Amazing place to stop by and grab a bite to eat and an amazing craft beer. This historic spot has seen many owners, but the current owners have really took the time and effort to invest in this place and it shows. The out door sitting is excellent and the rotating taps make it a great place to continue coming to see what they will have next. Also they are building a lot to the building for the summer months and I am excited to see what they do with the added space and charm. All around the best spot in Catawba and on lake Norman. Highly recommend.

Great place to eat on the water. The food is good, great portions and always tasty! I just wish they would monitor the sound of the bands. It is so loud you cannot hear the person next to you. You can have live music without blowing people’s ear drums out.

What a find! We are visiting the Lake Norman area from Seattle, Philadelphia and Boise. We stopped in here and the food is terrific !!! Hand breaded fried mushrooms, home made ranch dressing and great burgers. Good beer and wine selection - and a lovely patio. Friendly people, great music and good atmosphere. Highly recommend!

Great food, service and atmosphere. Visiting from out of town and decided to stop here. Would definitely come back when I’m in the area again.

Good people work here. Ownership are very kind to pthers in the community. Good time too

Been curious as to how the new atmosphere/food would be and to no disappointment, so glad we stopped by. Everything was spot on. From the moment we entered the door to the check when we were leaving, amazing!!!! Definitely recommend this place and you have to try the Cajun Shrimp Tacos. The wings were also very good. Don’t think about it just go! Period!!

Our motorcycle group always enjoys making it our regular stop on our rides.

The bar is fully stocked. They have an excellent team! Their cooks should be recognized as chefs. They pay attention to detail as they clean. The location even has clean floor mats for their patrons, especially on rainy days. They have a store on the premises too. The store sales lottery, cigars and fishing bait and a lot of snacks. This bar is going to be even more awesome once the back is done. Well done.

Food is always hot and tasty. Glad i live nearby.

Ended up here after a couple of other spots closer to our dock where closed. I'm so glad we did. The view was great & the food was delicious. Throw in exceptional service and you have an amazing place!

Used to go there 10 years ago. They definitely updated in a good way. Good beer selection and live music.

Cold beer, great food. Excellent waitress.

Beautiful sitting outside overlooking the lake. The food was delicious!! Service was great!!

Had a blast. Beautiful views, great wings, awesome staff

Good was great. Cheap too for the area Burgers Club sandwich Fish tacos Beer Pretzels Peppers Onion rings All great! Try the peach or strawberry cider

First time coming here and wow! I am sad that it’s taken 2 years of living here to find this amazing place. Let me tell you, this is hands down the best place on the lake, EXCELLENT food, AMAZING service, and an INCREDIBLE environment. Plus, the guy singing live music was also one of the best performers I’ve ever seen. Added plus, the food and drinks are super CHEAP compared to everywhere else on the lake. It’s rare that I leave a 5 star review, I typically leave a one star review but this place was so amazing that I couldn’t help but leave 5 stars.

So we are outside a trendy brewery / kitchen near Mooresville in the late afternoon that had some policy of enter a QR at the door and sit out side, read the menu online and order online or something like that and as I looked inside at the guy ignoring me I said this may not be the place to go. Thank goodness we reconsidered! I found Waterside Bar and Grill in Catawba( on the river) in a search, about an half an hour away. Waterfront, great reviews, we said hopefully worth the drive. We open the door there and we are greeted by the server Sister Nancy and she smiles and describes the options for seating, showing me outside, the bar, or high tops inside. We chose outside in spite of the cool breeze to enjoy the water view and she came right out and took great care of us. We had wings, seasoned fries, onion rings and split a made to order cheese burger with additions we chose. All were delicious, served hot, and timed perfect after an appetizer of spinach artichoke dip and chips. The beer was cold and we had many choices. With great service from Nancy the entire meal and certainly no slow down to take care of us outside. Just a great kind of out of the way place with great service and food with an outstanding waterfront view. They will be making improvements to the outside as they go along and I look forward to returning on my motorcycle or just head up there for the great atmosphere and meal.

Visiting the area from NYS and stopped here after a nice walk at Lake Norman. The staff was able to accommodate our party, including our dog, with an outdoor table facing the water. The wait staff immediately brought out a bowl of water and a treat for our pup and informed us of the “dog burger” on the menu. This was Marcy’s first time at a restaurant and everyone treated her so kindly. As for us humans, the beer selection was great and the food was quite tasty. Loved the view from the patio as well and all of the employees were kind and accommodating. Thanks for making our girl’s first restaurant visit a positive one!

