Charlie’s On the Lake

My fiancé and I ate here last night. The food was just alright. Not that seafood in Nebraska is going to be super fresh, but I’ve had better in this area. I ordered the special, which was stuffed lobster. It smelled fishy, which means it can’t be very fresh. It was very oily. The lobster itself was dry. My fiancé had the lobster Alfredo, which he said was better than expected. The service was good. The hosts up front were friendly, but a little unprofessional. Overall I would return, but try something different on the menu.

I came here last night for a business meeting. They chose the place so I followed. I ordered prime rib but they ran out, so I settled with a fillet and salmon. It was $ 30 and very poorly executed. I didn’t drink wine but I noticed a good selection. Long story short, they ran out of prime rib on a Monday, food took forever and the place was completely empty, even a touch of seasoning would have helped my food considerably, my medium steak came out at medium well, and was obviously over priced for what I got. Maybe an off night for them, but for $ 30 every night should be on point!

Still the best in town! Martinis, steaks! Can’t go wrong here! Had a recent change in staff and service is amazing! If you haven’t been for a while, go back. You won’t be sorry!

Best steak I’ve had in Omaha, or any restaurant ever really. It’s gotta be that mushroom sauce! I recommend the ribeye and the twice baked potatoes. They also have quite a list of Martinis mmm! Worth every penny, easily my favorite place for dinner.

Haven’t been here for over a year. The last time we came we walked out the service was so bad. Thought we would give them another shot tonight. Sat in the bar which was 80% full. Tables were sticky and smelled like a combo of bleach and wet dog. Waited 15 minutes for the first martini to arrive. They are the best in town but took a bit long. My wife had the Raspberry martini and I had a simple dirty martini. Great selection of vodka and it’s a solid pour. We had the crab dip appetizer which has always been great and didn’t disappoint tonight. Used to be a «go to» location but not sure I’ll be back soon.

I have not been here in a year or so, moving to the area I remembered it as being good. My wife had just returned from Texas, away for a week grieving a loved one and funeral. To start, the service was highly mediocre I am pretty sure she just got off a grateful dead bus and was still on drugs. The food was horrible never have I ordered an 18oz ribeye and had it come out 10oz steak and 8 fat. My wife’s salmon was over cooked and the raspberry sauce was nothing but syrup. The twice baked potato she received tasted like cardboard and onions. This may go up as one of the worst dining experiences I have had in a long time. I urge you to choose any other steakhouse over this. Please if you care to have your family or friends think highly of you, choose elsewhere.

I came here for the first time recently to have a drink before dinner at another restaurant. We sat at the bar and had very good service from the bartender. Having heard good things about Charlie’s martinis, I decided to go that route and opted for the Lemon Drop Martini. I don’t like sweet drinks, and was afraid this might be too sweet, but found the drink to be well balanced and really tasty. And strong!
We also ordered the bacon-​wrapped shrimp appetizer, and really liked it as well. The shrimp were cooked well and as always, well complimented by the bacon.
Our short visit definitely inspired me to return to Charlie’s in the future for another round of drinks and maybe a full dinner.

We just recently gave Charlies another try after a few years away and have been pleased with both the food and the service. The outdoor patio is very nice and the seating inside is comfortable, too. The best part is the PEI mussels appetizer. It’s 2 pounds of big, juicy mussels in a really delightful broth. Even the kids inhaled them and we all needed a spoon for the broth. I can’t imagine coming here and not ordering that as an appetizer. Portions are very generous and tasty as well. Another plus is the fresh and warm baguettes that seem to appear exactly when needed. Nice venue to come out for date night, an evening with friends or even a family dinner with the kids.

