I'll preface this review by stating that it was a summer Saturday night, so things were a bit crazy. 1. As a party of 7 (granted, a big party), we were told we couldn't sit outside because it was against city ordinance to push tables together. We were told that we could push tables inside by the host, but the tables are fixed --- as in, anchored to the floor and wall. We let this one slide... 2. We were told that there was a 45-60 minute wait for food despite being the only ones inside. Maybe their outside dining area was abnormally busy, but it seemed a little outlandish to wait an hour for sandwiches/wraps. Again, we let it slide... 3. The food was supremely awful. I'm not sure my Mahi Mahi wrap actually had fish in it, and they managed to screw up the easiest sandwich ever: the BLT. 6/7 diners were disappointed with their food, especially the nearly-inedible walleye sandwich. "Toast" wasn't toasted, fries weren't fully cooked/microwaved...just awful. 4. After paying $125 for slow service and terrible food, the waitress delivered the check and immediately reminding us that tip wasn't included. This was a)un-professional and b)blatantly wrong because the tip was CLEARLY included on the check. If this establishment was located anywhere else (i.e. not on a prime lakefront lot), they'd be out of business in 6 months. Bad service, worse food, and an extremely unprofessional and uninformed staff. Avoid at all cost. read more

Great friendly service and a great spot to people watch. Good "pub" food and enjoy local brew spotted cow!!!

Truly wish I would have read reviews before I came to eat here. The only thing enjoyable about this place is the location. Server was nice, but that doesn't make up for how awful the food was. There are plenty of other places in the area. I suggest spending your money on something else read more

Horrible-service inattentive and the food was bad. My eyes were cooked fully extremely runny. There is really nothing good I could say about this place. Just go next door to Popeyes. read more

Probably the worst service I have ever had. Food wasn't much to speak of either. Would not recommend to anyone

We live in Wisconsin and get to Lake Geneva five or six times a year. We decided to try Harbor Side primarily due to its location but also because of the available seating at noon on a Sunday in July. We should have seen this for the sign it was and just kept walking. The wait staff was young and simply adequate. They seemed to have no interest in doing any more than was absolutely required of them, and they weren't particularly quick. The menu lacked detail. I would have liked to have known what exactly was inside a chicken wrap, or a turkey warp, or any of the wraps. Their beverage selection was sparse with only one diet soda, a cola of some sort, so we both had waters. My boyfriend and I each ordered a bacon burger, mine with pepper jack cheese and his with an extra slice of American cheese. When I asked if I could upgrade the included fries to onion rings as an upcharge, I was told that substitutions weren't allowed and I'd have to order onion rings as an appetizer if I wanted them. Annoying, but not a deal-breaker. Then the food came. The bacon was one SMALL slice which had been cut in half and strategically placed on the burger to make it appear like more than what it was, a tiny piece of bacon. The pepper jack cheese was a little tiny thin strip that I couldn't even taste on the burger, and the American cheese wasn't much bigger and there was only one slice after we'd specifically asked for two. The buns were hard and dry. The burgers were quite obviously NOT freshly made and appeared to be the frozen kind, perhaps even made from some soy product, warmed up in a microwave. The meal was slightly better than eating cardboard and a horrible waste of $20. I can do much better at home for way less money. When we left, still during the lunch rush, there were six open sidewalk tables at this restaurant, but every sidewalk table at both Popeye's next door and Scuttlebutts further down the block was full. This restaurant is very obviously preying on tourists and using their prime corner location to lure them in. I suspect that they don't do much repeat business and that all the locals know to steer clear. This was the most dreadful dining experience we've had in ages. Unless you're looking for cardboard-tasting food and simply adequate service at the same price for good food with good service at one of the neighboring restaurants, keep walking. read more

