Lindey’s Lake House: Dine with PressureLife
Hate onions? Put ketchup on your ketchup? We all have unique likes and dislikes, so when you hear about a new restaurant, whether it be from a foodie or someone who lives off of toaster pastries, you don’t know if their tastes align with your own. So, instead of reading a review from one source, take it from four members of our team. Even though we are woefully underqualified to review a restaurant, at least one of us will likely share some of your distinct tastes.
For this issue, the PressureLife crew visited Lindey’s Lake House in Lakewood. The restaurant is the third Lindey’s in the region, joining the Beachwood and Flats locations as part of Owner Rick Doody’s mini Lake House empire. The Lakewood location opened in the former Jammy Buggars space this past May to serve up a sizable menu that ranges from burgers and tacos to crab cakes and steak. Will Lindey’s help make locals forget Jammy Buggars? Find out what our crew thought about the latest Lindey’s.
Jim Bacha
Let’s start with the renovation; it was really well done. Taking down the middle wall and making it a more open concept with a bar in the middle made a lot of sense. For the decor, the modern and sleek vibe was diminished by the abundance of portraits of women in bikinis posing with fruit. The highlights for me were the burger, crab cake, and fried chicken. For the price, some of these dishes may want to be rethought. The fish and chips was $18 for three small pieces of fish and the crab cake was the size of a tin of chew for $14. With all that said, I think there is a future for Lindey’s in Lakewood but some price points have to be revisited. If you’re on a budget and want a nice night out with friends or significant other, this is your first and last stop. Although I enjoyed most of my experience and the atmosphere was nice, I don’t think I’ll be back for quite some time.
Overall: 3/5
Alex Bieler
My first impression of Lindey’s Lake House is how you’d never know that it was in the old Jammy Buggars space. Doody and company did a laudable job redoing the space. As for the quality of the food, I was generally pleased. The pizza didn’t do much for me, but most of the dishes were successes. My steak was a lovely medium-rare and seasoned well, although the steak sauce that accompanied it tasted quite a bit like a sweet cocktail sauce. Jim’s fish and chips were battered nicely, although the serving was a bit scant. Honestly, Hannah’s cornbread with the hot honey was one of my favorite items. However, the prices didn’t always seem to match the quality or the portion sizes. For example the crab cake was great, but it was also $14 for some mixed veggies and something the size of a cookie. Still, I’d rather have something be good, pricey, and small than large, cheap, and mediocre.
Overall: 3.5/5
Hannah Allozi
When you first walk in, you feel out of place if you’re not wearing docksiders. Sans the exceptionally framed stock photos of white families with golden retrievers on their boats — the renovations were really beautifully done. The open-air doors that let the beautiful smell of the ocean (what?) into the dining room sets the mood nicely. But on to the food. Generally speaking, I was really pleased with everything we ate, other than the Korean BBQ wings that tasted a little bit like a cinnamon candle. Some high notes for me were the fried chicken, fish & chips and the burger. However, upon scanning the menu prices, it became increasingly clear that Lindey’s was trying to recoup on renovation costs. One crab cake? for $14? Look, it was delicious and didn’t taste like it was caught on the shores of Erie, but even the lima beans that filled the rest of the plate didn’t satisfy my need for another crab cake (or $7 bucks back). Even though I was really pleased with the quality and taste of everything, I don’t think I’ll be docking my boat there again until there’s a reality check on their pricing.
Overall: 3/5
Dave Sebille
The layout of the restaurant was amazing compared to what occupied the building before. Obviously a lot of work had been done, mostly on installing garage door-style windows that allow the nice summer air to blow through the restaurant. The service was textbook – quick and with a smile. I had two cocktails; the Paloma, which featured fresh grapefruit juice. I had a hard time picking up any bitters or lime juice in the Dockside Buzz. It was basically an $11 whiskey and ginger beer. Nobody seemed to be over or underwhelmed with their food. Everything was pretty much just as you’d expect. The fried chicken was better with honey and the pizza was better with hot sauce, although the steak sauce didn’t seem to make much sense on steak. The burger was the best-tasting, yet most ridiculously-priced dish on the table at $15.90. The check was the biggest bummer. I hope Lindey’s figures out a killer happy hour, because at regular price, even with a fun group of friends and a great staff to take care of you, Lindey’s is not worth the price.
Rating: 2.5/5