What a rip-off! Went here for our anniversary and were so disappointed. I had the lamb chops, one of my favorite things for a special dinner. Have never seen any lamb chops like this in my life. One looked like a regular loin chop - the other was an oversized something or other - but didn't look like a chop. Flavor was ok, but nothing special - especially for $32!!! My husband had a filet - equally expensive, but it didn't come with anything - no salad, no veg, no starch. All ala carte. It too was just ok. Save your money - go to Madison's (expensive but good),Wolfgang's (always great) or Cypress (interesting and eclectic). And one more thing - the ambiance is terrible. Dining room is small with very low ceilings and very dated decor. Won't ever go back. read more

First time to visit Highlands and local friends mentioned this restaurant as a possible option for dinner. The service was pleasant, friendly and just perfect . The dining room team from the hostess to the handsome waiters were professional and knowledgable and even held the door for us on the way out. If this review was for the service alone it would be 5 stars. Unfortunately since we were there to eat - the food needs to match the service and it just didn't . I won't mention decor because I have limited expectations up in the mountains - it wasn't very up to date but it was clean and thoughtful. We were a party of three the two appetizers we had were very nice - the fried oysters and the goat cheese salad were both tasty. The Fish Maison was tasty and fresh - however the sides were bland and not well executed. The big disappointment were the House Signature Crab Cakes ( I know what you're thinking - don't order crab cakes in the mountains) . The restaurant itself claims to focus on seafood , and when I inquired with the waiter he explained the seafood comes in daily and that the "Jumbo Lump and hand pick makes their crab cakes like eating a piece of crab." Luckily I know the difference between backfin inferior crabmeat and Jumbo Lump. What was served was 2 deep fried balls of backfin crab dough - not only lacking in any sign of Jumbo Lump Crab but of any flavor whatsoever. Served with a strange choice of horseradish dill which tasted more like creamed horseradish for steak with no hint of fresh dill . The filet was pricey, average and overly salted. Not a winner. Was it NC grass fed beef for that price ? We didn't ask so I don't know. Yes perhaps it's a bit pricey but if you serve quality nobody will mind. Perhaps it's time for the chef to pay more attention to the quality of ingredients, use some herbs and spices, and take the crab cakes off the menu if you can't do them justice. read more

Loved The Manhattan cocktail and my pork entree was excellent. Will definitely go again.

Had a party of 5, and Service was excellent, Food was very good, but Price was a bit inflated. Atmosphere is average. Pork chop was great!! Reservations are needed and can get very crowded after 7pm. Dressy casual. We'll be back. . read more

A tiny restaurant in a lovely setting with incredible food. We thoroughly enjoyed the pasta pomodoro, steak frites, and lamb chop, but the oyster appetizer and blueberry bread pudding were equally impressive. read more

My wife and I enjoyed a romantic dinner at the Lakeside Restaurant last night. If you're looking for a quaint mountain cottage style restaurant where you can have great views of a surrounding pond, mountains and the occasional roaming geese, then Lakeside is for you. The food was great. We had Sea Scallops and the Pork Ossobuco, which were both amazing. The service was great, too. Price is very moderate, given the location and quality. We had two drinks, appetizer and two entrees for around $100.00. Would strongly recommend read more

Had a horrible experience at the log cabin restraunt and walked out. Lake side was nice enough to take us as a walk in. One of the best meals I have ever had in highlands. Started with the shrimp scampi and the walnut and goat cheese salad. Both were quite good. For the main I had double cut lamb chops Brussels sprouts and potato wedges. These were some of the biggest and best cooked chops I have ever had. I normally hate mint jelly but their mint jelly sauce was amazing. Topped it off with the mud pie for desert which was really good as well. Service was really good friendly knew the menu and was attentive. Nice ambiance and view of the lake as well. Def recommend this place as my new co favorite restraunt in highlands with Paolettis. read more

The food was amazing!! My brother said the grouper was the best he had ever had. I had scallops that were delicious! The staff was very accommodating to our large party. The beet salad was amazing...u must try this place read more

