We went to dinner last night at The Boulders, and it was really great. It's been a while since I, a chronic Yelp taker, have written a review, but this restaurant looked like it deserved one, with only 2 in the bank and none very recent. Four stars rather than five only for the somewhat odd arugula salad starter. It had cheese, tomatoes, and dried fruit, all great on their own but a little overwrought together. My group split two of these, a shame as I bet the other starters would have impressed a little more. Because the mains were fabulous. I had cornmeal(?)-crusted walleye, with the wild rice medley as the "potato" side, and it was just wonderful. Think: a delicate, sensible take on fish & chips without the malt vinegar. It didn't need it! I found only two tiny bones in a very sensible if slightly too ample portion. Awesome. My companions had grouper and seafood paella, both also great choices. The restaurant has a decent sized bar, which is where we ate, along with a large single dining room in the same space. It got a little noisy, but nothing beyond the pale. I'd definitely go there again. read more

Have eaten supper at The Boulders on several occasions while spending time at our Cass County cabin. Each time we were treated to exceptional service, a wide choice of menu items and excellently prepared entrees. Our last visit was during the annual Walker Eelpout Festival and we made reservations for six. A comfortable round table was set for us at the allotted time and once we were seated the rest of the evening just flowed. I had one of the largest walleye filets ever and it was pan fried to perfection. Other guests in our party enjoyed sirloin and a delicious rib eye steak. For an appetizer we shared sushi grade ahi tuna which was prepared beautifully, and was just a delight to consume. Our wait person was attentive to all our requests, never intrusive, but always on hand to keep things moving smoothly throughout our meal. Gone are the days when heading to the north country meant abandoning all hopes of a truly great dining experience. The Boulders is squarely on an equal footing with the best its city cousins have to offer with the added bonus of a truly rustic setting in a welcoming and unique location near spectacular Leech Lake. read more

My husband and I had a road trip day that landed us in Walker for dinner. He found this place and it was a great find. Just on the outside of town we arrived around 8:15 and they were serving until 9. We were seated right away and the place was still busy. As many other reviews have said it was very loud in there which made it hard for a conversation. The table we had was right in the middle in a weird spot but that was the only downfall. The food was outstanding. I asked the waitress what she recommended and it was the grouper with crab. It had a nice flaky texture and mild flavor not fishy. It came with potatoes and veggies all fantastic. My husband had the lamb shank special. The lamb literally fell off the bone. It was so well cooked and the wild rice was also delicious. He had the beer cheese soup and it was the best I have had. They also give you bread and do a Parmesan olive oil dipping sauce with it. Nice dinner for the end of our trip. read more

The Boulders - Seafood Near Me - Walker, Minnesota

We chose to come here for date night and enjoyed it very much. The patio is a perfect place to enjoy one of the many specialty martinis once the sun starts to set. The wine list was remarkably decent for the Walker area. Calamari is on point, I highly recommend it! The BBQ pork shank is an excellent entree. My husband really enjoyed the ahi tuna as well. I've noticed a number of reviews regarding slow service at this establishment. I want to point out that our service was very timely and our server really knew her stuff. Re: Jeff, we had a dirty martini and a chocolate cherry martini. read more

Had dinner here, last Tuesday to celebrate my birthday. EXCELLENT! I had the Walleye and my husband had the Chicken Fettuccini. It was the Early Bird special so added a martini at the early bird price. All was excellent. Food was delicious. (I go to restaurants all over the world so very picky). We have eaten here many times and have never been disappointed. And, to top it off after dinner, our server brought a slice of chocolate fudge cake to help celebrate. read more

