Friday 7:30pm Reservation JUNETEENTH A Blind Date on Juneteenth? Umm Heck Yes My date ... ok My Sugar Daddy Date made arrangements at Lak per my request. I wanted to try something new from the Collection blog written by fellow Elite member Kendall. There was a Juneteenth celebration happening in the area of the restaurant so parking was tight . But when you have a sugar daddy , premier handicap parking is always available This restaurant is located inside the Merriweather Lakefront Hotel. There is a parking garage directly across the street for you regular ppl. Anyways ... this location is kind of in a cul-de-sac. So the Juneteenth celebration made a lot of foot traffic traveling from Whole Foods to the parking garage. This is a great place to have a staycation. The entrance is beautiful and once you enter , you see the nostalgic concert posters and music related artwork . The bathroom was clean . The hosts were attentive and polite. Madison , a beautiful blonde , greeted us and gave us the option to sit outside or inside. I chose outside so we could have a view of the lake. Madison cleaned the 6 seat table I wanted . Seats were comfy btw. A little dirty from crumbs for an upscale restaurant. It was the perfect day to sit outside. Ppl would look up from the trail, pointing, and wondering what restaurant we were eating at. The bugs were minimal. Brendan was our server. Yall This place is so dang on PEACEFUL. My date and I sat and chatted for 4 hours. Truly a great first date. The servers did not rush us out at closing time. I think that the hotel allows the guests to sit outside after hours because we did not leave until 11pm. We ordered several drinks of Bonanza ( RED NAPA VALLEY WINE) Despite the beautiful time we had , I gave this place 3 stars because my dang on plate was lukewarm. We didn't come here to be cheap . A lukewarm plate of short rib and chicken Milano is deplorable. I mean, as a server if you don't see the steam coming off the plate why would you bring it out ? We did not order appetizers. I didn't complain because I didn't want to be "bitchy" but they brought my food before they brought my drinks. That really confused me. Cold food ? Late glasses of wine ? I'm not sure what was going on inside. I would go back . But I will speak up next time because this is considered UPSCALE. No pictures. My IPHONE was full and I decided to live in the moment. read more

lāk - Next time I will speak up - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Wow! Now THAT'S a crab omelette! Amazing! The picture says it all! Great coffee. Great service! read more

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I stayed at the hotel and decided to try the restaurant for breakfast. It has a huge welcoming area before you get seated at your table. Very open space with lots of light. It had its fall decor still on the tables and around the restaurant. I ordered a latte and the lak avocado toast with a side of scrambled eggs which was an extra cost. Also ordered the cornflake French toast. Food was delicious and Anna who was our waitress was outstanding. The only little flaw was that the table was not balanced and it kept moving every time I tried to cut into the food. Luckily nothing was spilled. It still didn't take away from the delicious food. There is a free parking garage adjacent to hotel. Definitely recommend. read more

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Recently came here on a weekday evening to sit in the outdoor patio area and enjoy the nice weather. You can partially catch views of the lake. There's free parking in the garage across the street from the hotel. Hotel had a nice modern look, with a bar that gives you that modern cabin home feel. The 'guy's tender trio' (chicken tenders) is actually really good with a crispy exterior and perfect temp & texture. Tried the whiskey crush (made with rye whiskey) which was very refreshing, and the smoked old fashioned (also with rye)- both delicious. Server Brendan/Brandon was great. Will definitely be back! read more

Parker house rolls were delicious. I was very disappointed with the cauliflower steak. It's typically served at other restaurants as a midsection cut that's marinated and/or sautéed but here I was served a whole half a head of cauliflower. Because of the enormous chunk of cauliflower, the marinade was barely able to penetrate any of it which rendered it dry and bland and very difficult to even cut into. The side of hummus enabled me to eat and enjoy some of it but at $19 for cauliflower, I expected a much better experience. My husband's short rib was perfectly cooked. read more

This is a fun place to go with a group or for a date night. It is very close to Merriweather so you could even pregame or have dinner then walk to the concert. It has very pretty views of the lake and they have yummy drinks and food. You can make reservations. read more

lāk - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

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Came to LAK Columbia for their 4th of July buffet and it was fantastic! The food was amazing, everything was fresh and flavorful, and the ice cream was definitely the highlight. We also had front-row seats for the fireworks, which made the night even more special. The atmosphere was fun and festive, and the staff did a great job keeping everything running smoothly. I'll definitely be back next year! read more

