The Shack at Joe Pool Lake

The food is edible, but I'd only recommend this place for a cocktail while you wait for a charter or cool off from picnicking next door. The service is friendly but extremely slow. The food is mediocre and well fried; likely improving with every cocktail.The margaritas are surprisingly good.

I went with my Sister-in-Law to have a margarita and an appetizer. The margarita was good however we ordered the chicken wings and it was nuggets not wings. Since they were breaded with sauce just poured over them they were pretty soggy. I could deal with all of this what I had an issue with was the amount of flies that were located inside. It was hard drinking let alone eating without swiping at flies constantly.

Wings were bland and not hot, beer was mildly cool, no waiter so we had to go to the bar and order, and we asked the person bringing our wings to us for napkins and he said they didn't give him any to bring out so we got up and go back to the bar for some. We ate on the outside deck and there was spider webs on the picnic tables, tables very worn/wobbly, and trash on the ground. Not to mention exhaust fumes from the boats on the dock and ramp. Positive note the bartender was sweet and pleasant. This place has so much potential but they just can't get it right.

So they changed management, the food was horrible. The two tables by me sent food back. Services is horrible. Took forever to get water and even longer to get drinks. We ordered the boil, which was under seasoned, no flavorOur potatoes were hard. We sent them back and got roasted potatoes that didn't go with the boil. THERE IS NO LOVE COMING OUT OF THAT KITCHEN! No wonder it wasn't busy! A totally waste of money!

This place sucks now....took 2 hours to get our food and no communication on status.... We had to ask about it then we're told kitchen was backed up... there's only 2 tables occupied....Fries were too salty and cold as were most of dishes brought to table...

This place changed ownership a while back. First time I've been there this summer. First off, it's 85-90 inside. Second, we couldn't even get water. Third, I went to the bar to get drinks and there wasn't even a bartender. Forth, they have stripped the menu and it's a much smaller menu than before.We got up and walked out, never even were acknowledged. Hell, I ain't that ugly!!!

TL, DR; We will be back! Great food, great views. First time coming here (including when it was a different name). We got the wings, blackened tilapia tacos, chips n salsa, and mushroom burger (and fries).Wings - excellent. I asked for them to be fried hard and they were. They were a good size, too (I hate when the wings are huge). The buffalo and parmesan garlic flavors were fantastic. Blackened Tilapia tacos - good. Not the best fish tacos I've had but I was satisfied. I'd get them again.Mushroom burger - my wife said it was good. They probably don't specialize in this - just threw it on the menu for vegetarians lol. Fries - PERFECT. We almost ordered more to take home! The seasoning was delicious and they were crispy. We sat outside. I was impressed with how well ventilated it was- I almost forgot it was 95 degrees outside lol. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because our waitress could've been more attentive. My wife came here when it was under different management. She said back then, the food was average but the service was impeccable. This time, she enjoyed the food much more, but the service didn't match the previous excellent service.

We picked this place to eat at a few days before Father's Day. The parking lot was gravelly, and the walk to the place itself is long. The atmosphere was good and the scenery was enjoyable. We were disappointed by the lack of seafood on their menu, which was just shrimp and catfish. The rest consisted of burgers and chicken tenders, but hey, we thought that the limited selection wouldn't be bad as long as the chefs were good at the few things that were actually on the menu. Turns out that they just reopened so they didn't have too much. Unlucky, but not a cause for a one star review.The waiter was nice, but we had to flat out ask for plates for the appetizers. The breading on the onion rings were perfectly crunchy. Though the onion was soft, I liked it like that. The cheese sticks I suspect were taken out of a frozen bag and cooked, yet somehow wasn't hot? It was warm but not like it came fresh out of a fryer. The nachos were lukewarm. How do you make nachos lukewarm??? This is unfortunately where the positives end because the main course was abysmal. 17 bucks for 7 small pieces of poorly seasoned grilled shrimp and a bunch of semi-soggy fries is absolutely ridiculous. The fried shrimp at least had a savory taste to it past all the grease. I bit into the fried shrimp and it was like a literal fruit gusher with the flat out OIL. In comparison, the chicken strips come with four to five huge pieces of chicken with no seasoning and bad texture. The catfish was oversalted and far too zesty according to the others on the table. The burgers, from what I could tell, weren't really good either. My grandparents weren't too happy. We weren't, either. Please don't come here. It totaled to about 180 dollars for 6 underfed people, which is a scam. Amusement park food is overpriced but at least they put in more effort than this place does with their high prices and small mediocre portions.For your comparison, on Father's Day we went to a Mexican place and ordered for 130 dollars. They had infinite refills on their homemade flour tortillas and on their drinks. We got a platter of chicken, beef and shrimp. In conclusion, it would be better to go to McDonald's. In all honesty I was CRAVING that fast food place when we were sitting there in misery. Downright fantasizing about McDonald's chicken nuggets. Cmon. Don't come to this place. We could've gone to pappadeux and gotten more bang for our buck. The only good part is the outside and the cute metal catfish decoration next to the door. It's not worth almost 200 dollars.

The Shack - on Joe Pool Lake.I had lunch at The Shack today for the first time since new owners. Happy to say, I had both good food and good service!!! First time in over 15 years I've had both, at the same time, at that location. Tiffany was our waitress, she was friendly and very attentive. I had the buffalo chicken sandwich and fries. Fries looked and tasted fresh cut, chicken was nice size, and tasty - served with Bleu cheese crumbles on a bakery type, buttered & grilled bun. My friend had blackened chicken, new potatoes and onion rings. Big portions and she said the chicken was juicy. I tried her potatoes and onion rings and they were both delicious. I will definitely be going back!

My second time visiting and the first time was Amazing but unfortunately Ms. Tiffany C made our second dining experience horrible. I sat for over 20 minutes without a refill. To make matters worse she sat maybe 4 steps from where I was seated stuffing her face continuously, while I sat there THIRSTY unable to enjoy my food due to no refill. She came 20 minutes later asking, "how were things" and my response was thirsty. I started to ask for her manager but just decided that I won't be coming back. She's a horrible waitress and shouldn't even be allowed up come to people tables with opened uncovered wounds on her body. Disgusting. She got an attitude when I told her we were leaving and asked if I wanted a drink to go. No! I would have loved to have a drink to finish my meal but I was so disgusted I left hungry still. To management. You shouldn't allow waitresses to sit and eat on the same floors as customers. You should have her cover up bleeding wounds before allowing her to come up to people table with food. To top off the horrible service the cook burned all three of our sandwiches and I was only refunded ONE.