Let me start by saying this was one of the best meals I've ever, ever had. Everything was fantastic, and the staff was super relaxed about us wanting to wander around and enjoy the sunset. As a vegetarian, I was able to ask for something not on the menu (the chef prepared a risotto covered in veggies and grapes). I still dream about this dish. My mom has lots of bizarre milk allergies and the chef had no problem accommodating her needs as well. It's a bit of a hike down a rather unassuming road, but it was so delicious I'd gladly travel to eat here. read more

Had another wonderful meal at Rainbow Shores. Everything was excellent, the food, the service and the ambiance.

Our experience here was not very good. The one clear pro is the view of the lake which is great. Also, two people with me had a filet which they enjoyed. The food, however, took at least one hour and ten minutes to arrive (I stopped keeping track) and when it did, I was not very impressed with mine (prosciutto parmesan), I found it bland. The portion size was also very small for the rather high prices. I also found it weird how long the food took because no one was sitting inside and the outside was only about 70% full. The worst part for me, though, were the bugs. They were more just an annoyance for a long time (they are those small bugs that swarm and fly in circles together), but when it became darker, different bugs came out, ones that bite. I was bitten many times on my ankles. It started before our food came and I honestly wanted to leave, but we figured we'd waited an hour, what's another ten minutes? After our food came and the bugs were out in full force, a guy in a cowboy hat (the owner, I think, he acted like it at least) came over, (who never came to talk to us when we were waiting over an hour) basically said if you want to enjoy the view you have to deal with the bugs and offered us some bug spray. (Because there is absolutely nothing a restaurant could do to lessen the amount of bugs attacking their patio) Needless to say I couldn't get out of there fast enough. A couple other things: the inside doesn't have air conditioning, really? And the outside reeks of needing a new coat of paint. The whole time I was there I got the impression that not a lot of money has gone back into this place. read more

The location is awesome on Lake Ontario. However the room we stayed in was horrible. The floor was unfinished and concrete, only one heater worked, the bathroom had missing floor pieces and the shower floor was very soft. There were wires handing all over and didn't appear very nice. read more

Extremely special restaurant in unique and beautiful setting. Great, great views of Lake Ontario and its beautiful sunsets. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, you will be amazed at how incredible anything you choose is prepared. Extremely delicious and so worth the trip. A perfect summer restaurant with high standards. Only criticism which I am praying they get right soon, is that plates never come out of the kitchen at the same time, so can be a bit awkward while you wait for other people in your party to get their meal while yours gets cold! Must go anticipating a relaxed pace, but guaranteed to be both delicious and memorable! read more

Obviously they have one of my favorite views of Lake Ontario! Food is delicious. Love the live music.

First time here and last time. 2 hours to eat with only 1 drink. Terrible service for the price with no apologies. One & done. Sorry.

Superb dinner on the lake with a spectacular sunset- there is no better ambiance! Service was excellent, too!

Have been here many times and they serve EXCELLENT food. Would give 5 stars if the service was as good, plan on waiting quite a while for your meal and enjoy the scenery! read more

What a wonderful experience and an excellent dinner! My parents were visiting from Florida and we wanted to take them on a trip down memory lane. We hopped in the car and drove over an hour to the restaurant. Many years ago, we boated in the Thousand Islands and on Lake Ontario every summer and Rainbow Shores brought up many memories. We retold many stories and we laughed recounting our many vacations. The atmosphere and sunset were spectacular. Now to the food and service...we started with drinks, Gorgonzola fondue and clams and mussels. Wow! The fondue was so good and plenty for the 4 of us. I'm not a seafood eater but the clams and mussels were devoured by everyone else. For dinner I had the Gorgonzola steak which was perfectly cooked. The risotto was a little al dente and very cheesy...and delicious! My mother had rainbow trout which reminded her of her dad's love for the trout he used to catch and cook. My husband and father had the seafood escapade and ate and raves about all of the seafood. The meal was very rich so they couldn't finish the pasta. We still had 40 minutes until the killer sunset so we split a raspberry mouse layered cake which was light, flavorful, and cleansed the palate. There was no pressure from management for us to leave our table as we sat and talked. We inquired about after dinner drinks and when we were indecisive two samples appeared to help us decide! We toasted to my parents visit and watched the sun set into Lake Ontario as we used to do many years ago! Perfect night! And lastly, our server, Marissa, was very attentive and friendly! Thank you to all of the staff at Rainbow Shores and to Renee for the exceptional table! We will be returning regularly! read more

