The Shoe - Lakeview Dining & Spirits, Polson MT

The lake view was beautiful, but that was the only positive aspect. The service was almost nonexistent. We waited for 30 minutes before we were served water, and then had to wait another hour to get our order. It was lunchtime, and the restaurant wasn't even busy.

One of the only higher end restaurants in town. Food is good though kitchen has been taking a while to get food out, so be prepared to spend some time. Service is exceptional. Pizza is really good. Steaks have been cooked properly, though lack any salt and pepper. Burgers are a good choice, but also lack any salt and pepper. Costs are on the higher side, but not going to break the bank. Would recommend.

I have eaten here on several occasions and the food has been disappointing every time, keep hoping it will change, makes you wonder if the owners even eat the food they are serving to patrons, try the fish tacos and you'll know what Im talking about. The place does have a fantastic view of the lake though Owner, dont have to worry about me coming back nor the 100 other people I will tell not to visit either!

The food is great and the staff is very friendly. They're not super fast though. Also if it's crowded it gets very very loud and difficult to hold a conversation.

Well if you want to soak up the views for hours on end, you can definitely do it here: Terrible and negligent service, you’ll be here for at least 30 minutes before you even get a water. When your food finally arrives, you’ll be grossly underwhelmed. Poor bartender was trying to carry the whole team and about the best part of our visit. Would not return.

Update 7/7/23 (a few months later) :

Not a good experience. Loud rap music from the kitchen, no daily special, crab cakes were canned crab and did not taste like anything at all. The cup of clam chowder was tiny, had ONE clam in it, 3 pieces of celery for $6 (!) Hubby had chicken tenders and it looked like frozen grocery store stuff, not worth $15.

Very disappointed. Something changed for the worse here recently.

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We are locals and just noticed this place today. I guess they remodeled it and it looks amazing with a lovely view of the lake and a deck to view it on as you eat and drink, if you like.

Hubby had the bison burger and I had the special of the day which was a grilled cheese, bacon and tomato sandwich with tomato soup. It was all good but the prices are just a bit too steep for the small serving sizes, else they'd be getting a 5 star all the way.

Definitely will be back and recommend everyone try it out!

We read the reviews beforehand and despite some negative reviews decided to come. Especially because of the owner's responses which we loved! We were expecting a long wait. Nope. We were expecting food that was just OK. And quite the opposite. It was freaking amazing. All of it! I had the Buffalo sirloin and my husband had the prime rib. Both were cooked to perfection. And the garlic mashed potatoes! We live in Illinois so likely won't be back to this area. But if we are. We will definitely come again! The service was great (Thanks Alley!), food was amazing and the view. Priceless!

PS. They are super dog friendly. Even have a designated area to sit with your furry friends and provide bowls of water for them. I absolutely love that!

Worst experience ever! We waited forever for someone to acknowledge us, only because I flagged someone down. Took forever for us to get our drinks and then again having to beg someone to please take our food order. Took at least 50 minutes to get our food which was overdone and tired. Worst service and food ever!

7/5/2023 We debated on whether or not to eat here due to a few iffy reviews recently. Hubby and kids wanted a nice steak so we called and made a reservation for 7pm. They had a large group come in between our phone call around 4pm and arriving just before 7pm and advised us that food would probably take 1-1.5 hrs to get due to the group. We decided to be seated and wait. We ordered some chips and salsa while waiting for dinner. It took just under an hour to be served dinner but it was well worth the wait! Everyone enjoyed their steaks and I enjoyed my gluten free pizza side note: food orders have to be placed prior to 8pm so just make sure you arrive early enough to get your order in. Everyone was nice and friendly.

If we ever travel through Polson, MT again, we will definitely be stopping to eat here!

I went there with my family, which our waitress got our first drinks to the table fast and that was about it. The food took about an hour and a half to arrive to the table which only part of it looked appealing. The taste wasn’t as bad as the looks of our meals and by the time we were done eating we sat there for half an hour just waiting for the check till we had to go to the front and get someone else to help us which they were very respectful. Also the owner of this establishment has told my mother we may not return after she said it was mediocre which we gladly won’t be coming back. Needs better staffing and a better owner.:)

04/10/23- Horrible service, super long wait time to get food and high prices.
05/01/23- The Shoe’s second chance didn’t fair well! Super long wait time because the cook burnt one of our steaks, they messed up the other steak with the wrong sides. Last time at The Shoe!

Clam chowder came out of a can. Ruben sandwich had no sauerkraut and the meat was mainly fat.

If you have time to wait for mediocre food for hours then eat here. Too loud for a conversation at the table.

We stopped in for a quick bite to eat. We sat an hour before we got drinks. The waitress never came back except to bring soup. It took the manager to get us our food which tasted like it had sat in the window. The mashed potatoes were crusted over. The potato skins were hard. The food was cold but the manager was very nice and a couple of the other waitresses. We're nice never saw our waitress again

On our last night in Montana before heading home to Canada decided to go for a nice dinner. We drove past The Shoe a few time and it always looked busy so we figured it has to be good so decided to go and have dinner there. When we arrived the place was packed and for a table for two we had to wait an hour. Not a problem. When we came back we were seated on the patio by Cheryl the manager. We waited about 15 min before we asked one of the staff for a menu. After about 30 min Cheryl brought us the menus. Once again waited for another 30min or longer before Cheryl checked on us and took our order as there was no severs. I have to say that there was a couple that came in at the same time as us and was seated in another are of the patio and they were served in a very timely fashion. We waited for about an hour for our food which was not very good. Cheryl was the only saving grace that day and was kind enough to comp our meal. If we are ever in the area again we will not be going back.

Was a shaky opening and first year or so but I think they are getting the kinks ironed out and the last few times I've had a great meal and experience here. Bartenders and atmosphere are great especially on live music nights. Wait staff could still use a little work but not bad. Could be a little more thorough and consistent but nothing experience and a good manager can't fix. Good selection of beer for someone like me that hates IPAs. The shrimp appetizer is delicious, by the way.

Takes a lot for me to leave a review on anything. This one did it for me.
My favorite part was the windowsill full of dead flies that really helped the view of the lake.

Visited this establishment for a date night. I ordered the spaghetti Bolognese. (Maybe add a touch more garlic. However; I digress.) It was Plated very well
The texture was complimentary to the pallet. My date had the scalloped spaghetti. It was amazing! Both dishes were delicious. Our little guy who was in attendance. Gobbled his burger and fries down without hesitation. Very fulfilling to say the least and definitely worth the price. Bravo to the kitchen staff (Anthony Velasco. The dinner was superb. Well done.) a well as our waitress. We Will be back again for more dishes to explore and review.
Thank you again for the lovely evening and delicious food!

I spend a lot of time eating out. I understand the cost of food have gone up. But $8.00 bucks for a bowl of soup is ridiculous! Now, if it were a large bowl, I might understand. But I ordered a bowl of baked potato soup, and the bowl came out less than half full in a small bowl. The old restaurant use to serve a man size bowl of soup. Very disappointing!