Lake of the Woods Brewing Company

Great food and boasts a good selection of beers and other alcoholic options. Staff was friendly and service was good even during a busy evening.

Excellent as always. We have been coming here since it opened 10 years ago. Kenora is starting to make a comeback but for a while there, this was pretty much the only place worth going to (Plaza never seemed to be open and the Lake House was a bit snobby for "peasants" like us).

Great beer, well made and not gimmicky like some places. They don't burn out your taste buds with ridiculously bitter beer (although they do have some really hoppy numbers, but they actually have flavour too). Nautical Disaster, The Beer With No Name, Forgotten Lake, Lakeside, and (of course), Sultana are some favourites.

Good food as well (love the James Dean Burger). Menu has evolved over the years, they now have wood fired pizza and tacos, and the chicken wings are finally famous, (they were almost famous for the longest time) but the Jimmy, and the Ruben are still there.

It can get a little packed and noisy on a weekend in the summer. But, swing by on an afternoon in the winter (after some ice fishing perhaps) and there is a really chill vibe to the place.

There are off sales and some really nice merch in the little store down the ramp.

Congrats on 10 years! Hoping for many more decades to come.

Good selection of hand crafted beer, Everything I've tried off the menu so far was tasty, decent portions.

It was busy as usual but the service and food is always good! Thanks for a great time
At our favourite Kenora spot.

We have had great experiences here before, but this time it was a complete downer.

We had a 20 minute wait, but that’s alright, it’s always busy on weekends. We were seated in the searing sun, and our table was 1 of 2 tables which didn’t have the shade on it. We asked the person making wait lists and assigning tables if we could be moved to some other table, and got a nope, gotta go back and wait 30 more minutes.

At that point we got ready to leave without ordering, but our server moved us to another table. But the service was so excruciatingly slow after that, and not once did we get checked on if we needed water or if the food was ok.

I get it you are busy, but at least some semblance of service would have been nice. Very disappointing experience.

The flight of beers had a variety of great flavours, and the sliders were delicious. Friendly servers as well. Would definitely recommend going here if you're ever in Kenora!

We stopped in for lunch on a Sunday. The place as hopping but Server was attentive, food was great - excellent burger and fish tacos. And the beer, of course, was good.

Very cool atmosphere being in an old fire station with so much preserved, including the fire pole. Huge patio with garage doors that are wide open. The food was super delicious and the flights of beer were awesome. BEST of all, was the bartender, Emma, who was swamped with a full house but still looked after her bar clients and checked in on the regular. Sleeping Giant Brewing in Thunder Bay could take a couple of lessons from Emma, thank you for being so welcoming, smiley and a good human!

Updated Review Dec 2022:
This is still a fabulous restaurant five years later! The food (especially the deep fried pickles) is always delicious, and we've always had lovely servers! We enjoy stopping at the retail shop for some beer on our way out, and inevitably find extra items (love the t-shirts). We've always had friendly staff who are happy to help. Definitely a Kenora highlight! Our favourite craft brewery.

Review from 2017:
My husband and I hosted our rehearsal dinner/bachelor/bachelorette party there on a Friday night and had an awesome experience! The supervisor we worked with (Bethan) to make all the arrangements was amazing and easy to work with. The servers on that night were superb, the whisky room was perfect, and the bathrooms were sparkling!

Purchased blueberry beer in mid September. Opened it today. Full of sediment. Date canned Nov 18 2021. Tossed the other cans. Not impressed.

Follow up Dec, 2 2022. LOWBREWCO will replace my Blueberry Beer when I am able to get there.

Great beer selection! Something for everyone. Lovely spot, good food and great service!

What more can you ask for?

Average food but amazing service from our server! Nice rustic decor inside the brewery with great beer assortment.

Need more staff on. Was told it would be a hour wait but saw atleast 6 open tables.
Picked up some beer instead which was good.

Good brewery and good beer. Restaurant food is awesome (lots of beer inspired dishes), tons of merch and always a good time. We stop by all the time that we come to Kenora.

We were passing through kenora on our way for a weekend of camping and stopped in for a bite to eat and a few pints.
First of all, we had our 2 dogs and finding a dog friendly patio is like striking gold for a dog lover needless to say LOWB were very accommodating.
We ordered the chicken burger and chicken finger dishes which were amazing and quenched our thirst with some seltzers. Highly recommend this place

Variety of drinks (full bar) and food, historic space, and a great patio. Huge tap list of their brews. It's a must!

We were on vacation in Kenora from the states. We made a point to stop at the brewery, we have been to the one in Warroad and always enjoy it. The Kenora location blew us away! The staff was so friendly and the food was delicious. They have a large selection of different types of beers which we really enjoyed.

The service I received from Shanna was incredible! The best I have ever seen at this restaurant. She was so personable and attentive. I would go back just for her! Felt like my own friend was serving me. Amazing food and great beer selection.

Didn't eat at the restaurant just picked up a variety pack at the shop and the cashier was very kind and helpful. Nice treat after a long drive.

Good food good beer, good service.
Love the store next door. Always get gifts for friends and myself there. Has been getting the local beers and all other goods in the store.

