I found myself in familiar territory and surroundings when I returned stay the Lakeview Inn hotel for a night, away from metro Boston in early May 2025. I arrived here via uber and decided to have dinner at the hotel's main restaurant, the Lakeside Tavern. This Yelp review is for the restaurant only and not the hotel. I arrived here around 9:30pm. I opted to get dinner here first before checking into the hotel for the night. The service that night I was here was crazy slow. They had loud live band music and the vibe here was generally an older crowd on a Thursday evening in May 2025. I found a seat next to the bar near the kitchen and after 15 minutes of waiting for someone to take my order, I walked to the cash register and waited for someone to arrive. I ended up getting one of their signature meals for the evening and that was that. Since it was close to 10pm that evening, the music was winding down. I ended up waiting about 20 minutes for my food to arrive. It came in a takeout container with a plastic bag. I would have gotten something at Boston, Logan International Airport, but it was after 8 PM when I arrived and nothing in the terminal was open for me. With that said, I was happy that the Lakeside Tavern was open for anybody and everybody who was wanting to be there. For lunch, dinner, or just hang out and listen to live music with adult beverages. For me, though, I just need dinner after a long day of travel to Boston from Honolulu. I was glad that they were until 10 PM, otherwise I would have took an Uber to see what was around at the time near the hotel that serve food. The overall experience at the lakeside Tavern here in Wakefield, Massachusetts was typically OK, although I was starving and wanted quicker service that night. While the service was very slow, it was nice to partake in the live music that night. The ambiance was chill and friendly. The service was friendly and welcoming too. For the most part though, the experience here was pretty good and most likely will come back again get my troubles permit me to do so. I'll try to get here as quick as I can, but then again their travel is normally the same as it was 10 years ago. The restaurant itself was very clean, although it was dark enough to wear I can't see much. I just was glad that this restaurant at the hotel I was staying at for the night was open and grateful that they were still serving food while I was there. If you decide to stay at this hotel, consider dining in the Lakeside tavern because it is basically on property. You don't need to go elsewhere for your meals if you don't need to. If you're lazy like me, this restaurant is your best bet if you're staying at the hotel. Definitely recommended if you are one of those people who just don't wanna leave the hotel for some reason if you're staying here at the Lakeside inn in Wakefield Massachusetts. The Lakeside Tavern is located inside the Lakeside Inn in Wakefield, Massachusetts. As soon as you enter the lobby, the entrance to the restaurant is on your left. Can't miss it. It is physically located at 595 North Avenue in Wakefield. They accept major credit cards as well as cash. As far as parking goes, they have a generous and huge parking lot for anybody and everybody who wishes to come here to stay or dine. Or both. Please share the parking spaces with a few other commercial retailers in the vicinity. There is a bank nearby, if you need cash. There is actually public transportation service to and from the hotel into Boston. I did not know this until my most recent trip here and decided to save a little bit of money and ride the local bus service into downtown Boston from Wakefield. It was pretty cool. Don't recommend it if you are traveling in the evening and don't know where you are if you are a tourist. So yes, there is public transportation options to and from the hotel, and they will depend on your original destination, whether it is the Amtrak station or Boston Logan international airport in Boston. And with that said, they have a limited menu, so be prepared for anything they have. The prices here were decent for any restaurant in the area. But if you're desperate and hungry, it's kind of worth it, especially when you're staying at the hotel for the night and you're starving. Which is what my situation was at the time. It was a quick stop for dinner that ended up being something other than quick. But if you like the loud live music to decompress after a nice day of traveling or a hard day at the office, consider coming to the lakeside Tavern for a good meal and to decompress. I'm sure they have alcohol service here, but I did not want to drink so late at night. 3.5 stars for the overall experience, mostly for the slower than normal service. But it is pretty good 5.0 stars for the location, because I was staying here. Support local! C+ read more

Teen Birthday party- I was so pleased with this place for my Terns bday! The staff were very responsive and so helpful! Katie was an excellent bartender making mocktails for the teens. The food and cupcakes were good. The added some extra touches with the food display. We had the BEST time! We had about 75 kids and the space was perfect. I would definitely use the space again if needed! read more

This place may have the best burger in Wakefield, no joke. Not great for family since has tavern vibe and can be a little rough around the edges, especially on their poker night. Feels like a rust belt hotel bar which may resonate for some but not all. The bartender guy who takes order was one of the best service people I've encountered in Reading, Stoneham or Wakefield. This place is lucky to have him. And Kudos to ya fella- wish you worked at Public... 4 star burgers & bartender. 2 star vibe (I'ma family dude so doesn't work well for kids) read more

Good food for a small place. Local crowd but I didn't feel out place. Fun crowd! Good music

We went there because it said it had a dart board. No dart board and didn't look like there had ever been one. Beer was okay, but an odd place with an average age of clientele about 70, and 90% playing poker. Good luck to 'em, but not my kind of place. Wish the review had been honest read more

They need a good Chef. The service is good, but food is lousy. The food need to improve. Ambiance ok.

