Lakeside Restaurant & Lounge

The vibes flow here. What beats a «lakeside» dining experience right here in the valley? Super casual. Great place to grab a drink. Could be good for a business lunch, or to catch up with friends.
However. The food is nothing special, and everything is somewhat pricey for what it is. They have a $ 5 happy hour menu (drinks & food), but the portions are enough for two people to have a light snack, at best. Drinks are basic and small and not entirely what I’d consider a great deal at $ 5. Tasty, don’t get me wrong, but not worth the dough if you ask me.
Service was friendly but less than attentive. Overall a decent place. Would return but it’s not my favorite valley place to grab a drink.

My friends and I came here for brunch and had an amazing time! We were a group of 5 loud girls that were starving. We were seated right by the lake. Ambiance was great. Food was delicious. Our server was amazing. He came by frequently and made sure our mimosas were refilled. Great place to catch up with friends.

I had no idea there was a lake view restaurant right on Ventura Blvd. It was very nice & they have a great happy hour from 3 – 6 pm. Everything we ordered was yummy including the burrata & tomato, the crabcakes, the calamari and the chocolate soufflé. Our waiter, Marco, was awesome! I definitely plan to return! I also want to go back for their weekend brunch.

Absolutely love this place! The service here is amazing, our waitress Noranda was always around, taking care of every wish we made. We sat outside at the beautiful lake, the geese, sound of the nature. Kids next to us were playing, laying on the ground, feeding the birds, and it was so cute. The table was always clean, glasses full. So not a single thing to complain about. Everyone at the table got different entries, and everyone said how good theirs was. I like the inside, but sitting outside is so enjoyable. We started coming here often with my husband, just to relax and enjoy the atmosphere, we brought our families here, and every single person was happy with it.
Thank you people who make it so perfect!
Will be coming back soon.

I really liked this place. We randomly decided to stop by for lunch today and for a party of 7 the wait wasn’t that bad. The restaurant was busy but everyone worked fast to accommodate us. Ambiance was really good, food was delicious, and the restaurant it self was nice. I would like to sit outside next time, we were told to make reservations for outside setting since they get really busy. Took away one star for parking. Valet was super busy and street parking isn’t easy to find. We had to park a block away and walk in dust and dirt with 4 kids .
I will definitely return soon.

Love this place. The ambiance is absolutely lovely. Outdoor seating under a canopy of trees with twinkly lights, next to a lake with geese and ducks. It’s casual but nice enough for a special occasion like mother’s day.
Very kid and pet friendly. There’s a park just beyond the lake that’s a great place to take an after meal walk.
All the food I’ve had here has been delicious: multiple brunch items and the seafood linguine from the dinner menu.
I’m taking off one star because the service does have a tendency to be very very slow.

Looking forward to celebrating my fiancés birthday. I had made reservations well in advance at Lakeside Café.
When we arrived we had to wait for a table. Although there is a pretty large ‘Happy Hour 7 days a week’ sign posted on the the front of the restaurant, when I began to order an appetizer from that menu, I was told no Happy Hour appetizers tonight. Okay, but can I still get the appetizer that I want? «No.» Just wine. «But we are out of house wine, so is something else okay?» Sure, but the server didn’t say that will be $ 14 per glass instead. When the bill came, Surprise!
Next, the entrée. My fiancé asked the server about the salmon, she suggested the special, of spaghetti with salmon. –And when that came to the table, OMG! It did not look appetizing at all! –A small piece of salmon with skin, on top of a bowl of spaghetti with red sauce & very large chunks of onion. Feeling hungry yet? My meal was a lackluster bowl of fusilli. –Since we both had pasta, I asked for bread. That’s right, I had to ask for bread after our meal arrived, because we were never offered any. While trying to choke down that meal, another table (that had just arrived) kept demanding our heat lamp. Thankfully, they had a different server who refused to take it away from us, and offered them another table, because they asked for the lamp several times. Meanwhile, a spiteful child continued to pick up handfuls of dirt and throw them in the air, over and over. While, another child attempted to feed broken pieces of sunglasses to some poor dumbfounded duck. Oh! and let’s not forget, the smell of that sandy air that wafted around us was filled with cigar smoke. «Happy Birthday Baby!»
Shortly after arriving home, my fiancé became ill.
Basically, I learned that you can get a whole lotta hell for $ 97 at Lakeside Café.

The stars are for the ambiance. The manager was as clueless as the waiter
The bus person would say yes and never bring what we asked for. The food we wanted was not available
The waiter was rude

FAKEside Café!
The view is fake (man made disgusting lake).The flowers in their patio are fake (literally. They planted fake flowers in the flower pots) The quality of their food is fake (how can you screw up an egg white omelette???) I can make better food at home! I hate paying for nasty food. Very disappointed!