If there was an 'additional tip' option that Yelp offered to AVOID this place at all costs, that would be my obvious choice. To save time (you probably do not need to read more than one or two of these reviews to get the idea), I will give you a bullet list of of some of the many things that went wrong during our breakfast: -It was a Sunday around noon, but the place was completely empty (that should have been our first clue to stay away) -It looked like they had about 5 or so people on staff, but none of them were doing a whole heck of a lot (a couple of them were just sitting around). -The owner had his office work station set up with a printer and everything on one of the taller tables in the back (Are you kidding me?!? Completely unprofessional) -One of my friends at the table asked the waitress what was in a Denver omelet (she had to go ask her boss the answer to this 'challenging' question) -Another one of my friends ordered an English muffin with peanut butter. 5 minutes later, the waitress came back informing him that they in fact do not have peanut butter. He then tried ordering a cinnamon roll, but apparently, 'they don't offer those anymore'. He ended up settling for a bagel and cream cheese. When our food made it's way out, they ended up forgetting to give him cream cheese. After asking them for some, it took over 10 minutes for the waitress to get back with it and by that time the bagel was well cold (How do you have that many people on staff and it's taking you this long to get things done?) -This is not completely chronological, but when we were waiting for the food, I made a simple request and asked if she could change the channel to NBC. There was a Blackhawks game on that I wanted to watch. She then has the audacity to tell me that she can't. I proceed to ask her why. She responds by telling me that her boss/owner, 'Scooby," is in a bad mood and she doesn't know how to/she is not allowed to change the channels on the TV. I am a paying customer. I do not care what type of mood your boss is in. After haggling with her for awhile to bring the boss over, he finally makes his way out of the kitchen. I again asked politely to simply turn on NBC. He at first tells me that he's unsure if they have it. I reassure him through common sense that they will (it's one of the big 4 national television networks). He finally changes it to NBC, I thank him, and I go back to eating my food. Not even 2 minutes later, I look back up at the TV and sure enough the channel is changed to CBS. I start cracking up because I don't know if I've ever experienced such horrendous service from a restaurant that was so grossly overstaffed. -The majority of my frustration during this meal was centered around the service aspect of the experience, but the food was nothing to rave about either. Pretty basic food. Seemed like half my plate could be found in the frozen section at the local Wal-mart and none of it had much flavor. Overall, STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. I would have preferred McDonald's over coming here. Don't waste your time or money. Scooby Doo could have provided me with better customer service than this incompetent manager/boss/owner/whatever you want to call him. Please do Lake Geneva a favor and SHUT DOWN your 'restaurant'!!! read more

Great view, great service but alas, so-so food. We were seated promptly and the very polite and attentive waiter took our order. It took a while for our food to arrive, and when it did, we were not impressed. read more

Definitely should have checked out the reviews before we decided to stop in for brunch. Literally the worst restaurant experience i've ever had. The waitress knew absolutely nothing about the menu and had to keep saying, "ohh I don't know, i'll have to ask speedo." If you're hired as a waitress you need to at be knowledgeable about the menu! Not to mention, this girl and the other "waitress" at the bar both looked like they had just rolled out of bed. Not professional at all. My food was brought to me first, and my friends had to wait an extra 5-10 minutes for their food to be brought out. Terrible. Everyone's food needs to be served at the same time. When one of our friends ordered the "Bagel with cream cheese" from the menu, he was brought a bagel and had to wait an extra 10-15 minutes for the cream cheese, and by that time the bagel was cold anyway. and the cream cheese, by the way, was just a little cup with a peel back lid that was taken out of a refrigerator. Another friend ordered the loaded bagel, and the waitress was halfway to our table with it before she realized there wasn't an egg on it. umm, yeah thats kind of a main component. When asked about changing the channel on the tv, we got the response from our dumb waitress that "speedo is mad" so she couldn't do it. SO WHAT. it's not our problem whether or not your manager is having a good day. The owner's office was on a table right by where we were dining, and seeing his laptop, printer and other things on the table was really unprofessional. As i've seen mentioned already, we weren't seated by the waitresses.. I had to ask if we could "sit down anywhere orrr...." and only then did we get a response. The bathroom was small and weird/dirty. One of the things that pushed us all over the edge was the whole tv channel changing issue, which i'm sure will be posted about fairly soon. It was really just a ridiculous experience. food was mediocre. read more

