Great to sit on the deck and watch the lake. Service was slow but the server was nice and brought us refills timely. Food was lackluster. Fries were cold but sandwhich was hot. Disappointed as they have a great set up and could be killing it if they can fix cold food and slow service. read more

This place is no longer the Gardens it is now Mullets. It was extremely disappointing. The food took an hour to be served even though the place was dead yet the food was still ice cold when we got it. The mac and cheese was inedible but still cost us over $20. Even a kids hamburger was practically inedible due to how overcooked it was. The drinks were even watered down and weak. We left mullets disappointed and with upset stomachs. Will not be returning! read more

Ordered a pizza to go and made the mistake of assuming what was written on the box was fulfilled. My fault for not checking, but it's on the box! read more

The Gardens - Menu/service - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

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If I could leave zero or negative stars - I would! We waited for 1hr and 40 minutes for our food and then our server came and told us it would be another 30minutes. 2+hrs....absolutely ridiculous. Our server told us not to order the broasted chicken bc it would be an hour - so we didn't - but the order of bar food we put in was going to take more than 2hrs. The Mgr came to talk to us and asked if we would help him find employees - I mean so ridiculous on so many levels. Based on comments from the employees I don't think I was the first person to complain nor do I think they aren't frustrated. Go for drinks, listen to the music, have an app or pizza but DO NOT EAT THERE! read more

The deck and live music make this a fun place to have lunch/dinner. Service is decent. The food leaves a bit much to be desired. Overall pretty low quality and cheap ingredients. You can definitely do better but if you are dining with a good crowd it will help make up for what this place lacks. read more

Ordered three appetizers and two kids meals. After an hour and 20 min we asked about our food. Waitress unapologetically said it would be another 20 min. Drinks are weak and the food (when it arrives) is mediocre at best. Only reason this place survives is location. read more

It never gets any better. This restaurant is living proof of how difficult it is to get decent lettuce in these parts...it's not isolated to just this year either. The food quality at this place is simply sub-par...period. Even our teenage boys complained about it and if you have teenage boys you know this to be an anomaly. What this place has going for it is a fantastic location but i will promise you that ,for the money, there are many other places to eat around the lake that are better on their worst day than this place. Service,well...it's a summer spot and so many of the people that work here are high school and college kids so you just have to expect there to be some bumps as far as that goes. My best suggestion is that if it can be fried beyond recognition-it's probably a better bet than anything you would get here that is supposed to be "fresh"-just sayin".... read more

The Gardens - This lettuce looks like it's gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

Seated ourselves outside on a half empty patio. Waited 20 minutes and watched newer patrons receive drinks and even food before we were able to find anyone to take drink orders. 30 minutes and we still don't even have waters. The appetizers we finally got were okay, still don't have a drink though. They aren't busy enough on a Thursday afternoon to be this absolutely horrible with service. read more

The Gardens - The water I still don't have - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

Wish I had read the reviews prior to trying to eat here with the family! Family was dropped off at this dock after a boat excursion so decided to eat, sat down to eat about 6:15,.... did not get our food till after 8:00 pm , family of 4 with 2 small kids and just simple menu item orders. Staff didn't seem worried about the time no offer for compensation, not a good impression for first place we ever ate here in Okoboji! Fod was unimpressive at best and almost an hour and forty five minute wait!!! no thanks, never again. read more

Great place to eat and drink with a spectacular view of the lake. Amazing service will definitely go again!

This is a great place for a cold beer great food and a great view of the lake and the staff work there butts off and good live music each weekend happy hr Monday and Thursday 4 to 5 and soon 4 to 6 this fall chicken is good and the wings on Wednesday are the best read more

Love this place!! Good food, good vibes, spectacular service!! I enjoyed a chubby and finished it all by myself! Would definitely come here 6 days a week! read more

Sat outside on the patio, great location with an amazing view. HOWEVER, everything else was pretty rough. Service was mediocre at best, we received 2 plastic silverware sets for a table of 7. They were out of every popular beer/seltzer/etc on a day where it wasn't very busy. The food was not terrible though, the wings were pretty bomb. But, a $6 credit card fee is added to your tab. Overall, not pleased. read more

Our service was good. Nice to be able to look out over the lake or sit outside if you choose. The pizza is good, and the cheese sticks are amazing. Solid selection of appetizers and non-pizza offerings. Drinks are good and priced about the norm for the area. I've been several times and I'm sure I'll return in the future. read more

Good beer selection, great view if the lake. We didn't other food but looking around at plates revealed delicious looking meals and appetizers!!! read more

