Baxter’s Lakeside Grill

This was not worth the cost. Meatloaf is not made fresh. Waitress forgot to bring us bread and failed to tell us what the vegetable was going to be. View was BEAUTIFUL. Lol oh… The bathroom has mouthwash and hairspray. This made my night. Food is ok, setup and view makes this place what it is. Parking is awful.

We were seated ten minutes after our arrival on time for our reservation. No real problem, but we were told that our table was not ready and we had to wait in the entrance. Strange, but when we reached the table, there had been nobody there. The table was probably the worst one in the restaurant, in the corner beside the waiter station and no view at all, with the exception of seeing and listening to the waiters and their conversations.
We had four different waiters. The one who eventually took our order didn’t know much about the menu and continued to ask us to repeat what we said. Not a deal-​breaker, but it became tiresome. We had calamari for an appetizer, and it was the worst we have ever had. The consistency was of thick rubber bands. We have had better at Red Lobster and uncounted other restaurants at the lake. The sauce was good, though.
Salads were fresh and cold. Bread (rolls) were small, warm and soft, so they were good enough.
Entrees were grilled scallops, which were good and seemed fresh, and pork, which tasted good, although encountering gristle was a bit disconcerting. Veggies were ok, prepared well, warm, and acceptable.
Desserts were good. The cheesecake was delicious, according to the wife. I had the caramel gooey butter cake, which was too sweet to eat more than a bite or two. I love dessert, but this was way too large and sweet.
So, the food was good for the most part, service was ok, but we went there for the view and didn’t get to see anything but the waiters station, a couple brooms leaning up against our booth for them to use to clean once the customer has departed, and a crooked painting on the wall. I think the same or comparable food can be purchased in other restaurants in the area and be just as good. Without the view and excellent food and service, there is really nothing to recommend this restaurant.

Took everyone’s advise and made a reservation. Excellent idea! We (2 people) were sat within 5 minutes of the reservation and very quickly waited on. The drinks came pretty quick and we placed our meal orders. This is where service came to a halt. Took over an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. The server kept coming by saying our food should be out any minute for over half an hour. I’d rather be told the truth and have her say the kitchen is really backed up and it may be a while before we get food. Once we got the food, it tasted amazing and was the perfect portion.

We brought the Holt High School Band here this evening. We had great service and great food. 75 kids and 10 adults. Great job Baxters!

Another happy hour haunt! Mussels and shrimp on the skewer, both great choices, upscale, clean and neat, great bartenders, what’s not to like!

The view at this place is spectacular. Everything I had on the menu was delicious but the prices are kinda steep. You really are paying for the view. We had the calamari as a strayer. I loved that it was a Cajun batter instead of the normal plain. Very tender not chewy like most calamari. That comes with a sauce that’s a mayonnaise base which I didn’t care for but my husband loved it. I’m just not a fan of mayonnaise. For an entrée I had blackened mahi mahi with magi salsa, green beans and the best seasoned rice I’ve ever had. The green beans were ala dente perfect but. The mahi mahi could have had a little more spice to it as the «blackened» part wasn’t spicy at all and that’s what I was hoping for. So if your expecting spicy don’t go with that one. All and all, the food is great, service is great, and the view… phenomenal.

Delicious food, great view, great service! Not a children’s restaurant. It’s on the classier side of classy casual you will not be disappointed!

I was by my self and say at a table at the bar, I should have sat at the bar. The waitress was busy and took forever to get a menu to me and to get back. I went with the seabass. It was good but the sauce didn’t match the fish. The mashed potatoes were wonderful and the veggie if the day was green beans. The green beans were terrible! They were not cooked all the way and still had the tails on them. I really like green beans and I couldn’t eat them. The bread that is served with the salad I am pretty sure are freezer rolls. The salad was very nice and any place that serves a salad with the meal is a big plus in my book. I ordered a wine that was terrible and I hope it was just the wine and not that it was old but I couldn’t drink it. I would consider coming back to try something different.

Yes, Yes, Yes. Baxter’s is all that and MORE! I expected views, but Baxter’s exceeded my expectations. This restaurant had me at hello. From the hostess, to bar, to dinner table we had a full blown 5 Star experience.
Baxter’s had me on the Treasure Coast of Florida or Hilton Head Island, SC– I completely forgot I was in the middle of Missouri. I cannot wait to visit Baxter’s when I can sit outside on the deck– I may never leave.
All of the food we had was amazing. My favorites were the grilled shrimp skewers and the Tilapia. The Tilapia was a nice size piece of fish. The best part was the house made champagne cream sauce. The sauce was also on the green beans and red potatoes. Holy wow. They need to bottle that sauce and sell it.
This is hands down– my number one, must return, dining establishment at the Lake.

Very nice restaurant — great atmosphere, service and food was excellent. The steak was not the best I’ve had, but I enjoyed it! I would definitely recommend it to others.

Wow! Great service just had one of the best wines we have ever tried, and the steak and salmon was off the chart fantastic! Get the snashed sweet potatoes, dynamite !