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I went to Lak for restaurant week and it was the best time to try it. The restaurant is in the lobby of a beautiful hotel kinda nestled away from the busier parts of Columbia. With the deal you get a three course meal for a set price. I started with the Squash Blossom which was delicious! Then I moved on to the peach bourbon chicken, it was cooked well and presented nicely but nothing to go out of my way for. The Cherry Pie Cheesecake was the winner of the night. I also tried their summer gin cocktail which was made very well so I can tell they have a decent bar program. After dinner we thought about another drink at the bar but couldnt get over the amazing views! read more

A lakeside contemporary eatery, lāk offers fresh ingredients prepared with care. We enjoyed their breakfast, and I recommend the Crab Benedict and Corn Flake French toast. In addition to wonderful food, the service at lāk was spot on. Anna was gracious, friendly and helpful. Cheers! read more

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Great service and ambiance. Food was tasty and flavorful. From the moment you arrived, you're greeted promptly by your waiter, drinks and appetizers delivered with 5-10 minutes. Entrees arrived after the whole table finished their appetizers. Great timing. Definitely recommend. read more

We stopped in during restaurant week for a relaxing dinner. We were greeted immediately by a friendly host and seated overlooking the lake in Columbia. Our waitress was very friendly, professional and quickly explained the specials. For restaurant week they prepared two special dishes. The food was absolutely delicious! The inside dinning area is warm, well laid out and inviting. The outside dinning area is worth experiencing with a beautiful view of the downtown Columbia lake. We will be returning in a few weeks to meet friends at the restaurant as we absolutely enjoyed the entire dinning experience. read more

This hidden gem is definitely worth a try. The food was amazing, the service was excellent due to the size of our group. We were able to sit on the balcony and the view is so stunning. I can't wait go back! read more

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We came here for Mother's Day and having been to this area quite often, it was nice to see something a little more updated! Open kitchen and tall ceilings made the whole place feel big and spacious. The outdoor scenery was also so beautiful being by the lakefront. I would say the only thing that took away from the ambiance was that the live violinist and cellist played mostly pop covers, and it felt distracting and maybe even inappropriate for a nicer, upscale restaurant where classical music might have been more soothing and more suited for the ambiance. The food was excellent! I thought everything was pretty tasty but my own dish, the salmon, seemed to be a bit underseasoned and a little underwhelming, as it was relying on the salsa on top to give it some flavor. The pork loin was my favorite! The desserts were superb, the bread pudding was a special for Mother's Day but it should be a regular staple! The tiramisu was amazing too! Overall a really nice place for a special occasion but a bit pricy. read more

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We had a great experience for New Year! We came here as part of the NYE package offered by the Marriott Lakehouse hotel. This review is for lake. The dinner menu for our package was pre-fixe, which included beverages and champagne. We each got appetizers, an entree, and a dessert. There was a nice selection that included fish, steak, chicken options and more. The servings were very generous. And the flavor was better than expected. The breakfast menu was also pretty full. With the package we could order anything off the menu. Food was good. Our waitress (same lady for both meals) was lovely and attentive! The stay at the hotel was pretty good, but not without it's flaws. But overall we got a great deal, thanks to the meals at lak. read more

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Service extremely slow. Drinks and appetizers received relatively quick. Can't judge the entrees because I haven't received those yet. Waited at least 25 minutes after appetizer. Ambiance nice, for the "reserved lobby table" where we were seated.-as this was the only table in the bar/lobby area. At least the lobby table had a view of the frozen lake. I'm writing this review as I still wait for the entrees. Probably closer to 30 min wait by now...not going to post this full review until food comes out...estimated 38 min later food comes out, lukewarm! Let's see how long before dessert arrives.... which was ordered when the entrees were ordered. Less than 5 min-desserts arrived. Desserts, nothing to rave about. Ambiance was the best thing about this restaurant. Do not recommend for the food. Will not return. Manager (I believe) did come over, apologized for the wait-also comped one of the entrees and desserts. While I appreciate the apology, food and wait time def not worth returning read more

We opted to sit outside on the deck so we had nice views of the lak(e). The drinks, appetizers and entrées were amazing. It was really nice. Our waiter was helpful with making recommendations and everything he suggested was AMAZING! read more

