Bungalow Inn — Restaurant in Lakeland

I will never be returning here again with a group. It may be a good place to go and grab a burger and drink, but I highly advise that if you are going with a group, to find somewhere else to go. If you want reservations for 6pm, go ahead and call them--you will be told no because that's 'peak hour' and it will 'kill their kitchen'. Our reservations were orignally for 5pm, however, due to a set back--we were going to be late. We called and asked if we could come in at 6pm and was told that was fine. The next day we found out that it was NOT okay and that in the future if we had a group go, and we're going to be late, we would be asked to wait until 730pm to be seated and served. We we're only allowed a limited menu which we got to design--without being told the prices. Had we known an 8oz steak was going to cost $18.50 on OUR menuvs. $14.95 as the restaurant menu states, it would have never been put on the menu. We had some gluten free people with us as well. We were told that they would be accommodated. They were, but their options were very limited to steak or fish. One of our ladies who is gluten free, by choice, tasted a deep fried mushroom. This was her choice to do and the restaurant claimed, that is why it's not taken seriously when people are gluten free. Even though, had she eaten an entire plate with gluten, she would have been sick for days because her system is not used to having that much gluten. She can tolerate little bits here and there though. She has the choice to eat what she wants, and should not be scrutinized by the restaurant for doing so. We never gave indication that our ladies were gluten free due to celiac, therefore, leaving it up to the restaurant to make their own assumptions of the ladies in our group. We were informed that we would be able to order appetizers--these were not put on the menu for us to pick from. We got a run around about what appetizers our group could order and we're rattled off a list, instead of being able to visually see a menu for what was available. One of our ladies asked about doing an appetizer for a meal-due to not having much money available to her at the time--to which she was told no that appetizers could not be ordered for as your meal. Okay, really?? Talk about a controlling place to go to. Not to mention, we had a lady order a burger WELL done...it came back MEDIUM RARE! It was sent back and came back out MEDIUM! We were so frustrated at that point, that she just ate it and didn't bother sending it back. This business is a joke and needs to work on their customer service skills with large groups. Also, they should learn that if there is an issue with a group---OH WELL! You work in the customer service industry, not everything is going to go perfect every day. It was very rude and unprofessional that we received a voicemail the following day, telling our group how much of a hassle we caused them and that she was not happy with our group. All because of our gluten free ladies, coming in at 6pm for our reservations, asking to order an appetizer for a meal and whatever else she decided to mention in her voicemail. I will never return here nor will I ever recommend this place to anyone because of the voicemail received the following day. Very unprofessional. The only reason I am so upset about this, was because of the voicemail left the following morning by the manager. I would have given them another shot, as would many in our group, had this not been the case.

Note: Our server Lindsey did the best she could under the circumstances given. In the voicemail, we were told that this was not the server the manager wanted on our party, as she was not "educated on gluten free", but did the best she could and was tipped very well for...

A friend and I went there this past week. We wanted an 'out of town' evening where we wouldn't run into people we knew so we could just enjoy each other's company. We chose this place because they had karaoke on Friday nights. When we walked in, I was a little hesitant because it looked almost as if an old-fashioned, small town 'fine' dining restaurant was plopped in the middle of a bar; yet, we were greeted with very warm and friendly hello's, seated promptly and our waitress was great! Service was outstanding We even had a great, fun conversation with the lady busing tables...everyone was very friendly. Now let's go to the food. My friend ordered their 'all you can eat' fish which was a fab deal...all you can eat fried cod with french fries and a salad - only $14. I ordered a pasta dish, which was very good. The only complaint about the food we had was my friends fries were originally pretty limp/soggy, but as soon as we said something, they promptly whipped up another fresh, crispy batch....problem solved. After our dinner, we moved a few steps over to the bar/dance floor area for karaoke. Seriously folks...if you haven't been to this karoke show...you need to go! The KJ/DJ running the show is outstanding. Friendly, Fun, had ALL the songs we wanted to sing, good equipment...and bonus...there was only a handful of singers so we got to sing a ton of songs!!!!! The decor was a bit outdated, but honestly I do feel that it is part of what makes the Bungalow Inn what it is. Our experience was great and our evening was exactly what we wanted it to be...quiet, fun, just the two of us encountering some pretty great service/food/people at the Bungalow! I recommend this place...you have to try it at...

I have been visiting this establishment since the 70's until I moved out of state. I returned to MN. a couple years ago and began to partake in their Saturday afternoon bingo 2 years ago. My friend and I have always ordered water to drink during bingo with no problems. Last Saturday (11-14-15) our waitress told us we could not do that as we were taking up a table and needed to order something. I guess if you only want to play bingo you must stand somewhere else!? We told her we had been ordering just water for the past 2 years with no problems from any other waitress. By this time we didn't bother to tell her that we always have another person meet us after bingo and we all have dinner there. We had already decided not to eat there this week for other reasons besides her demands. The prices have skyrocketed and the taste of food has gone downhill. The week before, we saw the bartender put his bare hand into a gallon jar of olives to give some to the girls at a nearby table. Then he took the jar into the kitchen. Don't know if that falls under the Health Dept. requirements! Beer also went up another .50 since the week before, unless the waitress was setting her own tip in advance. I think that was my last trip to the Bungalow, but may be my first call to the Health Dept. for them to make an...