Lakeside Grille - Thousand Hills State Park

After a two day drive, we were greeted by a kind and helpful young lady at check in. Unfortunately, any positive first impression was immediately overshadowed upon entering our cabin. The unit had not been properly serviced, it reeked of cigarette smoke, the beds were unmade, wet and dirty towels were left on the floor, and to our shock, we even discovered what appeared to be a woman’s thong on the floor. Trash had not been removed, and overall, the cabin was unacceptable. The adjoining kitchen doors were also unlocked, prompting us to inspect the neighboring cabin. While it was in somewhat better condition, we still had to vacuum the carpets and clean both the kitchen and bathroom ourselves. Blankets and linens were provided, but we were left to make the beds. The next day, we received a call from the office questioning why we had checked in late. My wife explained the situation and voiced our frustration. We were told the manager would be informed and reach out to us. The following day we went to the office, the staff member we spoke with was dismissive and unhelpful. To this day, no manager has reached out to us. The condition of the cabin only worsened our disappointment, lampshades and walls were stained, carpets were torn and dirty, spider webs were visible behind the door, and the showers appeared to harbor mold and mildew. Broken blinds and peeling shower tiles added to the overall neglect. These cabins used to be a hidden gem, but now they feel tired and forgotten. The lack of maintenance and care is obvious the moment you walk in, and it takes away from the experience entirely. I have been coming here for over 30 years, and the despair they are in is so sad. The potential is great, but unless changes are made, I fear this place will never return to the retreat it once was.

We have tried eating here a few times now. Today was our worst experience. We really just didn't enjoy the food at all. The steak was extremely bland and gristly, the fish was overly fishy. The loaded baked potato was obviously a previous days potato just warmed up and they didn't even bring butter or sour cream with it. I will say that the French fries were fresh and good with their homemade ranch. I wish I could recommend but sadly the food has really gone downhill, and the menu is small.

The service is still great and for that we were extremely thankful.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: French Fries

My son and I visited for the first time. Christian was our server. He was wonderful. The food was delicious, the restaurant, absolutely clean, beautiful. Prices are reasonable, portions of the food are sizeable! Highly recommended you visit Lakeside Grill if you have not!

Food was very good

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent view and great food! McKenna was a lovely server! Ask for her when you go 🥰

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Just picked this place off the internet when visiting from WI. Love this place! It's definitely a go-to place when I visit again. Nice people, awesome with kids, clean and the prices are great. Food selection is small; however, it is perfect for this place.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We came out here for Mother’s Day brunch and their buffet was pretty expensive but you could never get any plates. We decided to give it another try for Father’s Day. Had reservations, took the waitress 20 minutes to acknowledge us and get our drink order: got our food order in and tables that came in 15+ minutes after us, got their food first. After waiting 1 hour and 10 minutes, the waitress told us it would be another 10-15 minutes. That’s when we decided to leave. I have never done that at a restaurant before but we were just done. Will never go back. This place could use some new management. It has a great view and the food isn’t terrible. The people who used to own it managed it very well.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 1

This was during Truman graduation weekend and my family reserved for about 10 of us to eat. The waitress was great and the atmosphere is beautiful being that it is a state park. However, the food was seriously disappointing after waiting a hour and a half to be served. The menu only had 7 entrees or so listed which okay we thought that maybe they keep everything fresh and homemade. No. I ordered fettuccine Alfredo and it tasted like noodles mixed in white velveeta cheese sauce. It was also cold like it had sat in a window somewhere. My family member had order a smash burger and it was no where near a smash burger. It was just a burger on two pieces of toast, like legit toasted bread, no bun. Also, the French fries were soggy. Such a disappointment because there was so much hype about how “good this place was in the past”, but it has clearly gone downhill. I feel like if you’re going to have only 7 items on a paper menu then make those the best you possibly can and make your food from scratch. Anyone can buy velveeta cheese sauce and smother it over a bed of store bought fettuccine noodles and spend less money. We will not be back.

After a disastrous experience with cabin rentals and the marina, our family was promised the opportunity to have our meal fully comped by the restaurant. This was not effectively communicated with the restaurant, and the restaurant manager (Joshua) expressed significant indifference to our situation. The manager was so checked-out that he even expressed that he was leaving in a very short time to take on a new assignment elsewhere. I would not recommend making reservations here for any special events or celebrations.

This is such a beautiful spot for dinner. I was visiting Kirksville for business, and was told this spot had recently switched owners. The new owners did a great job! The menu had good options, and everything I ordered tasted great. I had fried fish with sides of broccoli and mac and cheese. The tartar sauce was yummy, and the fish tasted great. The broccoli was cooked well (but maybe lacking slightly in seasoning). The mac and cheese was delicious and covered in thick, saucy white cheese. We were a table of 5, so our food took a little while to come out but nothing unreasonable and the service was good overall.

We walked here from Campground 2. I had the blackened catfish and my husband had the steak. Finishing off with carrot and chocolate cake. The food was excellent! We sat outside on the deck. Beautiful view. Wish we lived closer. We would be regulars.

First time dining here and it is a beautiful location! Young man that waited on us was very pleasant and prompt, although he did cuss in front of my children when he accidentally spilled some water while topping us off. My husband and I chuckled and this but someone else may have been upset. The portions and taste of food were very much in line with pricing with the exception of the desserts. It was my birthday so I splurged a little and got the carrot cake.(priced at $10.99)To our surprise serving was a slice of cake maybe an inch thick if that. For my main, I got the pulled pork mac n cheese and it was delicious. Overall one of the nicer places in the area and we will definitely be back to enjoy other things on the menu.

Waited over 50 minutes for a hamburger and pulled pork sandwiches to arrive at our table and it was cold. Waitress very slow and blamed the cook, when obviously the food was done long before it was brought to the table.

The food is highly priced to limit the style of people that will dine in there.

They just updated their menu and it is fantastic. A good variety and pretty large portions. Highly recommend!!!