Ben Schumacher Updated review (12/11/25)
We’ve been going to Lake House since we moved to Babcock three years ago. It’s always been pretty average food. Sometimes a little above, sometimes a little below. But it appears that things are going to be VERY different under new head chef John Hill.
I’ve written some poor reviews about Lake House the last few years and when I walked into the restaurant tonight I was greeted by Chef John, who had recognized my name on the reservations list from my poor reviews I had given. He acknowledged the short comings of the past (and of my poor experience the first time I ordered from his menu a few days prior). He told us his backstory and his plans for how he was going to turn things around at Lake House. And he put his money where his mouth was right from the start.
We had an exceptional experience. The service was fast and attentive. Chef John personally delivered our food and brought a few things we had to try, including a re-do of the poke bowl I had been disappointed in a few nights previously. This time it had about 4x as much tuna as the first time and it was beautifully constructed with plenty of everything.
Every bite we had was fantastic but the stars of the night were the sweet pea hummus with scratch made naan, the mushroom gnocchi, and chocolate mousse cake (made by Chef John’s wife and the new Lake House pastry chef).
We also had the pork belly and shrimp fried rice (very tasty and perfectly rendered pork belly). Flavorful fried rice without being oily.
Skirt steak entree was a perfect medium rare - super tender and delicious.
Fettuccine ragu was very tasty. Homemade noodles with a punchy, flavorful ragu.
The brussel sprouts were perfectly cooked - crispy but not overly hammered like they are sometimes. I did want a little more Carolina gold bbq flavor. It was a little more subtle than I would’ve preferred (but I really like that type of bbq sauce).
Shrimp and andouille risotto was very good. The andouille wasn’t overpowering which it can be sometimes. We thought the risotto was a tad underdone but still very good.
The seared salmon was perfectly cooked and very tasty. The coconut rice with it was really good and had really strong coconut flavor (in a great way).
The mushroom gnocchi was amazing. The gnocchi was so tender - it melted in your mouth. Big chunks of mushrooms in a very tasty Marsala cream sauce that had great, deep flavor.
I wouldn’t normally order a hummus app because it’s hard for that type of dish to be worth it but this dish was exceptional (also beautiful presentation). Delicious hummus, with whipped goat cheese, and scratch made naan which was awesome.
Lastly, the chocolate mousse cake was phenomenal. We were very excited to learn that Lake House would now have a pastry chef because previously there was never anything on the dessert menu we felt we had to have.
Can’t wait to see how Chef John continues to improve the food and service in the months ahead. He’s off to a great start.
Review update - 12/3/25 - ordered takeout from the new menu. Got the tuna poke bowl. It was very disappointing. Despite being $24 there was barely any tuna in it. There was also not enough of the other items so it felt like I was eating a big bowl of plain rice.
Origins review (2023) We are Lake House regulars. It’s always been average food. There are a couple things I like to get but generally pretty average. So I was excited to hear they got a new head chef. I ordered the salmon special which was supposed to come with sweet potato and two kinds of mushrooms. There were no mushrooms on the plate and a tiny smear of potato. Very disappointing. The salmon was cooked very nicely.
I’ll be back because it’s we don’t have other options in Babcock but I need this place to be better.
