The Harbor House

My first time visiting this little jewel on Lake Lavon. Very casual setting but perfect on the water atmosphere.
The three dip appetizer (chips salsa, homemade chili con queso, guacamole) was perfect with the frozen margarita. It was nice and tangy, not too sweet. I split my dinner with a friend so we could both try each other’s.
Catfish was amazing, hush puppies were awesome too. Both Onion Rings & French Fries were equally good. Country fried steak fingers were just like my mom made at home.
We all agreed this will be on our list of regular places to visit. I want to try the burger next as I kept see it on other tables and it looked so fresh & juicy.

Not sure if it’s always like this but when we went there were a ton of motorcycles (nothing against that) but they also had insufficient Staff… everyone smoking and waited forever just to get iced tea… then we finally just asked to pay for teas and we left. Maybe just a different type of hang out place on the lake but was not as advertised. Val Pac coupon made it sound like a fine dining experience. It was not.

It was by accident when we found out about this place. We didn’t even know St. Paul, TX exist (kinda embarrassing) but anyways this floating restaurant is located at Colin Park Marina on Lavon Lake. This Marina is more laid back than other places I’ve visited on the past.
Upon arriving, we scour the place and get a feel for it if we need to wait to be seated or if we can sit ourselves. We ended up seating at the bar as the place is packed and we didn’t want to take table space from other big parties (there were only 2 of us) upon seating a nice bartender/​server asked us for our drinks. They do not have draft beers but have a good selection of bottled beers. We settled with 2 domestics and waters. Looking at the menu it’s a no brainer that we need to try their Double H burger. Most of the reviews written recommended their burger as well. If you read thru their menu that there is a disclaimer of having your order put a little longer. So please, don’t be a dick. Remember, Patience is a virtue: p after maybe not more that 5 minutes than a regular wait time, our burger arrived. It was huge and the fries are pipping hot! I assessed how to handle this great creation and I dig in. It was one of the simplest, best cheese burger I’ve had in a long time. Bun, Fresh meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and your choice of mayo or mustard. It was a divine piece of food. We will surely comeback. The bartender said their fried seafood is very popular too. Might try that next time or maybe not. I want another serving of that burger!
P. S. They do have restrooms. I read one review saying they don’t.

We wanted to eat someplace different and recalled that the owner of Country Club Café also owned the Harbor House and they served catfish on the weekends. We drove out to the restaurant and was pleasantly surprised to find it actually on the lake with a dock leading out to it from the shore.
Inside seating accommodated up to 42 and much more dockside. The waitstaff was attentive & down home friendly, just like at CC Café and food cooked to order came out piping hot. We both ordered the catfish with my combo being shrimp.
It was served in a basket with fries, hush puppies & coleslaw which was delicious!
We loved being so close to the water and will definitely return and bring friends!

I was excited when we discovered this little restaurant/​bar! I was dressed nice, (not entirely planning on eating at a restaurant/​bar on a lake) ready for a date night, some good music, food and atmosphere! There were lots of people smoking and drinking on the patio, and eating outside. It was definitely a laid back environment. I was happy to be at a restaurant on the water, although we didn’t have a view since the sun had already set. The lake has gone up, and we had to walk over some lake water to get to the ramp. (The water was maybe a foot across and an inch deep, this was a few weeks ago, the lake has risen about 7 – 8 ft. Since then, the marina mgr. Constructed a wooden extension to this ramp, but the flood waters are making even the extended ramp inaccessible) There were some little kids in there, which I can understand, their parents probably owned a boat etc, but this did not add to my *night out* fun. (I have little kids, if I wanted to be around kids I would have brought my own).
Everything was pretty average, except our waitress/​bartender. I don’t know if this *woman* had a terrible day or what, but she kept yelling across the bar to the people sitting 5 feet away from us. Apparently these people were wasted, and she had cut them off. Instead of dealing with them in a discrete professional manner, she was yelling across the bar how this job was her income, and she has a family, and she wasn’t going to get into trouble for over-​serving drunk people! (She was dead serious, and very angry… mean glaring eyes).
I get it, it’s your livelihood… this woman was in her mid 30’s with short blonde hair. She kept turning her back to us while dealing with the cash register behind the bar then secretly glaring in the mirror in front of her to spy on the people who she refused to serve. Then she kept looking at me, and back at the people… She was freaking me out. She handled the situation in an overly dramatic fashion. She should have had the Manager politely refuse service, instead of causing a scene! And if she is in any management or leadership position, then it ought to be suspended until she passes a course in customer hospitality!
The inside of the restaurant seated about 12 tables, with maybe 5 seats at the bar. It was small, if there was music, it was so minimal that it didn’t counteract the other tables conversations. It didn’t fit the fun mood I was anticipating. It was cut and dry with excess drama. The menu looked pretty average: quesadillas, seafood, burgers decent prices I suppose. I felt like the bar owner could have amped up the indoor atmosphere, I felt like I was dining in a bright, wooden cabin. It was ackward.
It’s great that she didn’t violate TABC (Texas alcoholic beverage commission) by not over-​serving inebriated patrons, but it was her demeanor that probably ruined everyones experience in the restaurant/​bar that night. The regulars said she was new, and I would have liked to try the food there, but the drama fest obliterated my expectations.
I gave this place 2 stars bc it’s a restaurant/​bar on the water (closer to home/​Collin County than pier 121 at lake Lewisville). I am hoping that the screaming bartender was a one time incident. Interesting, they are *supposed* to have bands and karaōke, I didn’t see any (we went on a Sat. Night @ 9 p.m.)
This place seems like FUN if you are dressed in lake clothes, have been in the sun all day, had a few beers, and you are hanging out with a group of friends. Probably not ideal for a date, unless your significant other loves the water, outdoors and lake life. It also seems relatively family friendly if you don’t mind bringing your kids to a restaurant/​bar where drunk people and angry waitresses yell their battle of the wills across a restaurant maybe 30 feet by 40 feet wide! If I had a family with a boat or boat house, I would order the food to-​go to avoid explaining ridiculous dramatic meltdowns.
HOWEVER I didn’t have the food, so it might be mighty tasty and worth returning to for a second chance. It could be a really fun place… given the right people, clothing, attitudes, music, food and lighting/​décor. Hopefully the bartender/​waitress I described has been coached on how to deal with tough customers in a professional manner, and this type of incident is not typical.
If you do decide to visit here, I would call first to make sure they are open & accessible. The last time I checked, the Lake water rose so fast it engulfed the electricity, and they were running on generators. The marina is working on moving the restaurant closer in towards a more shallow cove. (They had to move it out far 2 years ago due to the lake levels being so low). Hopefully this review helps someone out there! Don’t be afraid to venture out and try it… you might have a completely different experience!
*all photos courtesy of google

