awful experience. This place would definitely be great for Gordan Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares!!!

Pros: -Service was nice

Cons: -Decoration was outdated -Smell of the place was like a nursing home -Drunk people in the dining area -Water tasted like chlorine -Presentation of food was a disappointment for the expensive price. -Food was "okay" at best. -Prime Rib was...

Went for a family reunion dinner gathering as an early Father’s Day celebration because one family member suggested it. Probably considered one of the higher-end restaurants in La Crosse area. Ambience and decor was dark, not warm or inviting. Plenty of parking and not a very long wait to get it, although we did have a reservation. Food presentation was decent but the quality left much to be desired. I ordered the Sirloin steak and Scallops combo—the scallops were fine, but the steak was dry and extremely tough because it was overcooked (I had requested medium well) and probably sitting for a bit. Another family had their filet undercooked. The worse part was the asparagus—they were nice and tender, perfectly cooked but had grains of sand so clearly were not washed or rinsed thoroughly. This wasn’t just one spear that had sand grains but every spear on my plate and especially at the heads of the spears. Another family member had the same issue with their asparagus so whoever cooked the batch must have been in a hurry. This is an absolute disappointment for a higher-end restaurant for something so basic.

The only reason this wasn’t rated one star was because of the good service of the waitress. Our server was very friendly and even though there were 9 of us which we assumed would automatically result in the 20% tip being added to the check, that did not happen. We of course made sure to tip her well. Frankly all their staff were very friendly. Unfortunately the food quality will deter me from returning the next time...

A very nice place to eat, albeit with some issues (for me). 1. They take no reservations so you'll either need to plan to eat early, or late, or show up at 5 something and wait - there are not a lot of tables, and only a few for two people. While there are tables in the bar area where you can wait, don't think you can eat there either- unless you want an appetizer because that's all you can order there. With the menu on the expensive side, I expected really great food - especially the prime rib which they caution could run out. My date and I arrived at 7 ish and waited about 15-20 minutes to be seated. She had lobster, (it was good). I had the prime rib, which was way worse than I expected. I ordered medium rare, expecting uniform pink. I received a piece that was half medium (in the round area) and half rare (in the tail area). Seriously- no medium rare anywhere. I called attention to the discrepancy and the waitress promptly took it back to "resolve it". A few minutes later and I received the same piece of meat that had been put on to the grill for a minute to cook the outside of it more. So the medium part was now really overcooked, and the rare part was, well, rare with a medium outer layer. Oh, and perhaps it was a dull knife (though I tried both), I had a heck of a time to cut it. Flavor was OK as long as I...