Traditions on the Lake — Restaurant in South Carolina

What a great birthday surprise! My wife and I were passing through Clemson, after a wonderful birthday excursion. We've been through Clemson many times but usually just grabbed something simple. But that's not what we wanted this time. We really wanted to eat someplace special with good food and ambiance. I decided to look for internet suggestions. My initial search for best restaurants near me, turned up things like Mellow Mushroom, a hotdog cafe, and Wendy's. Totally useless for what we were looking for and seriously, should those be listed in the best restaurants. If so then the outlook for our romantic evening was pretty bleak.

But I tried another site of "best lists". I could not believe what I saw. It sounded like the very kind of place that I have so often sought but rarely found.

They had outdoor seating by the lake. That's what I'm talking about. Ambiance! So I continued to investigate the menu. This was it! Lump Crab cakes, shrimp and grits, a steak salad, hearty and unique appetizers...plus many other selections that sounded amazing, And last but not least the trifecta was completed by a surprisingly reasonable price range.

It was PERFECT! It is part of a resort but don't let that deter you.

We had a BLT salad (which includes a crispy fried, deliciously seasoned, tender chicken breast) and the Lump Crab Cakes. I capitalize this selection because it deserves the respect. We have ordered crab cakes many times and enjoy them almost every time. But there is usually not enough sauce to satisfy my tastes. In my opinion the sauce is what sets one crab cake apart from another. These were actually swimming in a luscious pool of buttery remoulade, mushroom risotto, and lemon caper vin blanc. It was every bit as rich and delicious as it sounds.

The setting is so well designed but not formal or stuffy. Just beautiful and pleasant. And the service was friendly, accommodating,...

We found this place by accident, thanks to Yelp! It's inside of a hotel/ condos (yes, it's both a hotel, and you can buy condo units. Interesting lol.) Andddd it's open on Sundays! Yay!

We were looking for a lunch place after church, and discovered this spot. You enter through the hotel lobby entrance and immediately see the restaurant and bar and hostess stand. The outside patio is super nice and has a nice view of the lake. Inside looked cozy as well and seemed to have a nice bar and lounge. Very cool that this is open to the public.

The butternut squash soup sounded delicious, and it was! A hint of sweet and topped w crème fresh and green onions.

The kids menu was generous. They can pick a number of things and then many large sides, such as choosing the cheeseburger and a side of Mac and cheese (so like having two meals. My son was thrilled!) He said both were very good! And took half of each home.

The French toast with strawberry compote comes with two eggs your choice of style, and two sausage Patties or bacon. We ordered bacon and we're accidentally given sausage. They immediately brought us extra bacon which was nice. Sausage was okay. Bacon was crispy and great! French toast was good but of course sweet.

I ordered the steak tips salad, that was to die for!! Foodie Heaven! Steak dips were done perfectly, moist and flavorful! A bed of mixed green, crispy fried onions, candied walnuts, tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese, and your choice of dressing. I did balsamic vinaigrette.

Good service. All the food was good! Fresh and good quality ingredients. Food came out quickly even though they were relatively busy. We loved the fresh air patio on the lake, and wished they had a path along the lake to walk etc. But no real access to it. We will be back and enjoy more of their food! Great to...

I really wanted to give this place 5 stars, and I'll explain why I didn't. Let me start with the food: amazing! I had the Brussel sprouts appetizers, and burger, my wife had the chicken and waffles, as did my daughters boyfriend, and my daughter had the chicken salad sandwich. Food was amazing! Service, not so much. I have worked in the hospitality industry my entire life. Currently a cook, but have served and trained as management. We sat at our table for a good 25 minutes before we had to flag down a server to ask for water, and I someone would be taking care of us. I was always taught that if a server has not "touched" your table withing 5 minutes, that you should leave. But we were so hungry, and the menu looked amazing. Our server, whose name I can't remember, was outstanding. She went out of her way to take care of us, and apologized each time she came to the table. She explained, that the hostess, who took 10 minutes to pay attention to us when we walked in, never marked our table as sat, so how could she know that we needed service. Again, she apologized for the treatment, and went above and beyond as a server. The manager. Or general manager never came to the table, as he or she should have. This needs to me remedied asap! Maybe it's time for new management. We will return when we are in clemson again, and I highly recommend the food. Even thanked the chef on my way out. In my opinion, the owners need to retrain or replace the management, seeing as this happened go many other...