LakeView Tavern — Restaurant in Southwick

We had planned a trip for a day-after Valentine's Day dinner, and after a LOT of local searching, elected to go to the Lakeview Tavern based simply on the menu options.

Arriving 30 minutes early due to the snow storm, we figured we'd have a couple of drinks at the bar before being seated for dinner.

We enjoyed the atmosphere, with the exception of every TV having sports on it. We're not sports fans, but we get it that most people are. She ordered a Coors Light and I ordered a Bloody Mary. The Bloody Mary was good, and the bartender was very friendly.

We were seated exactly on time with our reservation and EVERY staff member was extremely friendly and helpful. You will absolutely feel welcome here.

For our dinner, my fiancee had ordered a couple of appetizers, mussels and whole belly clams, and she was informed they had neither. Ugh. She then decided on butterflied shrimp and fried scallops. She ordered the chicken Parmesan meal for her entree. I ordered two (2) entrees, but asked to have one (snow crab legs) brought with the appetizers. I also ordered the Bison steak.

The butterflied shrimp and dipping sauce was VERY good...and that was about it.

The scallops were soggy and the snow crab was obviously microwaved. The crab came with corn on the cob, which was obviously microwaved based on the wrinkled look of it, but not enough. It was cold, like it was taken out of the refrigerator and microwaved for 30 seconds. Also, the clarified butter was burnt.

I don't normally complain about my food, but had to this time.

The waitress even commented that she noticed the butter didn't look right. She was very apologetic and was going to take care of the issues. However, when she was taking away the butter and corn she mentioned that the corn mustn't have been microwaved enough. So much for wondering if I was right about the microwave.

When my bison steak came I really didn't try very much of it since we had several other items we were eating at the time. I took ninety percent of it home. I ate when we got home it was a very tough steak.

My fiancee said her Chicken Parmesan was very good, but felt they had given her FAR too much pasta (literally 2 lbs of pasta), but I suppose that's better than not being given enough.

The waitress had come over to check on us and I asked if the bartender could make a Rum Runner drink for me. She said sure and moments later the bartender came over with my drink and stated that she had never made a Rum Runner before, but that she was really happy with how it tasted and said she is now including that drink on their menu.

The drink was PHENOMENAL and my fiancee then ordered one for herself after trying mine.

Overall, we liked the place, the atmosphere, and the staff, but feel we won't go back due to the food experience. It was a twenty-five minute drive there and wasn't good enough for us to agree to go back. We both felt that if we were in the area again, we would stop in for drinks, but not for the food.

It's sad since the entire reason we went there was that the menu sounded so good.

The people and drinks were great though, and it was a...

I typically don’t leave reviews of establishments unless the experience is reslly bad but wanted to leave a positive review for this place considering the circumstances. If anyone went here on valentines day, you might be aware there was some staffing and service issues. Its a very clean establishment with friendly staff considering the issues they experienced. We came in and sat at the bar, ordered some drinks and food and waited for the food. A couple hours go by and there was still no food. Fortunately we are patient people and were very nice to the overwhelmed staff who in return were really nice and apologetic. We knew that if we got up and left it was going to be either mcdonalds or kfc. The owner came over to us and apologized for the delay in receiving the food and promptly prepared alternative meals which were pretty good and they decided to make things right when it came time to pay the bill. I get it, new owners, new system they’re working through, they were busy, short staffed and overwhelmed. Can’t fault them for lack of help. But overall not a terrible experience, will give them a second chance down the road and hopefully the experience next time will exceed the previous experience. I could tell that it was a very disheartening thing for the already spread thin staff to see disappointed people just getting up and walking out despite their best efforts to accommodate customers. It is noteworthy to say that I think that as soon as they iron out some kinks in the system that they will be able to run a successful business. That said we will return and give them another try, and I hope others will give them a...

....The bad...no chowder or bisque,no coffee,chef needs training,bathroom disgusting,waitstaff standing around,no identity..get rid of the banners with your name on them...it's not a racetrack The good is obviously the location. I will blame this poor encounter on management. The food was not good...taste it...fish and chips does not have 2 inches of batter on it...don't pour gobs of dressing on top of the salmon....hit it on the grill and caramelize it..quesadillas usually taste a little Mexican...sweet potato fries were excellent....I would be afraid to order a steak...if there are 6 people standing around and the bathroom receptacles are overflowing have a team member handle that...if those same 6 people are standing around and our food is ready help our waitress and bring our food out at the same time... How do you not have a drink list? Where is your biggest profit margin? To say the least this visit was very frustrating.Set up some small tables with candles in the indoor seating area which gave off the feel that the pool table was stolen leaving a big empty spot.. Here's to hoping you guys pull it together...get someone in charge with an energy and passion to make...