The Cowboy on the Lake — Restaurant in Town of Hamburg

Took family from out of town that water a waterfront dining experience. Beautiful afternoon, place was not busy at all.

We were seated right away and our prepared table. The hostess gave us menus to look through before the rest of our party arrived. Another waitress served us waters for the table and all was well….to start..

Our next waitress came over about 20 mins later and explained she would be training a new girl so if she over explained things, that’s why. She took our drink orders, but sadly they couldn’t accommodate other than bottled beer simple drinks. I asked for a Moscow mule but they didn’t have ginger beer, I asked for an old fashioned but they didn’t have orange butters or syrup or anything to finish the drink (keep in mind they have 5 sets of full bar liquor). She said we can do a Manhattan, ok fine.

The rest of the table received their drinks after waiting another 20 mins., I never got mine. The waitress and her helper asked if everyone was ready to order I raised my hand and said I still haven’t gotten my drink. She apologized and took our food orders. After another 15 mins or so I got up and took a walk with my daughter outside to see the lake and the band setting up. After walking around for a bit, I came back to a drink waiting for me. I got half way through to find that there was a bug in the bottom of my glass plastered to the bottom probably baked on from the dishwasher. She took the drink back and took it off the bill but never brought another one or even asked! During this hour we have all been there, we still haven’t received a water refill or even a question if we wanted more.

We literally waited over an hour for our food to come out. Several tables came and went, we are still here waiting. I know we have a large table, but waiting on a bunch of fish fry’s and chicken Sammy’s should be earth shattering for a kitchen, especially seeing that there were only 2 other tables seated.

Everyone got their meal, one at a time…except mine. One of the fish fry orders had the wrong sides on it. The waitress asked can I get anyone anything else?? I said yes can I have my meal please?? Bear in mind, she’s the trainer….she goes oh yes. (Still no waters, questions for more drinks or anything). There goes another 20 mins. Out comes yet another waitress with my missing chicken sandwich after my party is half done eating.

The food was meh. Fish fry’s were decent but the ribs were like shoe leather, mac n cheese was clearly stouffers microwaved, spin-dip was not even melty.

A la - $650 for garbage service and blah food. An older man struts over wearing sunglasses and asks how I was? I said fine thanks and he walked away. Turns out he was the owner? Dude introduce yourself, ask how our meal and service was and maybe take your sun glasses off inside while you address patrons? Unacceptable and will not be back. Do your homework before you go spend money at restaurants. These people don’t deserve to...

Outside of the lake view at sunset, it was terrible. Made reservations for an outdoor table. Their "outdoor table" is an enclosed patio with no air flow. There are tables actually outside by the water but were told we get the enclosed patio part when making a reservation. That should be voiced when someone is making a reservation. It took 20 minutes to get our first drink because they appatently had a new bartender. The restaurant was far from busy. Our silverware was dirty. We were told they ran out of ingredients for a cosmopolitan. They also ran out of orange juice to make one of their advertised specialty drinks. The wine tasted watered down so we didn't drink it. The Pepsi/Coke was flat. The beef tenderloin was severely overcooked, dry & flavorless. No seasoning. Asked for medium, got well well well done. The fish fry was overcooked and flavorless. The coleslaw didn't taste like coleslaw & was very bland. The macaroni salad looked odd, with some crusty looking pasta, like it had been sitting out all day, so we didn't risk it. The spinach dip was just heated up from frozen. The melted cheese on top had already solidified by the time we got it. The scallop appetizer was OK but nothing special. Just premade frozen scallops wrapped in bacon you can buy from Wegmans. The manager saw how overcooked the beef tenderloin was and took it off our bill. Our server was amazing and she did her best to salvage the night for us but the night was already ruined. They offered some complimentary things but we declined, we weren't looking for free things & quite honesty, more bad food wouldn't have helped. The bathrooms were dirty. The building is dated. They put a new black chain link fence out back so you have to look through it for the view. There are less intrusive options. We couldn't wait to leave so we could make something to eat when we got home. Unfortunately, by the time we got home, we were making a sprint to the bathroom, I assume from the spinach dip. I would advise you to skip this place. We dont see how this place will still be open by next summer if they don't do a complete overhaul of their business, menu & kitchen. It was just a dumpster fire of an experience. Also, if there happens to be a band there, they will try to charge you to go onto the patio and have a drink at the patio bar. Thats pretty cheesy for customers who just paid for dinner and want to enjoy an after dinner drink by the water. Maybe give paying customers a voucher of some sort showing they already spent money on dinner and can access the patio without being harassed for an extra $5 per person. We were there for dinner by the water, not to see some cover band. This would be zero stars but Google makes you put at least one star. So yeah, we...

You all know I'm a big supporter of local Buffalo businesses, especially when they offer good food, service, and atmosphere. However, my experience tonight at @thecowboyofchippewa very disappointing. I asked for a cocktail list and was told they did not have one but could make anything but a mojito. I ordered an aperol spritz and they could not make it, so I ordered a Paloma which they also could not make. A restaurant on the water should be able to make these popular and common summer drinks. Our waitress asked if I'd go inside to speak to the bartender about my drink. There was no bartender present for a good 1o minutes. There was another guest at the bar who walked out while waiting because of the poor service. Once the bartender arrived (who was crabby) I settled on a tequila soda and went back to my table. The calamari appetizer was average at best and lacked lemons, which I had to request. To add to the disappointment, when my friend and I asked for pasta salad as our side, we were told they didn't have it after initially agreeing to it. My glass of Prosecco arrived half full, and when I asked for a top-up, I was met with resistance from the bartender, who claimed that was the standard pour size. This, after a series of mishaps, was simply unacceptable. I wanted to take a photo of the sunset and as soon as I stepped down to the patio was told it was $, cover for the band. He did let me pass. My cowboy dip sandwich was missing the garlic aioli. The restroom was in appalling condition, with no toilet paper in my stall, an empty paper towel dispenser, and dead bugs on the counter. Additionally, my friends were disappointed with the size of their Sio Captain Morgan drinks, feeling they were not worth the price. While our waitress did her best, it's clear that Cowboy on the Lake has a long way to go in terms of service, cleanliness, and overall customer experience. Disappointing, to...