Place smells like old dirty smelly cigarette butts. More poker tables than dinner tables. No one greeted us or seemed interested in serving food read more

Me and my wife truly enjoyed our meal and time at this tavern. I think the waitress / bartender Jessica made our experience very enjoyable with her constant funny, corky remarks which gave us the impression she loves people and loved picking on us even more. We adore people like her and even liked the steak tips too. The restaurant has a great view of the lake and is lively for those not afraid of a little noise and a goofy waitress. read more

Lakeside Tavern - Steak tips with fries.. delicious! - Sports Bars Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

I would give it no stars if I could. We waited over an hour for our food on the week of Fourth of July. We were told by their ONE waitress that their ONE cook was going as fast as he could. She wasn't 18 so the bartender had to continuously give everyone their drinks. After an hour we asked for our check for the drinks and app saying we wanted to leave as it had been so long. The bartender came over screaming at my dad saying most people weren't disrespectful enough to leave after they already order food. And my dad was very upset and lost his cool. The bartender asked us to leave and told us not to pay for the drinks. This is the second or third review on here mentioning the bartenders short fuse and wait time. The poppers weren't bad but the service was atrocious and we won't ever be back. read more

Our meal was a pleasure, but we were prompted to write a review to give accolades to Lindsey, the bar manager. She was very busy but made us feel like she wasn't. She took time for all our requests and then some. One tip, however, is to order the stuffed mushrooms with the house made buffalo sauce on the side! read more

The staff was awesome and very talkative and knowledgeable about the area surrounding the Inn. The bar also offered a wonderful outdoor scenery with outdoor activities. read more

Lakeside Tavern - Beautiful scenery - Sports Bars Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Recently, two of my loved ones passed away a month apart. Naturally, we needed a good place to have the reception. We used this place both times and we will definitely being using it again in the future, whether for a funeral reception or a gangbusters party. I rate this place 5 stars in terms of the price, quality of food, and service. Cheryl, the function sales manager, was very accommodating in every respect and has definitely helped to build this place well above and beyond what it was years ago. It is no longer the old Lord Wakefield. The new Lakeside Tavern is a great part of this area now. Years ago, the bathrooms here honestly used to be garbage. Now they are newly redone. They have a function area that can seat up to 80 people and they are building a new function area next door that is starting to look nice. I have had all sorts of food in the reception/function room from haddock, to steak tips, various chicken from chicken piccada, chicken marsala, chicken broccoli ziti, roasted potatoes, salad, and various desserts. You have to try the steak tips as they are honestly the best that I have ever had. The service is very professional, polite, and prompt. And you cannot beat a good view of the best lake on the north shore. The bar area outside of the function room, which is still apart of the building and hotel complex, is relatively decent. It is no Yard House but they make the most of the area with which they have to work. And I think they still have live music on certain nights. Pool tables and games there also, so there are many different reasons to come here. If you are staying in Boston but hate the Boston prices, I would stay here since it is right off of 95. I highly recommend this place. read more

I brought my friend out for brunch last Sunday and I was really thrilled with the selections. We had a great time tasting the roast pork, Salisbury steak and my favorite was the eggs Benni. Everything was hot and fresh. Great Price great place . The fun part was when Chef Leslie came out to great us and incite us with her chocolate cream pie which of course we both shared. I will return for sure and bring others with me. read more

The best "dive bar" in the Wakefied are. Keno, pool tables and darts. Karaoke nights. View of lake Quannapowit with an outdoor fireplace. Cheap beer. A Sunday Funday or after work spot to grab a couple cold ones read more

My family and I threw a baby shower for my sister and dealing with Kathy or Katie the sales manager was a nightmare. I DONT RECOMMEND HAVING A FUNCTION HERE. She nickel and died us at every turn. This and that aren't included you can't use our EMPTY fridge. We got questioned even trying to use the bathroom. Still waiting on a refund for 127 for a coffee setup she charged is for that we didn't want. Super fast to charge us but lagging on the refund. I would give zero stars if I could. No integrity and a combative approach to customer issues. read more

