27 Best American Restaurants near Big Lake

“We were traveling through on our way back home (North Dakota). Looking online for possible rest stop to eat. Thrilled to find this wonderful home cooked meat and potatoes restaurant. So inviting and comfortable. There were 6 of us, our sweet server immediately found the perfect seating. From start to finish everything was so good. I highly recommend and encourage a visit there.“

“The food was good and the staff was excellent. Spacious place and it was clean. We enjoyed it and will be back.“

“Great food and the best staff love this place !“

“I took my son out for lunch today, and the experience was great! I had the grilled chicken sandwich and it was exceptional. The chicken breast was thick & juicy. It was a common dish done uncommonly well! My son had the chicken strips and he loved them. They were lightly breaded and good size. Our server was friendly, punctual and on top of it! Kudos to the team!“

“Loved this place since day 1!!! So proud of the growth and success in a space so many have failed in!! 💙🫶🏼“

“Great service from Chris at the bowling/arcade bar!“

“The food and drinks were amazing. Thank you to our server Devan for the recommendations and excellent service. Definitely going back!“

“Wonderful restaurant“

“I love this bar, friendliest staff in the Midwest.“

“What an awesome place! Great food and leadership!“

“I love this bar, friendliest staff in the Midwest.“

“This is hands down THE BEST place to eat! I have a special needs ( Autistic, ADHD, vision impaired) grandchild and she requests this Culvers daily. We have tried others ( The St Cloud location made us leave because of her excited squeals) but the way the entire staff treats her and the rest of us when we walk through that door in Monticello is OUTSTANDING!! They can see if she's having a tough day and they go above and beyond to accommodate us. I have NEVER taken her anywhere else in Monticello that has accepted her the way Culvers staff has. They are always polite, fast and very welcoming. I don't know all of their names but Anthony and Chad are two of her favorite people. The manager is wonderful! When my bill fold got left behind she worked hard to reach out and get it back to me, she went above and beyond and I can't tell you how very much that ment to me. We don't feel like customers, we feel like family. The staff never seems crabby or like you are a burden, they really seem to enjoy their job. That speaks volumes about management. We cannot say enough good things about the staff 😃 Thank you Monticello Culvers for accepting my Granddaughter for who she is ❤️“

“Creative menus, exotic drinks, wine and Coors Light! You won't be disappointed!“

“6 of us recently just visited this restaurant for the first time & the food was fantastic. My smash burger was so good . Probably, the best I've ever had. I recommend checking out this restaurant!“

“Great place with good food!“

“nice clean place, good food and friendly staffs!“

“Love being part of this group!“

“We reserved a party room for a small business event. Deb was very easy to work with and Michelle was helpful when I had questions and Deb wasn't available. Their rates were incredibly reasonable. The flexibility was hard to beat! When we arrived, Mike and Deb were great about making sure we had what we needed. We had 2 servers- mine was Emily and she was very on top of things. The food was good and the drinks were good- I heard no complaints from any of our guests about the food, drinks or service. Kudos to the kitchen for pace and standard. Also, the room afforded a lot of space and a great deal of privacy from the rest of the bar which was perfect for us. Overall, I wish every venue was as great as this one! Thanks Liberty crew!“

“Hawk's burgers are the best.“

“We didn’t eat and just had a few pitchers of beer with our bowling games but we got checked on frequently by our server (Jesse) and felt comfortable and taken care of! Our group had the whole VIP area to ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed our time. Would come back!“

“My wife and I had a fantastic experience at Applebee’s in Monticello, Minnesota last Friday night. We hadn’t been there in quite a while, not because of anything negative, but simply because it’s a little farther for us to drive.

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by a very friendly and welcoming host. Our waitress was wonderful, kind, attentive, and very efficient. The service was excellent, and the food was absolutely fantastic.

It was great to be reminded what a positive dining experience feels like. Thank you to the entire team for making our evening enjoyable. We’ll definitely be back!“

“Best breakfast I have had in awhile. We randomly stopped there after we did some shopping on our way back home from St Paul. 100% would recommend.“

“Angus burger wrap was delicious & strawberry peach boozy lemonade is fantastic!“

“The food was absolutely amazing. I've never had a cornbread muffin be so perfectly balanced with sweetness savory and it was incredible moist, it was my favorite thing, And the best cornbread muffin I've ever had! Don't get me wrong the main course was amazing also but the cornbread muffin was out of this world!“

“Veronica was awesome very personable, kind and thorough and serving us a great meal. Highly recommend Perkins and if you’re lucky you’ll have Veronica as your service gal! My wife and I enjoyed the visit very much.“

“A little slow to get our check but the food was good!“

“Samantha is a straight up gift to y’all.🙌 I can’t remember the last time I’ve been here but I’ll be coming back just for her.“