The Boulders - Slice of fudge cake! - Seafood Near Me - Walker, Minnesota

Wow! Went to The Boulders because it appeared to be the best restaurant in Walker. Arrived early for our reservation found a seat at the bar after the local with the little kid taking up three seats decided to depart. Bartender was busy, understandable the restaurant was full but, he had time to chat with the locals. Discovered us after he noticed my wife's wedding ring. Martinis were good. Seated on time for our reservation and proceeded to wait 20 minutes for the unpleasant waitress to say "sorry for the wait, do you need anything else to drink?" Ok, we'll at least she was there. Ordered wine and an appetizer. Wait..... wine shows, wait...... appetizer shows.... and she says she'll be back to take our order? Seriously, at this point we had been there an hour. We like to dine and don't like to be rushed but, that's just ignoring us. Ok maybe the food is good.... Yeah not so much. Canned wild rice, instant mashed potatoes, frozen vegetables and bottled barbecue sauce? Really, fine dining? Take my advice when visiting Walker bring steaks for the grill. read more

Amazing! Sat at the bar and John waited on us, he's pretty awesome. Brought the parents with and tried the tuna appetizer, and the Hog Heaven. Words can't explain how delicious this entrée was! We all split into it and enjoyed cabs and Pinot noir, both delicious! May I also say people waited for seats he entire time, we sat at bar and noticed as obviously this restaurant knows service, drink, and food menu options! First time for us but when we come back to visit we will Absolutely be back, and can't wait to!!!! DE-LISH!!!!! read more

The Boulders - Hog heaven- Sorry already started, soooo amazing! - Seafood Near Me - Walker, Minnesota

Always a solid choice up by Leech. Food is fantastic, drinks are stellar, no complaints. Make reservations on weekends though it can get really busy during dinner rush. All the meats from the specials menu are super tender and the servers have never steered me wrong. read more

We have been here twice for Valentine's Day. Started with steamed muscles with chorizo, yum. I had the seafood pasta and the seafood was done perfectly. Husband had the lamb shank, again. We finished with Creme Brûlée. Service is excellent too. read more

This was our 1st time to the Walker area. We saw The Boulders as the #1 resteraunt on Yelp & thought it was a sure thing. I ordered a Cabernet from Napa Valley & the pork medaleons while my wife had the jumbalya. Unfortunately, I found out that they had ran out of pork medaleons about 5 minutes after placing my order. So I ordered the walleye instead with a side of mashed potatoes. Once we received the food, I realized that it had wild rice instead of mashed potatoes. This wouldn't have been too bad but our server didn't come back for about 10 minutes as she was dealing with a large table. She apologized once she came over & got a side of mashed potatoes. At this point, I'm not too happy. Then, I finish my Cabernet and find a piece of aluminum foil from the seal of the bottle in my drink! Fortunately, I noticed it before my final drink. I understand mistakes happen, but all of these mishaps lead to a terrible experience. Lastly, there was no attempt of comping any of the tab after the mishaps. For the price you pay at this restaurant, service should be much better & if it isn't, there should be an attempt to make it right. read more

The Boulders - Aluminum foil in drink #2 - Seafood Near Me - Walker, Minnesota

See all

AMAZING. Lucky find in Walker, MN. If you're looking for a nice place to eat...great service (so friendly!), great food. Steak yum. Upscale wonder. read more

Very good upscale food, friendly ambience, even on a very busy Saturday night. Bruschetta excellent; calamari good but a little over-breaded. Lamb shank tender and tasty; accompanying vegetables slightly overcooked. Good paella with fresh (tasting) mussels; rice a bit dry. Food generally matched its (top end for the area) prices; attractive setting near Leech Lake. One dining downside is the noise, perhaps exacerbated by vaulted ceiling. Probably worst when restaurant is crowded enough, and hour late enough, for tipsy gents to start braying over each other. Ask for a corner table away from large parties, or sit outside when northern weather permits. read more

New hours. 5pm to 9pm daily. Great place. Read my previous review for more information read more

An experience that was extremely enjoyable. Equally casual and dressy, upscale dining without being stuffy. The Boulders didn't disappoint in service, wine list or food quality detail. It is obvious it's a popular dining favorite, I'd recommend making reservations in advance, like we did to avoid any wait. Cheers, until next time, The Boulders. read more

See all

Great food and service! A wonderful place to celebrate a special occasion!

Amazing place to go to celebrate or to have a delicious rememberable meal with family or friends!

