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    Forest Lake Restaurant

    3.7 (117 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 weeks ago

    Forest Lake Restaurant Photos

    FOREST LAKE RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Forest Lake Restaurant

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    Eggs Benedict
    Taylor B.

    I grew up in Grand Rapids and have visited Forest Lake Restaurant a few times over the years. This was my first breakfast/ brunch experience and it was delicious! My husband & I both got the classic Eggs Benedict & a pancake to share! The service was good even with a busy Saturday morning crowd. This is a quintessential up north cabin vibe. They are also known for their dinner service! They have a big parking lot & over look a small lake in town.

    Food served with no fork, such slow service used 2 knives to cut and eat.
    Chris B.

    Slow service, bad service, ok food Caesar salad no dressing, no fork to eat with... used 2 knives, charged for an extra meal. Slow service I guess good for the area. If you are from an urban area avoid.

    Ribeye steak with steamed broccoli
    Kathleen R.

    I was in town to judge a dog event and had two friends with me. We made a reservation and were seated quickly. The ambiance is old school "up north" with log looking exterior and windows overlooking Forest Lake. When we were there it was easy to hear each other and bright enough to see the menu. We tried the Rib Eye, Chef's Sirloin and the combo with sirloin and brisket based the two meat options. Everything was tasty but the brisket was a little dry. Doggie bags all around for the dogs traveling with us to the show. Service was friendly and attentive. Would go back again if in the area.

    Bruschetta

    Sat in the dining room. Busy, but came around 7:30 on a Friday towards the end of the rush. Sat relatively quick. Waitress took a bit to get to us, and wasn't familiar with tap beer list then brought a drink menu. Non alcohol drinks came really fast as they come by a nearby service station. Waitress stopped at the table frequently to update or ask questions on order timing, which was appreciated. Cesar salad came out with no dressing on it and was thinly cut hearts of Romain. Table bread seems to be made in-house. Came out warm, good but nothing great. Bruschetta consists of olive oil, balsamic and tomatoes only. Wasn't impressed. Stuffed mushrooms were basic imitation crab covered with a lot of cheddar cheese. Took a long time to get a beer for no longer being busy. Smothered sirloin (teriyaki marinated) was cooked perfect, but also smothered with more teriyaki that made it a bit salty. My kid got the capresi steak linguini, a lot of tomatoes but after scooping some of he enjoyed it. Wife enjoyed the coconut shrimp with homemade mango sauce. Service was good and price point matches food. Seems to be a popular spot among local crowd.

    Chicken wild rice soup
    Glenn M.

    Stopped in here twice while going farther north to fish with a group of seven. I had chicken wild rice soup once and tomato basil soup. Our group had a variety of items and all were very good. The soups were homemade daily and are very tasty.

    Lisa S.

    Staying at Sugar Lake Lodge, we drive into Grand Rapids to have some dinner. This was the place and it was an excellent choice. I chose the chef's steak which was cooked medium rare. It came with two sides and I chose a side salad and the au gratin potatoes. Everything was very good. The potatoes were a bit rich for me, lots of cheese and hashbrown potatoes. Husband had bbq ribs which were falling off the bone. Very good. When we asked what the restaurant was know for, our server told us the bbq ribs (which are apparently all you can eat on Monday's) so we had to try them. I also loved the bread. This mini-loaf came out wonderfully warm. So good. With beautiful views of the lake and a homey, supper club atmosphere, and great service, this was the perfect place for dinner in northern MN.

    Combo plate - 2 entrees (here, fried walleye and shrimp scampi), plus loaf of bread, soup or salad, and potato or fries - all for $18.99!
    Amber E.

    Actually the #1 rated restaurant in Grand Rapids on TripAdvisor right now (sorry, Yelp; I do occasionally cross-check there, too), and we really enjoyed our dinner there. Nice views of the lake, although no outdoor patio, which would have been nice on this beautiful 80 degree evening (before it dropped to 43 degrees and rainy the next day; I guess I understand why they may not have a patio!) Our waitress Terri was the best - authentic, helpful and funny. And they had a big variety of items on the menu. We each ordered a "combo" plate of two entrees - lots of choices, but we got fried local walleye and shrimp scampi, which comes with a loaf of hot fresh-baked bread, soup, salad or veggies. Plus baked potato, fries or au gratin potatoes for $18.99. Can't beat that! It was all very good, too. They make their own sauces - tarter, cocktail sauce, blue cheese dressing - and it shows. Bar area was really cool, too. Walked down to the fishing dock afterward. Before heading to my niece's graduation nearby - go Thunderhawks!

    6 oz Sirloin and Walleye
    Deb O.

    Awesome dinner tonight! First off, we had the best service from Lauren. When you have great service...it makes dinner all the better! We enjoyed two combination platters. The first one was Ribs and Shrimp Scampi and 6 oz Sirloin and Fried Walleye. Both items were huge and very filling with two sides. The cocktails and wine were spot on. We arrived at 4:45 pm on a Thursday afternoon and got one of the last tables available. Obviously everyone knows how great this place really is! We drive 60 miles for dinner!!

    Dining Room Total.
    Tisha C.

    This place was great. Fresh salad, fresh food all around. Our waitress Terri was outstanding. Bonus was free Ice Cream for our 7 year old son. Great place great price!!

    Front of the building, view looking northwest.
    Maxx M.

