Lake & Irving

My husband and I went here for dinner on a Saturday with a reservation at 7 PM. The place was busy upon our arrival, but we were seated within 5-10 minutes. The hosts were welcoming and professional, and I liked the ongoing explanation. Once we were seated, a staff came by with water. Our waiter stopped by and took our drink order. The wait staff seems knowledgeable about bourbons. My favorite part was the food! It was delicious! I love the complimentary corn nuts. The appetizers were fresh and flavorful. My husband said it was the best mole he had ever had. (He lived in New Mexico for a bit). The hanger steak dish was delicious. I love the black beans as it was prepared well. Finally the dessert was amazing! The whip on the tres leches look homemade. I love that the churro was chocolate filled. We will be back.

If I could, I'd give Lake and Irving a 4.5. The ambiance and service were a 5, but the price of food seemed a bit steep to me! We had the special - hamachi fish with purple potatoes: the miso sauce was the star of the show but I felt that the fish was a bit small for $30+. Plating could also use a bit of work! Also had the chicken sandwich since it looked like the thing to get! Chicken was huge but could have used a lil more time in the fryer as the breading was a bit soggy. The bread was our favorite part. Tempura mushrooms were not very flavorful and was mostly breading - did not finish these as we weren't fans! Drinks were delicious though - would come back just to sit at the bar and have a few cocktails! Parking lot available behind the building and this is close to the lake so would be a great lil date night in the summer.

We dined here on a Sunday night with early dinner reservations and it was not too crowded (definitely could have walked in). We were seated at a lovely table near the windows. There were a few highlights of the evening. The first was our server, Matt. He was the perfect mix of attentive but did not crowd us or rush us - and he knows everything about the food and wine. The other highlight is definitely how pleasantly surprised we were with the quality and taste of all of our food. Standouts included the hanger steak, prepared to order, presented sliced and served with these amazing potatoes called hurricane potatoes. They are thick cut like a steak fry but shaped like a giant curly fry with the perfect amount of seasoning outside and warm, fluffy potato inside. The salmon dish also was outstanding. Fish is prepared medium, which is quite rare and pink in the middle. It absolutely melted in my mouth, and I was equally impressed with the bed of wild rice, rich with flavors and textures, even including tiny bites of sous vide egg white - just wow! They don't mess around here, it's great food. We finished with desserts. The table favorite turned out to be the cheesecake, which I think was due to the wonderful espresso and caramel sauces on the top. I enjoyed the Tres Leche but some bites were overly sugary and I wish I had been there to try the coconut flavor a few weeks ago. I'd definitely suggest you try at least one dessert so you can linger a bit longer after dinner and enjoy this place.

We came here before a show at Uptown Theater. We were late to our reservation due to snowy weather, but the host was very accommodating and understanding. We sat at the bar since we were short on time; the bartender was super efficient and took care of us right away. We ordered the cheeseburger and chicken sandwich. I liked the cheeseburger more, while my husband liked the chicken sandwich the best. It's a cozy spot - plenty of people were enjoying a date night or after work happy hour.

I've heard so many great things about this place and it is literally a 10 minute walk from my friend's place in Minnesota. We Decided to try this place as it was recommended from a lot of our friends. I don't really know how I'd describe the food since it's Asian fusion. If you've ever been to JOEY DTLA or cactus club in Canada, you'll love this spot. There's a dish for everybody and you really can't go wrong with anything here whether you're craving seafood, meat, salads or hamburgers. I didn't really feel like anything stood out or maybe I'm just spoiled! Service here was amazing and the vibes here for the outdoor deck is really nice on a hot summer day.

Ordered a selection of food on our evening dinner and we were disappointed in the food that was served. Staff were friendly and they had a nice outdoor and indoor dining area. The best dishes that stood out the most was the loco moco, coconut tres leche, and seared ahi salad. The use of the curry sauce instead of the gravy for the loco moco was very interesting and paired perfectly. The coconut tres leche was very moist and the dried coconut weren't too crunchy. The seared ahi salad just taste refreshing and guilt-free.Would highly recommend a visit.

If you're looking for the perfect place to do a shared small plates moment, let me put you on to Lake & Irving. Not only is all of the food really, really good, but the staff is AMAZING. They always have great recommendations when I want to try something new, and are super attentive and quick to offer refills, etc.One of my favorite things about Lake & Irving is they do have a little parking lot off to the side of the building, so if you're lucky, you won't have to chance it with street parking (which, can end up being pretty scarce in Uptown at times).Onto the food: I've never actually had anything I didn't like here, but the holy grail is their poke nachos ($18). Fried wonton skin "chips" with ahi tuna, seaweed salad, pickled onions and jalapeños, eel sauce, and aioli. When my parents are in town, we have to order AT LEAST three of these for the table because of how obsessed they are. It's not a traditional poke preparation by any means, but it's the perfect fusion bar plate. If you try nothing else here, you HAVE to try the poke nachos.Also have to shout out the hot fries ($8). The first time I tried these, I naively didn't realize the fries themselves were going to be super spicy (thought it was just going to be the ghost pepper aioli) and I was (pleasantly) surprised the fries themselves pack QUITE the kick. The KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower) ($13) is another favorite of mine. Perfectly balanced spicy and sweet flavors.And of course, Lake & Irving is a favorite of mine because of their Thursday night trivia with Kim! She's one of my favorite trivia hosts in the metro (and L&I is one of the few Trivia Mafia sites still on pencil and paper) so if you're looking for the perfect night out, go get some small plates and play some trivia--you won't regret it!

We had a great Sunday brunch here. Every staff member was so friendly and the service was great. The menu has so many good options and what I got was delicious. The space is very nice as well and had a very upscale feeling to it, but the food wasn't too high-priced. I would definitely recommend eating here!

Edited to add - my friend ordered 2 Maker's Mark on the rocks. Receipt shows:2 Maker's Mark (@$8/ea) $162 $Rocks $4I didn't notice until later. Never seen a $2 charge for ice cubes at a bar.

Lake & Irving is a quaint restaurant just off Lake Street. The inside is nice, modern, and even a tad cozy. Service was solid throughout the meal, although cocktails tended to take a bit long (but they were almost always worth the wait).The food really knocked it out of the park though. Starting with the KFC, which is Korean fried cauliflower with Gochujang. Great texture, flavor, and a real surprise honestly. Would recommend though if you're feeling a bit adventurous!Next we're two phenomenal sandwiches. The buttermilk fried chicken sandwich was top notch - great flavor, balance between the contents and crispy bread, and just an all around fantastic sandwich. Then came the Luxe Burger which might have been even better. This thing was a definite 5-star burger - up there with the best of the Twin Cities and one of the best I can remember ANYWHERE.To top it all off, the truffle fries with shallot aioli were amazing. As were the regular fries with harissa aioli. You really can't go wrong with either!