THE LAKE HOUSE KITCHEN & BAR OFFERS SPECTACULAR VIEWS AND DELICIOUS EATS.
From the patio of the Lake House Kitchen & Bar, a stunning view of East Lake — one of the Twin Lakes —surrounds the restaurant in blue. It serves as a fitting backdrop for its elevated Midwestern lake comfort food.
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photo by Erin Gulling
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photo by Erin Gulling
“Seeing it change with the season is great,” says co-owner Mike Beder. “This time of year, it’s arguably prettiest, when everything’s in bloom. But when the leaves are changing on the trees in the fall, that’s beautiful. Even when it’s barren in the winter but it gets a little sunny, that’s a great look. It’s like constantly changing artwork.”
From 1985 to early 2022, the location was known as Twin Lakes Tavern. Beder and Ben Koberna purchased the popular spot around April 2022.
“Me and my family live in Kent,” says Beder, an alumnus of Kent State University. “This is an important landmark and community gathering place. To be the stewards of that is a point of pride.”
Under Beder and Koberna’s leadership, the restaurant gained a new name, a refurbished aesthetic —including a modernized sign, a sleeker interior and fresh paint — and an updated menu, featuring seasonal lakeside fare such as fresh made New England clam chowder and grouper bites.
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photo by Erin Gulling
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photo by Erin Gulling
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photo by Erin Gulling
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photo by Erin Gulling
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photo by Erin Gulling
On the patio — which includes a small waterfall — take a seat at a bar that affords unobstructed views of the lake, or relax at one of six or seven tables. Inside, surrounded by blue painted walls and wood accents, dine at one of 13 tables. The Lake House’s main menu offers appetizers, such as lake chips ($12), made with blue cheese, balsamic reduction, fresh scallions and herb cream drizzle; salads, such as a Lake House Caesar ($7-$12); and entrees, such as the buoy burger ($15), loaded with cheddar, tomato jam, pickled red onions, field greens and garlic aioli. The bar menu, meanwhile, offers cocktails, spirits, ciders seltzers, beer and wine.
Savor the Lake House fish and chips ($22). Beer-battered cod, crafted with handmade beer batter and a proprietary blend of spices, is served with house fries, remoulade sauce, creamy coleslaw and Loud Dog hush puppies, made with diced jalapenos.
“People love our coleslaw, which helps balance the whole dish,” Beder says.
Complete the meal with a craft cocktail, such as the Twin Lakes Sunset ($10). Prepared with house-infused vanilla bean Watershed vodka— from a Columbus distillery — house-made passion fruit simple syrup, pineapple juice and cranberry juice, it’s a splashy sip of fruit punch-flavored sunshine. For something slightly subtler, try the pear martini ($13). Its ingredients— Grey Goose La Poire vodka, elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon juice, a lemon twist garnish and simple syrup — lend themselves to a delicious, fruity palate pleaser. “It tastes like a pear,” says bartender Cole Group. “Very summery.”
Another fish dish, the mahi-mahi ($26), is made using caramelized onions and house-made garlic-leek aioli. It’s served with roasted garlic redskin mashed potatoes and a vegetable of the day. “It’s very simple, because mahi’s got such a great flavor that when you’re using a good fish like that, you want to let that be the star,” Beder says. “It’s just pan fried, has alight, nice, little crisp on the edges, and then it gets balanced with the caramelized onions and a little garlic aioli. "Those craving a turf-based meal can order a grilled tri-tip hoagie ($19), served with cheddar, creamy horseradish sauce, caramelized onion jam, coleslaw and house fries.
“That’s just a great, hearty sandwich. Comes on a big piece of French bread,” Beder says. “The cheddar cheese adds the creaminess and then the horseradish sauce, more creaminess, but a kick.”
Lake House chef James Novy remembers the first day he prepared the dish for Beder.
“I had it all marinated up, and I grilled them outside, and I finished them in the oven. And I sent pictures to Mike — he goes, I’ll literally be there in five minutes,” he says. “It’s perfectly marbled. ... When you grill it off, you slice it down thin, and it works perfect on sandwiches.”
When the weather cools down, try crispy potato cheddar pierogies as an appetizer ($11) or as an entree ($22), for which they’re accompanied by locally made smoked beef kielbasa. The pierogies are sourced from the Pierogi Lady, a local business.
“She’s got a bunch of unique flavors. We’ll bring in some of the different ones to use for specials,” Beder says. “But for the core menu, we went as traditional as possible, which would just be the potato and cheddar. And then the way we finish the entree is with this balsamic onion jam, so it sweetens it up, it’s a little tart, and then the sour cream to balance it.”
The dishes and drinks available at the Lake House all complement its gorgeous setting.
“I always thought this was such a great hidden date spot, where you’re 3 miles from Kent but it feels like you’re miles away on a coast,” Beder says. “For this to be so accessible to people was always really interesting to me. I still have that same reverence for it.”
7508 state Route 43, Kent, 330-678-8946, lakehousekent.com
