We stopped by Lakeview twice while visiting Minnesota "bluff country." It's a pretty charming little shack with in-car service or you can sit at one of several outside tables (which we needed, traveling with our dog). Menu has the burgers, fries, and shakes you'd expect from a place like this, but also some nice adds like an Elk burger, a BBQ "sloppy joe," a grilled chicken sandwich and even a grilled salmon sandwich. They also bring water bowls and "pup cups" for your dog. The diner's website further explains that they scratch-cook, so you'll wait a bit longer than similar roadside joints, but it's worth it. Nicely located near Lake Winona and its surrounding park, by the way. I liked the breaded fish sandwich and my wife enjoyed the BBQ. The restaurant also makes its root beer, which is almost worth the trip by itself. For families with young kids, there is a playground in the back behind the restaurant. My only dig is the surprisingly skimpy portions of the french fries, sweet potato fries, and such. read more

Beautiful day for a corn dog. The drive Inn continues to be a classic for Winona. Great service and a huge menu. This is a Winona icon.

Cool little place. Burgers are sub par. Float was good. Service was superb. Will be back, but only for the desserts.

Great hot dogs and ice cream. Will be back again when back in town. Service was great

This was my first time ever going here, it was a pretty great experience fast and friendly service and it's very convenient! the milkshakes were the best! The people and the views around were awesome!! read more

Old school drive in without the old school food quality. Fast and friendly service, decent shakes and root beer floats but really bad burgers. Also tried the pork fritter sandwich which was dry, rubbery and bland. read more

Four stars for the burgers with grilled onions. Very old style and reminds me of childhood burger baskets at the the State Fair church stands. Everything else on the menu is food service standard boring. The ice cream drinks are a bit too syrupy sweet compared to even DQ. I don't understand their season - they close just after Labor Day. There are so many nice warm September days and lots of WSU students about - how does it not make sense to be open? read more

Great little drive-in! Friendly and fast service and their burgers and shakes were fantastic!! Delicious! We will definitely be back.

I loved the fact that it was a drive-inn, you don't see them much anymore. There was little to no wait time and the food came out pretty quick. I had their walnut burger which is a veggie burger and it was amazing. Their fries were really good too. I didn't try the root beer but I plan too the next time I stop by. This is a really cool restaurant with super yummy food and I would 100% recommend it. read more

Lakeview Drive Inn - Menu - Burgers Near Me - Winona, Minnesota

Really convenient drive in restaurant with a surprisingly large menu. I'm pescatarian and they always have some sort of fish or veggie option for me. Service is fantastic. Only downside is that they're closed for most of the year, but living in MN I completely understand. read more

I've been coming here since I was a little kid! The Shrimp basket is the best thing on the menu, but I also like to get the pizza burger when in the mood. Root beer is better than A&W here! Service isn't above and beyond but they are friendly. It's nice they can give college kids a local place to work. Place has that great drive in vibe you would expect all while overlooking the lake across the street. Food takes a little while to come out but not to where you are like "umm, where is my food even?" if that makes sense lol. (There is usually 5+ of us probably would be faster on smaller orders) read more

I went to this drive in back when it was open for the season. Honestly really cheap food and was brought out very quickly! I brought my family here and they loved it just as much as I did! It is right next to the lake so it has a good view! Good food and good atmosphere! Go when you can! read more

Went for take-out on the last day of the season... no sauce or napkins, just a sad burger by itself in the greasy wrapper. Don't think I got the 20% off as advertised, but it's a lovely holiday evening, so I didn't dispute the bill. Anyway, it's a cute local spot, and a MUST visit when in town. Looking forward to next year! read more

Don't believe the hype...skip this 'joint' while visiting Winona! Oldest 'restaurant' in town, please do us all a favor and close your doors. Food (Below Average) & Service (painfully slow). However, if you like wasting 2hrs to grab a burger/fries, while being swarmed by Hornets...Enjoy! Go to the local Dairy Queen and save yourself a horrible experience. read more

Wow.... very unique place. Ordered Fried Clams, Fries n Tea. Service was amazingly fast. Pulled up to this outside Diner/Drive In, greeted and ordered immediately. Tons of patrons, so shocked at the quick service. Patrons sat in their cars like a Sonic Drive In and and they serviced you right then and there. Food was decent, great vibe for Winona, MN. Highly recommend stopping and checking it out read more

Lakeview Drive Inn - people standing outside of a restaurant - Burgers Near Me - Winona, Minnesota