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Heidi provided us with excellent service. The salmon w/saffron rice was OK overall, but I probably would not order it again. It reminded me of something with a Tex Mex influence due to the black bean topping and seasoning in the bottom of the rice. The seafood pappardelle was apparently delicious and my beet and burrata salad was very refreshing. We enjoyed our cocktails as well. I'd imagine this is an ideal location for a nice dinner date or brunch. I would return to try other menu options. read more

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Lak Restaurant Review: It is situated in the Merriweather Hotel with a view of Lake Kittamunqundi. If you enter through the entrance of the hotel you will be greeted with a beautiful Christmas tree in the center of the lobby. You will feel like you are checking into a ski chalet in the mountains. The restaurant is nothing short of fine dining upon appearance. Now aside from the appearance service is where the fine dining stars start falling off for me. We checked in for 6pm reservation on a Friday and it was only one other table seated. The staff stood around the kitchen just twiddling their thumbs and just staring at us while we were waiting for our waitress. She comes over and stood over waiting for us to speak to her. Couldn't find her after she gave us our meal. The menu is seasonal. In the summer there was a completely different menu. I ordered crab cake entrees for the girls and myself and David had the short ribs. We also ordered the baked mac and cheese, fries, tatter tots, and salad. The waitress looked ask me was I sure I wanted to order three crab cake entrees for the kids (my kids eat off the adult menu). Why ask us that? The short ribs and cream potatoes were delicious. The meat was tender and the potatoes were savory. The crab cake entree came with coleslaw and watercress salad. The coleslaw slaw was bland but the watercress was seasoned well (light, citrusy, and refreshing). It was good but for $45 an entree we were still hungry. We also ordered shareable sides of baked Mac n cheese and fries. The kids said was not good and the fries were burnt. My lychee martini tasted like a lemon drop martini. Overall, if you are going for an anniversary dinner, business dinner, or looking for a place with a nice ambiance I would recommend. They need to improve in their customer service. read more

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Came for restaurant week- great menu offerings Beautiful inside of restaurant and great views of the lake. Was a bit windy outside so I decided on inside dining but sat close to the patio windows. Lobster bisque- there were very few actual pieces of lobster. Texture was smooth, liked it overall Charred Caesar salad- enjoyable, better than a traditional Caesar salad Chicken Milanese- chicken crispy, lemon caper sauce wasn't overpowering (I'm not typically a lemon sauce fan), risotto cooked well Fruit cheesecake- was ok, didn't like the crust compared to a traditional cheesecake crust, enjoyed the fruit on top read more

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Horrible service. Horrible food. Extremely overpriced for what they serve. I LITERALLY had to spit food out that I already chewed because I couldn't shallow it. Steak frites on the online menu said it came with a sauce and green beans and fries. It came with ketchup and fries. Apparently menu has not been updated yet. Did not refill our water once even though our cups were almost empty but refilled and checked on the table behind us multiple times. Food took over 20 mins and didn't once stop by to say sorry for the wait or to check on us. Plate was served with red "juice" blood from the steak on the plate. Worst meal I've had in a long time. McDonalds is better. read more

lāk - Steak frites, fries taken off plate - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

This is a nice place and I am sure when the weather is nice, being outdoors overlooking the lake is a bonus. Food is phenomenal. We had the fried zucchini, calamari and crab crostini for appetizers. I had the pork chop for my entree and dessert was the carrot cake, warm cookie and lak bar. All three desserts were delicious. The service was amazing. I highly recommend. read more

Service the bar and staff are bringing it to Columbia in this beautiful Hotel with a Unique bar and tout door patio is beautiful over looking the lake outstanding food is well prepared and service by some great servers that know there stuff well done and keep Up the great work !! read more

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I've been here twice and each time has been delicious! They have the BEST bread with honey butter, and each dish and drink I ordered has been top tier. There never seems to be a ton of people there, which is perfect, and the staff have been so nice and welcoming. I'll definitely be coming back more! The view and vibes were perfect! Love this place. read more

Hey LAK House. I want to do your marketing because whoever is doing it is not doing you justice. I ordered the crabcake sliders for a late night snack and they were so freaking excellent. I have always consistently been impressed with the service at all three of your food locations (cafe, bar area & resto) and I just don't understand why you are not packed every night all the time. The food is so so so so good and the people are really, really very kind (except for the millennial who didn't want to clean up after a mess on one of the tables on the outside deck ). You just need a few tweaks and some good marketing and you could be the go to place in Columbia Town Center. read more

