Minnehan's Restaurant

5601 Big Tree Road, Lakeville
Visited July 22, 2010
Written by Drew



About once a year, I make my way down to Minnehan’s Fun Center in Lakeville with high hopes of leaving there with a smile on my face. I mainly go down there for the attractions (go-karts, mini-golf, batting cages, etc.), but usually every time I go, I stop into their restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Reflecting back on my visits to Minnehan’s, the food is generally unmemorable.

The restaurant and fun center are located in the same lot on the corner of routes 20A and 256 in Lakeville, less than three miles west of Livonia.

Tyler and I recently went down there with four busloads of kids on a trip for work. We both ate in the restaurant when we had breaks, which happened to be at different times from each other.

Tyler ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, which he said was very generic.


“The marinade didn’t add much to the sandwich,” he said. “I had to dip it in barbecue sauce to get some flavor.”

He added the size of the chicken breast was very small despite being on a normal-sized roll. He also a bit displeased baked beans weren’t available as a side dish. Though he said his service was friendly, he thought it could have been speedier.

“It wasn’t as fast as your typical quick-service place... especially considering I got just a sandwich,” Tyler said, noting he waited about 10 minutes after ordering to receive his food.

I walked in about an hour later to order my lunch. I was very rushed, not because of my limited time I had on break, but because the guy behind the counter rushed my order. He made it seem like it was an inconvenience to serve me.

So in a bit of a panic, I just ordered what the person in front of me ordered: a chicken finger dinner, with a large chocolate milkshake to drink. After ordering I also had to wait a good 10 minutes for my meal. Upon receiving my order, I walked around the restaurant trying to find a seat and noticed most of the tables were dirty. I ended up outside, sitting with the rest of my co-workers who were on break.

My chicken finger dinner consisted of four normal-sized pieces of chicken on top of very generic and mushy pile of French fries. I was thoroughly disappointed in the fact that they didn’t offer me any type of dipping sauce for my chicken fingers. My large chocolate milkshake wasn’t much of a shake at all. It was a very thin shake, with almost a chocolate-milk consistency.

Our co-workers, Dan and Dustin, both ordered Minnehan’s version of cheeseburger garbage plates, with French fries and macaroni salad. Dan said the macaroni salad was the best part of it, while the fries were average and the burgers were a bit overcooked and. Dustin just said, “(It was) definitely just an average plate; nothing special.”

The menu isn’t terribly extensive and everything is just typical diner fare. Minnehan’s also makes pizza right there and has an accompanying ice cream shop, which adds a little variety.

All in all, I had a great time at Minnehan’s. I took a few rounds in the batting cage, a few rides on the go-karts and wasted a few dollars in the arcade. But once again when it comes to the food, it was very plain and unmemorable.


Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: Minnehan’s is geared towards family fun, which its attractions provide. But every time I’ve been there with my family, we do not have fun eating. Relatively long wait time and average food, with the prices not compensating for its genericness. I still can’t still get over the fact that it was an inconvenience to be waited on.

Food: Quality of the food wasn’t great. Everything was very generic.

Value: Very average price, but not enough bang for the buck.

Overall: Just a run-of-the mill diner; very average in every category. We wouldn’t go out of the way to eat here, and maybe next time we stop down at Minnehan’s, we will travel the extra few miles to Livonia or Geneseo for a meal. We love Minnehan’s Fun Center, which is a great value, though.

Grade: C-