Very bad experience
I'm travelling across Canada for 7 days now
First time I felt I am avoided for being brown skin
We got a seat, waited for the menu card but the table with 3 whites who was served even before we got the menu.
In between it rained, and umbrella was provided on almost all the tables but nothing on our table. Later when we asked for one, he brought one and set the base. By the time the rain stopped. He was like, "if it rain again set up the umbrella yourself".
I have been in Canada for almost 3 years now and this is the first time I felt an evident racial discrimination towards me.
They dint have a proper menu card for the beer.
I would have given atleast a 3 star if the food was good. A 23$ pizza was one of the worst pizzas ever had. Lot of sauce of the top made the pizza soggy and hard to take of the plate.

The beer was good and the girl who served us was nice. She had the minimum manners to apologize for the umbrella. Thus the 2*.

Never recommended, at least for people who are not white.

I love the can you use for Lakeside Kolsch with the old outboard motor on it, especially the choice of colour with the chrome. My father was a fishing guide in Lake of the Woods back in the 1940's, for people like Mr. Hershey, (chocolate), and Judge Charlie Hatch. He was from Fort Frances. That is why someone got me this can of beer for Christmas. Dad made a pretty good naturally carbonated light coloured refreshing beer himself here in Toronto that reminds me of yours. I know he would have loved your beer and the can. I placed it up on the wall with the old nostalgic stuff and it fits right in. Now I am going to try your other beers. The pictures of your food look amazing! Especially the burger and fries with a little peel still on them, the best kind. I will make a point of dropping in for beers and food next time I am passing through even if it takes me a few hundred miles out of my way.

Beer is average and overpriced for what it is, food was undercooked the two times I tried it. Service is bad but they are awful to their staff so that's to be expected.

In the mood for a wood stove cooked pizza for a Saturday outing? Theres no need to travel to the big city of Winnipeg or plan a trip to Italy, but instead just zip on into Kenora and visit Lake of the Woods Brewery. I was expecting bar food (as i was at a brewery) but was nothing short of pleasantly surprised at the quality of food and service offered. The restaurant quickly went from a place I had never been- despite a year of working in the area- to a place I would recommend

My wife and I are from out of town heard the lake of the woods brewing co. Was a good plave to eat, our meal was fantastic and our server Morgan was awesome will definitely come back

This place is great. Really good beers and great service regardless of the COVID scenario. Stop and eat drink and enjoy.

It was a very good visit last night. We were a table of 8, sitting right in front of the upstairs. The pizza was great, the fries, the drinks. The waitress was nice, we were kindly accommodated with a chair, and I give 11/10 points. Thanks so much.

The location was okay with some/limited parking space near the location. The drinks were good but unfortunately we didn’t like the chicken wings. It was Wednesday so we got the wing special 1+1. We got the boneless type but it was almost like fancy chicken nuggets? It was very very greasy. The Wednesday chicken wing deal is great but if I were to order this on a regular day, I would never get it. (Small amount for the price. Half the amount of the photo that I posted).

The store was fine they had good customer service and a wide variety of things to buy. As for the pub it was horrible first experience, the food took over an hour to come and the server forgot to bring our appetizers and then after waiting for another 15 minutes she told use they were out of the appetizers we ordered. The food itself wasn't bad but it's wasn't the best. Great beer tho!

* Star based on previous visits

We arrived at noon on Sunday hoping for a nice lunch before we headed home from the cabin. At the same time we saw two other families trying to eat here too. I get you need days off but what about Monday and Tuesday? We would much rather support a local business than a chain restaurant. There was one local restaurant that was open on Sunday but they were packed.

This seems to be a common practice with Kenora businesses, but it boggles my mind that shops and restaurants would be closed on Sundays in the summer when tourists are here. If you really want to recover from loss of business from COVID.open Kenora on Sunday!

Food was outstanding! Best fries and great beer. Waiter Mark was friendly and hard working. Seating staff person was extremely rude and impatient with my wife. She was more interested in socializing with her fellow staff than customer service. This made the entire experience very unpleasant.

If you're ever in Kenora, this is a MUST for any craft beer lover.and be sure to stay for dinner as well. Great beer, reasonable prices and do yourself a favour and get an order of the cauliflower "wings" to start your meal, so good!

Incredible atmosphere that thoughtfully melds vintage fire hall with rustic chic. There's personality and charm to spare. Great (but tight) patio to watch the hustle-bustle of this lovely resort town; but even if you have to sit inside, the large garage doors help bring a bit of the patio feel deeper into the room. Great pub-style food offerings; and family-friendly (which is a key feature when we travel and I want to incorporate breweries into the trip). Beer selection spans accessible to "out there", which I'm sure is appreciated by the relative newcomer to craft. Price is on par with what you would expect for a gastro-pub; we felt good value for money. There is an attached, and easy to access, brewery retail store with some great swag and well-stocked (we've been ahead of, and during a long weekend) with the crowd pleaser beers from their lineup available in growler or tall can. The swag is nice and we think is the "must have" souvenir from a visit to Kenora and Lake of the Woods.

