Kozlak’s Royal Oak Restaurant

2^nd business meal here for dinner, I was told the restaurant was being closed in a few months. I searched online and that is correct, in that the land is being sold to a nursing home of some sort. If I had paid for our meal tonight I would have demanded a new meal and not been gracious. The bruschetta was horrible, it was disgusting and I’ll explain how… They didn’t even toast the bread with garlic butter, the portion was a 15 cent disgrace for what they charge. All you have to do is mimic Olive Garden and it’s good. Garbage, pure ripping-​you-​off small portion garbage. The salad had massive dry leaves, not iceberg, some spongy sickly crap I don’t know where it came from. The chef here must have no idea at all what fresh bib lettuce is. The ribeye was the worst steak I’ve had in my life, the accompanying sauce was so nauseating we had to keep it far away and it was sick. And the tough, overdone, Jack Link’s ribeye. Au gratin potato was made by a fool, that was chunked underdone potato and my pal’s hashbrown /​Texas horse saddle blanket of starch was dry and unsalted. Good grief! The manager must taste nothing, the chef is not accountable. The bill took forever to arrive, it was sad. The girls serving were at least friendly but acknowledged the food was super-​weak.

I love Burger Mondays in the bar at Kozlak’s. A classy, juicy burger and fries for seven bucks. Great taps, too. And Jeremy pampered us as if we were patrons in the main dining room.
So sad that the restaurant has to relocate. Sure hope they stay in Shoreview!

Went there on a Tuesday night with the girlfriend for my birthday supper. Would have never gone anywhere near the place due to it’s distance from us, but we found a good deal on Groupon and like trying out new places. We made a reservation for 8pm, but were delayed by all the construction detours. They didn’t mind… it wasn’t busy. The décor is a little dated, but service was great and the food was delicious — all at a very reasonable price for a steakhouse. The total bill included two glasses of wine, an appy, and 2 steak entrees off the normal menu was only a little over $ 75 before our coupon discount. Can’t go wrong. Hopefully we’re in the vicinity again for another visit. Definitely try it out!

I can only review my experience at Easter, and you would think that for a special occasion that they would put their best food forward, but alas, no.
This place was perfectly fine for my un-​discerning 82 year old mom, but fell way short of being even decent for everyone else. Incredibly sad, boring salad bar, the meats were either bland or overcooked, and the desserts seemed to be pre-​frozen institutional fare.
Please Kozlaks, step it up.

We went mid week and decided to eat in the bar area. I had the Black and Blue Pork Porterhouse and WOW was that fantastic! If you like port you can’t pass this one up. The service was great.

The hubs and I had a groupon that expired on Sunday for Kozlack’s, so we decided to get there quick so we’d be able to take advantage.
The first thing I noticed were all of the Cadillac’s in the parking lot. The second thing, was the extremely dated décor. While this place could definitely use a face lift, the food is still good.
I ordered the sea bass stuffed with crab and spinach. Every entrée comes with your choice of soup or salad. I couldn’t pass up the cup of New England clam chowder. The soup came out piping hot, my only complaint is that it could have used more chunks of potato and clam. We also got a small loaf of warm French bread to start out the meal.
My sea bass entrée was great. I thought the fish had excellent flavor. Most of the stuffing was spinach, not crab, but it was still good. The side of veggies was a soggy mess and left a little to be desired.
I think the real winner of our meal was the dessert. The restaurant has a few options that they make in-​house and the carrot cake was one of them. This slice of cake was huge, enough for two to share and take some home. The cake was moist and topped with the most amazing cream cheese icing. I would definitely order this cake again.
I also thought the service was very good. Our waiter was very in-​tune with our needs.

It was my parents’ 40^th wedding anniversary and we decided to hit Kozlak’s Sunday brunch. We got a seat on the back porch on a perfect summer day.
I ordered the $ 5 Bloody Mary bar and it was very yummy, not too strong, but not weak either. I would have liked a few more options, but it was good.
I started with a scrambled egg dish and some jambalaya, which was by far my favorite of all of their dishes. Nice chunks of spicy sausage. I should have added a little heat to it though.
I would have liked a few more healthy dishes, it seemed like everything was greasy or full of cream.
They had a great omelet bar which I didn’t have, but my mom did and it looked great.
I went back for a fish dish that was solid, juicy and flavorful. I also got a Cajun rib, which was super tender and the molasses flavor made it just melt in your mouth good.
My wife is a big salad bar person, and she was really disappointed. It was a pretty lame spread.
I did get some smoked salmon, which was rubbery, but in a good way. Kind of a sticky mouth-​feel, but I loved it.
The rest of the buffet looked real good, but I had eaten enough calories this day. I should tried a chicken strip and some of the multiple creamy egg dishes.
Most everyone in the party had bananas foster and were pleased.
My year old niece loved the chocolate mousse.
The service was spectacular. Super nice lady and they took great care of us.
Great seeing my family and enjoying a beautiful Sunday with loved ones.

