Hidden Treasure
You leave a little central-Minnesota town, drive five miles to a lakeshore in the woods, and, if it's one of 'those' days, you find that the wolf has eaten Grandma; on the other hand, if luck is with you, you could end up at Hennington's. The restaurant sits on the shore of secluded Fairy Lake, with a wall of windows making the most of the view. The ambience is somewhere between small-town friendly and upscale dinner club, as old acquaintances stop by each other's tables to visit on the way in or out. The menu reflects this same spectrum, offering food that ranges from the basic comfort of meat loaf to the meltingly tender beef tournedos in a luscious demi-glace, garnished with crabmeat and perfectly-cooked baby asparagus. I found this restaurant almost by accident some 20 years ago, and ever since, if I find myself anywhere within a hundred miles of it, I make the trip. It's more than worth the drive.    [06 Nov 2002 11:22:57]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Steak Oscar, Tournedos of Beef, Fresh Walleyed Pike

     ­YAS   

Love Steak and Walleye?
My husband and I enjoyed celebrating my birthday there and were very happy with the evening! I enjoyed Steak Oscar; tender medium rare steak topped with luscious asparagus and gourmet sauce - served hot on a warm plate. My husband enjoyed his favorite, poached walleye, which was tasty, moist, and more than he could eat.

The waitress was friendly, accurate and fast, and checked on us regularly and was happy to chat.

I was surprised at the end of the evening, with a complementary birthday cake.

The restaurant has an inviting atmosphere and is kept clean and modern. This is a place where one can rub shoulders with tourists, bankers, upscale store owners and dedicated fishermen. One gets a smile and a nod even from people one does not know.

Great evening, great service, great food. Highly recommend!    [07 Nov 2002 23:07:11]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Steak Oscar, Walleye

     ­Ruth and Dick   rosyruth at meltel dot net

Left Alot To Be Desired.
My family and I went to Hennington's last week and were very disappointed. There were 7 adults and an infant in our party. We were given flack at the front door for not holding a reservation, even though the restaurant was only about 2/3 full, and emptied out from there. The server offered us separate checks, and when we took her up on the offer, she told us flat out that it was "a server's worst nightmare." She then disappeared for 15 minutes, leaving us to go to the bar and get our own cocktails. She then got angry that we'd gotten our own drinks, and made us wait another 10 minutes before she took our food order.

Of our party, two people ordered the ribs, one ordered the prime rib, one ordered the steak and snow crab legs, one ordered a pasta dish, and my husband and I ordered the ranch burger.

The burgers were good, but it would have been nice if they'd told us that they were out of fries. Thankfully, my husband and I like tater tots, and we all laughed at the fact that they were shaped like letters of the alphabet. The pasta dish was also tasty. Angel hair pasta with chicken and mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce.

The prime rib was grilled after it was sliced, and was overcooked. The steak had a huge chunk of gristle in the last bite, the crab legs were salty, cold, and half empty, and the potatoes au gratin were literally not cooked.

One person that ordered the ribs also had a side salad with french and blue cheese dressing. The salad arrived with so much dressing, there was a pool of it left on the plate after he was done picking out the lettuce. Then he got his ribs, and there was virtually no bbq sauce on them. The other three salads on the table hardly had any dressing at all.

At this point, the server came over and tried to apologize for the crappy crab legs and potatoes. Mind you, this is the 4th time we've seen her since we sat down, counting when she dropped off the food and didn't ask if we needed anything else.

We ordered dessert, simply because they had a molten chocolate cake on the menu. It was delicious, by the way, with extra ice cream for the table to share. But honestly, that was the only good part of the meal.

Neither I nor any one of my siblings will be back to Hennington's any time in the near future.    [21 Jun 2007 12:40:20]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Angel Chicken, ABC Tater Tots

     ­Anonymous