This place was the worst place I've ever been to in my whole entire life the service was so tremendously bad words cannot describe I am not sure if this man was the owner or the manager or just the cook but he was the worst man I've ever met in my life we had a group of seven and everything came out wrong got all of our orders completely incorrect even forgot most of them and not to mention how long we had to wait just to receive Cold food and when we complained he decided to address the situation by raising his voice to us and calling the police it was so publicly humiliating I will never eat here again nor will I ever suggest anyone to eat here even the couple sitting next to us have complained because they have gotten their order incorrect as well this whole place is ridiculous and that man is completely rude with no manners whatsoever me and my family have never experienced such humiliation in our life's and it was all because they got our order wrong and we complained I mean wow I guess some people just can't handle the pressure read more

Don't bother. The only thing going for this pace is location. If you just want to site at an outside table and enjoy the view of the lake, then this is the place. But if you want to eat, take a pass. It seems that if you don't order alcohol, they don't take you seriously as a customer. I guess you have to drink to be able to stomach the crap they are passing off as food. And to not care that the wrokers pay more attention to each other than to customers. The hostess had a cigarette in her hand and blew smoke in our faces when she told us to sit wherever we want. I thought Wisconsin had a law about public places being smoke free. Evidently this one restaurant has a different law. There was just me and hubby, but they charged us double for everything, like there were 4 people at our table. It took 35 minutes and 3 different workers to get it fixed. The owner? yelled at us like it was our fault. We told him we knew he came from a restaurant family (his parents have had a restuarant up the street for maybe 40 or 50 years) so why didn't he pay attention? And FYI all the Greek owned restaurants in the area are related to each other. The Lake Aire, this one, the Olympic, Popeyes. The others are decent, but this one sucks! We should have known there was a reason for all the empty chairs and tables on a Saturday evening with tons of people roaming around the area. If your hungry, go somewhere else! read more

Seriously the worst dining experience in recent memory. Incredibly bad service. Horrible food. The kids cooking the food were not wearing both gloves and were texting at the same time. I saw the cook eat while prepping the food. Had to ask for everything two or three times. read more

Awful, awful unapologetic, unfriendly service. We were one of 3 tables. We waited over 45 minutes for our food. It came out in shifts. It was cold and it was not complete as ordered. The manager was standing around staring at people. Do not waste your time. It looks like a cute cafe but it is definitely not worth your time. read more

Whole restaurant was weeded out... Server did the best she could but she didn't stand a chance. I felt bad for her. Food was GARBAGE.... I could go into detail but I've wasted enough of my time here already. read more

Horrible establishment! We had the pirate burger and steak sandwich which were both awful. If it weren't for the location, this place would be closed by now. read more

This place is really bad . Totally overpriced ,Food is very poor quality. Fries are the worst. Staff seems friendly . The place stinks and needs a good cleaning. I wood suspect that the kitchen is filthy.Two sandwiches and two draft beer. $35 read more

I would not recommend this place at all. Our waitress was very rude, arrogant, demeaning. I went there for lunch with my 12 year old son and she kept referring to us as "Ladies." I actually had to tell her it was my son after she did it for a third time. My ice tea was served with a straw and when we asked for waters they came without straws. The glasses looked somewhat questionable, so I asked for straws. Karly, our waitress in need of customer service training, then shamed me for asking for straws because they are trying to save Lake Michigan. Her tone was just beyond anything that should have come out of the mouth of person relying on a tip from me. Half way through lunch, which was sub par at best, my son needed more ranch dressing. Karly was busy sitting down at the bar eating. I was just about ready to ask another waitress for help since she could not be bothered, but then I was finally able to get her attention. I went to use the bathroom, disgusting by the way, and while leaving a male employee was walking in to the ladies room. Ummm... why? That was creepy. My son, said the men's room had a huge hole in the wall and he felt the need to cover it while he used the facilities. I honestly do not know how this place is in business. Terrible service from people that do not seem to care at all and the food was pretty bad too. read more

This place has a ton of potential but it failed on just about every level. The location is AWESOME. Sitting outside, great people watching... That's about where the good things end. The service was just awful. Waitresses didn't even know which tables were whose. Many other tables around us couldn't get a waitress. Our food took FOREVER to come out. Burgers were very disappointing. They look like they're just frozen pre-made patties. The bathrooms, my God, most portapotties are better. This could be an awesome little place if they made a great burger and had good service but unfortunately, they had neither. read more

