4th Tavern Lakehouse — Restaurant in Waterford Township

I first went to the 4th tavern 6 months ago, after I graduated college for a celebratory meal. I ordered the steak al-forno medium rare, and it was the most delicious steak I'd ever had. It was cooked perfectly, the garlic butter melted perfectly with the mashed potatoes and it was heavenly. I vowed to have this again for my next celebratory meal after I take the MCAT, an 8 hour test to get into med school. I studied for this test nonstop for 6 months, and yesterday I took it. I was so excited not just to be done with the test but to taste the divinity of the steak al-forno once more.

So, yesterday my boyfriend and I drove over and ordered 1 steak al-forno medium rare for me and for boyfriend an inferno burger and hot wings. Our waitress Taylor was very nice, it was very busy but she was made sure that our drinks were full and our food would be out eventually.

Our food did come out and it looked just as delicious as I remembered. With the lump of garlic butter on top just starting to melt its goodness. However, as I was cutting I noticed there was alot of red juice getting all over the potatoes. I continued cutting until a had a whole slice off, and then my heart fell. The steak was very rare, practically raw. I was so disappointed, all that excitement I had disappeared. When Taylor came back and I showed her. She looked horrified and promptly took it back to be recooked. Taylor did nothing wrong, she is a good waitress and did all the right steps. Boyfriends burger was cooked correctly and he says it was "pretty good".

I tried to regain hope that the re-cooked steak would be just like the one I had 6 months ago. But when it came back, it looked like a ghost of itself. About 25% of the vegetables and potatoes were removed, and the steak looked sad liked a TV diner steak. The peice I cut off was medium rare but when I cut off a peice from the other side it and it was still rare. At that point I had given up and I just wanted to leave. I sent the plate back and we asked for the check. We thought the experience was over but it was not.

A few minutes go by and a lady with the name tag Jordan comes by, I assume she was the manager. She asks what happened and I explained. She then proceeded to reprimand me for sending the steak back because the second time it was medium rare, and said that I should order something more well next time if I didn't want steak a little pinker. Boyfriend interrupted and said we just want the check.

When she left, a very nice busboy in a red shirt came by, I didn't catch his name but he should get a raise. He took boyfriends plate and apologized for the steak being undercooked and joked that next time he'll make sure it's cooked perfecrly himself. I very much appreciated him and his jokes.

The check came we paid and left. I harbor no hard feelings for the restaurant but I will not go there again for fear of being reprimanded for sending an...

Maybe they are much better when you dine-in, but my takeout experience last night was such a disappointment. It was my first time getting food from here and I was really excited to have a new local place with a wide selection and decent prices.

We got the crispy brussel sprouts appetizer, mushroom & swiss burger, and the sesame ahi tuna dinner. The "crispy" brussel sprouts were slimey soft on the top and hard on the bottom in a way that got stuck in our teeth and was hard to chew. We didn't even eat half of those before moving onto the burger. The bottom bun was so soaked and soggy that it had to be thrown out right away. And for a mushroom & swiss burger, there was way more tomato and lettuce (which I've never seen on a mushroom & swiss burger before?) than there was of the main toppings. It didn't have much flavor so we left it mostly uneaten as well. I hate to be so harsh but the fries were the saddest I think I've ever had with a burger. They seemed like they were bottom-of-the-barrel, half were limp and the other half were hard like trying to chew plastic. Inedible. Thank goodness that the ahi tuna was tolerable or we would have been left hungry altogether. The tuna was pretty decent but the rice was really dry.

I made sure to clarify on the phone that we wanted the entree version of the ahi tuna, not the appetizer, but when I picked it up (even though on the receipt we were charged for the entree) it was without the side dish. Luckily I checked the order in the car before leaving so they had me wait in the lobby while they made the side. I'm not sure if we were given smaller portions of the fish or slaw it came with or if there are any other differences between the app and full dinner purchases besides just the rice and choice of soup. I didn't even try the tomato bisque that it came with. It didn't look very appetizing and I didn't even feel like bothering after the other food.

I tried to order this through their website ordering system but it seemed a bit wonky. When I went to order the ahi tuna, a choice of side was required but it didn't show the coconut jasmine rice as an option (as listed as it's side in the menu description) and that's what I wanted with it. And when I went to add it as a note in the "special requests" window, it told me that special requests or additional directions weren't allowed. So I'm not sure why that's even listed as an option on the ordering layout? So even though I prefer to do online ordering, I called in instead to try and avoid any mess ups.

Not sure if they were just off their game last night or if takeout isn't their specialty, but I am going to err on the side of not trying again....

A little History: The 4th Tavern Lake house is the old Village Place at Elizabeth Lake & Cooley Lake Rd. It is totally different from the restraunt we spent half the night in because it was the only restraunt that was opened 24 hours in the area. The food was great! From chili fries, Western Omelettes, Tuna Melts, Breakfast any style. Not to mention that fabulous retro Bakery stand right at the check out counter. The 1980,- 2020 are the years I’ve spent visiting this location. When the pandemic shut down caused the Village Place to close it close an era of good ole family Restaurants. If you didn’t feel like cooking you could take the family there and have a great dinner. It was also a favorite of Seniors too because the versatile menu. Last week on February 25th I visited the 4th Taveran Lake-house for the first time. Except the new signage out front the entrance looked, but when you stepped into the restraunt a hostess stand with hostess greets you. To the right there are a row of booth seating right at the front by the windows facing Cooley Lake & Elizabeth Lake. To the left in the middle of the room is a bar. There are big screen TVs and smaller ones for smaller parties. Circling the bar are individual tables for parties of 2-4 seats. The ambience is warm cozy and sociable. That’s not all, there is a patio with tables seating for larger parties 2-6 /8 seats per table. The brightness and coziness of this area is just as quaint. It has string lights all around the ceiling border along with the heat system. It’s great! Further out there is the deck right off the Lake, Wow! It’s going to be awesome to have meals out there this spring & Summer. I have pictures of my food but could not post them. The staffs are new people. They are just warm and friendly willing and waiting to please. The wait- staff before were like good ole friends. They knew what you wanted in your coffee and had it right out to as soon as you sit down at times. There is one waitress that stay on!!! I was so happy to see her in our old landmark. Did I mention the food ? Oh my! FABULOUS! Gourmet level dishes. The good is really good. I had a Cobb salad and party had a burger with fries. The coffee is perfect and robust. I enjoyed it all from the beginning to the end. It’s an upgrade but it did not loose its warm atmosphere and great eats. It’s higher priced but well worth the...