Summer Place — Restaurant in Lakewood

DONT HAVE YOUR BIRTHDAY OR EVENT HERE!!! not sure what went wrong but i had my birthday brunch here, booked it way ahead of time with annie, called them to update them on the final head count which was 15 people and was on time (early actually) to the reservation. it was for 1pm they did not seat us until 1:30 because the table wasn’t ready. that’s never happened to me ever and i do this every year. we were all just standing in the front in dresses and heels with a bunch of stuff in our hands. when i nicely asked what’s going on i was met with unwarranted attitude that it’ll be “30 more seconds” it was several minutes more. my conversation with annie (who is very professional and nice but unfortunately isn’t present in the restaurant) did not entail agreeing paying on 1 card we had discussed that we would be using multiple cards in groups so people can pay for what they got. when the meal was over they did not ask us if we wanted dessert or coffee, and just brought 1 check without asking anything. when it came i had to deal with that and they said it was on the reservation 1 check. was it on there that we didn’t want dessert too? it’s a birthday. everyone wanted coffee and dessert but we didn’t get any because we didn’t want to further complicate the bill. they refused to fix the check in any way i even asked just to separate the meals all individually so we can add them up easier & initial what everyone got (for example instead of there being 3 separate lobster toasts they were all grouped together as 1) but they said they can’t. we ended up taking a lot time to do unnecessary math and send venmos, when i got up to apple pay Charbel offered to split the checks since it wasn’t busy. i appreciated that greatly, however everyone already sent the venmos. he was very nice and should be the manager, several of my friends were stunned because when he was talking to me they witnessed the female manager walk by and give a very snarky look to us. 5 girls saw and wouldn’t stop talking about it and said it was very obvious. not sure what that was about but it’s very rude and extremely unprofessional. Charbel offered us free cake when i told him nobody asked us about dessert or if we were even ready for the check. one person ordered a latte ahead of time and asked for almond milk and they said yes. she has an allergy to dairy. they made it with milk and then told her oh we can’t do it with any other milk. like what??? anyway not sure why we super felt rushed out when we were there from 1:30pm (was supposed to be 1) to 3:30pm and they close at 11pm? Charbel is the only person that made this experience good everything...

Saturday afternoon, 4-29-23, 4 pm, my daughter, at a friend’s suggestion, took her Mother & I to Summer House at The Carlyle, 12900 Lake Rd, Lakewood, OH 44107 to celebrate Mom’s birthday. What a great afternoon of drinks, apps and conversation!!! Please keep in mind that we went into this establishment “blind”, not knowing the owners or any of the staff. The staff was the absolute best! From first meeting Doreen at the hostess station, to our excellent bartender Margaret, the bar manager, Anna, David (the owner’s son), Ann, a manager and owner’s cousin (spreading love), Igen, Holly and another bartender, Anna, along with Amber, another manager who does whatever is needed! I mention all of the above because every single one of them made us feel at home, like long lost family! David gave us the back story about his Mom & Dad, Christine & Tony George, and his triplet brother, Mikey, and sister Julia. Mikey was born with Down Syndrome and unfortunately passed away in 2020. In memory of Mikey, Tony & Christine established “Awakening Angels”, which helps transform the lives of children and adults with Down Syndrome. All profit earned at the Summer House is donated to this wonderful, Blessed cause…100%!!! Who does that??? Good, wholesome, GOD loving people, that’s who! And every staff employee we met embraces and promotes the love for this charitable partner! The house specialty drinks were amazing, the beer ice cold, the clothesline bacon (served on a clothesline for real), cornbread, lamb meatballs and the Maryland Blue Crab dip were to die for! Tributes, paintings and pictures of Mikey (as well as David, Julia, Tony and Christine) pepper the interior. There is a spectacular view of Lake Erie from most seats in this one of a kind restaurant. This was our first visit but far from our last! I know this review reads like an advertisement but I was so taken back by our experience, so appreciative of everyone’s time, so impressed with the food and cocktails that I cannot say enough. I cannot do our experience justice with words. A visit is needed. You must experience this gem of a destination. When there, do not keep to yourself, please. Open up and talk to the staff. Roam the restaurant and take in the pictures and paintings, everyone of which tells a story. And know that your visit, your patronage, helps a Blessed and...

Honestly, shocked I haven't heard more about this place. It was fantastic! Love its next door neighbor Pier W and stumbled onto this while going to book a reservation there. The aesthetics are very similar, while Summer House lacks the pier over the water view of the city it still has the view of the city - it's perched just above the view of the outdoor pool. It's more spacious, spread out and open, modern and sleek without pretention. Huge bar with multiple TVs. A private room is available right at the entrance that's small and cozy with some cool decor.

We kept the 2 yr old busy with the cornbread appetizer. Very tasty, maple glaze with a cinnamon butter that screamed more desert than app to me but I was too busy with the oysters and tuna tartare to care. Super fresh, tuna had little sliced pepper and onions and chopped dill with a creamy dill sauce and wonton chips and we had smaller east and west coast oysters that were both really good.

I had the bone in ribeye, medium rare, and it was cooked perfectly. Sent this pic to my buddy to show off and he asked if I ordered it medium. I didn't even use my knife to pull the outer part away from the fat layer, it just came right off. Sure it doesn't look MR but if that part is MR then it wouldn't have been cooked hot or long enough to render that fat layer into concentrated meat butter and the center portion would be cold and rare. Here, the center portion was all perfect MR and in turn the meat butter melted in my mouth. The veal demi-glaze was really good though I kept forgetting it was there as I demolished the steak. One literal pound of fingerling potatoes and broccolini on the side were also perfectly cooked. My wife got the dukkah roasted cauliflower and liked it a lot.

Oh and the martini I ordered had hand stuffed blue cheese olives and was filled to the brim. Julie the waitress was attentive, and if she didn't have immediate answers to our questions was quick to get them, in extensive detail.

Can't wait to go back and try the shrimp, deviled eggs and dry aged clothesline bacon apps and the strip steak and short...