The Lake House

Food was excellent. I went for brunch with a girl friend. We both had the banana bread French toast and it was delicious. Fresh bananas and warm blackberries and raspberries with a Chantilly cream. Would definitely go back and test of their wine selection with a meat and cheese board. Service was also wonderful. Great place all around.

My wife and I went on Valentine’s Day and it was our first time. Our favourite place to go was «The Ranch» in Fish Creek Park and this was the group that used to run that place and now they moved to the «The Lake House» so we really wanted to catch that old feeling we used to get from the Ranch. I have to say the food was fantastic this night, a «set» menu with wine pairings that we obliged and execution was well done. The service terrific, attentive and sharp. We had a very nice night and it was affordable… but I wish they were still at the old location. There new location just lacks the charm, the romanticism, the gas lamp path, the way one could escape for a night out, perhaps even with a different sense of time and being that the «old» Ranch has, a truly unique location… I need to say whomever decided that it was a good idea to relocate to a strip mall with a dentist office in suburbia should have thought otherwise, what a silly idea it was indeed. You had a one in a million location now your severely washed in amongst many other garments that all look the same. So farewell Lake House, we will not be returning. We will try to rekindle our old Romance with what is now «The Bow Valley Ranch» at Fish Creek Park… However a sincere thank-​you! it was a nice evening never the less.

The food was ridiculously good. The décor was beautiful… Giant chalet fireplace, antler chandeliers, etc. Waitress was a pro. Will def go back. The miso butter on the black cod was killer. YUM!

Four of us visited The Lake House on Saturday night to celebrate my partners birthday. All four of us agreed that we would most likely not return. The food did meet our expectations, but for the cost we were expecting to be blown away. We were not.
We did make reservations. However, the table we were given was practically in the hall. This was especially frustrating as some people walked in before us without reservations and were given a very lovely table. We had people and servers walking by and bumping us the entire time. I did try to get someone’s attention to complain about the table, but was ignored. I decided to just try to enjoy myself.
Two of our table had the tenderloin and two of us had the boar. The tenderloin was substantial and quite good. The boar barely filled me up and I am a very small person. In addition, the only other item on the plate was celery soaked in mayonnaise. I could not eat it and I quite like celery.
The appetizers were good and the desserts were all very good. But you really need three courses as the portions are very small.
Overall, it was just okay. Calgary definitely has much better restaurants.

We have eaten here on 3 occasions now and every time we have had a great experience. Food is great and the service is awesome. Highly recommend the wild bore.

Ate here recently for my birthday. We really enjoyed it. Delicious crab cakes and wine and I had the scallops and gnocchi for a main. Service was great. It’s not cheap but we thought it was worth the price! (Except the wine! Their mark up on wine was retarded).

It was time for a celebration and after hearing that The Lake House is owned by the same group that Bar C and Divino, I thought this would be a great location to check out — I was not disappointed!
I really like the space; we got to sit by the window which overlooks the lake, although it was dark by the time we got there it was still romantic, especially with the roaring fireplace just to the left of us.
Our server came around a few times and was attentive to our needs, overall good but not amazing service.
The food though, that was fantastic. We shared a cheese and charcuterie board, mussels and a salad — I wouldn’t have changed a thing about any.
The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was that it was very loud and it was very hard to hear each other to due other peoples talking
.
Would love to come back, I heard brunch is a good scene.