For short money, this place was clean & had friendly staff. It has been renovated recently. There was a band in the Tavern & none of us had to drive after drinking. My only gripe was we asked for a room with a view of the lake & we got the parking lot. read more

Just as much of a dumpster fire as the hotel is. We went for dinner one night and it was beyond bad. The bartender couldn't get a drink right and they were not hard drinks. One people ordered a tequila and pineapple juice, but got rum and pineapple. Another person order the same drink twice and both times it was a completely different color. To top it off on member order a bottle of beer, not hard right? Guess again, the bartender brought over the wrong beer!! The food at this place was just as bad. It took them over 2 hours to get our food to us and one of the meals was left behind and had been sitting under the heat lamp for easily an hour. The bun was inedible, the bacon was not cooked and the beef was barley edible. Luckily they took it off the bill and offered another one. After that experience though my wife said she'd take a salad. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, which is probably the easiest thing on their menu...at least that's what you'd think. The chicken was dry and the sweet potato fries were either over cooked or barley cooked. The band they had that night was supposed to be a Pop/R&B band, but instead of an alternative/indie style group and like everything else they were TERRIBLE. They did have TV's which was nice....except they had it on some channel that said no feed and just showed a running time. If you come for the music (I wouldn't recommend it), eat before you come and have alcohol in the car so you can slide out between songs to get your buzz going. read more

Stopped here after a hike - awesome food, beverages and service. Back deck facing a small lake.

One star purely for the friendly brunch staff. Food was awful. Dry, tasteless, stale, old and luke warm. Should I continue? Never mind the completely random food selection. Beef teriyaki and eggs Benedict? What the hell? Also no one served us drinks or asked if we would like anything other than juice or water. We called to make reservations for a large party and were told 2 times that worked: 10am and 1pm. We chose 1pm only to arrive and be told that brunch ended in one hour. Ridiculously overpriced for what is offered. Brunch for 8 people came to 163$. We won a free brunch for 10 and that is the only reason we went. Had it not have been free we would not have stayed. Won't be returning. read more

It's a nice place if you're looking for a place right next to the lake. The lady at the front desk was very nice and understanding when I didn't realize I had to check in at 3pm. She got us a room as soon as she could and called us personally when it was ready. The only complaint I would have is that there's no refrigerators or microwaves in the rooms, you have to get ice from the bar and there's no vendor machines read more

Stopped in while driving North to ski country for a family meal along the way. Very pleasantly surprised, everything we had was very good, and service was friendly and excellent! Scallops were perfect, and wife's beet salad was delicious and presentation was really cool. Kids burgers, fried chicken and fries were straight up, fresh and high-quality. Bonus points for many solid beer options on tap! We'll be back when traveling along Rt 89 North of Concord. read more

The Tavern is Great and the service is top notch and a great place to see a band but they need to totally redo the Hotel part from top to bottom read more

Went there to play a couple games of pool, come to find out they changed there menu and brought in a new chef. I got the chicken nachos to start off ,I could not believe how big they where. Best nachos I have ever had. Then I got the ribeye , it was on special for 13.00 . It came with rice pilaf and broccoli, it was amazing. I sat down by the windows and the view of the lake is breath taking , the server and bartender was really nice. I will definitely be returning for dinner. read more

A great homey atmosphere, it's definitely not a dive but it's quant. My very good friend and I found this place by accident, and we made it our place to go. read more

Service was awful. Both the waiter and waitress were rude. Took me about 15 minutes to get my first drink and about 45 minutes to get a menu. Disappointed to say the least read more

I would give this place no stars if I could. Went in one night the bartender started a whole fight between a group of people sitting at the bar. I was on the other side and witness the whole thing. Let's just say I will never be back. read more

This is a hidden hotel restaurant with a limited menu. I went to try the food and sing some karaoke on Sunday night. The DJ was hitting on all eight cylinders and the burger was good but the service left me wanting. The service had the personality of toilet paper. By the time I was able to pay the check I felt like wiping and flushing. If they could hire a server who smiled a little it would have change my first impresion. read more

Had reservation for this place had family members drive down so my nieces could go in pool staff told us pool was being renovated not only did they upgrade our room for same price but they called around to find us a pool and then once at the Y they let us all swim for free once i told them the situation. And Amy Weaver was very helpful her shift was done and she stayed to print my boarding passes and our driving directions.Only thing that was bad is they have a bar with karoke and real loud when in lobby especially if they are a bad singer read more

I go there for the music. Open mic is always erratic, but weekend bands are getting better and better. The surprise is for a nondescript hotel bar the food is really good. Bar food but good. If they ever build the deck it will be a good spot. read more