My husband and I went here to celebrate our One Year Anniversary. We found this place about 12 years ago when we first started dating. They have new owners, well we found out they have had the place for 6 years now.. The view when you sit outside is AMAZING! They always have a specials list, I would recommend choosing your meal off of this list ( a little more pricey). We got the swordfish appetizer (I am not a big fish person, but this dish was delicious) and caesar salads. My husband got the salmon dish with rosotto, let me say that the rosotto was out of this world! Very cheesy but in my book, delicious. My husband said the fish was cooked perfectly. I got the NY strip steak with pesto and blue cheese and red mashed potatoes. Delicious as well. Then for dessert we got chocolate cheesecake with a cookie crust and the chocolate caramel molten cake. That molten cake was melt in your mouth delicious! The cheesecake was very tasty as well. You would have thought that Gordon Ramsey was in the kitchen with the plating of these dishes. Amazing! It is true what they say that you eat with your eyes first.. We also had some great music! Also, the sunset, Hello... Beautiful! I am one of those people that will ask the server what they suggest. Let me tell you our server Leslie was on point for all the things that she suggested! She suggested the Filet Mignon as well, It would have been a little more tender than the NY strip, but I enjoyed the NY strip as well. I also suggested they have an assorted dessert plate that you can order because there are many desserts on there that I wouldn't have minded trying but not order a whole piece like lemon poppy seed goat cheese cheesecake. If you are going here, make sure that you are prepared for an expensive check. $104 for the two of us, water to drink. But well worth is when you see the presentation of their food and taste it. And the view is priceless. We will be back, not till next summer. Wish I would have taken a picture of our food. read more

PLEASE SHARE: I ship out for the Navy soon and my girlfriend and I wanted to have a nice date night out before I leave, but after tonight it's safe to say I will never go to Rainbow Shores again, and I don't believe this restaurant deserves the 1 star Yelp requires me to give, so I will say that star is for the uncommonly kind waitress we had. Mind you, no food was taken out of either box and only half the food was there when we got home. It took almost 2 hours to get our food, even when we had reservations on a night that was not busy and we watched people come after us and get served first. When I asked for money to be taken off the $85 bill, the manager sent the waitress back with the $8 worth of drinks off. I asked to speak with the manager, she came and belittled and insulted us in front of the entire restaurant. She insinuated we had never been to a restaurant worth more that a $20 bill, told us we needed to learn it takes a little while to cook food, and told us we shouldn't be watching other people be served, we should be enjoying our own experience. It's a little hard to enjoy it when you're starving. Finally I told her, after she made Helen cry, that I was not paying for the meal and she just took the food off the table and walked away. The waitress came back hiding the food and said she wanted to make sure we got it, but the manager had already started to clearly throw the food away. It's pretty bad when the wait staff have to apologize for the management because it's an every night thing (not surprising because we waited an hour last time, too). At least the waitress was nice though. I don't know how that woman became a manager of any establishment, but whoever hired her did a disservice to the other candidates, customers, and employees under her. If this is how they treat customers, then when looking for a place to go, remind yourself that there are other classy restaurants in the area with a similar menu that tastes just as good with a smaller bill. read more

We have eaten at Rainbow Shores Restaurant many times. I've always loved this place to relax and dine on the lakeside deck in the summers, however I think I'm taking this off my list after the last experience. THE GOOD: The location is one in a million and the atmosphere is amazing. As a person who has traveled a fair share and dined at several restaurants, I can say that the food is second to none and the chef is truly world class. For the most part the waitresses have also been very good in my experiences. People do tend to complain a lot about the prices, but I have always advocated for this place by saying "where can you sit on Lake Ontario and have food that amazing". It's always seemed worth it to me...until now. THE BAD: The hostess is just plain rude. This is not my first time dealing with that but I have overlooked it in the past because I didn't want to forfeit the rest of the experience. Just read the reviews on this place and the theme is pretty prevalent. My last and probably final experience was on a Sunday night in mid-September - we walked in (party of 4) at 5:50pm and the bar and front room were empty with the exception of 2 people at the end of the bar drinking. We asked the hostess if she had anything open for four on the deck. She acted put off right away (which has been my typical experience with her) and she looked at the time, rolled her eyes and said it would be a few minutes and we said thank-you and stood there waiting. I walked up to the bar to get a drink while we waited and there was no bartender- at all. Nobody even in sight. The hostess had also disappeared at this point. An elderly coupled walked in and looked around and he came up to the bar and looked at me standing there with money in hand and shrugged his shoulders also was wondering where everyone was. After a solid and awkward 5 minutes passed, the bartender came out of the kitchen and the hostess reappeared. I got my drink and went back to stand with my party and wait. The 'few minutes" was now approaching 15 minutes of standing there. Remind you that there was no line and nobody else waiting the entire time. I walked back to see how busy the deck was and counted 6 tables that were empty and prepped ready to seat. I realize we didn't have reservations, but on a Sunday in mid-September with 6 open tables I'm positive we could've been seated. The restaurant appeared to be less than half capacity and the deck maybe a little over half. It's just like some control thing with this hostess every time trying to get a table on the deck. She makes you feel as if you've done something wrong and she is put out that you are even there for some reason. After 20 minutes passed with absolutely no word from anyone I put my glass on the bar and walked out saying "thank-you, we won't be back" and the hostess in a laughable manner said, "ok-thank-you!" There's no dining experience worth dealing with rudeness and smugness like that. It's unfortunate that one person can ruin an otherwise outstanding restaurant and I dining experience. Getting past her is like trying to get past the guard dog at the River Styx. If you can pull that off, then an otherwise great dining experience awaits you on the other side. read more

