Team Dinner Edition

Rating: Whelmed

I’ve been to this Lazy Dog before, and my prior verdict was “whelmed” — so when it came time to pick a spot for a sales/PM/engineering team dinner, I wasn’t rolling the dice on anything. I knew exactly what I was getting, which was the whole point.

The assignment was simple: somewhere close to the office, casual, and loud enough that a table of engineers and salespeople could actually hear each other over dinner without annoying the rest of the restaurant. Lazy Dog checked every box. I made a reservation that morning, so we were seated immediately — and judging by how busy it was, walking in cold would’ve meant a wait.

Everyone stuck to the classics. I had the bison meatloaf, and around the table there were burgers and fish and chips — the culinary equivalent of ordering exactly what you’d expect from a gastropub. Everything came out hot, on time, and tasting like it should. No complaints. Also nothing that made anyone stop mid-conversation to say “wait, try this.” It was food that did its job and got out of the way, which, for a team dinner, is honestly the assignment.

Service was good — our server clearly understood we were there to talk business, not be fussed over, and gave us exactly the right amount of space.

The one actual negative of the night had nothing to do with the food or service: a wall-mounted marquee sign made of light bulbs was aggressively, unreasonably bright, and a few team members stuck staring at it over my shoulder all night were not thrilled about it.

At $60 a head with drinks, it was reasonable for what it was. Would I go back for another team dinner? Yes — it’s a solid pick for a group of 5-6. Just don’t seat anyone facing that sign.

The Underwhelmed Traveler Verdict: Whelmed. Reliable, unremarkable, and exactly what it promised to be — apart from one overachieving light fixture.