Really good food and outside dining area. Place was busy barely an hour after opening so that by itself should say a lot as to the quality of this restaurant. Ordered a philly sandwich with fries and beer cheese and despite a fifteen-top sitting nearby it was out extremely quickly. Will definitely be coming back!

Came here on a whim with friends and had a wonderful time! Everything from the server, Meredith (absolutely lovely person) the food and the atmosphere were all great! I got a burger and it was delicious juicy and and cooked to perfection! And, the wild rice was well seasoned. I really appreciate the family friendly vibe here. Would definitely come again if I’m ever back in North Carolina!

I am surprised by the negative reviews. We started coming to Waterside when the construction of our house nearby began in late 2022. We have eaten lunch, dinner and gotten take out on many occasions. Shrimp tacos, hotdogs, and wings are our favorites, but everything is good and the service has been great. Were retired and really enjoyed the bands a couple of Mondays ago. Nothing fancy, which is fine with us. I’m sure they make some mistakes like the rest of us, but we really love our local bar and grill!

Nice wait staff and great view of lake, the new owners have definitely up scaled the place over the last year. full liquor bar and beer and wine. Food is better quality than last owners. It's worth the trip! Valerie the waitress was awesome and very attentive!

We came because we were looking for music and the menu looked interesting online. The food was amazing. The Cajun Shrimp Tacos were on spot! My friend’s burger was delicious too. The fried mushrooms were as lovely as any I’ve had at high end restaurants. Now I’m stoked to hear the band!

We stopped in for a couple appetizers and beers this weekend, first time since the new owners took over. The inside of the restaurant was completely renovated and beautiful. The staff was friendly, attentive and very helpful with food and beer recommendations. The food was great and the craft beer selection was the best we've seen in local restaurants. Will definitely be back!

Hidden gem located at the North end of LKN! Newly remodeled interior is great and plans to expand the deck and outdoor seating areas. More dock slips and things in the works. Menu is simple and allows build your own burgers and dogs which is perfect. Both were excellent!! Great beer cheese. The fried pickles and mushrooms were awesome but I was too hungry to take a pic! $1.00 wings with a great sauce selection. Made fresh so be patient, it's worth the wait! Tender and crispy. Beer and seltzer selection was great and they have select craft cocktails. The view is great, even on a cloudy day! Super friendly staff and amazing service. They really make it so much fun! Worth the drive if you don't live close by!

Great experience. Friendly staff and really good food on the lake too! New docks are being installed with more boat parking. The pork steak is always nicely seasoned and side salads have fancy greens including spinach. Hamburgers never disappoint or the chicken Sandy.

Love the fact that it's almost the same place, atmosphere, and food that it once was 35 yrs ago when I first remember going. The nostalgia added to great service and friendly faces definitely makes it feel like a return to simpler time around our town. Its bad when you're trying not to cry while eating the salt seasoned fries that taste exactly the same as they did all those years ago. Was the absolute best place to get a burger all the way with seasoned fries then and it continues to still ring true. Definitely a place I'll always carry with me no matter where I may go. Thank you to the newest owners for keeping the location as true to it's roots as could be. Idk if that was done intentionally or not but it still works for the place. It's been a staple to our little bit of backwoods country here as well as one place I have so many fond memories of for 35 yrs. Best wishes on continued success and I'll always be back in any time my path bears your doors.

Perfect as always, great drinks , great food and great people. Very busy on the weekends I. Summer but the staff still gets everyone what they need.

Great to have another lakeside/boat accessible restaurant on the north side of Lake Norman! Stopped for a couple beers. Impressive craft beer lineup! Fantastic pretzels and beer cheese!

This place could be on Diners and dives, great food with a outside patio over looking a lake. I had the pot roast on Sunday, one of the best. It was the perfect spot after walking at Lake Norman State Park and then on our way to Daveste winery.

Great service,,, awesome food...I'm so glad I finally stopped here,,, first time....best place in Catawba...I recommend 100%,,,I will return soon ...

Best place for wings. Good size and great taste. Always and I mean always come out piping hot. Great service. Has covered outside seating.

I wish I could give more stars for atmosphere alone. Nighttime dinner overlooking a quiet part of the Catawba River is something else. The burgers, onion rings, and tea were perfect. Some people with me got the shrimp tacos and raved about them as well. (I wouldn’t know a good shrimp taco if it tried one) Can’t wait to go back.

if you're looking for some delicious food after a long day on the water, this is the place. great menu and selection of draft beer, and the staff is very friendly. i come here every time i'm on the water - highly recommend!