So sad they closed for the season so early! This place is soooo good! Oldest restaurant in Winona and so cute and classic and has really really good food. The best thing about this place though is the home brewed root beer. It is AMAZING! Love this place so much read more

My son and I went for a treat. He had a medium root beer, order of cheese curds and I had a large malt. My large malt was more like a medium size. Bill was 16 bucks. Considering this is a drive in I felt this was over priced. Service was great. read more

Winona's oldest restaurant! Opened in 1938, it's T the quintessential drive in burger joint, complete with carhop service. Or step inside to step back in time with classic counter service. They brew their own root beer and it's without equal! Must have, in classic chilled mugs. Burgers and onion rings, plus a whole bunch of sandwiches, BLTs, fish, etc -- including local buffalo and elk burgers! Great shakes, sundaes and soft serve ice cream. The whole package and an american classic. A true local gem. read more

Lakeview Drive Inn - The Double-Cheeseburger. As classic as it is simple. - Burgers Near Me - Winona, Minnesota

Super cute drive up burger joint! The food was surprisingly inexpensive and very tasty. I loved the catfish sandwich and fries, and my family enjoyed their brats. We also had hot fudge and butterscotch malts which were delicious! It was a quintessential summer experience and hit the spot in a way that other places can't. The only down side for me was that the outdoor tables were kind of sticky, which is to be expected to some extent, but a once over with a washcloth would have made the meal more enjoyable. If you're in the mood for a casual meal (casual to the point where there is a only a porta-potty for a bathroom), this is a solid option. read more

Great burgers! Try a pizza burger if you get a chance. The root beer is the best I've ever had! Just good food at great prices. It's a hidden gem! read more

What a poor excuse for a restaurant. Website says they're open until 8. Call and they say 7. Go there at 6:45 and they won't serve us food. Friday night and no food after 6:45??? Very disappointing. read more

This burger joint is AWESOME. Home made root beer, so-good ice cream and malts, tasty fries and burgers and just a fabulous throwback. Actually they've got some national newspaper recognition - can't recall exactly so you will have to find out yourself! read more

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I give this place 5 stars for their homemade root beer alone. Amazing. Best I have ever ever (EVER) had. Decent food. Great fun in the summer, especially on a Wednesday classic car cruise-in! They are always trying something new, twists on classic drive-in food. Yum. read more

Best roor beer I've ever had and a nice dinner overall. Great ice cream and treat selections as well. The food is ok but is a little pricey for what you get. read more

First of all, their homemade root beer is the best ever! It's worth coming here just for the drive-in experience and a root beer (or root beer float). Do yourself a favor and make a visit. However, the portions are quite small, considering the price. Burger patties are almost wafer thin - pathetic really. They're really just charging more for the experience. It's all still pretty tasty though, and worth stopping here for a meal. read more

After flying in from Colorado last night I got a craving for Lakeview root beer that HAD to be satisfied. Unfortunately I was sorely disappointed. Our half gallon of root beer seemingly had been shook up, by the time we got home it was completely flat & 1/4 had leaked out onto the floor. My Toddy burger had a very distinct long hair in it, and the "pizza burger" was literally a patty folded in half; with no cheese or anything else on the burger. It Looked so gross, I wish I had taken a picture before throwing it into the trash. Absolutely disgusting, & I doubt I will ever eat another Lakeview burger. The fries were the only edible item. Pretty pissed after spending $35 & leaving a $7+ tip. *Update* I called & spoke to the manager & he apologized; gave us a $10 credit & a gallon of root beer for our troubles. Still won't eat a burger but I will go back. They do have DELICIOUS root beer :) read more

Was in area with my kid. Was really looking forward to this place. Pulled up and was greeted by nice lady that worked there. Nothing wrong with service. That was fantastic. Just felt food was ok. Oddly felt like I was eating a burger from McDonalds. My small order of food for me and my kid was over 20.00. Not worth it at all. But had to give it try. Great customer service with average over- priced food. read more

A Winona Legend. Excellent food and service. Owners and staff are great! Every time we go we enjoy their bison burgers, cheese curds, onion rings and their homemade root beer. read more

Great view of the lake and a wonderful staff! We ordered the California burger, cheeseburger, fries, and cheese crisps. The California burger was out of this world and the cheeseburger was juicy and well portioned. The cheese crisps were good, but no match to the Minnesota state fair. We finished off our meal with some delicious, cold ice cream while looking on to the beautiful landscape of the lake and park! read more