I can't say enough about how generous, welcoming, and amazing this restaurant was. My family and I wanted to do something special for my grandparents' 40th anniversary. Since we were sending them up there, we did a lot of research on the restaurants in the area, and finally decided on Lakeside as the place to send them and pay for their dinner as a nice surprise. I spoke with one of the staff there (more than likely the manager), Travis, on two separate occasions, and he assured me that everything I had asked for to make their special dinner successful would be accomplished. To my surprise, it was not only successful, but an extraordinary experience for them. The entire waitstaff and chefs far exceeded my expectations. The hostess immediately knew who they were walking in & made them "feel like royalty." They described the place as "cozy, romantic, and unique." Their waitress, Mary, was knowledgeable, professional, and very personable. She made wonderful suggestions and was almost a mind-reader with knowing exactly when anything was needed without being obtrusive. The oysters were the best they've ever had. The steak was cooked so well it could be cut with a fork. Everything they had was cooked to perfection (especially the bread pudding according to my grandfather)! My family and I appreciate everything the entire staff at Lakeside did to ensure their 40th anniversary was one they will never forget. Completely worth every penny! read more

Top Food and Top Wine in Highlands. Very small establishment. Reservations in advance are necessary. Sometimes there is a late cancellation - so worth the call. read more

Hands down BEST restaurant in Highlands. I've been several times and never had a bad meal. In fact, I've had the best, most memorable meals at this fantastic restaurant. Close to town, excellent atmosphere, and delicious fresh fish! Merrill is a great waitress and makes you feel right at home. Marty, the chef and owner, comes by your table to make recommendations and ensures your dining experience is excellent. We've been coming here for ten years and never had a bad experience. Do yourself a favor and enjoy a night at Lakeside. Make sure to make reservations. You'll thank me later. read more

My wife and I have eaten here several times over the past 20 years or so, and it has never failed to be outstanding. Just made reservations for our 22nd anniversary dinner, and we like this so much we're spending two nights in Highlands just to go to dinner here one night. Cannot fathom the two bad reviews. We ate there a couple of years ago for our 20th anniversary and the catch of day was swordfish, which is very difficult to cook without leaving it undercooked or dried out. I said to myself if any restaurant can do swordfish correctly, this is the one and I ordered it - and it was perfect. Over the years we've enjoyed the rainbow trout, seared ahi tuna, duck, a smoked salmon appetizer, steaks, and don't get my wife started on the deserts. We've eaten at Wolfgang's, Paoletti's, and the old Central House (Old Edwards Inn before it became this huge spa resort), and these are also excellent. But if we only have one night in Highlands, we're eating at Lakeside. read more

One of my most favorite restaurants anywhere that I've ever been in the world (ok, I haven't been everywhere, but around Europe, Caribbean, etc.). The past owner was a friend and on my annual trips to Highlands, Lakeside was a MUST! I haven't been to Highlands in quite a long time, but last week I was lucky enough to get there and took my Hilton Head girlfriends. They expected a lot as I'd been talking about how fabulous the food is and how charming the house and setting are. They were not disappointed. From the fabulous French wine to the apps and entrees, everyone agreed it was the best meal we had. The new owner has continued to maintain the highest quality with freshness and uniqueness and as luck would have it, I get to go back this Thursday night for more! I love Lakeside! read more

Excellent food and excellent service. I had the fresh trout with peach salsa which was very good. My husband had the stuffed trout which he thoroughly enjoyed. read more

The best food we have ever put in our mouths. Chef is creative, his sauces are to die for, and the wine list the best on the mountain. The food is not to be missed! read more

I have no idea what to say here. People seem to like it, but I cannot imagine what there is to like. Our appetizers were ok, but how hard is it to make corn chowder and calamari (too much breading, the calamari at On the Verandah was 100% better. Definitely try that place out. Ok, so those are apps, moving on to the steak special and the duck dish we ordered, the duck, as mentioned by my dining companion, tasted "like the stuff you try in the food court at the mall". She didn't realize the waiter was behind us, he heard. He stopped and said, "you don't like it? Can I offer you anything else?" After looking at the menu quickly, she chose the trout, and then I tried my RARE steak (which I requested), I have never had a harder piece of meat... ever, not even at a breakfast diner. The sides were equally as bad, the asparagus was not cooked correctly, and the whole thing was a bit of a mess. We quickly went back to find the waiter and tell him to cancel the trout, we were just going to cut our losses and order room service. Here is where I want to give 2 stars, but what happened next is even stranger... the waiter, realizing our discontent sent over a hostess or manager (I am unsure) to give us the bill. She asked us "would you like to take any of the steak with you?".. we each tried one bite. It was hard and tasteless, we told her this and I just paid the bill. Then the receipt came... my bill was one price, the receipt that she ran the credit card with was 6 dollars more. It is not the money, it is the principle, and it was just so very awkward. When we asked her about this, she had no idea why this happened, voided my check and gave me a new one that matched the bill. I really have not idea what happened last night, and yes, people do seem to like it, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why. If you only have a few nights in the Highlands, please do yourself a favor and avoid Lakeside... it is not what it is touted to be. And to be blunt, the food is not really edible, and the prices do not reflect this sad reality. Just move on and try some other stellar restaurants within a mile vicinity of this place. Oh and if you don't drink wine, this place is useless.. they don't serve spirits or beer... wine only here. Just FYI read more

