Buoy’s Waterfront Bar & Grill

Came here on the last night of the season. Honestly the bikini drink was one of my favorite mixed drinks ever. The food was average but service and ambiance make up for it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

My in-laws are camping nearby and we decided to go out for dinner tonight. We checked the hours on social media because Google Maps said that they were open but that the hours may be incorrect. Facebook said they had just updated their hours on September 25th and that they were open until 11pm tonight which was not the case. When we arrived after unsuccessfully trying to book a reservation online, the dock residents who were watching the game on the TVs let us know that Buoy's was open earlier and that they pretty much just close whenever they want if they feel like it's slow. We crossed paths with plenty of people that were also planning on dining there. It's a shame because if they would actually stay open, especially on a 93° "fall" day they'd probably thrive even though the reviews on their food are hit or miss. As evident by the packed camp grounds nearby, Buoy would make a killing if they could just keep consistent hours.

First of all, the employee “shed” has the Buoy’s signage for the restaurant and we stopped there in a state of confusion (two other cars had stopped there also) and thought it was the restaurant. Incorrect, the restaurant is down the road by the water. Here’s an idea, take down the Buoy’s sign by the employee shed or put an arrow there to point to the real restaurant. UPDATE: the owner said there IS in fact an arrow pointing to the dock. Let’s look at the photos that are attached.

My wife had the “tenderloin sandwich” and it was horrible. It is served “dry” without any sauce whatsoever, so my wife dumped a bunch of ketchup on it to moisten the sandwich. Ketchup on tenderloin sounds like an oxymoron to me but it covered the steak sufficiently to make it barely edible at least.

Secondly I really doubt this is “tenderloin” since it looked and tasted more like Chicken Fried Steak than anything else. There is a huge difference between tenderloin and chicken fried steak. I would not order this! It was tasteless, dry and didn’t have any seasoning at all. Spare yourself “cottonmouth” and order something else.

Here’s another idea for the “chef” that made this “tenderloin sandwich “ if it can be called that, how about making a nice Au Jus and dipping that “dry as heck sandwich” into a nice flavorful sauce? It’s not hard to make, I’ll help you!!

3C water, 3 Tbsp beef stock, 1/2 tsp both garlic and onion powders, 1 tsp Worcestershire, 1 Tbsp butter (as a finish with the burner turned off) and a small amount of cornstarch slurry to thicken. Voila - from bland to delicious! Nix the fried coating on the tenderloin too, and use a higher quality steak! I’d happily pay more for a decent steak sandwich Au Jus!

Customers are not stupid, there is nothing “tenderloin” about this sandwich. We know how tenderloin looks and tastes.

We won’t be back.

I had the blackened mahi mahi. At least this was a decent sandwich. The mahi mahi helped raise my star rating by 1/2 point, but not by much overall.

Both entrees are served with a small container of potato salad. The potato salad was the highlight of the meal unfortunately.

Oh and if you’re looking for the restroom, it’s outside in the form of 3-4 porta potties. UPDATE: the owner said there are bathrooms onsite in the restaurant. That still doesn’t explain the line of 3-5 people we saw as we exited. Didn’t they know there were restrooms? Who knows.

Lastly the owner asked us to email them so they can make it right. I have no interest in emailing you, what for a free meal? Nope. My reviews are honest and factual and unbiased. If the meal is great we will say so, if not we will say so!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 3

They got the worst customer service ever, all the worker/ waitress just walk pass our table like 5 time and didn’t even bother greeting or make eye contacts. There’s like 4-5 of them standing around. I finally had enough and walk up to the bar and asked to be service.
That was my time going out to eat and asked to be service LOL.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 1

We were camping nearby and drove over to check out a Buoy's on a warm Sunday afternoon. What an awesome setup with lots of families in bathing suits on the floating deck. We split an order of chicken nachos and had a cocktail. The food was good and the servers friendly. Would recommend this place to others

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

What a hidden gem! It is a casual location on Saylorville Lake that makes you feel like you are at a sea food restaurant on the pier at the ocean!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Great place to get together on the lake.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Parking: Right now their main parking area is closed due to flooding. You have to walk down the boat ramp to get there and it's quite an incline.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Put the Lime in the Coconut

Got the lobster rolls and they were ok. I guess I can't expect much in Iowa. The view was nice. Be prepared for a long walk. Had to walk like .2 miles.
Curious how many people have gone overboard on their walk back to shore after having too much to drink ?

Definitely NOT handicap accessible.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Live music, good food, cold drinks on the water. Great way to spend the evening

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Rights on the lake!

Atmosphere: 2

Good food, live music, good drinks, and a solid location. What more could you ask for.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Put the Lime in the Coconut

Cool place right on the lake. Typical lake side bar food. Highly recommend. They even have live music

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

This is a fun place to go especially for Sunday Brunch Bingo.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Put the Lime in the Coconut

We like to spend time here! We do wish there were more spots for our boats.