The Gardens - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

Bypass all the shopping and head downstairs for a beer with a view. It's fun to watch the boats coming and going from the deck. I enjoyed sitting in the shade on this sunny day and having a beer with my husband after going through all the little shops. Our server was great...we didn't try any of the food, but liked the local brew. read more

The Gardens - Trying the beer from West O. - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

This was the worst service I've ever experienced. We waited three hours for our food and never got checked on in between our wait. When we ordered our drinks she brought the wrong drinks 20 minutes later. Alexis is the absolute worst waitress I've stumbled upon, thank you to jimmy for figuring everything out and getting us our food shortly after we talked to him. read more

Chairs break. Dilapidated deck. Sitting with my friend and her two kids at 6:30 pm. My chair gave way, I'm 150 lbs for reference and was not drunk. No one seemed to care. I have friends and family with mobility issues and I would never take them there knowing they have brittle, old, dilapidated chairs and deck. Be aware. read more

If you plan on catching a drink here on a weekend. I'd skip it. The long line down two flights of slippery stairs. It was above capacity and not clean. Maybe during the day it's better. But i think it's a 19-21 year old bar. read more

Used to work here.. owner only cares about $$ not the health and safety of his guests. Also, he's an absolute menace to his staff, would regularly come in drunk and yell at everyone about how we're incompetent idiots, but he's the one who added patio seating and didn't expand the kitchen so that's why the wait times are so long. Not sure if much has changed since that was 2018, but be aware, we had sewage water leak into the kitchen and all over the building that summer and he wanted us to close and clean it all within the hour so he could open back up and make his money. read more

Ordered, then after an hour they came out to tell us they didn't have chicken strips and my daughter needed to order something else (so she did). Then we waited another half hour after that - still no food - and our server came out AGAIN and said they were out of chicken for the sandwich I had ordered and I needed to order something else. Same thing happened to the people next to us. Long story short, if you eat here, set aside 1.5 hours to wait for your food, and don't expect to get what you order. read more

Bubba just changed my TV channel to golf. 'nuff said. Great bar tho great drinks and atmosphere, good service. Really wanted to watch the Twins game tho. Please change it back. read more

Food is below sub par. Basically the same burger you can whips up at hyvee in 20 min. Seasonal staff, so don't expect any mixed drinks asside from something like a Miami vice. Manager is very inexperienced and is drowning the business sooner or later. If corrections are not made, this business is bleeding if it isn't already. The location is the only positive note in all honestly and the only excuse to have their price points on the menu where they are. If you enjoy being extorted with some frozen friend food this is for you. Drink specials at happy hour are swell, that'll help the cold chicken wings go down that have been sitting under a heat lamp for a couple hours. Most of the staff is very delightful don't get me wrong. They just need proper management. read more

Oh my goodness, where do I start?... I first posted a review about the Gardens on their Facebook page. In this review I stated that the shrimp tacos were definitely lack luster. The shrimp was fishy, slimy, and cold. No seasoning.. AT ALL. I was starving though so I choked them down with the chips they served and the tomato salad they called salsa. Why did I use the chips on the side to eat the food and not the tortillas they were served with? Because they were raw... and chewy. Every decent human being knows that flour tortillas need to be warmed up and should never be served directly from the package. Anyway, why did I come here to leave a review?? Because this "business" apparently deletes negative reviews on their Facebook page and BLOCKS the person.. for leaving an honest review. I can't even. I mean, their cheese balls are good and their beer is cold but I do not recommend going to this place and plan on eating a meal. Get yourself a beer and maybe some cheese balls and call it a day. There are plenty of better places in the area that offer better food with the same view that they have. Update: my boyfriends review on their Facebook was deleted too! Hahahaha oh my god this is comical. read more

This place has been upgraded since our last visit was ok, jas gotten better. Not real high end, but pretty good. Worth a trip, great lake vista. read more

The Gardens - Great lake vista, good food, give it a try. - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

We went here last year with my family and the food wasn't the great and the service wasn't either. We went here this year to get drinks and appetizers. The drinks took 10 minutes to get and after 25 minutes we asked when the appetizer would be ready. The waitress said they would be out shortly and we waited another 10 minutes. We finally just canceled. It shouldn't take 35 minutes for fries and onion rings. We won't be back. read more

The food is great. The service is great too. Although they charge $2 per water and they only serve bottled water. If you are trying to stay hydrated this isn't the place for you. read more

The Gardens - $2 per bottled water. Hopefully they don't charge for napkins too! - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