Acoustics are horrible with a full house. There is outside seating and is probably should have a reservation. Small bar area with about 12 seats. Friendly hostess. Hot crab and artichoke dip was superb!! First round of beverages came promptly enough, but Diet Coke was flat and took forever to get a replacement. Lemon drop martini was very good. Mushrooms with ribeye selection was delicious. Seafood rice dish with oysters and sausage was disappointing. Had to flag down bus boy to get a water refill. Beer ordered was never turned in and no refill ever offered for soda. Overall, pricy and very acceptable appetizer and steak, otherwise missed the mark. Disappointed and know the chef and manager must be trying hard, but this experience was not enjoyable. read more

Wonderful food & good service. Acoustics are bad, it can get noisy & hard to converse with a group. You MUST have reservations. My husband & I have gone in twice without reservations. Both time the hostess seemed offended that we would waste her time & was quite rude. It was very clear they did not need our business. read more

Great place to dine love the atmosphere and outdoor setting. Our waitress was very cordial, overtaxed it seemed to us, but worked hard to attentive, in spite of it. Struck up a conversation with a very nice couple at the next table. Former restaurant owners in Illinois they too were very complimentary of Boulders. Gave them a 4 as they were out of the steak on top of the menu, this was right when they opened. But understand a busy holiday weekend no chance to restock. No question in our opinion at the top of the list of best restaurants if not the best. read more

I am a big fan of The Boulders. As the previous reviewer noted, northern Minnesota is not generally noted for its fine cuisine, but Boulders more than surpasses expectations. It can be a little hard to find this place if you are coming at it from Cass Lake or points north - it's off the highway to the east and the driveway up comes on you suddenly. It gets really crowded between 5-6, when they do an early bird senior's menu, but they also have a happy hour at this point, so non-seniors can enjoy half-priced martinis (at least, both these things were the case during summer 2009). I've come here once or twice the past few summers and never been disappointed, even after I had learned to have reasonably high expectations. The grouper is great, so is the walleye. The martini menu is creative and extensive, the wine choices are reasonable, as is the beer. Prices are higher than almost anything else north of Anoka and outside of Duluth, but are reasonable by city standards. Boulders is heartily recommended. Be prepared to sit outside to avoid the crowded dining room during the early-bird special, dress in the best clothes you brought to the cabin with you (casual is still acceptable) and designate someone to drive the car (and boat) home. read more

Went for dinner and the service and location were great with views of the lake. We had the crab artichoke spinach dip with toasted pita bread. It was delicious and a generous portion. Had the braised short rib and my wife ordered the paella. Both of the entrees were really well done. I would recommend it to anyone. read more

Up in the middle of Minnesota in a town called Walker is an upscale restaurant called The Boulders. You might want to give it a try. Most people who come up here end up "roughing it" in cabins either owned by them or rented from resorts. While some family members get to entertain themselves by fishing, playing water sports in the many thousands of lakes or go golfing or mosquito hunting all day, others stay in the cabins, reading, relaxing, making meals and talking. You know who you are. And at least once during your trip up north the whole family will want to eat out. While I'm not going to recommend this place for kids, I will absolutely recommend it for adults who have a taste for fine dining. Let someone stay in the cabin with the kids or drop them off in Walker to eat pizza while you go here. It almost seems like you've missed it as you drive to it from the "downtown" part of Walker. It's so far out you almost forget that it's in Walker. Finally, after parking in the back, you are greeted by an actual hostess who takes you to a cloth covered table with cloth napkins, fine silverware and stemware. This, in Walker. Amazing. The room is built like a log cabin with tables throughout the window covered great-room and a bar separating the dining area from the kitchen. Bottles of wine and liquor are on display in the dining area and the bar appeared to be fully stocked for any special mixed drink you can think of. People are casually well dressed and ready to have a good time. The room is loud on busy nights with parties, but can be quite romantic on slow nights. Outdoor seating is available and that is where I recommend kids sit. The two times I've been here, once we ate outside by ourselves and did not need to worry about disturbing other patrons. The last time we were seated inside and were blessed by angels at the table for about 40 minutes. This was mostly due to the pitas and crab dip appetizers our kids liked as well as the friendly servers. Most of the table ordered walleye, while my wife and I ordered the pork. Hers was a chop and mine was a BBQ something with a bone in it. The kids split some fried chicken fingers and fries. The meal was tremendous. Nobody had any complaints. The only thing I could suggest was that they upsell the alcohol better. It can only make the meal better. 40 minutes was all the kids could handle so I went outside and climbed the boulders with them, but would rather had tried one of their desserts or had a cup of tea. When you're tired of eating at your cabin and want an up-north style meal with a little class, go to The Boulders. read more