The best “dive bar” on the lake! New docks, new menu, GREAT music and always something going on. The staff is super attentive and the drinks are strong. Get in your boat and go

We heard about this place 2 weeks ago and have been there twice since. Service is awesome and the customers are great too. Great view of the lake. Amazing wings and soft pretzel bites. Great place to ride a motorcycle to as well.

Great place to stop while fishing or just in town. We dock our boat and eat here every chance we get!

Elevated bar food. Big perfectly cooked burgers , onion rings off the chart, shrimp tacos 12 out of 10, and the beer cheese dip is a must. Great food, fun and outdoor atmosphere. Staff very nice and inviting!

This is our favorite spot on the lake! Excellent Service, Great Food, Nice New Dock Parking and Beautiful Lake View. Please consider adding yall's version of the Big Mac Burger to the menu permanently!!! A++++

10/10 place. stopped in after a day on the boat for quick dinner - great service, delicious food, fair prices, will be back for sure.

Dog friendly! Awesome views. Plenty of watercraft paking. Service is great.

Really good food highly suggest chicken breasts are the best The chicken breast falls apart as you touch it. Very good flavoring service is amazing. The atmosphere is amazing if you’re looking for somewhere to go come here.

I absolutely love the fries with the beer cheese. They are amazing! Great live entertainment when we were there. We saw Blake Breedlove and the 100 proof band with with Devante Thomas on drums. They never disappoint

Love the renovations. Great service, and awesome craft beer selection. Would love to get some Swell Rider from D9 Brewing!

We visited during lunch on a beautiful day on the lake, which was very busy understandably. However, the servers were very pleasant and helpful, and helped us get a table when available. The food was delivered fairly quickly and exactly how we ordered. The dry wings were very good. Great place to visit while on the lake

This place was amazing, as was server Lindsey. The pork ribeye was unlike anything else I've eaten. Salads were baller, side and main. Shrimp tacos were super according to the wife. Wings are jumbo legit. Most importantly, a double pour was a double, not this Applebee's BS. Visit here 110% recommended!!!

This place was great! I had a tuna salad sandwich and my husband had a chili dog. We both had fries. We enjoyed our meal VERY much. It was excellent for the price. And the waitress/server was very nice and friendly. We will DEFINITELY be back!

Food was great. We had a large family party of 10 adults, 3 babies and a dog. Jackson was amazing and patient with this big group who were all first timers here. We will definitely be back. Thanks again Jackson who brought above and beyond service

Neat little restaurant on Lake Norman. Group wanted to eat inside, but they had lots of seats outside. Servers were very friendly. Tuna melt was delicious.

We were staying at lake Norman State Park and we wanted to try this restaurant for lunch. Great location, good food and excellent service. They even have outside seating with a view of the lake. We highly recommend this place. We will be back.

joe hill

Open till 9pm on Sundays. Friends in town but all our regular favorite places were closed. Food was great, atmosphere was nice and Crystal our server was friendly and attentive.

Brian Finn

This is the COOLEST little waterside bar and grill. The food was absolutely awesome, even for a family with a little one. There was a band setting up when we went, and with the super cool atmosphere, it would be an awesome place to listen to live music. The service was great too. We will for sure be back.

Jeff McDaniel

We were seated right away. Good view of the lake, service was great and food was served quick and hot. Would recommend

Melissa Porter

Great food and service! Reasonable priced

Linda Brooks

Great place for relaxing and listening to live music by the water. The servers and bartenders are always accommodating and friendly. The live entertainment is always great. The food is delicious. It is a wonderful place to come hang out with friends.

Dave Rodems

Took the whole family sat on the back patio and looked at the beautiful lake. Great food great service. Definitely a must try if you haven’t been here before.

Todd Bodell

Great place to drink a cold beer and eat some food while enjoying the view where the Catawba River meets Lake Norman. My favorites are shrimp tacos and pretzels and beer cheese. Never had a bad meal. The music experience is fun. Come by car, motorcycle or boat. Plenty of parking for all.

Chuck Lasker

Some places let the view be the star, but this place it's the food. The service is great. Been there twice now and will go regularly.

Karen Crabtree

Stopped in for supper after a long day out, it was so nice and relaxing eating outside with the lake view. Our waitress was wonderful and food was delicious! We’ll definitely be back next time we’re in the area.

