Louie's Lakeside Bistro & BBQ

First time visiting. Left to try another location to test the waters. Don't even bother. First hand met the owner and hes down to earth. Dogs allowed and even given water. Try the rum runner if you get a chance, the bruschetta was awesome.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It was my birthday, a nice Sunday evening after we got done with the lake left at 2:30. it was genuinely the worst service me and my family have ever experienced. walked in and sat at a table immediately which was nice but it wasn’t busy AT ALL. had very high expectations, was greeted by a lady and asked if we were ready to order. We said not yet and we expected to have her come back in 5-10 minutes or so as you would expect at a restaurant. instead we waited about 30-40 minutes until we ASKED for someone to take our order. we were told she went on “break.” I work at a restaurant myself and you NEVER go on break unless your tables are all taken care of and they are eating. we waited another 30 minutes for our VERY unflavored food. husband said the burger tasted like the color gray. When the food came we immediately asked for the bill and we asked the lady who was helping us because mind you (our original waitress was still gone) we asked her “is the service always like this?” she said “what do you mean?” we told her our situation and she proceeded to say it was because our original waitress was on break but that is NOT an excuse to not even CHECK on your customers. She never apologized and left. Our original waitress came back in the restaurant giving us dirty looks. Somehow all the staff made us very uncomfortable and made it seem like we were in the wrong. The service would have gotten all of them fired at the restaurant i work at. we go by making our customers feel welcomed and at home, not laziness and zero accountability. I mentioned how we left the lake at 2:30 we left the restaurant at 4:55. Also, the entire time there were plenty of waiters that could have taken our order but they were standing and talking. never coming back and our night/my birthday was ruined

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Expect about 2 hours start to finish

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 2

Waitress was amazing but for a soda even kids was $3.03 menu online way cheaper definitely isn't updated. Kids meals very little food. But the food was amazing.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great service, great views. Good food reasonably priced.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

ate at louie’s for my bachelorette — the staff here was SO fantastic!! we had such a blast and were well taken care of. would definitely recommend, we had all different types of food and EVERYONE said their food was delicious! YAY THANK U LOUIES!!!⭐️🥳

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good food, friendly service

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Louie's Specialty Salad

Great food!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had party of ten girls. We got there Friday night and had to wait a little while, but the staff was amazing. They got us seated as soon as possible. The food was awesome and so was the staff. Will definitely go back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

10 women on a girls weekend and the staff was very accommodating since they don't take reservations. We had to wait some but considering the size of our group, it was a great time.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

In response to the “Tasteless Heretic” review… you covered so many negative aspects of your bias opinion, but left one out. Seating. Where is a party to sit? Every time we walk in in recent years (In all the years since Louis’ has been opened, we’ve been there since day one…) we generally have to resolve ourselves to sitting at the bar because every table, inside and out, is filled. We gladly take those seats looking forward to one of our many favorites. Including the nachos you referenced, btw, it’s the same recipe we’ve ever known and we’ve found that the “lunch lady opens for spaghetti day” as you you so eloquently (not) described, is more often than not, all sold out.
Let’s set aside all the 5 star reviews, ours included, and explain the restaurant being packed EVERY time we walk in. We are seasonal campers and boaters in our beginning years since 2006 and Louie’s opening in circa 2010 was and is a godsend for both us and the people that populate/consume all the seating (LOL), your review hardly represents anything but an apparent axe to grind. “Heretic” away, my friend, you’ll not sway those that know.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Cuban Sandwich

Great place to eat and the food is awesome.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Always a great experience. They manage to keep the prices fair and the service great despite the times we live in! The weekly specials are an awesome idea to add flare to the already great menu! Great job by the entire staff!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Smokehous Burger

In comparison to the last time I was there, 2016, the food has dropped a sizable amount in quality and portion size. My friend ordered the chicken parm dinner, it was served on an oversized oval plate. The pasta did not get drained all the way, but she said it tasted alright and that it needed to be in a bowl if the portion size isn't going to take up over 1/3 of the plate. The waitress offered a secondary side of honey glazed carrots to "fill in" the emptiness of the plate. The Cuban was alright, but the pulled pork didn't have that signature smokey flavor to it, unfortunately it had more of the its been sitting in water and fat flavor. The Cuban sauce was okay, they used to put bit more on the sandwich, it was a little sweet with some heat; now the cuban sauce tastes just like mayo and mustard without any other flavors hitting the palette. At least the pizza dough is still made the same for the sandwich. The only good thing about the nachos was the Graziano Brother's sausage; they used to load the nachos up with Graziano Brother's sausage, beef, mushrooms, onions and black olives with cheese, marinara and Alfredo sauce. Now the marinara tastes like the kind the lunch lady opens for spaghetti day. The sausage and excessive cheese was still there but no other toppings nor Alfredo. The dish was served with day old pita slivers, which used to be quartered pita chips, and half a handful of standard corn tortilla chips. If a place is going to spend twice as much time cutting up pita chips then the dip should actually be a dip rather than a handful of pizza topping meat and cheese. Even trying to use the dribble of lunch lady marinara with the cheese to make a dip was impossible to attain before the main dishes were sent out. All in all they should stick to what they used to be good at which was sandwiches and pizza. Clearly the they have been doing there best but current times are not about doing your best they are about providing the most value for the consumer, and 50 bucks for the 3 items listed seems a bit of an overpriced rendition of a fever dream. The new deck is a nice addition but they should not try to push the cost of the remodel onto the consumer they way they have. The same items back in 2016 was $42.13 for better quality product. Do not recommend, will not attempt another stop. Its Honey Creek State Park prices for Aldi's value products. ??

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 4

Ate at 5pm when the restaurant opened on July 4th weekend. Nearly every seat was taken and yet they made room for our party of 20. All tables and booths in the same area which was amazing. Our waitress was incredible and the team of folks helping her was just as impressive. Our trips to Rathbun always have a mandatory supper @ Louise’s. Always appreciate when an owner/manager is working alongside their team. We’ve always been impressed!! Highly recommended & be patient. Supper on the lake isn’t suppose to be fast food. Get a cold drink & enjoy your company!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Build Your Own Pie, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Sandwich, Three Alarm Burger, Pizza