SO SO SAD! ITS NOW GONE!!!
Oh my gosh! An almost perfect place for fabulous steaks, prime rib, etc. reasonable background noise levels, great staff, nice view of outdoor park-​like area (could lose the fake deer tho). A charming place to linger over a great meal and wine!
Hurray for Kozlaks — almost a dying breed these days of loud noise mistaken for music and paper napkins mistaken for gracious amenities!

The service was great. Shared a ribeye with spiced onions and hashbrowns and a side order of salmon. The salmon was cooked just right, with perfect flavor and texture. The au jus sauce that came with the ribeye was way too salty. The steak was ordered medium-​rare, but came out medium. Looking forward to coming back to try out the Sunday brunch sometime.

Has it been 25 years?
Kozalk’s has been in business here for over 20 years. In all that time, I never have made it to their brunch … until today.
Kozalk’s has a comfortable dining room. It has more of a formal décor with white paneled walls and several windows overlooking an adjacent garden.
Brunch at Kozlaks is buffet style. Several breakfast favorites were here including eggs benedict, omelettes made to order, lots of crispy bacon, and french toast with maple pecan syrup. Other foods included ribs, chicken gumbo, and salmon.
A trio of musicians entertained the diners with some dixieland jazz. An optional bar had bloody marys, mimosas, and some other drinks.
My favorites? The omelettes, bacon, cheesy potatoes, and the tiramisu I had for dessert, The cinnamon roll they dropped off as a starter was nice too.
The drinks weren’t bad, but nothing special. You could say the same about the rest of the food. Nice, but it doesn’t knock your socks off.
Service was very friendly and helpful except for the hostess. When I called for a reservation, she put me off an hour. It didn’t bug me until we got there (15 minutes early) and find the place only about ¹⁄₃ full. Walk-​ins were being immediately seated. So why put me off? [shrug]
On an absolute scale, this place would rate 4 stars because it is definitely better than average. Calculating in price takes away from it a bit ($ 20 + drinks). In the «nicer brunch» league, the food fell a little bit short today. We are still looking for «our» brunch place since Bella closed up here.
I think I’ll continue to look a bit longer.

The food isn’t near worthy of the high prices.
Not all is bad, though: staff is friendly, place is set up well but could’ve used a modern touch, and the times I’ve gone there has been musical entertainment that comes around to tables and plays. Definitely my favorite part.
Alas, the main reason for a restaurant is to offer food that I like. I apologize if I sound snobby, but the meals here were very mediocre, especially considering the high-​up level of this restaurant.

The good: Food & Service
We ordered onion rings, the twin medallions, and the light prime rib. Everything was excellent, came in big portion and pretty well priced. Our server was very nice, prompt and attentive.
The A-​OK: the Décor. Not a big fan of their décor. The place looked so oldies and dated.
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Kozlak’s is owned by the relatives of my favorite steak place in the twin cities Jax Café in Northeast. We have eaten here several times mainly to save on drive time going over to Jax. We have always had good service and excellent food each and everytime consistently. The décor at first reminded me of an old funeral parlor, but I guess that is only in certain sections of the place. If you can get past this then I think you will truly enjoy your experience. I like the fact that you get a salad, bread and potatos as part of your meal. Many of the newer steak places have their sides «ala carte» and I hate this since your normally end up with a huge bill that you didn’t really plan on. This is my main issue with THE STRIP CLUB. Yes, its a bit pricey but well worth it to not have to worry about having a positive experience. Great place for a special occasion meal or celebration.
We also hosted a large party at Kozlaks for about 75 people a few years ago. We rented out the main dining room area. Everything went great since the staff are very professional and experts at putting on a buffet. We did not have to worry about anything. They have been doing this for so long that they have it down pat. I still get comments now on how delicious the food was.

Every year the organization I work for has a luncheon here with the principals we work with. The food is always good, the service can be a bit so-​so for the price you’re paying and the environment is…well, a time warp.
Many of the previous reviews touched on the décor of the place, all I say is the place is typically clean (other than the air ducts — eww) but the decorations and whatnot are bit outdated and perhaps something the brady bunch would LOVE.
I’ve had fish there mostly, it’s well done but not dry and always a dessert. The desserts are very good here — yum!
The waiters can be a bit crazy acting…
Overall, an ok place to try. .. it’s pricey though!

Had the opportunity to enjoy their jazz brunch this morning (AYCE). Very nice selection of breakfast and lunch items. Enjoyed the all you care for bloody mary’s and mimosas, especially the champagne and pomegranate juice.
Favorite items were the meaty cajun ribs, sausage and biscuits, and the praline topped ice cream… bananas foster was also a nice treat.
Not a weekly brunch, but definitely one to return to.

