Lord Fletcher's

By any measure, Fletcher’s is an institution. For fifty years, the Lake Minnetonka bar/grill/lodge has been feeding and entertaining land- and lake-lubbers alike. My own first memory of Fletcher’s includes a dock-side burger, a gaggle of tanned teenagers, and some bad eighties hair.

Fletcher’s is really two restaurants packed into one location. More casual dining can be found dock-side at The Wharf, which, during the summer, is a mob scene of crispy-skinned men and bikini-clad boaters fresh from the lake. It’s a first-come-first-serve clamor for the white plastic tables crammed around the satellite bars that dot the huge deck. Make no mistake, this is bar food with beer in plastic cups. The burgers are nothing special, but the wings are hot, the black and tan onion rings are crispy, the smoked bison bbq sandwich is rich and tangy, and the people-watching is out of this world. What more do you really want after a day on the lake? During the winter, the action moves indoors to Grandaddy’s after the broomball rinks empty. Same bar food, different season.

The deck scene is so vibrant and legendary that some people never even venture to the restaurant above, feeling like it’s where the grandparents eat dinner while the kids play in the rec room in the basement. It’s their loss, and they deserve to have a life sustained by chicken fingers.

The Old Lake Lodge is both comfortable and sophisticated, providing different lodge-like settings in many rooms. The best is the sunny yellow Old Lake Room as it provides a wall of windows and a refined front-porch aesthetic. Nothing here is going to set the culinary world on fire, the menu is lodge-style comfort food, but it does venture beyond walleye and Caesar salad—not to disrespect the walleye, which was good enough to be named in our own 2008 American Food issue as a top contender.

As a starter, the chorizo stuffed prawns, wrapped in prosciutto, were rich and earthy, but it left us wanting more. The twelve-ounce Duroc pork porterhouse was massive but cooked perfectly to retain moisture and flavor. The accompanying veg were boring, but red pepper mashed potatoes had some zing. Fresh fettuccine with shrimp, scallops, and house-cured bacon was also pleasant, but it could have used a bit more seasoning. Desserts did nothing to seduce us, we passed. Overall, the food in the lodge was made well, presented with a modern eye, and served with efficiency and grace.

There seems to be a lull at Fletcher’s, just after the summer sun sets on the dock and before the rinks freeze over. If you now or ever have been a Wharf Rat, maybe it’s time to check out what the adults are eating upstairs. You might be surprised. —Stephanie March

3746 Sunset Dr., Spring Park, 952-471-8513