My boyfriend and I came here for dinner on a busy Friday night. We were greeted by a hostess who immediately asked if we had a reservation (we didn’t) and I strongly recommend making one. The wait was 55 mins but we heard so many good things about this place so we stayed.
We started with the Calamari. It was nothing to write home about. I’ve have had better and worse. The Caesar salad was tasty but should have taken my boyfriends lead and got the baked potato soup. Sooo tasty.
I got the Chilean sea bass. It was delicious and buttery tasting! So delicious. The mashed potatoes and green beans were tasty too. My boyfriend got the filet and asked for it medium. It was a little rare for our taste but it still had a great flavor to it.
All in all it was a good night. We will definitely come back to enjoy the view of the lake and next time will DEFINITELY make a reservation.

First the ambiance and location are undeniable for Baxter’s. The views of the lake are great and more importantly the food is good.
So why do I give it four stars you ask?
Well when we walked into the restaurant we were told it was a ten minute wait for a table. Not a big deal. We decided to walk into the restaurant to look at the views while we waited. We were surprised to find the restaurant was half empty. There were tons of tables available inside and outside on the patio. When we walked back to the waiting area, we noticed that other parties were being quoted a wait time of 15 to 45 minutes. And some groups even left after hearing that. That put us off a little bit, since I’m not sure what they were trying to achieve, but once we were seated it was a great place to be.

The view from the dining room can’t be beat.
My wife and I started our meal with fried chipotle shrimp, and were surprised by the generous helping. The shrimp and sauces were both fantastic.
We both ordered the sirloin, she had salad and I had the clam chowder. The chowder was delicious and there was a surprisingly large amount of clam for a cup of soup.
Again, we both had the sirloin. My wife mentioned hers being cooked perfectly (for her taste: medium). Mine was a little over-​cooked (ordered rare), and thus a little more tough than I’d have liked… but not enough to keep me from enjoying it. My wife had the baby red potatoes, and I had one of the biggest baked potatoes I’ve had in a restaurant. Both were fantastic.
Wait staff was great, and more than willing to go the extra mile to make sure our meal was exceptional.

A pleasant reminder that fresh seafood can be found here in the landlocked areas of the Midwest! The seared scallops were nothing short of amazing.
Don’t even think about leaving without having Baxter’s grilled shrimp and a cup of the loaded baked potato soup!
This review would easily be five star but for one thing — the bar. The cocktails were lackluster. When we asked the server for a rum based drink recommendation we were answered with a flash of annoyance as she isn’t a rum drinker and simply referred us to the menu which we already reviewed.
The service in the restaurant area was genuinely friendly and attentive.
We will visit this place again without question when we are in the area, but will likely avoid the bar.

As someone who comes down to the lake several times a year, I have visited many restaurants in the surrounding area. My family and I consider this to be the best food at the lake! Their BOGO apps for happy hour can’t be beat! The spinach and artichoke dip is fabulous, and I’ve never had a better plate of chicken strips or potato skins. This place is top notch. Come sit outside in cooler weather, or even enjoy the view from the inside bar and restaurant.

Just had a quick lunch. Started out with clam chowder really spicy and yummy but should have been served hotter to the table, especially since I asked for it hot.
Had the creole shrimp, expecting hot and spicy, temperature wise was okay, spice wise, very bland. Extremely disappointing.

We were in lake of ozark on a 3 day vacation. Baxters looked like a slightly upscale restaurant and we wanted to get something really delicious in a great setting.
We wanted the patio seating to take in the sunset view. After a quick wait we were led into a comfortable tall dining table with incredible views of the lake.
The waitresses were very attentive and explained the menu and specials. Good collection of beers and wines. We ordered a long island ice tea and a local ozarks based lager. Got a taste of the beer before selecting (great service since the waitress asked whether I want to try before I buy while in other places I find them simply smiling and not being too helpful). Very good stuff.
Then we got mussels in garlic and butter sause, bacon wrapped pork, scallops and Pacific rim pasta. This is where it turns to the average. The mussells and bread was very good but a little salty. The pork was dry and didn’t have anything to dip into. Pacific rim pasta was too much like Thai noodles. The scallops saved the day… very very nice. But for an expensive restaurant I expect the food to be stars. Here the view/​ambience and the service were stars propping up the average food.
I suggest this place if you prefer the ambience and service over great food.

Really enjoyed Baxters! Steaks were perfectly cooked and seasoned. The wasabi mashed potatoes were delicious and unusual. It’s located on a bluff over looking the lake of the Ozarks. There are many windows and the view is really great. Our dessert, caramel gooey butter with cinnamon ice cream, was probably the best part of the meal. We had 6pm reservations and I was pretty perturbed at 6:20 when we weren’t seated, especially since we had tickets to a show at 8. But once seated our service was quick and excellent. The food is a bit pricey-​$ 60 for 2 people– but all in all totally worth it!

This was our second visit to Baxter’s. We went here to get drinks and desert and watch the sunset. Great lake view and sunset spot! Our service was slow and it took a while to just get drinks but we weren’t really in a hurry anyway.
The gooy butter cake with cinnamon ice cream is delicious! (And only 6 bucks!) I had Baxter’s summer drink which is a mango margarita and strawberry daiquiri mixed, frozen. It was soo good!
We sat out on the patio in a less formal seating area that has couch like chairs and a table in the middle. Very relaxing spot and perfect for just drinks and desert.