Really excited and impressed with this place, since it’s come under new management in the last month. Even an LA or Valley native may not notice nor realize the Los Encinos Historic Park right next door, and if you get a seat in the patio it’s such a good break from the fast LA life, right in the middle of Ventura Blvd. It has a feeling of seclusion and relaxation in a place you would never expect, complete with ducks to feed (Lakeside provides a little cup of duck food, upon request, if you want to feed them on the other side). It has a lake-​y vibe, has a country-​ish vibe, but the drinks are stiff, and the food is eclectic and awesome.
They have happy hour from 3−7pm every day, where drinks and a bunch of appetizers are $ 5. But won’t lie, I haven’t gotten drinks off the Happy Hour menu the last 2 times I’ve been in the month, because their specialty cocktail list is BAD ASS. You’re in the Valley. A nicer end of it. Good food, mixed crowd of people, awesome drinks, good enough even for pretentious Westsiders haha.

Had an awesome brunch here. Ambiance by the lake with music is perfection. I had the crab benedict, very good. Also, the staff here is welcoming and accommodating. Josh our server was great, and the bartender made a fantastic Bloody Mary! They also give kids small cups of duck food, my son was in heaven.

This place is BEAUTIFUL! The Outdoor area is super Cute, with a view to a little lake with duckies… you literally have lunch in the middle of a tiny forest on Ventura Blvd.
Friendly & nice staff… but the reason why I don’t give 5 Stars is sadly because of the food… nothing delicious but again the place is BEAUTIFUL!

My husband and I always tries to find a nice outdoor restaurant. We found the best spot! Love the outdoor seating area. Been here during lunch and dinner. It’s a very relaxing spot to enjoy good food and music.
The place is kid and dog friendly. My daughter loves to see the ducks. We always drove by this place and never would have thought of coming here. It looked like a normal restaurant.

Talk about a hidden beauty! A friend and I wanted to enjoy the day, have some cocktails, a great meal and be outside. We Unilocaled «patio» and this place was the first to show. I’m surprised they only have 3.5 stars because I’m addicted.
We made a reservation for 6, showed up at 5:30 with a pleasant greet from the hostess. Being our first time, she let us pick our table right on the water and had the table ready for us after we ordered drinks at the bar.
I was craving coffee in a martini so the bartender whipped up a delicious concoction of her own that was perfect!
Once sat we had apps from the happy hour menu for $ 5 each then move on to entrée. I had a prime rib which was prepared more like a rib eye but still amazing. Both are the same cut of meat but what separates them is the way it’s prepared. My friend had the braised short ribs which was cooked to perfection. Very happy to find this place! Great service, great view and great music to satisfy an amazing meal. Our server was polite and very helpful as well. Will be back next week!

Came here for brunch with friends. What a great gem in the valley! Who knew there was a lake on Ventura Blvd?!
The food was good, we had typical breakfast items. Nothing crazy. The chai tea was fantastic.
Really you come here to eat on the patio. It’s so nice and relaxing. Great for groups and kids!

This place is so hit-​and-​miss… Today I got the smallest $ 7 draught beer I have ever seen. I’m not kidding. I had a glass of beer that was dwarfed by the tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce on our table. I held it next to my fork and my fork was 2″ taller than the glass. I honestly didn’t know that they made pilsner flutes that small. My wife (who didn’t know that I’d ordered beer that was on tap) said «At least they should have left the rest of the bottle.»
C’mon Lakeside! We want to love you so much! Open up and let us in!!!

What to say … This place is great is starting the music
Coffee very good … Thinking what to order… I’m not in a hurry so I will take my time

I really like Lakeside — there is nothing else like it the valley. If you sit outside and on either of the two patios you really feel like you’re in some quaint village on vacation somewhere. Outside seating will give you a view of Los Encinos (which is a California state historic park) and a pond with ducks and geese. I keep ordering the same thing over and over because it’s so good — the macadamia crusted Chilean sea bass which is served with basmati rice and spinach (but you can sub other veggies). The mango lemongrass sauce is so good. I also like the beet salad with arugula, goat cheese, golden and red beets, pear slices, pistachios with a mango vinaigrette. For happy hour (3 – 7 daily) I like the tuna biscuit. All the servers I’ve had have been great including Josh, Leo, Melissa, and Haley. Parking is valet or metered street. They take open table reservations.

