The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lindey’s Lake House proves delightful
Outdoor lunch at Lindey’s Lake House in Flats all you could hope
It was a few specific needs and wants that landed this reviewer at Lindey’s Lake House in the Flats.
It was a few specific needs and wants that landed me at the location of Lindey’s Lake House on the East Bank of Cleveland’s Flats for a recent weekday lunch.
I needed a place that would be open before noon because I wasn’t interested in killing time after checking out the reopening of the Cleveland Museum of Art in mid-morning June 30, and this Lindey’s location opens at 11 a.m. seven days per week.
And I very much wanted a place with outdoor dining — I’m not completely opposed to certain indoordining situations during this age of the novel coronavirus, but I’d prefer to avoid them altogether for as long as possible — and Lindey’s boasts a fantastic deck on the Cuyahoga River.
It seemed perfect, and my solo workday-lunch experience was pretty close to that.
While I’ve not visited the Lindey’s locations in Beachwood and Lakewood, I’ve heard good things from those who have.
I had been to the Cleveland location’s previous incarnation, Coastal Tacos, and wanted to see what Northeast Ohio-based ownership group NCR Ventures had accomplished with this major makeover. (This Lindey’s opened in April 2019, a few months after the one in Beachwood and shortly before the Lakewood spot.)
Everything looked great when I arrived at the hostess station and asked for a spot on the deck. The interior, which I walked through once on the way to my table and twice more before leaving, was nicely decorated. The atmosphere seemed relaxing and fun. Oh well, another time.
I don’t want to make this review all about how the eatery was handling things during the pandemic, but my only real complaint was I was given a laminated menu; I have no reason to think it hadn’t been sanitized — my tables, chairs and the entire place seemed very clean — but I would have preferred a single-use paper menu.
Posted on the door to the men’s room was the restaurant’s COVID-19-related protocols, and they all sounded reassuring. (OK, I wouldn’t refer to the disinfectant used to clean tables between uses as “Covid 19 spray,” but that’s me. I know what they meant.)
After being seated at a table that seemed appropriately distant from the next-closest, with the nearest other early lunchers even farther away, I was greeted by Lyndsey, my terrific server. She gave me time with the menu but also helped me pick both an appetizer and an entree over some other tantalizing options.
To start the meal, I was strongly considering the Street Corn ($8.5), but I didn’t get from the delicious-sounding description that the app was a dip, as Lyndsey explained. Probably better as a group choice.
There are other appealing options — Firecracker Shrimp ($11.90), Hummus With Farm Fresh Vegetables ($7.50), Lump Crab Cake $13.90) and Lindey’s Guacamole — but I landed, almost inevitably for me, on the Sweet & Spicy Calamari ($13.50).
The pieces of fried calamari are served with an Asian red chili glaze, carrots and scallions, which sounded slightly better than the actual product. Don’t get me wrong — it was tasty, and I made relatively short work of a plate that would have provided two people enough. It had just a tad more breading than I would have preferred.
That the calamari was good, not great, is the closest I can come to a complaint about the whole experience.
By the way, you can pay tribute to Coastal Tacos by going with the Feed Me Tacos ($9.90) appetizer, in which you choose two from four options.
Also, it’s hard to criticize daily soup offerings of Lobster Bisque ($8.5) and Clam Chowder ($7.9). (This day was way too hot to even consider having soup outside, however.)
Salads and sandwiches? Lindey’s has a few.
Vegetarians and others may be enticed by the Heirloom Tomato & Mozzarella Salad ($9.9) or the Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad ($8.5), an exciting mix that includes golden raisins, marcona almonds, bleu cheese, red cabbage and mustard vinaigrette. You can add a protein, including salmon, to any salad for an additional $9.
If ever back for a future lunch, I’d probably try Lindey’s Lobster Roll ($24) or the more affordable Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich ($16.90).
On this first visit, I really wanted to choose from Lindey’s 10 or so wonderful-sounding entrees, a collection that, like the rest of the menu, is fairly seafoodheavy. Non seafood options include the Cast Iron Skillet Rib-Eye ($36.90), Slow Roasted Pork Ribs ($24) and the intriguing Chicken Tinga Bowl ($14.50).
The seafood selections include fish and chips made with a batter using an ale from Westlake’s Sibling Revelry Brewing, salmon on a cedar plank ($24) and Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes ($23.90).
I already was leaning hard toward the Chilean Seabass ($27) because it’s hard to pass that up whenever you see it, but Lyndsey saying the dish was among her favorites sealed the deal.
Prepared with sesame spinach and sitting in sherry soy broth and accompanied by a side of sticky rice, this was a simple but appealinglooking dish.
More importantly, it was an utter joy to eat, a meal that exceeded my expectations. The fish was so wellprepared — a little crispy on the outside, perfectly tender inside and every bit as flavorful as you expect sea bass to be — and was a delight when paired with the complex and savory broth and the rice. I was not surprised when, during a follow-up call to the restaurant, Executive Chef Greg Sears said it was a specialty of his and one of the best dishes on the menu.
I cannot more highly recommend it.
And again, my service was fantastic. It could be noted that the place was only so busy, it not yet being noon, but Lyndsey was extremely attentive and friendly. She didn’t seem to mind in the least that I asked for a box upon receiving my entree — I was lying to myself about being able to eat a whole appetizer and entree — and didn’t remotely need either container she brought. (She actually brought a choice of two sizes. It’s an example of that little extra touch you love to see.)
For different reasons, I skipped both an alcoholic drink — Lindey’s has handcrafted cocktails, a handful of draft beers, more in bottles and a selection of wines — and dessert, of which there are just a few, all $7.
This wasn’t the perfect world in which to judge Lindley’s Lake House, and I hope to return at some future, carefree time — with other people and when I’d feel great sitting indoors, as well as out in the open.
That said, I loved the experience for what it was and gladly would try to repeat it in these not-so-carefree days.
Reviews are base on one anonymous visit to a restaurant.