Northern Taphouse - Lakeville — Restaurant in Lakeville

I really want to like this restaurant, but I have some hangups in giving them a better review.

I've been here about 4 or 5 times now as I've had a coupon for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more for the past year or so. Each time, I ordered something new from the menu for food and drinks.

The best thing to do at this restaurant is to go here for Drinks (particularly their extensive list of ever-changing tap beers, most of which are locally sourced) and appetizers. I, of course, only ever went here for a sit-down, casual dinner experience. They have TVs with sports on literally everywhere you look, and they have a nice atmosphere for a sports bar type of establishment.

Let's get to the dinner experience. I ordered the chicken sandwich, which was hailed as a hot/spicier chicken. It wasn't spicy at all, and I have a minnesota mouth that can't handle heat at all. It was genuinely lacking in flavor, and I thought it was pretty meh all in all. I have also ordered the burger, 2 of them, and I can't recall their names right now, but they were very standard and lacked in the flavor profile category like the chicken. I have had a Flatbread pizza, I believe it was a Margherita pizza, which was one of the worst I think ive ever had and that's pretty amazing because just about anyone can make a decent marg pizza.

I've also had some appetizers but mainly the jumbo tots and pretzel bites. Both of which were very subpar and lacking in flavor.

Now let's talk about the service. The service here is SLOW... like extra noticeably slow... like the slow you came to expect during the pandemic, but they seem to not have actually recovered ever from that time and are still very unattentive to their customers after their host seats you. I still have no idea what's up with that as the servers are nice, but the time it takes for someone to come to your table really needs to be expedited, in my opinion. The first time I figures it was a fluke but I've had this same thought each time I've been here and I'm not sure how they've managed to get by with this poorly slow service for so long... in other words, don't expect a quick turnaround here from sitting down to actually placing an order.

Like I said, though, I still really want to like this place, and it has potential, but some things have to be improved, or else this will forever be a glorified sports...

I am a return customer to Northern Taphouse, despite it being a bit far away from where I live.

The outside of the tavern features the name "Northern Taphouse" proudly displayed, then a quick summary: "Beer * Burgers * Pizza * Wings". What they left off that summary is "Great Service * Great Atmosphere and finally * Lots of TV's"!

Yes, this is a lively, warm, friendly sports bar. I swear, there must be 50 large-screen TV's sprinkled throughout the bar/restaurant! It's impressive, if you're into sports! The beer selection is EXTENSIVE, and features loads of regional, national, and local offerings, all nicely categorized into their styles. Prices for beer are all around $6 - $8 for 16 oz pours, except for the specialty beers, where 10 oz pours are the norm. Those get expensive.

The food is basic "sports bar" fare; I ordered the "jalapeno bacon cheddar infused burger" (see my photo) for $14, with a side of wild rice soup. The burger was small, but there were two patties, and lots of jalapeno and bacon! The taste was perfect, and it was well prepared. The wild rice soup was divine. They do offer a "Monday night burger night", where there is a good discount on all their burgers.

Indi, our server, was the sweetest, most attentive, and wonderful server I've had in a long long time. She was able to answer all of our questions and ably gave us recommendations on the food selection. She knew beers, and recommended those, too! She was attentive at all times, and always with a big smile, despite the place being pretty busy. I was greatly impressed with the staff overall.

If you're looking for a relaxed, casual, kids-friendly sports bar/restaurant with lots and lots of TV's, then Northern Taproom is a destination for you. I will be back there again soon!

EDIT: Went to the Taphouse a second time last night - it was CROWDED, and FUN! This time, I tried their pizza (see photos); It was super good, especially the crust. The beer and our server Kendra, were both fantastic. It stays a 5-star...

The last time I was here was before the pandemic. I fully empathize and understand the position restaurant owners are in, but when you are paying for a service to eat out there's a certain minimum expectation that needs to be met.

By far the worst, driest, rattiest Wings I've ever had in the history of chicken wings. I had to send them back they were making me gag. In its place, a burger. The burger was two of the thinnest sheets of hockey puck consistency meat. Not even remotely filling. They have lowered the food quality considerably and don't even make up for it with quantity.

I did the math while we were there: there were 13 employees, and roughly 20 people in the bar. Somehow, it took more than 30 minutes each pass to get someone to recognize us and bring drinks, food Etc. Were maybe we could have justified the horrendous dip in food quality, they could have made up for it in the service. Even the service was abundantly lacking. The manager on duty wore a stretch shirt one size too small for his body and covered in stains... It was the perfect epitome of what this establishment has become. Despite the surplus of aforementioned staff, most people were just standing around talking idly, as if their job was to simply chat amongst themselves and not serve customers. No wonder they had to marginalize the food and lower the amount they give, they have so many people they're paying to do nothing.

I've noticed that a number of people have been leaving similar reviews as of late. I've noticed how tone deaf whoever runs their social media is, because they either respond with a thank you for a two-star review or make up some marginalized comment about how they're going to grow and improve... This restaurant is a dumpster fire. Much like the Applebee's that existed there previously before it closed. I will never be back and I long to see what takes its place after they are gone. ...