Tom Deibler

Awesome wings, great service and good people! Perfect place to stop for lunch on the lake. Follow the inside of the pvc pipes coming in because there’s a sandbar around the entrance.

Will Dyer

Due to a poor jet ski gas gauge I thought I had enough to go up to the north dam and back below 150. Turns out I was unexpectedly running on fumes according to my gauge. I made it with fuel light blinking at 7:40pm to this establishment and saw the gas dock was closed. I asked a server if anyone could help sell me fuel and she said I think someone in the kitchen knows how to do it. So my son and I were waited on by a very kind staff here and we made it back home before dark and storm. So much gratitude for this crew. They went above and beyond and even offered to let us sleep on a house boat if they couldn't get the pumps back up. Southern hospitality at it's finest. Highly recommend anyone visit them. Their culture is golden❗️♥️

Jasmine A

Hidden gem alert! It looks like a place where they sell bait for local fishing haunts...but go sit out on the dock outside...and then it gets nostalgic, like picnicking by the lake. The view was great, but the food was the STAR..The food came out HOT, you could tell it was homemade, the service was exceptional and attentive... If you are in the area, GO! Do not judge this book by its cover!

+1

John Price

I stopped in here on the way home after a long day in Morrisville. Really solid, good burger as well as a decent draft beer list. The bartender was friendly and made good recommendations. 2/24: Second visit. Similar result. Consistent.

Bryan

Took my son here to eat, and there was so much to choose from that we didn't know what to get, so we ended up ordering multiple things. They did not miss!!! Everything was delicious 😋 Beautiful scenery!

+6

Patricia Jarvis

Nice little Bar and Grill. Good food and drinks! The service is great. Fun friendly employees. Outside patio, overlooking Lake Norman. (Live band on weekends.) There's a few boat slips, if you come by boat. Area for biker parking and regular parking.

Great little place to grab a bite or a drink, service and food are great. You can sit outside even and watch the river/ lake.

Not bad. Outdoor table availability is somewhat contraned because of the layout of the place. No waiting list. Basically you have to fight over a table when someone gets up to leave. Food was decent, prices were decent, view was nice if you can get an outside table. We had a nice time, and the employees were nice. It was a solid 4. Could easily be a five with some rearranging of the layout, and having some type of list for seating so you're not just fighting some other patron. Location is already a positive, so just a bit more thinking about the layout and seating rules could make it even better...

Great place to stop by for lunch while on the water. The dock attendants we're very helpful. Our service was fantastic and the food was good.

crowded, but good food, great service.

Went on a Saturday afternoon for the first time. We sat out on the back patio overlooking the water. They had a musician playing the guitar and singing (not too loud, which was a plus). Their turkey club sandwich paired well with a Red Oak amber. Overall, a good experience. Nice view and great service... our lunch was served quickly!

Great location and good food. Over looks Lake Norman. Has multiple boat slips. The food and service were good. Great motorcycling or boating destination.

Linda Solomon

This was a great find. The food was really good. We are outside since it was still warm last month so not sure about atmosphere inside.

Steve Dillon (MtLifeIsBetter)

Good food, good service, atmosphere is best outside overlooking the docks and lake. Clean bathrooms. Plenty of parking. Decent prices.

+3

Ted Moretz

Great atmosphere and service. The jumbo wings aren't so jumbo, but they're delicious with the Carolina Reaper sauce and blue cheese. And, If you like big, soft pretzels and beer cheese, I highly recommend them.

Nick Netting

Nice spot on the water. Way up north side of the lake. Food is good, side of the road shack style. Service is always friendly and attentive.

Took forever to get waited on and when we were finally acknowledged the waitress had attitude only because she didn't like a person in the party

Made a to-go order and waited for it to be ready, it didnt take long. Bar Staff was really nice and helpful. Ordered beer cheese pretzels and wings. The pretzels were great but the cheese was dead cold, like it was never heated up. The sauce for the wings was more of a broth than a sauce. If I had been dining in, I would have sent it back.

Cold beer, good service. I was not a fan of my burger. I ordered it with chili and slaw. The chili was weird and the slaw was awful store bought slaw.

