Lost Lake

Lost Lake opened in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago in January 2015. It is a partnership between Paul McGee, formerly of Three Dots and a Dash

Three Dots and a Dash

Chicago, IL

Bar & Restaurant

8.5

, and development group Land and Sea Dept. Martin Cate, owner of Smuggler's Cove

, is also involved in Lost Lake, particularly helping with their selection of sipping rums. Its design is less tiki, and more of a nod to the early, streamlined bamboo-focused era of Polynesian Pop escapism. Colorful fish floats hang in the front window, and one whole wall is wallpapered with a bold banana leaf motif. Fish trap lamps wrap the bar area, and the canted ceiling is covered with lauhala and bamboo. There is green vinyl booth seating toward the back, and a rock wall. The beverage program has been developed by McGee, with a mix of classic tropical cocktails and his own inventions. Land and Sea Dept. also own the connected upscale Chinese take-out restaurant, called Thank You. In late March 2016, a small electrical fire forced Lost Lake to close for a few weeks for cleaning and repairs.

Comments

Torgny

Torgny has visited Lost Lake.

September 5, 2018, 3:08 PM

While Lost Lake is quite a drive from downtown Chicago, especially during rush hour, we made the trek early one Thursday evening. Though it wasn�t what we expected, we had a good time and it�s certainly worth a visit.

Everyone was very friendly and attentive. The hostess greeted us immediately and led us to a table and our waitress arrived in due course. Though tiki cocktails can be complicated to make and can take a long time to order and receive, that wasn�t the case here at all. We never had any difficulty ordering and everything arrived at our table quickly. While there were only about 12 drink options (excluding a handful of larger shared drinks) the drinks were all interesting, flavorful, and very nicely decorated.

If we were disappointed in anything it was in the d�cor. The bar was very nice, and tastefully decorated, but it seemed more like a hipster bar in Florida than a tiki bar. The walls were covered in palm or banana leaf wallpaper, one wall had the bar�s name in red neon, there were some Polynesian fish trap lights, and there was bamboo here and there. But no tiki statues, carvings, water elements (other than an aquarium which seemed a bit out of place and in which we didn�t see any fish), or other Polynesian d�cor. And while the large front window made the bar feel light and airy, it prevented us from pretending we were anywhere but a bar in a fairly industrial area of Chicago. I also, oddly, don�t recall any music at all, which either means there wasn�t any or that it was very quiet and at least wasn�t jarring and out of place.

The food we tried was tasty, but the options seemed a bit odd for a tiki bar, consisting mostly of banh mi and noodle and rice bowls rather than of Polynesian food or bar snacks. I don�t know about others, but a rice bowl just sounds wrong to me as the food to have with a tiki drink.

It was also disappointing to learn that Lost Lake doesn�t sell any logo tiki mugs. All they sell are the standard, non-logo, tiki mugs you can get virtually anywhere. They do sell logo Collins and Mai Tai glasses (we did end up buying one of those), but they aren�t at all the same thing as a logo tiki mug. Deciding not to sell logo mugs seems like an odd choice for a tiki bar that presumably could not only make extra money from such sales but could also obtain free advertising from them, but it�s their business, not mine.

All in all a very pleasant place to get a very well-made tiki drink. Just not a place to suspend your disbelief and pretend you�re in the islands, taking a break from the real world.

Tikisteffie

Tikisteffie has visited Lost Lake.

August 11, 2018, 2:51 PM

We love it If we wood live in Chicago we wood go ther al the time !!!!

WFlourance

WFlourance has visited Lost Lake.

July 6, 2018, 8:18 AM

Went to Lost Lake on a Tuesday Night. Definitely a ways from downtown Chicago but completely worth it. It's certainly on the smaller side and the bar staff was thin for bustling crowd within. Everyone was super friendly! You can tell these bar tenders have a lot of enthusiasm for what they do. The menu is gigantic and beautifully designed. They have an overwhelming amount of delicious house specialties and takes on tiki classics as well as all the traditional drinks. I had the No Bye / No Aloha but also tried the Banana Daiquiri and Glassquiri which were both incredible. The decor was amazing as well, the bright neon pink sign adds a warm glow to the room, the wall paper makes it feel trendy and tropical, and the layout makes you gather around the bar for a more social, easygoing visit.

The bar staff was incredibly friendly and were super enthused to give me a handful of swizzle stick souvenirs before I left, hardly had to ask. I could see where some tiki enthusiasts might see Lost Lake as a tiki bar for hipsters, but the drinks and service were so damn good I'd say that's hardly anything to complain about.

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