Kelly’s Lake House Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Lake City

Just went there 2 nights in a row. The first night was okay, but it showed that the staff really have no idea what is going on around there and there was unbussed crap all over the mini bar by the entrance. The place was half full but the empty half was filthy.

First, the hostess has to go out on the deck to see if there are seats available and come back to get us. I then order a bourbon old fashioned, which is a menu item, and am asked if I want it sweet or sour. I told her to let the bartender surprise me... It took about 20 minutes to get that thing. The boneless wings were okay.

The second night started the same way, with the hostess needing to check the patio again for open tables, of which there were 6. She put us out there and went home or something because we sat there for 20 minutes before I decided to head up to the bar and get cocktails, myself.

I stood right in front of the bartender while she ignored me and got caught up on tabs and a huge pile of glasses that needed to be cleaned. I interrupted her and asked if I could get a couple drinks, and she seemed confounded by the mere thought of it. She handed me the cocktails, and walked away, so I grabbed them and walked away confused, without paying for them.

We drank our whole cocktails without being acknowledged by anyone until about 5 minutes after they were gone. The dude apologized and basically told us we were off the hook for our drinks and we left.

I was looking forward to getting pretty...

We've had great experiences at Kelly's in Red Wing, so we stopped off here when we were in Lake City. On a Sunday at 4pm, the place was pretty crowded inside; seats were offered offered on the patio, but as the temperature was in the 50s, I'm not sure if many were taking the offer. The TVs over the bar were showing the Packers game and bowling, which seemed quite regionally appropriate.

Service was consistently slow throughout our visit. We had a tiny high top and it became increasingly crowded with dirty dishes and platters that weren't picked up as more things came out. My husband had a stack of signed receipts from previous customers that were sitting on the room divide inches away from him, and they weren't picked up until near the end of our visit.

The food, however, was delicious. We started off with cheese curds. My husband ordered a beer and I had a cider. For our main dishes, I had the margherita flatbread while my husband had the Barge, what they call their all-meat pizza. Everything was excellent. My husband had a lot leftover, and when he asked for a take-out container, he was given a standard stryofoam box. Not the best conveyance for pizza, as pieces had to be stacked, making the bottom layer steam and go soggy.

I think we'd come here again based on the food and the nice vibe, but I hope the service issues...

This is not a bash on Kelly's Lake House Bar...but to bring awareness to customer service and the need to act in the moment when things start to go wrong. I took my father for lunch on Saturday, August 28. We arrived, were seated and told they were out of menus but as soon as others left, we would receive 2. 3 other tables were sat after us, all receiving menus and service. We sat for 20 minutes before a server got to us. The server was interrupted by a manager that a table was wanting to pay.. she leaves and comes back. No apology.. We ordered drinks and our food as I suspected the food would take awhile. We received our food before our drinks (a Pepsi and a Summer Shandy). It took 52 minutes to receive our beverages. Again, no apologies. No checkup on our food. EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE should realize the importance of a great customer experience. Respond in the moment. Empower your employees. Being a local and reading the write up in the Graphic about them wanting the locals to be happy as they patronize more year round then seasonal visitorsl, I expected more. Disappointing. I've told many friends that travel to the area or own condos in the same building to stay away for awhile. It clearly needs help with service and staffing. It's the small things...