Lola's Lakehouse

Address

318 E. Lake St., Waconia, 952-442-4954

The Scene

Lola’s Lakehouse (nee Nancy’s Landing) rests on the shores of pretty Lake Waconia. The white clapboard boathouse faces west for dramatic sunset views and sports a generous deck strung with sails for shade on bright afternoons. Inside, garage doors open to a screened view of sailboats and gently bobbing pontoons. The breezy dining room and adjacent bar of deep masculine greens with dark wood trim is more East Coast yacht club than Lord Fletcher’s party dock. It’s a casual mix of parents sipping drinks, kids skipping stones, skimpily clad thirty-somethings flirting over frosty glasses, and a few leathery sailors sharing plates of oysters. On sultry weekend evenings, it’s packed. On weeknights, you’ll waltz right in.

Our Take

Lola’s takes its nautical theme to the extreme with no less than seventeen ocean-sourced dishes (plus a raw bar). Its best plates showcase heartland meat (and there’s a lively salad of Treasure Cave blue cheese with dates and spiced almonds). The aged New York strip (sixteen full-flavored ounces) was beautifully broiled, and the garlic-and-rosemary flatiron steak, at $20, is one of the better deals around. Lamb sausage with hot cumin-scented harissa on ciabatta would make a light meal or hearty appetizer.

Here, I must confess to my New Jersey Shore roots (exit 13A). Eating salt-water critters in the heartland, sans soft ocean mist and briny scents, has always seemed odd. We’re on a Minnesota lake, so where’s the walleye? What about trout? That said, Lola’s seafood tomato stew of fiery andouille sausage, mussels, and clams, presented in a cast-iron skillet, was swell, and there was plenty to share. Fish and chips, thick firm slabs of cod in a crisp golden crust, with a side of malt vinegar were the real Dublin deal. The phyllo-capped lobster and shrimp pie was ultraflavorful (if overly rich). Of the desserts, those made on site (such as the maple-walnut pie) are your best bets.

Burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas round out the big menu. Portions are generous; service is friendly (and young). The food is not inexpensive, but quality is first-rate. An unpretentious, pleasant respite on a lush town lake, Lola’s is well worth the drive.

By Land and Sea

“One lady who lives just up the street said that when she comes here she feels like she’s on vacation,” says Dermot Cowley, Lola’s co-owner. Lola is Cowley’s pet name for his wife, Laura. Jake O’Connor’s in Excelsior, named for sons Jake and Connor, and O’Donovan’s Irish Pub in Minneapolis round out Cowley’s trio. Get him to talk about working in his parents’ pub near Dublin—proof that many a good restaurateur is born (not made). Though each of Cowley’s places is quite different, they share a convivial Irish sensibility. You want to put your elbows up on the table and talk. Come by land to Lola’s deck and broad-shouldered bar. Come by sea to Lola’s marina (offering dock slips and winter storage).