I won’t talk about the old school atmosphere or décor, others have sufficiently described it.
Came here on a Saturday night for a 7:15 reservation. We arrived a little early so we could have a drink in the bar. It was fairly busy in the bar, and the bartenders were pretty good. We were some of the youngest people in there, and I ain’t that young. One guy standing next to me at the bar ordered two glasses of wine, paid for them, and took all of the change off the bar.
Once seated we were greeted quickly.
We started with a tomato and garlic soup. It looked nothing like I imagined, but it was very good. Really strong tomato flavor and just enough garlic. However it looked like diced tomato’s, not soup. Do not let that discourage you, if you like tomato soup. The bowl is huge so it’s OK to share.
Salad bar was extensive with all of the fixin’s you would expect including pickled beets. I love pickled beets.
I ordered the prime rib regular cut. I am no slouch when it comes to eating meat. I could not finish it. The flavor was good and the creamy horseradish accompanying it was also good. Those of you who have read other reviews from me, can figure out what became of the leftovers.
No room for dessert.
The meal was exactly as I expected. That is not a complaint, it’s a compliment. The meal did not disappoint me one bit.

Big Salad Bar!
I love me a salad bar and old school charm — Kozlak’s has both!
We had reservations for a recent Saturday night at 7:15. We arrived and had a couple cocktails in the bar — beer and a couple martinis — Lemon Drop and a Jolly Rancher. Both were good, without being too sweet. I hadn’t had much to eat that day, so I had a little bit of a buzz.
We were seated shortly after 7:15. We were the youngest people in there, besides the couple right behind us. We ordered wine and a beer right away.
The place had a old school charm with the white walls and numerous Valentine decorations through out. Think a high school gym for a Valentine Dance — I love it!
We started with a bowl of the tomato garlic soup. We only got one because we were both getting the salad bar. The soup came and it was good! Chunky tomatoes, very thick, some onions and a hint of garlic. It was filling too. When Bryan brought it we both looked at it and said, «this doesn’t look like tomato soup.» Bryan said, «No one has ever ordered it so I had no idea what it would look like.» Highly recommended.
The salad bar was good and plentiful. For the $ 3 extra each, I’m not sure it’s totally worth it, but good regardless. It had your basic lettuces all mixed together in one bowl with all the fixings and a bunch of pasta salads.
We had our soup and salads, but much to my dismay, I felt rushed because our food came out before we were done with the salads. Now, I’m a fast eater as is my dining companion, so you know it’s quick.
I had the walleye almondine with mashed potatoes and veggies. Didn’t care for the veggies, but the walleye was good — coated in almonds and cooked nicely. Dining companion had the prime rib which he also said was good.
We could not be tempted by dessert, because we were so full, but still had food for the next day.
The service and food were good, the soup GREAT and the atmosphere delightful. We had a Groupon for $ 50 off, so after tip and discount, we paid $ 58. Not outrageous since you can easily pay more at some crappy run of the mill joint.

This is a supper club. Supper club menu, supper club prices, supper club clientele, supper club atmosphere. But we do supper clubs, because we can usually count on getting a steak, naked baked potato, steamed veggies, and sorbet for our gluten and casein-​free daughter.
In the supper club arena, Kozlak’s is old school good. The food has not let us down, except that we like medium rare, and their medium rare is undead rare. Daughter gets her dietary needs met fairly easily, and their specials are great.
But best of all is Sean our waiter. Though he’ll answer to Seth, as he is an absolute slim twin of actor Seth Rogan. Try to get Seth Rogan’s table – all those actors waited tables before hitting the big time, and Seth is awesome!

Their Sunday brunch is excellent! The jazz trio is charming and accomodating to any song request.
Appreciate the variety. Salad bar, hot breakfast and food items, desserts and so much more. Interior is welcoming and service is excellent for this suburban treasure.

I really hate to write a bad review of this place, because our actual meal wasn’t that awful. We went and got the «Friday Date Night» package. This consists of an appetizer, bread, salad, two entrees and a dessert to share.
We started with the Yukon Gold Fries, which were way too oily, but had a very good flavor. Bread & Salad was good. Then it came time for our entrees. I ordered Medallions of Beef on Garlic toast. They came out, but not on toast. They were good, although not so tender. The boy ordered prime rib. Our server returned to tell him they were out. She offered him a steak instead. That was fine with us.
The steak she brought out was pretty ishy. It was decent tasting, but it was plagued with some intense gristle action. Boy ate the potatoes, and some of the streak. He didn’t want me to complain because I am totally a complainer, and our waitress was really nice.
We had dessert, it was great, and our server was fantastic. If I had nothing to do with Kozlak’s after that, this would have been a 4 star experience.
But I told my mom what happened, and she called the restaurant. We’ve been going there a long time, and she thought that we should have spoke up. Wellll. it was all down hill from there. The owner asked my mom for my phone number, and called me several days later. She proceeded to lecture me on a variety of topics, most of which related to the idea that all of this was some how my fault for going with the «Date Night» package.
After all, it was me that chose to go for the special menu, and it was somehow then my fault that our food was sub-​par. I felt like a second class citizen. I wouldn’t have chose the «Date Night» package had I known that this package didn’t entitle me to their normal standard of food.
She offered to send me a gift card, but that was a month ago, and I still haven’t received anything, including an apology.