O'Malley's Lakeside Tavern — Restaurant in Town of Ovid

This is a long overdue review. In June 2024, I attended my Cornell Reunion and invited my fraternity brothers and their partners to a lunch at O'Malley's Lakeside Tavern. I thought that a trip up Cayuga Lake from Ithaca for a lunch somewhere, coupled with a wine tasting at a vineyard, would make for a very pleasant afternoon for everyone.

After looking at Yelp and Google Reviews, I decided to inquire O'Malley's about whether they could accommodate over twenty people, rain or shine. I chose O'Malley's because of their favorable reviews, excellent menu, quaintness of their facility, location next to the lake, and reasonably close proximity to Cornell.

I spoke with Johnno, the manager, who assured me that O'Malley's would be able to manage our event well. Johnno requested a heads-up on what people would be ordering. I sent out invitations to the lunch along with O'Malley's menu, and requested that people send me their menu selections a week in advance.

I was hoping for good weather for the event, but as luck would have it, the weather forecast called for some rain, as to be expected in the Finger lakes area. Fortunately, O'Malley's had a wonderful outdoor tent set-up, so although it rained a bit, everyone was comfy. I asked for appetizers to come out first, before meals, so everyone could mingle while standing, drinks in hand. Appetizers and meals were well-timed by O'Malley's Staff. The food was delicious.

O'Malley's came through 100 percent for us. Based on my experience, I would encourage anyone who is considering a similar group event to strongly consider O'Malley's. The Staff served us very well, the food was great, and you cannot beat the ambience. Thank you...

What a different experience from our first visit years ago. The tavern seems to be more popular and they don't seem to be able to handle it. Our waitress warned us that a large group had just ordered and that there would be a wait for our food but it took an hour and 20 minutes after we ordered for the food to arrive. The food was fine but my burger was room temperature and had obviously been sitting a long time before being delivered to the table.

The waitress basically disappeared from our inside area, serving the outside patrons the whole time we waited. After we ate she took a long time to come back to check on us and clear the plates. We asked for the check and she said she would be right back. After 15 minutes I had to get up and go out to the tent area to track her down. Other customers, inside and out, had complaints about wrong food arriving and bill errors. A minor pet peeve - our inside table for four was uncomfortable metal grate outdoor furniture.

We were traveling to Ithaca on a Saturday, saw the sign for O'malley's and decided to check it out. So glad we did. This is a real gem! The wineries were packed with limo and bus groups. Compared to that chaos O'malley's was a welcome haven.

It was everything we could have wanted. We sat by the fireplace and were warmly welcomed by the hosts. The menu has a full range from appetizers to sandwiches to steak dinners. We only wanted a light lunch and chose the lobster bisque, corn chowder and chili.

Every thing was good including the service. It has such a friendly, cozy atmosphere we hope someday to return later in the day and have a...

The establishment itself is beautiful. I thought going there for 2 cheeseburgers and fries and a couple of drinks would be a little cheaper. I felt that they were overpriced. Initially when we got there we went to the bar....they did not have any Captain Morgan which is what I drink. I thought right away that this is a drink that is probably one the most selling liquors....and they don't have any? So immediately I had to change to something I didn't really want. We ordered 2 cheeseburgers with bacon....nothing else on it....an order of French fries...which came with it....2 beers.....4 (well Vodka) mixed drinks....1 Jim Beam for a total of almost $60.00 including the tip. Now I don't know.....it seems to me that the Jim Beam was $4.00 but the well drinks were $3.50? Overpriced! The burger was good but it wasn't any better than any other local establishment. Nothing made it fancy. It also wasn't as big as some places. Overall the food was good.....the establishment beautiful....but overpriced for the area on food as well as alcohol. I am guessing that there won't be another trip there anytime soon. A bottle of well Vodka is very cheap.....the fact that you would charge $3.50 per well drink is kinda gouging...especially when the Jim beam was $4.00. $10.95 for a cheeseburger with bacon on it is well just ridiculous. We can go somewhere else and get cheeseburgers and drinks for way cheaper. I'm glad we didn't actually order a meal.....it would have cost us double that.....sorry but the place isn't that nice that you need to charge that kind of money.....it's nothing more in the Winter than just a...