Staff was right on us for drinks. Beer was cold. View not too bad but we were behind parked cars. Good place to people watch because it's on a busy corner. I have to agree with other reviews, don't come here if you have a problem with dirty place. Portable toilets at the Buffett concert were cleaner. Kitchen look a little sketchy too. Not a clean freak but decided to go to another place to eat. read more

Worst service ever!! My son and his prom date and one other couple was there today. Not only did it take 15 minutes for them to get seated, it took forever for them to get the food they ordered! Not only did one couple finally get their food, but by the time the other couples food came out, the first couple was already done!! Plus the service of getting drink refills was horrible!! The restaurant was not even busy!! Pathetic!! read more

Terrible food ....price crazy for nasty! Wouldn't eat it again for free....waiter was great...bathrooms gross don't don't don't!

One star is waaay too much for this place! Service was friendly and decent, but the food was beyond terrible. We ordered the "Angus Burger", which was nothing more than a frozen burger of the lowest quality you could find in a grocery store (or a vending machine) - price $10.75. My boyfriend ordered the "Walleye Sandwich", which was even worse (if that's possible) - price $8.99. It was one small strip of fish about the size of a chicken tender/finger/strip. It was served on a hamburger bun and he had to cut the fish strip in half to even make it close to a sandwich. The description for the walleye sandwich was "very good fish in bread", well they didn't lie about the bread, but let's just say sitting next to Lake Geneva you would expect a better dining experience. I wish we had looked here first or at eaten at McDonald's on the way home that way we would've gotten what we paid for. A Filet O'Fish would've been more filling and is better quality than the crap they serve here at Harbor Side. We would agree with another comment made here "wouldn't eat it again for free". read more

It's a great location but everything else is pretty bad. Quesadilla was cold, had to wait forever for anything to come. When I talked to manager, he said "look we are busy, everything must be good" read more

Should be called a Pub and Grill, not Café. The place could use some redecorating, and the food items on the menu could be more original. You can tell not much effort goes into here. We weren't very impressed by our overpriced meals. The only great thing about this place is its location. read more

Went here for Mother's Day lunch with my husband and two kids. Hubby's Bratwurst was NOT cooked. It was cold inside. When he complained, they told us they would give us $2 off the bill. $2, seriously (the brat cost $7.95 plus $1 to have fries instead of chips)? The thing was uncooked! When he said he didn't want to pay for it at all, the manager/owner/cook came out and started yelling at him, telling him he didn't care if he was the customer and that this wasn't a swap meet. When my husband said he wasn't going to pay for it, he said he was going to call the police and he was also taking the $2 discount away. And nowhere in any of this tirade did he ever once offer any word of apology. All he said was the brat was pre-cooked and frozen - therefore you couldn't get sick from it. WTF? Do not go to this sorry excuse for a restaurant unless you like to uncooked food and get yelled at by restaurant employees if you have the gall to complain about it. read more

We had been here several times before and really enjoyed the view outside. Like others said, it doesn't get much better and the food was always pretty good in my opinion. We took visitors here and talked them up before we got there but oh my this was a different experience. We NEVER complain, we just don't. The server took our drink order and disappeared for about ten plus minutes then brought our two waters and one beer in a cup, then disappeared again for another ten before bringing the other drink. So after sitting there for over twenty minutes with two waters, a beer & another drink, we decided to graciously duck out before we committed to ordering food but we had to get the bill for drinks and pay first so my wife went in to ask for the bill. The server was not happy and said she would bring the bill but my wife tried to explain we were leaving and needed to pay. She was rude about it. We did leave a few dollars tip though I am sure many would not have. We just got the feeling that we were being a bother to the server and the man who was apparently either manager or owner. We witnessed him walking around muttering as if he was just unhappy about the patrons being there. I just didn't get the whole experience that day. Yes it was busy. We understood that and didn't expect miracles. I would love to see this place succeed but I am not sure how much longer it can operate with such bad experiences like this. By the way, we went next door to Popeyes and it was a great everything. Our visitors said thank you for deciding to make the change. read more