Lake Road Inn

Love the friendly relaxed atmosphere. In addition to their notorious Friday night fish fry, other menu items are great as well. Love love their breakfast eggs Benedict, just sad that they are only open for breakfast in the summer.

We decided to take a little trip to Lake Bloomington with the intent to eat dinner someplace. We all decided to try Lake Road Inn since it was under new ownership. Our waitress got to us right away, took our drink orders and gave us a few minutes to look over the menu. She came back with our drinks and took our orders (4 hamburgers and a pizza). Almost two hours later, our food showed up. The pizza wasn’t hot, just a little warm and the burgers were good. Overall though, I liked the pizza, especially since it’s thin crust. But it just seemed as if it was sitting on top of the oven to keep warm while the rest of the food was being prepared. While waiting for our food, we saw a group of 6 get up and leave (they were there before us) because it was taking so long for the food to get out. The waitress even went outside and talked to them, assuming she was trying to get them to stay. There were a few times we saw the owner coming around and talking to patrons. But then it seemed like he disappeared for awhile, and he wasn’t in the kitchen helping out.
We aren’t sure we will be going back, unless we find out the food arrives faster.

Service was extremely slow. If your in no hurry it’s not a bad place to eat. We got there around 7 pm and ordered an appetizer and a pizza. The appetizer came over an hour later and the pizza was about an hour and fifteen minutes. The overall time there was 2 hours+. The pizza was not bad but after that much of a wait, it kinda lost it’s appeal. There were serval people that got up and walked out of the place. We saw several people there that we knew and it was the same experience for them also. I hate to bash this place but something needs to change before I will go back.

If you have an appetite and you like walleye then this is the place for you on friday nights. They keep bringing it out and bringing it out until you feel your button starting to pull on your pants. The fish is crusted perfectly and the baked potatoes and cole slaw match up well. The place isnt much to look at and the restrooms are small as hell but this is a diamond in the rough when it comes to food. Try the hamburgers also… yum!

Here’s what I like about the place: Everything on the menu is good and you can trust the kitchen. My wife had the catfish and really enjoyed it. The waitress brought her tartar sauce, a nice touch. My ribeye was nicely seasoned and well prepared. The stuffed shrimp were surprisingly good. I’m not one for fried shrimp, but these I liked and my wife stole two of the three shrimp I had. We also had hot wings as an appetizer. They have their own home made sauce and it is really good. They have specials most nights and more most noted for the Friday Fish Fry with Walleye.
I had a good, straightforward midwestern style dining experience and would go back in a second. This is one of those types of restaurants that is defined as,“Where the locals go.“
As far as getting there: It’s says it’s in Hudson, Illinois, but it’s actually on Lake Bloomington. Here’s an address that works in GPS devices:
25 106 N 1750 East Rd, Hudson, IL 61 748
PS– Yes, the hot wings were supposed to be an appetizer and arrived at the same time as the entrees. Ya know what? When it’s a nice place, with good food and a waitress working the bar and our table because it was only five o’clock, a little grace and understanding goes a long way. Oh, and good iced tea and they kept our beverages well filled.