Delightful experience.
They have a patio and ‘garden’. The patio is smaller but faces the lake. Garden is more casual but also lakeside. There’s ducks roaming and a waterfall. Really relaxing.
Happy Hour daily 3 – 7. $ 5 drinks and appetizers.
Kind of a hidden gem. Service was good. Food was good enough. Menu has a nice variety.
Only thing is I checked in with Unilocal,but couldn’t use my 10% off because the bill was over $ 100. Seems like it should be the other way around.

Came here for the first time with my sister on a Monday during their happy hours (daily from 3pm — 7 pm)
We ordered their specialty happy hour tapas: (perfect for 2 people — each plate has 2 serving s). We tried the Salmon tower ($ 5), a salmon tartare which is pretty tasty and their BBQ short rib to stones ($ 5) which is also really tasty.
My sister and I split a Kobe beef burger ($ 16). The burger was just alright for me. It was good, but not worth the price.
5 stars for the ambiance and the little lake in the back — super cute! But 3 – 4 stars for the food.
Plenty of street parking and there is valet in the back.

Located in Encino, this restaurant isn’t noticeable off the main drag. It’s off a side street and set back from the entrance as their valet-​only parking lot is the first thing you see. Walking through the lot and into the building you’ll be transported a world away. The interior is open and fairly dark. There’s a small patio area just past the bar and a much larger one across the bar, both facing a small man-​made lake (that’s more like a big pond) with plenty of ducks swimming around.
I came here for a small family gathering — an intimate wedding reception on their smaller patio. The service was very friendly but there were some hiccups along the way — there was a miscommunication as to how appetizers would be offered and served and some dishes weren’t cleared in a timely manner. Otherwise, they did a great job of setting things up, fulfilling requests, and not rushing our party.
The food, while not groundbreaking or trendsetting, was pretty good. For appetizers, the crab cakes used minimal filler to bind an otherwise meaty dish; skewers of Kurobuta pork were savory, tender morsels full of smokiness with hints of heat; and spicy shrimp, while lacking heat, paired nicely with mango salsa atop crispy baguettes. The endive salad, considerably less noteworthy than the previous dishes, was too bitter and dry and lacked dressing to counterbalance the taste. For an entrée, the 8oz. New York strip was lean and well seasoned. A red wine balsamic reduction added some vibrancy to it while onion rings, asparagus and carrots rounded out the dish.
The solid American fare along with the accommodating staff made this a great experience for our family that won’t soon be forgotten.
3.5 Stars

Came here for lunch as part of a job interview and decided to order from the breakfast menu because I was craving eggs. You MUST sit outside! So relaxing to sit near the lake under the shade of the trees with a slight breeze :).
4 stars because the server (not the waiter who took our order) mixed up the orders and I ended up getting the Amestoy (thank goodness) instead of the Denver omelette. No big deal because luckily I have no food allergies and I’m not that picky. I honestly didn’t realize that I didn’t get the right omelette because I was too focused on the conversation haha. however I’m SO GLAD that I got to try this omelette! Filled with chicken apple sausage, goat cheese and basil and accompanied by a salad, hash browns and 2 slices of sourdough bread. HUGE portion and I was more than full after eating half of it. I wanted to take a picture for Unilocal but I didn’t want to be rude haha.
SUPERB service! Our waiter was such a gentlemen and so polite. Will definitely be coming here again and more often if I get that job: P!
Edit 11÷28÷15
Took my parents here for lunch because I thought they would appreciate sitting outside next to the lake. I cannot stress how good the service is here (helps that the waiter was cute too LOL) and the food! My parents got the lunch special of half sandwich and soup. They chose pastrami and french onion soup (highly recommend). I ordered the blackened chicken sandwich (light on the basil mayo) with a side salad. HUGE sandwich — I ate half of it and saved the other half for lunch the next day.
Just discovered their 3−7pm happy hour. TOTALLY COMING BACK FOR THAT!

Talk about disappointment…
We waited about 20 minutes to get a table for 5 and the table we were given was straight out in the sun. They definitely need to get umbrellas outside to provide shade for their patrons. Also, the ground is all dirt! I don’t know how I feel about my food sitting with all the dirt being picked up from people walking around.
We decided to get seated inside and as our drink order came out, I noticed a pink stain near the rim of the cup… after closer examination… it was a lipstick stain that wasn’t cleaned. GROSS! My bf took it back and even the 2^nd cup had a particle of food crusted onto the top of the cup also.
I got the half sandwich (pastrami) and soup (french onion soup) deal. The pastrami was ok; nothing great. The soup was a bit too salty.
Parking — $ 2.50 parking valet. Meter parking is available nearby but also free residential parking is available.
I say go elsewhere to enjoy your meal. I probably will not be returning to this establishment.