The Sleepy Owl

Second time here… and the service and staff have been great!!! Our server this time was Sheila and she was very attentive to the fact the we had a toddler with us and even brought her food out early.
We don’t ask for much but if the service isn’t good, I don’t go. The service here has been excellent and I love stopping by when we vacation in Syracuse.
Try the ribs…

You must try the lobster macaroni, it’s out of bounds! Seven of us descended upon the restaurant yesterday afternoon and I must admit we were kind of Rowdy! The waitress welcomed us with open arms and was extremely friendly. We stopped here last year on Memorial Day also and had an extremely pleasant experience.

My friends and I went on a Monday night so very few customers were there. Never in a million years would I have expected to still be waiting for my food an hour and a half later!
The servicer was nice but incredibly slow. The margaritas were too sweet and didn’t even taste like there was alcohol in them. My friends and I waited patiently for 30 minutes before we got waters or silverware. The «alcoholic» drinks actually came out first!
The fried green beans were delicious and came out over an hour after we sat down. The actual entrees took 2hrs to arrive and even then the sides were missing from 3 of the 5 in our group. The food was good when it finally arrived but that was after the 6^th person had to leave due to time constraints and the rest of us were about to walk out!
We Never got apologies for the incredibly long wait. No one offered to discount the price of our meals or do give free deserts. In fact, the manager gave us attitude and trash talked us within earshot.
Regardless of how good the food may have been when it finally arrived (whatever parts we actually got), the service was terribly slow and the manager was unreasonably rude. A burger and fries should never take 2 hrs to get to the table! Neither should a chicken salad or bowl of pasta. Nothing was specially made or off the menu.
This was a terrible experience and the worst I’ve had in years! Never going back!

A nice place for a group or a couple. The food is great, the service is excellent, the atmosphere is comfortable. Always a pleasant dining experience.

Very friendly staff. I left my phone on the table after dinner and they called me to let me know. We have only eaten here once but loved everything. My wife got seafood which was perfectly cooked. My Ribeye steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare and was very tender. The lobster Mac and cheese is the best we have ever had. My wife and I order lobster Mac at every restaurant we visit that has it on the menu and none compare to here. All in all a great experience. Chip the bartender and Peggy our server were great! We live an hour away and will make the drive again to eat here.

I should have followed my instincts and KEPT driving. The food was ok. We had the tenderloin which they are supposedly famous for. It was above average. The atmosphere was horrible. Enough said.

This is an excellent place for sure! The prime rib is probably the best in the Midwest, if not the country. No kidding! Lowery’s in Chicago comes close, but not quite as good. The service is also top shelf. My wife and I went there on a Sunday afternoon and they didn’t have baked potatoes ready. The waitress suggested my wife try potato wedges instead and brought out sour cream, chives, bacon bits, and diced onions on the side to simulate a baked potato. She went way above and beyond what she needed to do to take care of my wife. We love the food, but we really love the service!!!

We went there as a group of 8. We were personally greeted by Chip, who I assume is the owner. Service was quick and efficient, and Liz took great care of us.
We loved the mozzarella sticks and shrimp cocktail for appetizer. Our group ordered a variety of food, from pizza to mac’n cheese to French onion soup. We all agreed unanimously that the food was great, and that we will come back when we are in Syracuse next time.
Overall a very pleasant experience.

The food was great but it seemed like the atmosphere didn’t know if it wanted to be a nice restaurant or a bar and grill. The waitress was great and very accommodating since this was my first time there. I had the breaded chicken sandwich. IT’S HUGE! But it was amazing.

Update —they no longer offer the Sunday brunch.

Food was good. I gave such a poor review because the staff that run the front of the house have clearly lost interest in customer service. If you needed anything other then your meal delivered to you … Forget it…
The owner would do well by retiring the staff in the front and replace with more enthusiastic peoples.

Ate here many times and it is always great. Today I had a dry rub rib special that fell off the bone it was amazing. You can never go wrong with the tenderloin or pizza either, a far cry from bar food it is all made fresh and great but you can still get about any drink you may want. Also there is a cool outside area you can eat if the weather is good. I ate outside tonight and it was peaceful. Family friendly as well.

Solid fare across the board with some outstanding items; there’s something for everyone in your group/​family. And speaking of family the unintended consequences of the smoking ban in Indiana have made places for the whole family tough to find around here.
They have done a great job updating and remodeling and the outdoor patio and fire pit are fantastic.

I reviewed the Sleepy Owl back in 2010 and it really deserves a re-​review. Since my first review. they have revamped the whole place. The Sleepy Owl is no longer the stale smoke smelling dive it once was. The interior has been remodeled, they have added an outside deck with a firepit, and they have improved their menu. The Owl has surpassed the Channel Marker for the best dinner place on Wawasee. Good work turning this place around, Chip!

For a small local restaurant/​bar we were pleasantly surprised. They had a wine list (I love places with wine lists complete with descriptions). I had beef burgundy salad and my husband had broasted chicken. We were both very pleased. The server was very friendly and efficient. We were there for lunch but their dinner menu looked awesome so we will likely go back some time for dinner.

Let me say though that my review is many about their deep dish chicago style pizza and their staff. Being from Chicago, I am very picky about my pizza. We like the order the deep dish with sausage, green pepper, and onion. We are lucky to have several different deep dish pizza places in this area. They all are unique in their own way, but they taste great too!
In the past we did visit Sleepy Owl for the Sunday brunch and we were disappointed. So it may just be about when you go and what your order.

We have eaten many times most of area resturants. Owl by far the best.

I’m rating their tenderloin sandwich a 5 star. We were told the tenderloin is from a local butcher shop where it is tenderized to make it almost melt in your mouth. The Sleepy Owl cook staff then hand batters them. You better be hungry, because the tenderloin is huge. Make sure you introduce yourself to Chip the bartender. He’ll make you one heck of a drink and the next time in he will treat like you were Norm!

We went… we ate… I will probably never be back. Our waitress was exceptionally rude to top it all off.

I was housesitting for friends on Lake Wawasee and was looking for someplace to go for lunch on a Sunday when someone told me about the Sleepy Owl. I went there expecting to get pizza in the dim interior; instead, when I walked in and was greeted warmly by the bartender/​host., he told us about the breakfast and brunch buffets and the new outside patio seating. He introduced us to our waitress who was also ridiculously warm and friendly. I felt like I was in a restaurant owned by my aunt. She took us outside and put us in the table with the «best view» (a minature waterfall which has obviously recently been built) and we watched the owner’s kids play around there and by the round table/​firepit in the middle of the patio. The breakfast buffet was abundant, fresh (even at 1:00!), and delicious. Our waitress was a peach. As to the other review on this place… inside, part of the restaurant *is* smoking-​allowed, and it’s definitely dark and a little dreary. I’m looking forward to trying their pizza, though, and hope that it’s as good as the brunch was! Regardless, this is some of the best down-​home friendly service I’ve ever experienced.