Had a blast as I was able to sit and visit with my Mother. Her first visit to this kind of hidden gem in my opinion. The Martini/Gibson was smooth and only $5 due to Happy Hour. Had the ahi tuna app. The sauce was not like any I have had on the east coast. Surprising and good. Soup was swiss potato mushroom. Perfect. House salad was good. For dinner I had the broiled walleye with lobster in a cream sauce. Different twist on a MN favorite. Loved it. Will be back the next time in MN. Thank you to the staff and compliments to the chef. read more

The Boulders - Ahi Tuna. - Seafood Near Me - Walker, Minnesota

Really great....again! Just opinions but wow.....I have to say how much I delight in seeing a well run restaraunt. This place, in my opinion, nails it. Great food, lots of choices on the menu *although I dare you to not order the tuna.... Service...perfect. friendly, unobtrusive, helpful. Ambiance.....fine. Cold beer ( not kidding about this....beer should be really cold) it is... Back to the food....surprisingly well done. Good presentation and quality. Value was exceptional. For what it is, very good. Looking forward to going back read more

Food mediocre, but very high priced. No vegetarian options. Still using styrofoam for take home.

After a day of sailing on Leech Lake, we cleaned up and put on our fancy clothes for a night on the town. The Boulders is a white-tablecloth place, after all. We started with drinks from an ample cocktail and wine list. I then ordered the mushroom soup; it was delicate and earthy. What next? The paella or penne jambalaya? The puttanesca? The Gorgonzola ribeye? I settled on the penne jambalaya and was not disappointed. My wife had the puttanesca and loved it. And the service? Very professional, courteous and attentive. I'd recommend The Boulders for a special night, but it's busy; you might want to call ahead for reservations. read more

We ate here twice on our vacation. The place is clean, great wait staff, the ambiance is comfortable and well maintained. Now onto the food. You won't be disappointed in whatever you choose. The filet mignon was supreme and done perfectly ( medium rare) for my nephew. The prawns and wild rice were top notch but the soups were phenomenal. Turkey wild rice, French onion, and Hungarian mushroom made from scratch. Definitely a must if you are in the area. See ya next year! read more

I am always a bit skeptical about finding good restaurants outside of big cities, but this was a great find. Stopped in with my family when we were staying up north this summer and I think everyone really enjoyed what they ordered (mostly steak, plus the pork, ahi tuna, and paella). It was busy (on a Thursday evening), but the service was good. Would definitely recommend. read more

The Boulders - Ahi Tuna - Seafood Near Me - Walker, Minnesota

See all

Are you still in business???? Went to your restaurant last night and it was as dark as the night. No indication you were closed on a Monday night by your web site ??????? read more

We love Boulders! Best 5 star food in Minnesota, in fact the Midwest. Order the Crab Encrusted Grouper, you won't be disappointed! The service, wonderful ambiance and gourmet food that makes it top rated and worth a visit. read more

The Boulders - Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip - Seafood Near Me - Walker, Minnesota

We decided to celebrate our anniversary by having dinner at The Boulders. We arrived at 5:00 in time to choose from an extensive early bird menu. We were greeted warmly and seated promptly. Service was prompt and efficient, friendly without being overbearing. We ordered their prawns and crab-encrusted grouper. Each meal was excellent and well-presented. The salad was wonderful topped with a raspberry vinagrette (sp?) dressing. The tables were covered with crisp white cloths and the surroundings were immaculate. We didn't get our server's name, but she did a great job. The meal was finished off by a piece of complimentary cheesecake to honor our anniversary. A totally nice evening!! read more