WORST dining experience ever!!! Just met the owner Eve for the first time tonight. I’ve been eating at this restaurant for over 10 years. Had I known the owner was a complete tool with a complete disregard for customer service I never would’ve stepped foot in this place. We had an experience with a waitress «Kiki» and we complained about a comment that she made, and then in earshot of the entire restaurant she told me «you are F***ing rude sir!» In front of the on-​duty manager! They did NOTHING about it. The waitress embellished a story to save her job and the owner rationalized her behavior!!! Unacceptable!!! Avoid this dump at ALL costs. Eve also tells me they’ve been there 21 years so… he says «I don’t care».
Charlie’s on the Lake
Seafood Restaurant · 1,082 Likes

I love seafood, and Charlie’s on the Lake seems to rise to the occasion of leaving me satisfied. Off the bat, I am going to state that I feel the prices here are about 20% high in comparison to other comparable places, and I had forgotten this until we arrived and sat down. But the food is absolutely delicious, and there is no denying that.
Starting of with the Baked Scampi Havarti ($ 10.95) appetizer gives me just enough of a flavor explosion to make ready for the meal.
For the main course I like the New York Surf & Turf ($ 30.95 for a strip and some shrimp!) but without the bacon wrap on the shrimp. Bacon and shrimp should never be together in my world… it just seems to break some fundamental law of nature. But, for some reason, steak and shrimp doesn’t bother me… hmm.
Anyway, one of the cool things about this place is they have «Steak Toppings». Prices range from $ 5.95-$ 8.95 for everything from mushrooms and cheese to lobster cream sauce.
No room for desert this time, but it looked spectacular.
Our waiter was amazing, and he made the meal that much more enjoyable.
We went with another couple, and we all tried each ap. From that experience I can tell you the things not to try are:
*Crab cakes
*Tuna Sampler
Not much flavor happening with those, and that was the consensus among the four of us.

I love their patio and went there for lunch with my mom today, but the experience was lack luster at best. We just ordered a few appetizers to share and they were bland and boring, needs some fresh flavors. But my biggest issue is the staff. Our waitress didn’t smile once. The wait staff looks incredibly sloppy; I don’t think anyone should be serving food in leggings. The girls also need some training that people on lunch have limited time to spend. It took an hour and a half because she would disappear inside forever. This was the 3^rd time I’ve been there and gotten poor service, don’t think I’ll go back again.

Wasn’t impressed… been coming here for years and now its super bright in the bar — can’t even read the menus (too much glare). I used to love the cosmos (thought they were pink now they are blue) Display of my $ 32.00 meal wasn’t impressive at all… reminded me of a truck stop… super dead and I know why

My girlfriend and I took a road trip to Omaha for our anniversary, after a day at museums and zoo’s we were ready to chow down. We got here and walked in and was immediately impressed with the professional look of the place. They had a wine room as soon as you walked in. It was a beautiful night so we asked to sit outside. The waitress took us to a nice outdoor patio with a view over a nice little lake. It was by no means a natural lake with wildlife all over, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The waitress sat us right next to a waterfall where there were ducks swimming around 10 feet from us. Very fun experience.
The food was outstanding. I got a garlic shrimp fettuccini, my girlfriend got a lobster alfredo. We were blown away by the quality. Absolutely delicious. So much food we were able to take leftovers to serve as an awesome late night snack. Presentation of the food and staff were both very professional, friendly and inviting.
After dinner we were able to take a walk around the lake on a nice little trail. It just overall made for a nice night. Whenever we’re in the neighborhood you can bet we’ll be back.

Charlie’s seems to be going in the wrong direction. Slow service, well more like the Walking Dead service! Mediocre food. Properly cooked shrimp should look like a comma and not a doughnut! Twice baked potatoes are nothing more than instant potatoes with some cheese and fake bacon in it then scooped in a bowl like it was freshly made for you! Bread was cold, tea was weak, well more like non-​existent.
All of the other waitresses and waiters were taking the desert tray around, but ours just asked and didn’t even try to see if we wanted anything by showing us the tray! Good job on the up-​sell!
Then I noticed on the ledge around the place had a nice layer of dust on it! Then that made all of us at the table stop and look closer at the rest of the place and it’s cleanliness and WOW was that an eye opener!
CLEAN THE PLACE PEOPLE!
We used to like Charlie’s, but we won’t be going back since they don’t feel they need to give better customer service than what they do for their over inflated prices. I can see why @ 7pm on a Saturday night they were so slow. It’s the poor service and over-​priced food!
Let’s just chalk this one up as one more of Omaha’s finer restaurants going down the tubes. It seems this is happening more and more and if the staff doesn’t care about the customers, then how can they care about the place that furnished s them with a paycheck?
YES! This is a place that Jon Taffer would have a field day with!

