By Mark W. Olson

If there’s a guy who truly understands the importance of restaurant design in the southwest metro, it’s Dermot Cowley.
In May, Cowley opened his third restaurant, Lola’s Lakehouse, overlooking Lake Waconia, in the city of Waconia.
Lola's Lakehouse
It’s been a steady march west for Cowley, who began with O’Donovan’s Irish Pub in Minneapolis (across from the Target Center) and opened Jake O’Connor’s Public House in Excelsior.

While O’Donovan’s and Jake O’Connor’s sport a decidedly Irish theme (keeping in line with Cowley’s Celtic roots), Lola’s Lakehouse is designed to evoke a feeling of New England. It’s an admittedly nice change from most lakeshore restaurants, which seem to always opt for the log cabin/northern Minnesota resort look.

However, there is also consistency with Cowley’s other restaurants – solid service and good food.
Lola’s Lakehouse features seafood, but also serves up a flavorful steak (as evidenced by a 12-ounce flatiron beef steak I ordered the other day) and a variety of other American fare, including stone oven pizza. (My folks, who have visited the restaurant a couple times, also give Lola’s their thumbs up, perhaps the best endorsement as far as I’m concerned.)

A raw bar features oyster shooters, peel-away shrimp and crab and lobster cocktails.

“The reception has been great,” commented Cowley, of the restaurant, which formerly housed Nancy’s Landing.

Lola’s was no small investment for Cowley, who said that purchasing the property (including the adjacent marina) and remodeling the building cost about $5 million. “It’s a very sizeable investment, and to do it in a small town – some people raise their eyebrow at it,” he said.

However, the remodeling of the building opened up the north side of the restaurant to the lake. At a cost of $200,000, Cowley installed six doors that roll up into the ceiling, so diners who aren’t sitting on the patio can feel the lake breeze, watch boats bobbing up and down on the water, and enjoy a commanding view of Coney Island.

Architect Jon Monson, with Landschute Group in Excelsior, who designed the warm, Irish interior of Jake O’Connor’s, also designed Lola’s Lakehouse.

As Waconia grows, the investments in Lola’s are meant to establish the restaurant as the “only place on the lake,” Cowley said.

“Lord Fletcher’s (a Lake Minnetonka mainstay) just celebrated their 40th anniversary this year,” Cowley said. “If we’re as consistent as they’ve been over the years, we’ll enjoy great success, but we have to earn that – that’s the goal. We’re grateful to the town of Waconia and the people there for embracing us so warmly,” he said.

The restaurant is still experimenting with the menu (an upcoming incarnation will add crab legs to the mix).

This summer, the restaurant offered live music on a barge, where the musicians played back to the dinners sitting on the deck and in the restaurant. Next summer, Cowley plans to have a summer music series.

“We’re just trying to make sure the quality of the food is really high and the quality of the service is really high, and ultimately that’s going to be the determining factor on how successful we can be there,” Cowley said.

Contact Mark W. Olson at editor@chaskaherald.com.

Lola’s Lakehouse

What: A restaurant overlooking Lake Waconia that serves seafood, steak, stone oven pizza and other American fare. Also features a raw bar.
Where: 318 East Lake St., Waconia
More info: www.lolaslakehouse.com or 952-442-4954