Three of us went out for dinner last night at The Lake House. We all came away thinking the same thing. .. they still don’t have it quite right. Something is wrong and it is hard to pinpoint but I’ll share my guesses.
For those of us in the south, the location is wonderful. There aren’t a lot of fine dining choices out of the core and this is definitely fine dining, aka expensive. More about that later. The old Inn on Lake Bonavista offered fabulous views of the lake and an intimate calming environment that just begged you to sit back, relax, stare out at the water, daydream and enjoy good food and friends. The Lake House is in the same building and has the same views but they missed the mark on this one. The floors are hard, the chairs are hard, the ceilings are high, the windows have no fabrics and so the place is LOUD! Noisy, boisterous, yell at your neighbor loud. Even the staff sidle up close when you are ordering so they can hear you. The tables are close together but it is so loud you can’t really hear each other at your own table much less the next.
The lighting is dim and romantic. Tiny cube candles on each table and huge antler chandeliers turned down low. The print on the menu is tiny and we saw a few cell phone flashlights being used to read. We passed the cube candle around to illuminate our menu and frankly we still had to guess on the details because we just couldn’t see.
But on to the important parts. The menu is a blend of seafood and local food. Alberta lamb, Alberta beef, and an amazing charcuterie board — my favourite part of the whole meal I admit. Maybe the seafood is a nod to the lake but the scallops that I had, although beautifully cooked, were served with a mish mash of flavours and textures that didn’t seem to like each other– pork cheeks, mushrooms, truffle potato gnocchi and tomato. They also offer oysters, a fish plank, crab cakes, mussels, salmon and lobster mashed potatoes. Seriously a lot of seafood on offer. The boys at my table both ordered the Ribeye but I wonder if the other seafood dishes are just as confused as the scallops. The Angus Beef was beautifully cooked but I think it sat on the warmer for a bit because the demi glaze was a bit congealed. The beets were Golden beets but they were not the sweet, yummy, tender little spring goldens, they were the big, too long in the ground, woody flavoured fall beets.
The wine selections at The Lake House are superb. I am always limited to the wine by the glass menu as none of my men drink wine. It always gives an interesting perspective. I peaked at the by the bottle selections and I was impressed. A nice variety of Spanish, Italian, Californian and Canadian (yay!) wines on offer. I had a beautiful Cab Sauv blend from Italy $ 13glass/​$ 55 bottle and a Tempranillo from Spain $ 12glass/​$ 51 bottle but would have loved to see a Canadian Red offered by the glass too.
Dessert was sticky toffee pudding and it was delicious. Sweet and satisfying served with a lovely little scoop of vanilla ice cream, just as it should be.
Our server was sweet. Not particularly trained or professional but sweet and kind and discreet. It took a bit of a memory act for her to tell us about the charcuterie but she got it out in the end. I think she might have been newish. The timing from the kitchen was a bit off but the place was packed, and it was Friday night, and there was a wedding party in the next room. We had quite an extended wait between our appetizer and our mains and again after. We ordered dessert and coffee and the dessert arrived in good time but the coffee was a long time after that. I know because I ordered the dessert and waited for the men to get their coffees before diving in. I was staring at that toffee for a L O N G time !!!
So final Impressions. It is a bit confusing. The food was good but not great. At $ 36 and $ 39 a main they really need to be great. The place is loud but the décor is intimate and romantic, except the chairs which do not encourage you to linger. I think with a few tweaks they will get it right. I think they should hire a designer. A real designer. Not a decorator or someone who has an eye. A professional who will come in and just fix it. It is so close but it isn’t quite right. The same in the kitchen. They are so close and I want to try it again but I think I will wait a bit for them to get the kinks out. Let me know what you think when you go.

Been there twice. Great service. Great food. Not a chicken finger and fries place. Dinner was great with true Alberta food. Brunch was amazing for Mothers Day. I’m very glad «The Inn» has turned into something so great after it’s horrible interlude as something else.

This is a place Not to eat. The food is over priced and the service is the worst I have ever had. I can remember when this was the best place in the city, but those days of Inn on Lake Bonavista are long gone. If you go, remember the water costs you a buck per person, even before you look at the menu. I am not sure if they had coffee as the server never asked if I would like one.

Had dinner here with friends on weekend and place was quite busy. Has a great atmosphere and a warm and inviting feel with fire place blazing away! View of the lake is great, but food is even better. Had the caribou and risotto mains, both were quite good. Sticky toffee pudding ended the night right! Great place for visit with friends or romantic dinner.

O-​M-​G! I used to go for brunch with my mother at the Inn at Lake Bonavista. Lets just say, I’ve come home again! I wanted the brunch at The Lake House to take me back to all those years of wonderful brunch in a spectacular environment. I was definitely not disappointed. The two different kinds of eggs benny had me giddy — I chose one and my Mother chose the other — both are fantabulous! My hubby and stepfather chose the brisket which both spoke very highly of. The blood orange mimosas were fantastic and the sticky toffee pudding was divine. We will definitely be back sooner rather than later. I can’t wait to have dinner!

After winning Sochi Olympic Men’s Hockey Gold it was time to celebrate with brunch in the neighbourhood of Lake Bonavista. It was the opening weekend for this venue and many tables were vacant. Perhaps our Olympic compadres were resting in their nice warm beds post win?
My prediction is that you will find it difficult to reserve a table for brunch once word gets out. The Lake House is awesome both in food and view.
The brunch menu includes benedict, brisket, brioche, boar, bison, and blood oranges. How does one choose between Steak & Eggs (grilled beef medallions and mascarpone scrambled eggs) and Pulled Wild Boar Mac & Cheese, and Chocolate Cream Cheese Filled Brioche French Toast?
Tip: One does not choose but stays and eats for many hours.
With the exception of the roast potatoes, which we found unexceptional, every main was composed of high quality protein and harmonious flavours.
Between courses we sank into our comfy chairs and gazed into the flame as we cozied up to the fireplace. It was a chilly weekend so the view of the lake was winter white with two brave ice skaters and a couple of ice fishing shelters for entertainment.
If you are a resident of Lake Bonavista — lucky you.