The food, service, ambiance was good! The crab crostini app comes with 3 for $21 it should be at least 5. Lychee was on the sweet side but was decent. Seafood rigatoni did not come with a lobster tail like I saw in original photo but was still very good! I felt bad our waiter was sick he told us he had a mild cold and had just gotten off antibiotics. read more

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The food was okay, the star of the show for me was the crab crostini! the 6 oz filet mignon was well done, we asked for it to be cooked medium, the manger didn't charge us for the $58.00 steak, and he threw in a free dessert! the lemon meringue tart was good, the ambiance was nice, I can see my self going back. read more

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Complete trash. Weird place and method to service. Took forever to get cold food. Random empty dinner plates on tables for over an hour. Was at a friends birthday brunch and they bought a table of about 10 of us our meals one by one all at totally different and random times. We asked why and they said they bought the food as it was made so it was hot. Yet everyone's food was cold. It was only breakfast food, I'm not sure what the hold up could have been.... It made for great side jokes/dialog. I just stuck to my coffee...that I also waited every 45 minutes for a refill. I recommend that this hotel "restaurant" decides how to manage this dine in location if they do plan to market it as a local restaurant... I really want to give no stars. Apologies but I hope this is helpful to encourage future updates and shed light into your patrons experiences. read more

My partner and I got hungry after walking around the lake and found LĀK. Service was great- it sits on the lake so the vibes are peaceful and you can enjoy the view while also taking in nature. The food was good and service was fast. Our server Isabella helped us on what to get (this is our first time trying the restaurant). The scallops were my favorite part of the seafood rigatoni. The cookie skillet was the perfect ending to our experience, no crumbs left behind. Although I was only able to try two of the drinks the kiwi mojito was VERY refreshing. There was a generous amount of crab in both crab dish's and there was no shortages on the seafood rigatoni. The salad was a great switch to all the protein and carbs we were taking in and it wasn't soggy or wilted at all. The lamb was good! We ate it with what I think was grits under it. We asked for the lamb to be cooked medium and they did that perfectly. Great for a solo date, date date, family date, friend date. read more

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Ordered cheese pizza, the worst pizza we've ever had. Pita bread, uncooked with some sauce and some sort of brown cheese. It wasn't even sliced. Pretzel sticks came with runny cheese and tasteless mustard which was also watered down. Then the burger, ordered medium. They must've cooked it for 3 minutes since it was very rare. RookeMarriott should be embarrassed to have this served in their hotel. read more

lāk - Cheese pizza - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Probably the worst service I've had in a hotel restaurant. Sounds harsh, but the experience speaks for itself. I apologize for the harshness of this review but absolutely stay away from brunch here. I can't say the same experience will be had for dinner. Breakfast/brunch is supposed to be quick on a Sunday morning before or after checkout of the hotel. This experience took 2 hours ... 10:59am put name in for waitlist 11:30am seated by hostess 11:45am orders placed 12:10pm mamosa given by second waiter 12:30pm brunch served 1:00pm bill served The restaurant was poorly staffed, so much so that you were put on a waitlist to dine even though there were open tables. I understand that the world is short staffed, but this service was an issue of poor management and mismanaged priorities. I submitted my name for a party of 2 for brunch on a Sunday morning. Reminder that this is a restaurant in the bottom of a hotel. I was given a 30 mins wait time, normal for a weekend brunch, but The restaurant itself was mostly empty. My party was seated by the hostess, and it was 15 minutes (!!!) before any staff came over to our table, to introduce themselves, to give us water or just say "hey, I'll get to you when I can." We were vastly ignored until I waved someone down myself. We ordered mimosas which were delivered by a different server after our original server never returned to our table. After sitting down, being ignored for 15 minutes, we placed our order and it wasn't until 45 minutes later we received our food, and I didn't even get what I ordered! I told the manager what I ordered and what was delivered and she apologized for the slow kitchen. The extra food given to me was not charged to the bill. The food I did order was not good. The potatoes were cold, the eggs were not good. The whole meal was a disaster from start to finish that I didn't even want to bother with ordering something new. I wanted to get out of there, and so did the two tables around me. The table next to me sent back their food and left because it was cold and not up to par. The other table asked for their check three times before they were able to pay and leave. What was even worse was that the other person in my party dined here the day before and had a delicious French toast and decided to order it again today. The difference in quality control was ASTOUNDING. It was two different dishes all together yet he ordered the same things two days in a row. I absolutely do not recommend coming here as the service was horrible. I was a guest of the hotel, and the hotel itself was very nice. The restaurant decor and atmosphere was very sophisticated and enjoyable. But the service and the food was an absolute let down. Take your business elsewhere! read more

