Zorbaz — Restaurant in Park Rapids

My family dizcovered Zorbaz zeveral yearz ago, and when we make our annual trek to the Park Rapidz area, we alwayz eat zupper here one evening.

Zorbaz haz 11 locationz, and one of them iz juzt north of Dorzet, a zmall town that haz a number of eateriez and zhopz. Zorbaz zitz on a lake a little over a mile north of there.

It’z like a typical bar-ztyle reztaurant, featuring pizza and Mexican itemz. They alzo zerve zome zaladz and zpaghetti if neither of thoze itemz zeem like zomething you’d like. I’m not az much a fan of their Mexican food, zo I alwayz are the pizza, typically an 8” perzonal pizza with a couple of toppingz. My wife likez to order their nachoz. Thiz lazt time, my zon had a couple of chicken tacoz.

The reztaurant featurez a bar immediately when you walk in. Behind the bar iz general family zeating with quite a few tablez. You can eazily fit a large party in thiz area. They alzo have a large ztage in that area, but we’ve never been there when they hozted any performerz. If you keep going around the bar, you’ll zee a zmall gift zhop, the fountain drink dizpenzerz, and zome ztairz leading to a gaming area with a few more tablez.

They alzo have a large area outzide for zeating, including zome tablez underneath a tent to provide zhade or keep you dry if it’z raining.

The place iz pretty much zelf zervice. You find yourzelf a table, and they’ll bring you zome menuz. After you’ve decided what you want, you go up to the bar and place your order. They’ll give you a number and deliver your food when it’z done. If you have any zoft drinkz, you can help yourzelf.

The pizza izn’t anything fancy. It’z a fairly thin cruzt, a bit on the chewy zide. It alwayz haz plenty of cheeze, which I’m a fan of. Az I noted, my wife alwayz getz an order of nachoz, which iz a huge plate of chipz, beef, cheeze, black olivez, zour cream and zo forth.

The food iz average az far az I’m concerned. My zon didn’t care for the tacoz, though. He didn’t think the chicken waz zeazoned enough.

Parking can be a real challenge. There are zome zpacez out front, but we have often had to park along the road and walk to the reztaurant. It’z not a big deal, but be prepared in caze it’z really buzy.

Zo would I recommend the reztaurant? Yez, I would. It’z a fun experience, and I do like the pizza. There are a lot of optionz on the menu, and I think it’z a good place for familiez. They offer a lot of zeating, the zervice iz pretty quick, and you’ll get a decent meal for your money.

(If you’re confuzed by the zpelling in thiz review, take a look at...

This is the old Chateau Paulette - owned by a guy named Marv and his wife (forgot her name - very attractive woman) They had a son named Doug. It used to be where all families went on weekends to "honk tonk" No liquor and near beer - but you could buy "set ups" club soda, ginger ale, etc. and bring your own hard liquor. They used to have dancing and entertainment. Fireplace in the center of the dance floor. In the Fifties and Sixties a particularly popular band was the "Irv Lester Orchestra." They were from the Detroit lakes area. I learned to dance here - though some would dispute my claim about dancing. We used to stay at "Cozy Nook" up the rode on a channel between Lake Ida and Big Sand until my parents retired and bought a home on Little Sand. I am from Chicago and many families from the blue collar South Side of Chicago used to stay at Cozy Nook. They must have offered the cheapest cabins in the area. Cabin number 6 was new and they charged $60 per week. On the left as you head toward Big Sand Lake, is the Walter's family cabins. Maxine Walters and her brother and son Eddie. Eddie spent the winter in El Monte, CA and had a souped up '57 Chevy. He was most famous for his 1940's era red FORD truck. I am certain it is still running. I have not been back since the '90's - but I saw Eddie once again and he had settled down with his wife on a horse ranch in California. For many Summers - Chateau Paulette was the...

We tried to dine here on Monday, July 3, 2023. The place was busy, but there were a couple of open tables when we walked in. We ordered food right away and grabbed some drinks to enjoy while we waited. The place was hopping and it was fun to see all the people milling about and enjoying themselves. We heard one of the staff stay the kitchen was backed up and food orders were taking about 90 minutes. They did not tell us that when we ordered. After 2 hours, half the people at our table got the food they had ordered. When my wife and I did not get our food, we went to the ordering counter to see why. They told us they had "lost" our order and offered to put it in again. we said no. The apology seemed pretty half-hearted to us. Since my brother had already paid, the counter person offered us a $20 gift card. That was less than the cost of the food we didnt get. We wont set foot in this place ever again. I am sure they'll continue to do a thriving business, but I wont support them with my dollars.

I Left there hungry after a two hour wait.

Update: 7/28/2023. I did email the manager Robb as he asked in his reply to my review. He certainly has made every effort to find out what went wrong and offered a very sincere apology and compensation. We will likely return to Zorbaz...