Ordered a Catfish sandwich, double cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake by carhop. The hop was nice, patient and menu knowledgeable. Because of increasing rain and needing to wash my hands I tipped the hop and picked up my food inside. The washroom was clean but minute. The Catfish, while unrecognizable as Catfish, was real fish but ordinary. The double cheeseburger was equally ordinary. The shake, which I think was mostly soft serve, had an interesting added flavor maybe from the chocolate they use. I rate all of my items a "C". The inside has stools so maybe sitting inside and kids may enjoy the kitchen activity. All in all, maybe I should have had the root beer and $2.25 fries. read more

The food was good and a drive in is always fun. Root beer was good. Improvement could be made to service. Waitress was friendly enough but when asked for a menu seemed comfused and directed our family of four to the menu board that DOES NOT post prices. Since we kept needing to inquire about flavors of items I asked again for a menu and no move was made to get one. Finally gave up and just ordered... Food arrived in typical amount of time was hot, looked and tasted good. While waiting I heard a different waitress come to take the order of the car next to us say, "Are you ready to order or can I get you some menus?" Grrr... Final surprise came when the waitress gave us our total... $27 for 2 kids meals, one adult meal, an (delicious) ice cream cone and chili cheese fries. Seemed a little high but no itemized bill was given to verify and pricing was not posted... read more

I had heard a lot of positive stories about this drive in, unfortunately, I cannot say that mine is one of them. Since it was my first time here I needed to request a menu. Since the menu is only a couple pages, I had more than enough time to decide what my choice would be. 25 minutes later the waitress came back, surprised that no one else came to take my order. I ordered a chicken breast sandwich and diet coke to go, because I didn't feel like spending my whole evening here. One sip later I was even more disappointed. The taste of root beer filled my mouth. The sandwich was ok, but not worth the price, in my opinion. To summarize my experience here: the chicken sandwich is ok, but did not overcome the bad taste left by the service and wait time. read more

Lakeview Drive Inn - There is a play area for the kids and a table for the adults to eat at in the back. - Burgers Near Me - Winona, Minnesota

Excellent old fashioned root beer, burgers are great, the bison burger is super. Sweet potatoes fries are a good addition. Topped off with a nice ice cream hand dipped that was excellent. Service was quick and friendly. read more

Two weeks after having been there, I'm still craving their burger! We were in town for a few days of vacation and thought this was a neat place to check out. Besides Sonic, you don't see much drive in eatery. There were some picnic tables so if you chose to eat outside and not in your car, there are options. My husband had the elk burger, my daughter had a hotdog kids meal and I had the veggie burger. The Elk burger was delicious according to my husband. Root beer was light and amazing. My daughter who usually doesn't like root beer drank her whole cup. And OH MY goodness. Probably the best veggie burger I have ever eaten! My husband tried the veggie burger too and he was very impressed considering he is a big carnivore. Like I said, two weeks later and I'm still craving their Veggie burger. Also, bonus, my daughter was happy to get a free ice cream cone that came with the kids menu. read more

A gem. Best root beer I've ever had, and the elk burger is heavenly. A place like this is hard to come by. It's a piece of history, and a local treasure read more

Service was bad and the food was even worse. I stopped by here a couple weeks ago while my best friend was in town. I had never eaten there before and figured I'd see what it was like, BIG MISTAKE. Service was SO slow! We had to track down our server after waiting for 20 mins to put in our order. Low and behold, she was standing around inside talking to her coworkers. Finally our food came after we had been waiting so long to order and everything was pretty bland and underwhelming. Then we again had to go inside to find our waitress to pay our bills, who was again standing around chatting with friends. The worst part? Two of our four guests got food poisoning after eating their catfish sandwich. All and all, that was my first and last time trying Lakeview. read more

Really good root beer (and floats!), and smiley fries are fantastic. Highly recommend on a sunny day.

The root beer floats are amazing, you must get the hand scooped root beer floats. They make their own root beer which is pretty cool. I love the atmosphere and the idea of the drive inn because there aren't many that serve you at your car door. However, the food isn't great, but I would come to support, and love the concept. read more

It's an old school drive-in. Their root beer is very good, burgers and fries are relatively small. Great location, and a Winona institution.

A Winona favorite!! If you're here for the summer, make sure to stop by and try their homemade root beer (add ice cream for an even better treat)! read more