Maynard's

Pretty Lake views and a patio connected right to the docks.  A beautiful scene to hang out a nice Summer night.  Unfortunately, the food is subpar and the service is downright rude.  I grew up in the area and used to come to Maynard's as the "it spot" in Excelsior.  These days is reeks of a place coasting on a great location and an old reputation.  The second star is for the location.

I tried to get a bite to eat on the patio, but was apparently too late for any food outside - even a light appetizer.  So I had to go inside, which defeated the purpose of driving out there and ordered two appetizers.  The steak bites were chewy and overdone and served on a bed of carbs that tasted like packaging peanuts.  The lettuce wrap came with slimy left over chicken pits on a bed of stale wet peanuts.  

My biggest complaint though is they attempted to make up for the obvious lack of quality in this tasteless bar fare with extreme quantity and they have some unusual rules about their service.  The bartender, who apparently is a man of some repute, was pompous and rude.  He would not allow me to take appetizers out to the patio - the attraction that drew my business all the way from Saint Paul.  What's more, he refused to give me a box for the two mammoth portions of uninspired bar food I was now forced to choke down in a strangely hostile atmosphere with such a beautiful night waiting outside.  If such a bizarre rule of menu division was going to dominate my experience, I would have thought he would have been server enough to advise me about the volume of "food" I was going to have to cram in myself.

I lost my appetite quickly, paid my bill, and stacked one almost untouched plate on the other before heading next door.  I didn't miss my order one bit and had a much better time at the neighboring establishment.

My friend Rosana arrived very early this past Friday June the 28th like at 5:30 pm in order to get some tables outside; I guess there are no reservations for outside...? She was celebrating her husband's birthday and she thought Maynards would be a great place to gather her friends.
Anyway, my husband and I arrived at Maynards around 7:30 pm and they were ouyside having  great time. Our server warned us that there was a menacing sky and that we better start giving her cards right away... we had just ordered two drinks.
She was right, it started to rain and Maynards was packed. We had to figure out what to do...we tried to get a table inside; no one was paying attention to what was going on to the people that had been outside... we suddenly became either transparent or undesirable and a nuisance.
This is unacceptable, really. How can this happen in a restaurant like Maynards. I understand they had people waiting outside and they were crowded, but we were already there, we had only ordered drinks and we were going to start ordering our food. They should have stopped the people at the entrance explaining to them about what was going on and that they had to take care of the people that were  standing around the tables, lost and unattended and wet. That they had to give priority to them; they would have understood.
Leaving people unattended when were already there...?
I cannot understand. REALLY?

Our server was very sweet and kept running to get answers to our menu questions. The food was OK, drinks were tasty, although weak, but it was great to be outside in beautiful weather with a beautiful view.