This small, deceptively cottage-ish place is consistently excellent. Don't be fooled by the fact that the diners may be of advanced age. Highlands is a very wealthy place and they may be grey or bald but they're also sophisticated. The menu is NOT some kind of bland, non-seasoned, unimaginative throwback to yesteryear. Unfailingly excellent service and food make this unarguably number one in Highlands. If you're hungry try a veal chop. Crab cakes (don't forget this is the mountains) are superb. The chef is also an owner and it's apparent he's doing something he loves. Highlands is an oasis of fine dining and Lakeside is the tallest palm tree in the place. read more

I am shocked at the 2 poor reviews of this place. We summer in Highlands and consider this one of the top 2 restaurants in the area. Perhaps people don't know what to expect as far as atmosphere or they had a bad night. Our consistent experience has been that it is a bit expensive (special nights and occasional fine dining) but that it has a fun and varied menu. Probably the best restaurant for seafood in Highlands. First off, it is a cottage. It is tight and quaint. It is not "high cotton" or aloof. The wine selection is more than impressive and the variety on the menu is sufficient with daily specials based on the freshest ingredients is always done well when we go. The staff and owner are constantly present and attentive. It stands up to and is above most restaurants in our home town (Orlando) and throughout my travels. Expect a lot from this quaint restaurant. In fact, the wife and I are going there tonight to celebrate the "end of the season" and our return to Orlando for the winter. We expect nothing less than what we have gotten over a dozen times the past 3 or 4 years... excellence and another meal to talk about while we wait for the spring thaw and our return next year. read more

Ate at Lakeside after proposing to my wife, I had let the restaurant know when I booked that we would be celebrating. They had a bottle of champagne for us at no extra charge. I felt like the entire staff came and congratulated us. The food was amazing, I ended up eating my entree and my wife's as she was still a little too excited to eat. Definitely a favorite place to eat when in Highlands. read more

I, too, cannot understand the total fiasco of the earlier review. Lakeside is one of our top 3 restaurants in Highlands. We had a wonderful dinner for 4 two nights ago and were wowed by the service and quality. The hangar steak and shrimp "surf and turf" was amazing. I've had steaks all over the world and this cut was as good as any filet ever! The wolf fish and scallops we're great. Very reasonably priced for Highlands. We'll be back many times in the future. read more

So were given a dinner here for our anniversary. As I have said before, I am not one to stray from my usual haunts, but it was a gift. And I am so glad it was! It was cozy and intimate inside and the service was great. Our server, Nicole, was extremely knowledgeable about each dish and made incredible suggestions. I had the filet and it was tender and flavorful and my hubby had the scallops. Pretty plates, tasty food. Will definitely go back. read more

(See my earlier review below). Well we had our reservation last night, along with close friends. Once again the food was outstanding, as was the service. I couldn't help myself and asked Marty and the staff what was up with the horrendous review. Suffice it to say I now understand it better. I felt Marty should have replied on Trip Advisor at least, but he just said he prefers not to engage. With what I learned, it would be my advice to disregard the terrible review, or at the very least, not let it deter you from going to Lakeside. There are I believe something like 45 five star reviews of Lakeside on Trip Advisor. Until Yelp gains some more reviews, look at Trip Advisor, then make your decision.Oh, I had ling cod, and crab stuffed zuchinni specials, my friend had wolf fish and our wives the scallops. Everything was great! read more