I'm still here waiting for another pint and some wings and fries! How could anything possibly take this long. Honestly, the worst and it hurts to write this.

So disappointed. Made an out of the way pit stop here to pick up some beer to try. Tap room was closed (which was totally reasonable due to COVID-19) and unfortunately the employee working was new and didn’t know anything about the beer. We couldn’t even pick up a couple single cans to try each beer because they only sell each beer in multiples of 4 or 8? ! I’ve been to many many breweries and have never experienced this. I’m so sad, I was really looking forward to this stop on our trip.

Absolute amazing experience! Staff are incredible, always make you feel welcome. Food is fantastic! Always love trying their new beers! Make sure to get their Blueberry Ale

Terrible service, over an hour wait for our food. Didn't fill our drinks. Had to flag down someone to get our bill. Very disappointing. Food wasn't very good at.

We've travelled from Peterborough to Kenora by car and this is the best pizza we've had along route.

This place was recommended to us by a local, and she was right! They have a huge selection of very interesting beer, not limited to their own production. Food was plentiful and very good, and the service was first rate. It is a little out of the way, if you are just transiting between cities as we were, but it was well worth the side trip to get here!

We stopped at Canada Tire for fuel and got a great tip to eat at this place that looks like a fire station, we had a great meal, couple of planks of beer and very good service. A+ place to enjoy.

Very good food, good courteous service. We went for dinner the other evening and returned for lunch today. Everything we had was fresh and tasty. Didn’t have to wait long at all for our food to come out. Servers were attentive. Will return whenever we find ourselves in Kenora.

I believe our servers name was Matie or something like that. We were there on July 4th with our parents and 3 visitors from Germany. We had an AMAZING server. He was funny, helpful and showed so much patience as our German guest spoke very little to no english. He made sure everything was to our satisfaction and showed the best service we've ever had there. We tip our hat to him for being wonderful. This company has a prize in him being a server for them. Food was great. Beer was tasty. All around a wonderful experience!

I expected to come in, have some lunch and maybe do a tasting flight since I'm not familiar with their beer. But had kind of a disappointing experience. Two stars for food and atmosphere. Came at lunch, which I understand is a busy time and all but when I asked if they had room to seat one the hostesses looked at me like I had three noses. I said I don't mind waiting, and they just kind of stood there not knowing what to do with me but also not looking to see if they had room at the bar or something, just saying they had tables of three or four waiting ahead of me but also not offering for me to wait (which I would have happily done). One of them eventually took me to the second floor bar and I asked the bartender to see a list of what beer they were serving. They didn't have a list with descriptions, which seems odd for a brewery wanting to sell their own brews. I was offered only three kinds that they had on tap on the second floor, just names.no descriptions. No idea what was in them. Three people working there and I felt like an inconvenience just for wanting to know what I was ordering. Eventually they slapped down in front of me a hand written list of names on a piece of paper, still just names.so I asked for them to come back to me when they had a moment to explain them to me. Finally one of the bartenders came back and riffed them off super fast. Apparently there were more than three but the rest were served downstairs and I guess they didn't want to have to go downstairs during such a busy time of day so they weren't offered to me right off the bat. Watched other customers come in and only be offered the three options. Later, I went into the store to see what they had so I could take some away with me. Everything is behind the counter in a cooler, or in back.hard to see what's available. Again. She couldn't show me a list anywhere and was a little impatient because there were people waiting behind me to pay for merch. Left empty handed.

This place is absolutely horrible. Even with a reservation had to wait over an hour and a half for cold to slightly luke warm food.
When we tried to discuss this issue with the manager, all we got was rudeness and excuses.
If your looking for a great dining experience in Kenora don't go here!
If I didn't have to you wouldn't even qualify for 1 star.

Got there around 4: 45 on a Tuesday and the place was packed. Got a seat at the bar and had a beer in front of me within seconds. Ordered the shore lunch I think it was called and I think I’m in love. Best sandwich I’ve had in a long time. We’ll definitely be back on a weekend to enjoy the tour as well.

Great atmosphere and people. We tried 8 different beer. Sultana Gold and the Kolsch were our faves. Does was excellent abs the kids liked it too. Grabbed some for the next night of camping beers store attached!

What a bizarre restaurant. Canada Day.there’s approximately 10-15 people waiting to be seated. We’re told 15-20 minute wait. I look inside and count 9 empty tables? Hostess tells us in a “ don’t bother me “voice:
“that’s the way we do things, we don’t want to overwhelm our servers”
how weird!
We left and went to shooters lounge.no waiting
Well this is the way we do things.spend our money elsewhere.hope whoever owns the place reads this.so strange!

Been here a few times but first time having a meal. I got the blue kayak burger with fries and house made potato chips and dip. The fries are delicious wish they were crispier but that's just a preference the burger was solid like the blue cheese but burger was a bit overcooked. As for the beer they have some really good ones like the sorrow and glory delicious smoked red ale.

Lovely private cabin. Clean and comfortable. We really enjoyed our stay and are already planning a return trip next year.