    Good food and service - 4 stars. Forest Lake is definitely one of the best restaurants in Grand Rapids. All of our food from the lunch menu was good and the service was excellent. The prices were reasonable too. They offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but it looks like the prime time to sample the food is after 4:00 pm when the lower level steakhouse is open. Next time I'm going to hit them up for dinner. If our experience is just as good at the steakhouse, I'll probably bump them up to 5 stars. I'd go back again any time for drinks and a hearty meal. - Maxx

    Country omelette with hash browns in it

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    10 months ago

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    2 years ago

    Please add to your website or menu that guests can't order food to pickup after 3pm. Crazy.

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    1 year ago

    Tiffany was our server and she was very professional and very tentative to her customers needs!

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    4 years ago

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    10 months ago

    Good staff and food nothing more needs to be said.85 letters is not necessity !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    4 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Food is poor quality and over cooked a lot. We don't eat there often because the quality and over cooked food.

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Food was great for a reasonable price and service was amazing! What a find! True north woods feel with a beautiful view.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great food and excellent service. Could do some redecorating. It has been the same for at least 20 yrs

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Disappointing. We were seated and totally ignored. We waited 20 minutes, then finally left.

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    3 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    drove from the city of Forest Lake and found this treasure all the way in Grand Rapids. Great food and fast service!

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    5 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Pretty good food, the place could be a bit cleaner though. I think the place is just old but for the price it is pretty good.

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    The Pickled Loon Saloon - Shrimp bisque - delicious

    The Pickled Loon Saloon

    3.5(54 reviews)
    4.6 mi
    $$

    We dropped in on a Saturday night, dead in the middle of prime time (without a reservation, my…read morebad.) Our wait was brief and we were seated within 10 minutes. Sarah H. went out of her way to spoil us rotten. SERVICE SCORE -- 10+ The boss ordered the jumbo shrimp (the oxymoron still makes me laugh) and she found them to be satisfactory but not quite stellar. I went with the prime rib and got exactly the cut I asked Sarah to describe to the chef and it was done to a perfect medium rare. For my side, I chose the shrimp bisque and had I known how great that was going to be, I'd have skipped the steak and just ordered a bottomless bowl of the bisque ... YES, it was that good!!! FOOD SCORE -- 4 of 5. But, let's talk about the elephant in the room ... every soul in the house was shouting over the other dozen people at their respective tables... the noise level on a Saturday during the evening rush made me wish I had known to bring earplugs or noise-canceling headphones. The noise level might have been partially attributable to the very generous pour that every glass seemed to have. AMBIENCE SCORE -- Ungraded. All in, though, we had a decent meal at a fair price and got top-shelf service from Sarah (the highlight of the visit.) If we were ever in town visiting again, we'd go back.

    our server was great, the shrimp app came out relatively fast which is great, it tasted good as…read morewell we finished it. my boyfriend got a marg that was not very good. then we waited a long time for our food, to the point i had looked at my life360 on my phone to see how long we had been there, over 45 minutes. our server looked at our empty table and asked if we got our food to which we said no ma'am, she ran to the kitchen and came back with our food, which looked like it had been sitting under/on the heat lamp for over 15 minutes as seen in the photo, i mixed thru it and there oil/butter was completely separated from the sauce. pretty gross. i just ate the scallops themselves which were good my boyfriend's sandwich bread was hard as a rock. our waiter was sweet about it tho and gave us 25 percent off, we still tipped her over 20 percent because kitchen/food runner mistakes are not her fault. started off good but ended not so great. overall would not recommend the food or the drinks unfortunately. but again the servers are very nice.

    Photos
    The Pickled Loon Saloon - Taps

    Taps

    The Pickled Loon Saloon - Side salad

    Side salad

    The Pickled Loon Saloon - Bar

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    Bar

    17th Street Grill

    17th Street Grill

    3.5(22 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $$$

    I hate having to give 2 stars, but I just did not have a great experience. I was in town for work…read moreand stopped here for dinner. I was seated at a high top in the bar area. It took probably 10 minutes for anyone to greet me. There were servers walking past me and I was so confused why no one said hi, or we will be right with you. Nothing. There was a couple of women at a table near me that must have been employees, because the servers kept going over there at chatting. I ordered the salmon with au gratin potato's and Brussel sprouts. The salmon was cooked nicely, but everything was so extremely salty that it made it difficult to enjoy. I tried scraping off as much of sauce on the salmon so I could finish it. Overall, I was really disappointed and won't be back.

    We had a great experience here. Apparently it's also called the Timberlodge Grill so if your GPS…read morebrings you to either spot, you are in the right place. I chose the tenderloin medallions stuffed with onions and mushrooms and wrapped in bacon. For sides, I had the Caesar salad, green beans, and mashed potatoes. I wish I would have had one more medallion for the cost of the meal but it was quite tasty. Husband had panko shrimp which was also quite good. Entrees come with a hot-out-of-the-oven popover. Yummm. Service was excellent. It would be great if they could create more of a dinner atmosphere. The lighting is like being in a conference room.

    Photos
    17th Street Grill
    17th Street Grill - Popover!!! Served with butter & jam!!! So, so good!!!

    Popover!!! Served with butter & jam!!! So, so good!!!

    17th Street Grill - Fillet Mignon with Au Gratin potatoes and Asparagus as sides.

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    Fillet Mignon with Au Gratin potatoes and Asparagus as sides.

    Forest Lake Restaurant - nightlife - Updated September 2026

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