Not our first time in, and usually this place is worth a wait or less than attentive server bc of the atmosphere & food… but today was a complete disappointment and not a cheap one either. Right out the door we ordered beers and asked for menus and were told: only burgers and fries until 3. Didn’t see that anywhere on the menu & no explanation from the server on why. So. We ordered some fries, that came out seeming twice fried and without the yummy fry sauce they usually come with for 10 bucks. We were hungry. Whatever. The beer helped. Ordered another beer, waited for nearly 40 minutes until this magic time that a salad and other stuff could be served. Again- I checked the website and Facebook for this no food served until 3 thing… couldn’t find it. Finally 3 came and we got the bang bang shrimp, and a steak salad & calamari bc we were hungry & hot! All our favorites… calamari was good, steak salad as it usually is (sure wish it had a bit of spinach at that price) and the shrimp came out banging minus the rice being either under cooked or too old & dried out for consumption. As our real appetizer came out, I asked for some water and got a curt- it’s over there. Never have I ever gotten my own glass of water here, and as someone in the service industry as a caterer, bartender on up to trainer & manager would I never make a guest go get their own water. If anything. I would automatically bring it with ice to each table in the heat of the summer- it’s a simple and easy thing to bring over, and would definitely impact tips for servers if this is a new policy of some kind. Policy or not, if I was serving I’d never tell a table to go get their own. Especially in a less than full house. Lastly, and maybe this is on me for not noticing before but our bill had a 3% transaction fee, and then on top of that a 3% credit card surcharge. My LANTA! I could understand the 3% card charge, but again. Communication could have been: it’s 3% to run a card but cash is king… or something to that tune. Still unsure why that 3% transaction fee was there… and was the icing on the cake for why it’s probably gonna be a while before we’re back. Which is a bummer because we do love the atmosphere & the food, most of the time! I would say- free advice from a food service & hospitality industry retired trainer: make sure your website & hours reflect & clarify the *full menu* times. If it’s on the menu that would help some, but putting it front and center near your hours would save a lot of trouble in the future. I could point out other ways to help in this matter, but a close read to this would be a good start. I used to tell my servers- if you’re not getting over 20% on your sales, we can fix that. Our server did bring over a couple drink chips as we were leaving, but we will probably be passing those to someone else since it’ll probably be a while before we’re back. It’s the calamari that brings me back for sure.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Cindy L
It really cute place right on the water loved our waitress. I can’t remember her name. Dark wavy hair. Super fun. It was an awesome waitress. Remember if you can try to pay cash for tips that would be wonderful. I WOULD
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Kayne Phillips
Great spot to stop for a drink, good music and good folks.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Chris Tenda
The food is good and going out to see the lake is very enjoyable. The inside atmosphere of the bar isn't my thing but the outside lake view is great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Thea Reeves
Lakeside is magical year round! The food is excellent, fairly priced and the drinks are top notch. What really makes this place special though is the staff and their commitment to the Helena community. During my most recent visit Austin and the team organized a fundraiser for the Horse Gulch Fire crew and first responders. Love visiting Lakeside any chance I get.
Best bar on Hauser lake!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Hand-Pattied Beef Burgers, Buffalo Wings, Burgers, Pepper Jack Cheese Burger with Bacon and Grilled Onions, Buffalo Chicken
The best bar on the lake everrrrr. Love me a good shot machine. Won big
I went for a conference. The staff was amazing and the location was absolutely beautiful. The next time I'm in the area, I'll definitely go back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Parking can be tricky. Great lakeside view. Indoor and outdoor seating. Good bar food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Burgers
Google states open until 9pm. Got there at 7:30, said last order went in 20 minutes ago.
They were all very nice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Busy place. Waiters still found the time to come around to see if everything was ok
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burgers, Chili, Side Salad
Had excellent catered prime rib dinner!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good BAR food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Burgers, Chili
Best place to be on a summer Saturday in Montana!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burgers, Buffalo Chicken
Restaurantji Recommends
Not our first time in, and usually this place is worth a wait or less than attentive server bc of the atmosphere & food… but today was a complete disappointment and not a cheap one either.
Right out the door we ordered beers and asked for menus and were told: only burgers and fries until 3. Didn’t see that anywhere on the menu & no explanation from the server on why. So. We ordered some fries, that came out seeming twice fried and without the yummy fry sauce they usually come with for 10 bucks. We were hungry. Whatever. The beer helped.
Ordered another beer, waited for nearly 40 minutes until this magic time that a salad and other stuff could be served. Again- I checked the website and Facebook for this no food served until 3 thing… couldn’t find it.
Finally 3 came and we got the bang bang shrimp, and a steak salad & calamari bc we were hungry & hot! All our favorites… calamari was good, steak salad as it usually is (sure wish it had a bit of spinach at that price) and the shrimp came out banging minus the rice being either under cooked or too old & dried out for consumption.
As our real appetizer came out, I asked for some water and got a curt- it’s over there.
Never have I ever gotten my own glass of water here, and as someone in the service industry as a caterer, bartender on up to trainer & manager would I never make a guest go get their own water. If anything. I would automatically bring it with ice to each table in the heat of the summer- it’s a simple and easy thing to bring over, and would definitely impact tips for servers if this is a new policy of some kind. Policy or not, if I was serving I’d never tell a table to go get their own. Especially in a less than full house.
Lastly, and maybe this is on me for not noticing before but our bill had a 3% transaction fee, and then on top of that a 3% credit card surcharge. My LANTA! I could understand the 3% card charge, but again. Communication could have been: it’s 3% to run a card but cash is king… or something to that tune. Still unsure why that 3% transaction fee was there… and was the icing on the cake for why it’s probably gonna be a while before we’re back. Which is a bummer because we do love the atmosphere & the food, most of the time!
I would say- free advice from a food service & hospitality industry retired trainer: make sure your website & hours reflect & clarify the *full menu* times. If it’s on the menu that would help some, but putting it front and center near your hours would save a lot of trouble in the future. I could point out other ways to help in this matter, but a close read to this would be a good start. I used to tell my servers- if you’re not getting over 20% on your sales, we can fix that. Our server did bring over a couple drink chips as we were leaving, but we will probably be passing those to someone else since it’ll probably be a while before we’re back. It’s the calamari that brings me back for sure.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
It really cute place right on the water loved our waitress. I can’t remember her name. Dark wavy hair. Super fun. It was an awesome waitress. Remember if you can try to pay cash for tips that would be wonderful.
I WOULD
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Great spot to stop for a drink, good music and good folks.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
The food is good and going out to see the lake is very enjoyable. The inside atmosphere of the bar isn't my thing but the outside lake view is great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Lakeside is magical year round! The food is excellent, fairly priced and the drinks are top notch. What really makes this place special though is the staff and their commitment to the Helena community. During my most recent visit Austin and the team organized a fundraiser for the Horse Gulch Fire crew and first responders. Love visiting Lakeside any chance I get.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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