1878 On The Lake

Review summary

1. B

   Brent

   Milwaukee

   5 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Dinner for two on Thanksgiving @5pm. Never been there before. Holiday buffet. Busy, but not crazy. Overall food was good. Some items were over cooked (turkey)and some not very hot. The carving stations made up for it. Turkey from there was very good. Probably difficult to keep it all hot with a large holiday buffet and a lot of people. Nice layout to the holiday buffet. Rolls were too hard for my liking. Desserts were good. Didn’t like the dining room chairs. They were not solid and too relaxed. I drink a lot of water and it was difficult to be refilled because they were busy. The place is really really nice and we would go back. In fact we regretted not staying the night.
   

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2. B

   Brian

   Milwaukee

   8 reviews

   4.0

   8 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The staff was very friendly and helpful. Food was all very good but it could’ve been warmer.
   

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3. C

   Charles

   Chicago

   9 reviews

   vip
   1.0

   9 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   We dined for the Thanksgiving buffet. The food was bland. The lack of options was disappointing. The biggest disappointment was the service. Our server was completely absent. Taking 10-15 minutes to bring sodas. Multiple tables in our area experiencing the same extremely long wait for refills, the bill, napkins, etc. Empty plates were stacked high on the tables until you stood up and flagged someone down. For the price and auto added gratuity, there was a basic expectation to have drinks and water. Very disappointing service for Thanksgiving.
   

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4. S

   Shari

   Chicago

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I LOVE Lake Lawn! The ambiance is outstanding! It is lakefront, they have great space between tables and the buffet was spread out beautifully. There was no waiting for food! Overall, the food was very good. I would love more options for vegetarians, like pasta salad without meat and more appetizers like deviled eggs, etc. The shrimp were nice and large! The salmon was not fishy tasting at all, very nice flavor and I loved the pecan crust. Unfortunately, the fish, white meat (carved) turkey, mashed potatoes and mac-n-cheese were really dry, which can understandably occur on buffets, though extra liquid going in would help this in the future. A vegetarian stuffing would be awesome! The dessert table was outstanding! Just ridiculously good! They had every option for every sweet tooth and it all tasted homemade, not full of chemicals! The service was beyond excellent, the servers were happy to be there, even on a holiday! The cost was a bit high for the quality and options that were available. That said, I believe with more appetizers, getting a handle on the moisture factor of the food, plus labeling the jellies and desserts, the experience will be worth that price. Thank you to all for a very nice experience.
   

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5. J

   John

   Milwaukee

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Significantly overpriced. For just two people-$182 that included a built-in 20% gratuity, we were not told about. Frankly, unacceptable. Regret going, and will never return. Learn from our mistake.
   

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6. C

   Cora

   Milwaukee

   29 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   29 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The setting of the restaurant is beautiful especially for the holidays. The food was more of a 5/10, with the buffet style it’s hard to keep things fresh and there were a few staples missing we felt.
   

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7. C

   Charles

   Atlanta Metro

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Wonderful restaurant overlooking the water. Great service and friendly atmosphere. Thanksgiving buffet was fabulous.
   

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8. S

   Susan

   Milwaukee

   2 reviews

   4.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   The buffet was excellent—better than last year. The staff was very accommodating in changing our table to a more comfortable one.
   

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9. j

   jody

   Milwaukee

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Most of the items I have enjoyed in past meals were downgraded on this buffet. The steamship round roast instead of prime rib on the cavering station was not a good cut of meat and very chewy and raw even though the presentation was nice. The oysters were not properly cleaned and gritty and the side dishes were cold and lacked any real steamed hot fresh vegetables as in previous years. The artisenal cheese and meat table were okay? The salad bar was adequate and the dessert table presentation was nice. I didn't feel like the price matched the offering and would be unlikely to recommend this buffet as an option for Thanksgiving. I asked to move tables as there was cold air blowing on us and that request was also declined so my daughter had to dine with her winter jacket on. Also maybe not a deal breaker but the ladies restrooms were not working properly in this dining areas which was an annoyance.we have gone over a number of years so we have may have noticed the changes a bit more than other patrons.
   

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10. K

    Karen

    Chicago

    13 reviews

    5.0

    13 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    First the most wonderful waitress Jasmine. She was so accommodating to our requests. First time here and we will return. Everything was wonderful , my only too complaints were 1. Bread Rolls were hard as rocks, probably had been sitting out too long & 2. Cranberry Sauce was WAY TOO TART. And as a person who uses that instead of gravy,it was very disappointing. Table next to us also noted it.
    

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