Being a visitor from out of state, when I heard the name of the restaurant, I was expecting a quaint classy restaurant off somewhere by a beautiful lake. I didn’t quite expect that it was in a strip mall. I kept saying to my friend and coworker, «where’s the lake?» Finally, once you were in, you would see a man made lake off a housing development. It was quite a picturesque view looking at it through the glass door to the patio. However, it wasn’t what I expected.
It started with a baguette in a baguette sleeve. It was nice! Wish it was warm though! It would be so much better. Then, we ordered boneless wings tossed in Cajun butter and seasoning. When it arrived, we were floored on the portion size. Holy cow!!! There were so many! They also tasted wonderful. It was the best part of this whole entire meal. At first, after the wings came, we almost thought we shouldn’t have ordered appetizer. We would have been too full. However, glad we did.
The soup and salad came. My New England Clam Chowder was delicious but it was missing some salt. After adding salt, it was very nice.
I ordered fish and chips. The server said it was very good. I begged to differ. It was bland bland bland. It seems someone forgot the salt at home. The fish had absolutely no taste.
My friend ordered a steak and shrimp combo and she said her shrimps were also bland. No trace of seasoning. Her steak was okay and she said the steak she had the night before at Johnny’s Café was much better.
Service was nice and friendly. The manager came to chat a couple of times. They were so nice that I didn’t have the heart to tell them about their bland under-​seasoned food.
Maybe it was just an off night. However, for someone coming from out of state, they only had one chance to wow me for me to consider coming back next time I’m in town. Not sure I would. Maybe for the wings.

Best Lump Crab Quesadilla filled with lots of lump crab meat, Jack and cheddar cheese Served with sour cream, salsa and black olives on the side. Super yummy & filling! Along with a fruity tickle tackleberry drink or 2 on the patio by the water is most relaxing! The wait staff is friendly & tentative. We’ve been going for yrs & it’s always been a good time.

Went yesterday with high hopes of a good steak as I promised my best friend who is visiting from Denver a great one! We were extremely disappointed! The steaks were very bland and I won’t be back for those menu items!!! :(. On the up-​side, the apps (shrimp havarti and artichoke dip) were amazing. Service was great and the French bread was awesome!

Always like this place but a bit off my beaten path. Went there for lunch, been awhile, and found that they had changed their menu to «all items are $ 11». I thought this was great idea. I ordered one of their lunch salads and then you get to pick a protein to put on top… CLAM STRIPS! Salad was awesome. Nice mix of ingredients, good dressing and of course the clam strips. Friend ordered the Chicken Parm lunch… massive! Both chicken breasts plus pasta. He ate half and took the rest home.
The only miss for us was the appetizer. We ordered the grouper fingers. The texture made me think they were undercooked but the waitress said that grouper was a «creamy» fish. Either way… I did not enjoy the texture or the taste.
Would definitely recommend for lunch!

The old manager, whom I mentioned in my previous review as the source of its decline, is no longer with Charlie’s on the Lake! Mitch, the new manager, who has been with the restaurant for over ten years, has taken over and has completely turned the place around. I can’t begin to enumerate the positive changes he’s made!
The food quality is back to what we remember. Appetizers were terrific… My chicken was cooked perfectly… My wife’s salmon was done absolutely right… The bread was warm and delicious! Oh, and the drinks were top notch!
We sat on the patio last night and enjoyed the first warm evening of spring. Lots of other patrons had the same idea. Building the new expanded patio was a great business decision and the views of the lake are excellent.
Special mention goes to our server, Denae. Her vibrance, personable attitude, and professionalism makes her a real star! She is absolutely tops!
If you’ve not been to Charlie’s recently, it’s time to go again. Mitch and his team have done great things and we can’t wait to go back!

Nice atmosphere, dark, classy, and kinda divey.
Martinis are great!!! I think that is what they won Best of Omaha 2012 for. The food was ok, standard steakhouse/​seafood fare but pretty pricey. Everything we ordered was dunked in cream or cheese, so it was not very healthy. and very rich. My taste buds were begging me for a break. I’d give the martinis a 5 and the food a solid 3. Service was good, but something was lacking about my experience here. Maybe I’d give it another try sometime in the future.