Excellent burgers and great service!

Delicious food with a laid back atmosphere! Beer domestic and import are cheap which is always a plus! Great view of the lake as well.

OK, so, first of all: This is not a fancy place at all. This is a little hole in the wall where you can dock your boat and get some greasy diner fare and a beer or two. We went in knowing this, but even so, we were disappointed.
The menu advertises seafood, but as far as I can see, shrimp and catfish are it for seafood options. They also have burgers, sandwiches, salads and kids’ meal options. I got the fried shrimp basket, which was OK. The rest of the party seemed to enjoy their food well enough, but again, nothing special. Our waitress was subpar. There was another server (the one with long dark hair) who seemed to be on top of things, but ours was slow to check on us and even forgot to take our entrée order after we told her what we wanted for an appetizer.
But my biggest problem with this place is the cigarette smoke. You’re not allowed to smoke inside, so the many smoking patrons take it outside. However, when we dined, the door to the restaurant was left open, so the smoke smell wafted in. While we waited for our food, I tried to take the kids to the little deck outside to look at the water. But we had barely stepped outside when three lovely ladies came out behind us and proceeded to light up — with their little darlings in tow, of course. Tried to go around the other side of the porch, had to walk through a cloud of smoke from a diner at an outside table.
We won’t be back.

This place is what it is. The food is good. The breeze on the patio is awesome. It is as casual as it gets. Not a fancy place. But a great place to have a really good burger and a beer while the kids feed the fish and ducks on a sunday afternoon! All the food we ordered was great.
I think some of the bad reviews are due to people expecting something less casual in nature

Food is all Sysco type crap and super greasy. View sucks and it’s a cramped hole in the wall. Not worth going to.
I cannot imagine how it got any higher ratings besides the owner posting them.

My original plan last night was to drive to Lake Lewisville for dinner but my wife didn’t want to drive that far. I figured Lavon would have a waterfront restaurant and I was correct; Harbor House. By far one of the best waterfront restaurants I’ve been to in a while.
The chips and queso was very good. They make it in house and it has a little kick to satisfy those who like spicy food but not enough to alienate milder palates. My two year old ate it with no problems.
My wife had a burger (made with ⁸⁰⁄₂₀ Angus) and said her only regret was not being able to finish it all.
My 2 year old had the all beef hot dog and ate the whole thing and said made a point of saying she liked it.
I had the chicken fried chicken. I found it to be quite good and the sides (corn and mexican style beans) were also very good.
We topped it off with ice cream and a chocolate cake which was also very good.
This place is worth the visit and the service is excellent.

This place is great! Everything I have had off the menu has been very good. I especially like their chicken burger and cannot get enough of their homemade chips. On top of that their prices are good to. Besides, what beats sitting on the lake and watching the boats with a burger and a beer?

The Harbor House — previously Rons Harbor house open Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday. Excellent food at a great price. On the lake @ Collin Park Marina. Potato chips were home made with the huge Harbor Burger. Good friendly service. Owner on site making sure everyone is happy.