We stop by for lunch Memorial weekend and got a great table outside. Nothing beats having lunch on the water! However I don't think the kitchen staff had their stuff together. We waited an hour and 20 mins for our appetizer (which were just fried pickles) and we had to ask our server where those were at. Our server was attentive but honestly we won't be back to eat at the Gardens. Waiting for almost 2 hours, at lunch, for 2 chicken wraps and fish tacos is just not acceptable. read more

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I think we are officially too old for this location. I heard about this great view of the water and we walked down a staircase to see the place filled with 21 year olds screaming and doing shots of whatever. There were bouncers at that door and the outside doors checking ID's and we walked out to the deck to take pictures of the sunset. It just reminded me of a rowdy college bar on a discount beer night. read more

The Gardens - View from Gardens dock looking back up at building - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

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This place is poorly run. Second time we've experienced poor service and food. People on vacation should be able to count on better service. Waited 90 minutes for 4 dishes to arrive. Won't be back read more

Food, drinks, and service are simply amazing! A must stop on vacation! You can't go wrong with that view as well!

Disclaimer: this review will only be about the bar portion of the establishment. Reading all of these reviews, perhaps it's a good thing that I didn't actually eat food from here, since it sounds like the good majority of the Yelpers before me have had miserable experiences. I come from a place where paying $13 for a cocktail is the norm, so to be in a bar where you can get copious amounts of booze for super cheap is an absolute plus in my book. Yes, the inside does smell kind of raunchy, so I'd advise anybody and everybody to try to take your drink and/or food outside, take a seat, and enjoy the view of the lake. I think the place tends to charge a cover on certain nights, which is pretty ridiculous as I don't even pay cover charges in NYC. This does take away a star from what would have been a 3 star review overall. read more

I am just absolutely appalled by what I experienced at this establishment today. What I thought would be an enjoyable experience with my family turned into a nightmare. I tried speaking to the manager about the shortage of glizzys and the subpar service yet no one came to our table. My wife ordered the taco pizza and I can smell the shit she took downstairs from our upstairs bedroom. Please be better. read more

I've eaten here a few times. The great thing about the Gardens is their location off of the Emporium and the fact that they are right on the lake. It's nice to sit on the deck and eat. The food is basic bar food, nothing special but overpriced. The service is fine, waiters nice but everything is super super slow. I get you are busy but when it takes an hour to get food something is wrong. And now they charge for water. Even if you have a bar drink you cannot get a side of water. Just seems like another what way to get more money from you. read more

we went on a Saturday for late lunch. we came by boat. they were full of boats, we had to wait a short bit. we sat out on the patio. it was a beautiful day. our server advised us the food was taking about 45 minutes. we agreed to stay and order. we had loaded nachos, sweet potato fries and chlizic. it was all very good, but the nachos really needed salsa, get your nachos at the barefoot bar. fries were good. the chlizic was good, but a very small price for a small dish. I guess, similar cost to a steak. it was tasty. Service was good, it took 43 minutes for our food, but good view of the lake With good company. they are missing all the college kids that went back to college. tables are spaced for distancing, staff that we saw was not wearing a mask, thank you for that. condiments on the table. they did clean the table well for us before we sat down. I forgot pictures before we dug in. bathrooms were clean and have real paper towels and a door that kicks out. read more

Been here a few times and it's just sad how bad the service is. Took a while, and the server didn't know the menu well. It had a hint of B.O and the food was below mediocre. Never going here again. read more

Our experience was horrible... it usually is but we thought we would give it another try. We waited and waited outside while waitresses walked past us a dozen times and got orders from people who sat after we did. We can't even tell you how good anything was because we weren't even spoken to... so we left. At least the guy yelled "have a good day" when we walked out which is why they even get 1 star. There are too many places to spend money to be ignored. PS try the Nautical. read more

The food is good and the service was great really enjoyed the outside seating and facing the lake a really nice atmosphere and good food

We often enjoy stopping at The Gardens when we are in Okoboji for their Chicken Alfredo Pizza without onions. After trying the nachos all over town we decided theirs are the best. It's usually pretty crowded. If you go during the day you can bring your family. We always enjoy sitting on the deck. The service is hot and miss but much better off season. read more

The Gardens - Nachos - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa

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Just had Great service and excellent eats at gardens. I had the wing style shrimp cattleman's sauce style and it was delicious. Rose was our bartender and waitress and made the night great. Highly recommended. read more

The Gardens - Desserts Near Me - Arnolds Park, Iowa