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Went to Lak for an anniversary celebration. They were having technical difficulties that night as their computers weren't working. I had made a reservation about two weeks prior but since their computer wasn't working they couldn't check. All the tables with a view of the lake were taken but I feel like if we made a reservation in advance, we should have been given better seating. Instead they sat us at a table with a view of the parking garage. Hence the 4 star rating. The food itself was very good. No complaints. The quality is on par with 18th and 21st. They appeared to be a little short staffed so it took a while for someone to take our order (there was another set of people who sat down before us who ultimately waited longer than us to be served and mentioned something to our waiter). Would go back, since food quality is good, but just hope the service can improve. read more

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The food and service was amazing! I will be dreaming about their mushroom risotto. Highly recommend checking this place out.

I've returned 3 more times since Sep 2022. I like the view of the lake from the bar and bar area lounge. Their crab crostini is my favorite appetizer. The seafood rigatoni is my favorite entree. The bar is called The Rookery. read more

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This place is a nice find. I stuck to the prefix menu offered at the time, but most of what I had was good. The lobster bisque was surprisingly tasty. I could have done without the pork belly... few places actually get this done right... there's is too fatty without enough flavor. The wild boar pasta was good. I'm a cheesecake fan. Their take was original but the peaches baked in and the fruit topping is overwhelming. I think on food alone it's about a 3.5 but the ambiance is nice. You have to walk across the hotel lobby to use th bathroom. read more

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We made Valentine's Day reservations here for 5:30 pm. Only two other couples in the restaurant when we arrived. We asked for a different seat since the restaurant was empty and was told no. We left. read more

Thought the dessert was going to be petite four size.... I was wrong lol (pleasantly so) read more

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Great food, location and friendly staff but what's up with 1 waitress serving the entire floor? This was the same case when we visited last time. read more

lāk - Country breakfast - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Such a great spot in Columbia, MD for drinks, ambiance and food. The waitstaff and mgmt was pretty cool too! Definitely check it out!

I am giving my experience three stars only because there is a shortage of staff impacting all businesses. Clearly, it is impacting lak as well but that is not the only issue. My group of four visited on the evening of Saturday, January 21, 2023. Upon arrival, we noted that the restaurant was full. The hostess asked us to have a seat and give her a few minutes to find menus for us. Odd. Anyway, we were eventually seated. We waited quite a bit of time to receive water or to have our drink orders taken. As it turns out, we think it is the restaurant's manager that served us. He was lovely. We then waited quite a bit of time for our orders to be taken (we had consumed our drinks long before our food orders were taken). We all commented on how hard the one individual we identified as a server was working. I hope his efforts are acknowledged. The menu was pre-fixed at $60/pp. (We did not see this when we checked out their website before reserving.) I will just speak for myself. I had the country-fried shrimp/polenta. It was fine - polenta was cold. For an entree, I ordered the Chicken Milanese w/crabcake. That was the description that two of us read on the menu. When it arrived the chicken was hot (and frankly, greasy) and was resting on top of on what I think was an aioli with crab meat. I would not have ordered this had I known that it involved a sauce and only crab chunks. The crab meat was cold; the sauce was cold. The dish was just not good. I did not complete my meal. Someone, I assume the chef, stopped by to ask how we were enjoying how dinner. I mentioned that our chicken/crab dish was cold to which he replied, "You should have told me earlier" and walked away. M'kay. Not sure how I was supposed to do that. The good news is that the apple crisp w/cinnamon ice cream was amazing! The bad news is that the carrot cake was still partially frozen inside. The entire meal took over two-half hours which was fine because we were not in a hurry. I think the place could do much better and look forward to visiting again when that happens. Everyone we encountered was friendly with the exception of the chef who I will give a pass to because I think the night got away from him. read more

The mixed drinks were mediocre, we ordered the mojito and the LAK mule. Brussel sprout appetizer was great, really good. Entrees ordered were the rockfish, chicken Milanese, and sea bass. The rockfish was good, not great, bland flavors. The sea bass was ridiculously small and it's served in a bowl of broth with no spoon nor bread? The chicken was mediocre. I say this based on hefty prices that did not meet expectations. Nice outdoor area but bright lights indoors. read more

lāk - Rockfish - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland