Tough to review. On the positive side the business has been around for a long time. The view is very nice and it's got a classic old decor. The menu was pretty extensive and the prices in today's world are fair. If only their service, food consistency and cleanliness was even mediocre. The hostess was distracted and not overly interested in doing her job. We stood there without greeting while she just chatted and chatted with another employee. No greeting, no acknowledgment. Not the 1 minute finger or nod. She just wasn't gonna talk to us until she was finished with her story. We finally got sat. At arguably the dirtiest, stickiest booth in western NY is my guess. It was as if they wiped the table off onto the booth seats then took another towel dipped in 7up and swirled it around the table. When the server finally arrived it was obvious she was in the weeds as there was no greeting and she was just ready to take the order. We ordered drinks and asked for a busser to rewipe the table. We got a huge sigh an unhappy face and an "I'll see what I can do." No busser until I got up and tracked one down. He was very helpful. Since it was our first time there we must have broken a secret house rule like "thou shall not ask more than one question or you shall suffer the rath of a burned out server". Because on the 2nd question she said "you obviously need more time" pivoted and walked away. We would have gone ahead and left but our relative who had recommended Hoak's was so embarrassed we didn't want to hurt her feelings anymore as she was already mortified. We stayed, sheepishly placed our order and waited and waited and waited. Of course refills were out of the question. When the food came she had gotten my order wrong and when I told her, she argued with me. When the whole table erupted in protest she backed down. But it was obvious we were gonna pay. The food was fine, just on the cusp of good. But nothing worth mentioning. Some of us went to use the restroom and were lucky it was after we ate. Pretty unsanitary but it was pretty much par for the course. The server? She never came back to check on the food, offer refills etc. We saw that she wasn't busy anymore and just stood around the bar chatting. When we finally just wanted to go we asked the busser to get her and she showed up with the check. No suggestion of dessert, no thanks for coming, zip, nada, nothing. She got tipped accordingly consummate to her level professionalism. This was actually a 2 star giving credit for the view. But after rereading this I realized nah it wasn't enough of a reason.
Phil W.
First time visit to this well known restaurant and now we know why it's so popular. Walking in it had a quiet neighborhood pub feel with woodworking everywhere. We sat ourselves and were almost immediately greeted by our waitress who was very polite and patient as we settled in. She took our drink orders gave us a few minutes to settle out child and review the menu. My wife ordered the hot roast beef and gravy (open face) and I opted for the famous buffalo chicken sandwich. Food came out hot and fast, the chicken immediately caught my eye, it was spilling off the roll, like how do I even begin to eat this? Chicken was juicy and covered in hot sauce. As usual, the bleu cheese was excellent and I wanted more. Great crunch on the sandwich, huge portion and I ended up with half coming home. Fantastic value for the cost! The wife's hot beef , the gravy was phenomenal. Perfect texture and amazing flavor and piled high with the beef. I will definitely be back again hopefully soon for a fish fry, I've read and heard nothing but great things. When you come down 5, make sure you stop in here for. Meal, you won't be disappointed!
Donald Vollbrecht 3/21/2024
The (pork chops) were not chops, but pork shoulder. Disappointing with a lot of gristle and fat. The serving was not as described on the menu. No stars for this meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Dawn Dagastino
I must say I got the Fish fry this Friday it was amazing. Potato salad was perfect consistency and extra flavor my favorite. Coleslaw so fresh. It was super busy and the staff was so friendly and was on top of their game. Atmosphere by the lake extra bonus? Thank you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laurie Fullone
Beautiful views of Lake Erie from Hoak's
Dan N.
my order was completely wrong fries were terrible sandwich was terrible salad was terrible, I'm missing several items, and soups tasted old and stale!!! the only thing good was the view of the lake and Mother Nature made that!!! I won't go back after was 110$ on garbage!!! McDonald's would have been better and much less expensive!!! not at all impressive!!! When I got home I threw my lunch meat sand the rest of my food in the trash and door dashed!!!
Tony burvid
Food and service were phenomenal . Waitress Elle.. was exceptional. Portions were plenty and tasted great. Can’t wait to go back
Yvonne DeLand
Excellent service. Delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Roe
My family and I went to your restaurant for the fish fry at lunch today. It was delicious except for the coating on the fish was extremely salty.. Everyone at our table, picked it off and didn’t eat it.The fish was
Riding on their past reputation and luckily location. Take the owner's advice, bring hot dogs and hamburgers from nearby restaurant. Enjoy the patio and bar in the nice weather.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Larry Seibert
Great value and wonderful fish fry..
Ally Campbell
Food was great service not so good. And our drinks were in a Dixie cup..
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Great Fish Fry, Burger
Erica (Monster)
We got served plastic see through dixie cups. The food was outstanding. We got the same cup refilled. The servers never came back. Only like 3 times. Gave more of a bar atmosphere than sitting down and enjoying a meal with your family.Parking: Small parking lot
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Great Fish Fry
Kay
Food is great, fun friendly ppl and the view is amazing!
Tough to review. On the positive side the business has been around for a long time. The view is very nice and it's got a classic old decor. The menu was pretty extensive and the prices in today's world are fair. If only their service, food consistency and cleanliness was even mediocre. The hostess was distracted and not overly interested in doing her job. We stood there without greeting while she just chatted and chatted with another employee. No greeting, no acknowledgment. Not the 1 minute finger or nod. She just wasn't gonna talk to us until she was finished with her story. We finally got sat. At arguably the dirtiest, stickiest booth in western NY is my guess. It was as if they wiped the table off onto the booth seats then took another towel dipped in 7up and swirled it around the table. When the server finally arrived it was obvious she was in the weeds as there was no greeting and she was just ready to take the order. We ordered drinks and asked for a busser to rewipe the table. We got a huge sigh an unhappy face and an "I'll see what I can do." No busser until I got up and tracked one down. He was very helpful. Since it was our first time there we must have broken a secret house rule like "thou shall not ask more than one question or you shall suffer the rath of a burned out server". Because on the 2nd question she said "you obviously need more time" pivoted and walked away. We would have gone ahead and left but our relative who had recommended Hoak's was so embarrassed we didn't want to hurt her feelings anymore as she was already mortified. We stayed, sheepishly placed our order and waited and waited and waited. Of course refills were out of the question. When the food came she had gotten my order wrong and when I told her, she argued with me. When the whole table erupted in protest she backed down. But it was obvious we were gonna pay. The food was fine, just on the cusp of good. But nothing worth mentioning. Some of us went to use the restroom and were lucky it was after we ate. Pretty unsanitary but it was pretty much par for the course. The server? She never came back to check on the food, offer refills etc. We saw that she wasn't busy anymore and just stood around the bar chatting. When we finally just wanted to go we asked the busser to get her and she showed up with the check. No suggestion of dessert, no thanks for coming, zip, nada, nothing. She got tipped accordingly consummate to her level professionalism. This was actually a 2 star giving credit for the view. But after rereading this I realized nah it wasn't enough of a reason.
First time visit to this well known restaurant and now we know why it's so popular. Walking in it had a quiet neighborhood pub feel with woodworking everywhere. We sat ourselves and were almost immediately greeted by our waitress who was very polite and patient as we settled in. She took our drink orders gave us a few minutes to settle out child and review the menu. My wife ordered the hot roast beef and gravy (open face) and I opted for the famous buffalo chicken sandwich. Food came out hot and fast, the chicken immediately caught my eye, it was spilling off the roll, like how do I even begin to eat this? Chicken was juicy and covered in hot sauce. As usual, the bleu cheese was excellent and I wanted more. Great crunch on the sandwich, huge portion and I ended up with half coming home. Fantastic value for the cost! The wife's hot beef , the gravy was phenomenal. Perfect texture and amazing flavor and piled high with the beef. I will definitely be back again hopefully soon for a fish fry, I've read and heard nothing but great things. When you come down 5, make sure you stop in here for. Meal, you won't be disappointed!
The (pork chops) were not chops, but pork shoulder. Disappointing with a lot of gristle and fat. The serving was not as described on the menu. No stars for this meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
I must say I got the Fish fry this Friday it was amazing. Potato salad was perfect consistency and extra flavor my favorite. Coleslaw so fresh. It was super busy and the staff was so friendly and was on top of their game. Atmosphere by the lake extra bonus? Thank you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beautiful views of Lake Erie from Hoak's
my order was completely wrong fries were terrible sandwich was terrible salad was terrible, I'm missing several items, and soups tasted old and stale!!! the only thing good was the view of the lake and Mother Nature made that!!! I won't go back after was 110$ on garbage!!! McDonald's would have been better and much less expensive!!! not at all impressive!!! When I got home I threw my lunch meat sand the rest of my food in the trash and door dashed!!!
Food and service were phenomenal . Waitress Elle.. was exceptional. Portions were plenty and tasted great. Can’t wait to go back
Excellent service. Delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My family and I went to your restaurant for the fish fry at lunch today. It was delicious except for the coating on the fish was extremely salty.. Everyone at our table, picked it off and didn’t eat it.The fish was
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Great fish fry!
Restaurantji Recommends
Riding on their past reputation and luckily location. Take the owner's advice, bring hot dogs and hamburgers from nearby restaurant. Enjoy the patio and bar in the nice weather.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great value and wonderful fish fry..
Food was great service not so good. And our drinks were in a Dixie cup..
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Great Fish Fry, Burger
We got served plastic see through dixie cups. The food was outstanding. We got the same cup refilled. The servers never came back. Only like 3 times. Gave more of a bar atmosphere than sitting down and enjoying a meal with your family.Parking: Small parking lot
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Great Fish Fry
Food is great, fun friendly ppl and the view is amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burger