Boulders has exceptionally good food and the service is of a very high caliber. It's goes above and way beyond any other restaurant in the area. We go there many times over the course of the summer and always bring our guests. The prices are high for the region, but fairly priced for the quality. The daily specials are so good that we rarely order from the menu. A gem not to be missed when in walker! read more

Honestly, less than 1. The food was ok but had been sitting and was cold. The service was terrible. I don't even know where to start.

My family had an excellent dinner on Saturday evening. The service was very good but the food came out a little slow. We got there at 7:30 and the place was packed which I'm sure contributed to the food being slow. Our table ordered crab encrustrd grouper, pork shank, prawns and a ribeye steak. I was a little worried when i saw my steak delivered as it was only 1/2 to 3/4" thick. It had a nice char on the exterior and i ordered it rare. Once i cut into it my fears instantly went way. It was cooked perfectly. I sampled each of the meals at the table and all were delicious. The only minor issue was that not all of the fat was rendered out of the pork shank, which is extremely hard to do without drying out the rest of the cut. Overall we had a very good experience and the food is well worth the price. Of coarse there better restraurants in the city but something like this in the north woods is few and far between. Tip, make sure you order the roasted red pepper soup if its available. read more

I felt compelled to open a yelp account after I drove an hour for dinner at Boulders for my sisters birthday. My wife and i both ordered the second most expensive thing on the menu... Gorgonzola ribeye. My wives steak came out as ordered. My steak came out extremely undercooked and an extremely poor cut of ribeye. I rarely ever speak up about food quality or service. I kindly mentioned to our server that my steak was undercooked and that it was very fatty. Her response... "Do you want me to box it up or not?" It was an unfortunate response which left a negative impression on this restaurant to me and the rest of our party. We were all very turned off by the way it was handled. Unfortunately, this experience will affect recommending this restaurant to others. read more

We were visiting from Austin, TX. Our host and hostess suggested we eat at a nice restaurant in Walker, The Boulders. They were understating the nice. We were blown away by the quality of food and service in such an out of the way place. We had reservations for 7:30 midweek. We were seated immediately. The wait staff was knowledgeable and attentive to the proper level. But the food is what really made this a treat. We started with a shared Boulders salad. I had a lamb shank and my wife had the paella. All three were outstanding. Our host and hostess had the crab crusted grouper and the golden prawns, which they have had previously and really enjoyed. It was such a great and pleasant surprise to find this high of quality restaurant in the north woods. I suspect you could put this restaurant in any major city and it would do very well. Thanks for a great evening. read more

Very good food and reasonable prices. Nice cocktail menu and they have items on the menu we haven't seen at other places. All four of our dinners were excellent and we will be back. The only drawback was that we sat outside and felt the service was a little slow. read more

Very good seafood. My wife had a good steak. Sides and desert are good! The staff was nice and the manager came over to the table. Nice touch. The decor is nice read more

This is a usual family stop when we are in the area every summer. Every summer, my family has never been disappointed. Quite a few places in the Park Rapids/Walker area try to manage to be a fine dining expirience, but never come close. The food is fresh and typically well seasoned. First, get there around 5 and experience their happy hour, though if you are under 60 you will definitely be in the minority. The $4 martinis are amazing and are always on the side of being stiff. The seniors get an even better deal, because the main entrees are around $10 less than the normal price. The French onion soup is superb with chunks of their homemade rolls as the bread. The paella some of the best you will find with an abundance of shrimp, sausage, chicken, and flavorful rice. This year I also tried the crab encrusted grouper. I loved every bit of it and ate it quickly. Others at the table had braised lamb, pan-fried walleye, and blackened Tuna. Not a person complained. read more

This is by far the best restaurant with in 30 miles. What a wonderful experience in dining. Good food and good drinks.