Driving to this restaurant one feels like they are in the middle of no where. Parking our car we felt as if we wouldn't get a great dining experience but we were pleasantly surprised. The salad are very fresh. Food is delicious and highly recommended!! Wine and Beer also good. read more

My friends and I have been coming to this restaurant for 5 years to celebrate birthdays. Last night was the last time! First, we were told that checks for a LARGE party could only be split 2 ways. There were only six of us. While the waitress did eventually accommodate us (checks were split 3 ways), the service was extremely slow. Not many tables were occupied, and it took about 15 minutes before a drink order was taken. We were brought bottles of water, but no glasses, and had to ask for them. The waitress was pleasant and the food was average (especially for the price), but the long wait for everything, including the check, ruined the dining experience. We couldn't even show our displeasure in the tip because we were each automatically charged 20% gratuity because of our "large" party status. The sunset was spectacular, but it was not worth the trip for this restaurant. read more

We sat on the deck on a beautiful July evening. Our server Brandie was charming and super helpful. The salmon over risotto was cooked to perfection: creamy, al dente and flavorful. The salmon was tender and flakey with just the right amount of crispness. The jewel in the crown of our dinner was the "Seafood Escapade"....crab, lobster, shrimp and scallops in a Parmesan dill cream sauce over linguine. Amazing! It is definitely pricey, (especially alcoholic drinks), but the flavorful cuisine was worth the extra. read more

This location and restaurant is a real find: the food is exceptional and so is the setting. It is so relaxing and you should go do just that and enjoy a special place. Cam Bundy read more

I love this place. The food is excellent, the view is exceptional and the people are friendly.

This is my favorite restaurant. A real gem! It's historic with a beautiful sunset view over lake ontario. Each room (porch, white room, fireplace room) has a different ambiance. Prices are reasonable and the food is excellent and plentiful. My favorite is the fried haddock on Friday nights. read more

If you like cold, nasty food and awful service - this is the place for you. It took us almost two hours to receive our meal and not everyone received their meal at the same time (20 min delay). Examples of received food: undercooked meat, caesear salad which was dry and when requested more dressing was supplied with Miracle Whip, Fish that was burnt, extremely hard rolls, coleslaw that you couldn't even chew and a strawberry daiquiri that was made with Lime and Cherries (no joke). We had to make several requests to get one cup of coffee refilled. In our party of 14, no one had a positive thing to say about their meal. I sent a complaint to their facebook page but they couldn't even bother with an apology. Will NEVER step foot in this restaurant again...even if a free meal was offered - would not return. Once was enough for me. read more

Let me start off by saying that my family and I have frequented this restaurant for over 8 years. It is a shame that the quality of this restaurant is drastically diminished. The location is the only wonderful aspect of this restaurant now. This was not the first time this year, with new owners, that my experience had been horrendous. We were on time for our reservation, but were seated an hour later after reminding the hostess we had been waiting about 45 minutes for our table. By the time we sat down, had our dinner, and left, it was 3 hours later (with a party of 5). The waitress took 20 minutes just to take our drink order and put bread on the table. 4 out of 5 dishes were incorrect and cold, without any offer of having them corrected. Neither the waitress or owner came over to apologize; we constantly had to remind the waitress to take our dirty plates and refill our drinks. DO NOT GO HERE! read more