I’m not a person to typically leave a bad review but I was very disappointed after today’s visit. I brought a large group of 7 high school students and 4 adults. The restaurant was very quick to accommodate the group during lunchtime hours. The food came out quickly and I felt everything tasted wonderful. It wasn’t until the end that our experience turned sour. A person in the party offered to cover the tip for the entire group and he left a generous tip on his card. When the last student was walking out of the restaurant she stopped to thank the waitress for the meal. It was then the waitress openly reprimanded her in front of others for not leaving a tip. This student was mortified and in tears when she got to the vehicle. I decided to go back inside and ended up giving the waitress an additional cash tip which left her with a final tip of nearly $100 for an hour of service. I am absolutely shocked at the way this adult spoke to one of my students without checking over the receipts or at least speaking with an adult in the group. Simply asking a question would have avoided an uncomfortable situation for all. Be sure to tip well if you go. The waitress may just call you out on it.

Bathrooms smell horrible. Run down place but the food is great.

The area is disgustingly dirty. The fans are so dusty, trash everywhere outside. The bathrooms are so old and dirty. Please for the love of god, clean it up. You are doing so well otherwise. Food really good. Staff attentive.

I am a local resident. If you want to visit Waterside Bar, the important thing is for you to have the right expectations. This place is a biker bar on the Catawba River - with all the good and (potentially) bad that that entails. Very casual, flip-flops and tank-tops kinda place, with bar food that is pricey for the area and for what you get. If you are coming up from Lake Norman, make sure to check your water charts, because the deep water is on the other side of the river channel, and the water in front of the Waterside is 5' - 6' deep at full pond. During the low season the entire area in front of the Waterside is shoal water. There is a dredged channel on the west side along the shore, but you need to keep your eyes open or you will miss it (the approach is from south of the Buffalo Shoals bridge). Otherwise I was hoping for more from this spot, but have been disappointed on both visits. Food was bland... and surprisingly not served warm. Onion rings were bland and tasted heavily of old fry oil - like the oil hadn't been changed in a long time. Service was poor... sitting on the patio I had to actually get up and go into the restaurant to get drink refills, or silverware. If I were sitting out drinking a beer and listening to a band, it would probably be a decent setting... but it is a hard pass for me for food. If it weren't for the water setting, this place would not exist - too many other options in the area that do better, for less money. If you are on the water, you'd be better off at the Blue Parrot or Toucan's... which aren't perfect, but come much closer to realizing the relaxed "lake front dining" experience - and for a lower price.

The last time we ate here was over a year ago. We were very disappointed. We decided to try them again on 30 June. The service was prompt, the atmosphere great, and the food well prepared and tasty. However When the menu states, "choice of two sides" with no further explanations, it comes as a shock when an upcharge is added for the sides. These were eventually comped, but that was done in a manner like they were doing us a big favor. If this is a result of intentional policy, it is highly deceptive at best, fraudulent at worst.

We went to Waterside after a day on the water, we had fish & chips, side of onion rings. The fish & chips reminded me of Arthur Treacher's, the onion rings were good but they charged us for dipping sauce, we were also charge extra for an extra tartar sauce. The best part was the service. Wouldn't return or recommend it, there's many other choices in the area.

Food is eh, nothing special. The only good food I enjoyed was the pretzel with beer cheese and, of course, some beers. The Philly and wings we ordered were nothing special. The service was ok, we were told, " Here is the check, I'm not rushing you but have to leave to make my kids' soccer game." The atmosphere and view are good. Definitely not worth the price for sure, way over priced for not excellent food.

Great food !!! No matter what you order. If they know you, you’ll get service. You can come in by yourself on a Monday, and wait a long time before anyone checks on you with only a couple of others in the place. Time and time again. I’m always polite, and pretty much keep to myself and always tip well. Usually they deserve it. Not in this place. Been here a few times. I WILL NOT BE BACK.

I want to like this place so bad and I’m not a picky food eater at all. 6 months ago I got buffalo chicken tacos and they were not good. Chicken was mushy and very under cooked. Tonight we got 2 white fish dinners fried to go. First had what was ordered but upcharged for fries. The second I attached a photo. $15 comes with two sides and upcharged $.75 for tater tots 😂. Look at this for $15.75. Sadly the worst fish I’ve ever tasted.

Kenneth Silverman

I was really looking forward to eating here for the first time, what a disappointment! First the waitress (good looking blonde description since we didn’t get her name) had such a stern face with no joy whatsoever just sucked the enjoyment out of the visit. Price was a bit steep, $15 for a hamburger/ onion ring basket x2… but that wasn’t even the worst part…. Well the waitress was I suppose, but the food had no taste. It looked good, but after the first bite…. The onion rings crispy but no taste of onions only fried oil & the burgers as well. I like to tip big ( and I did $10 on a $30 bill) became that is how servers make their money….. but she could have smiled at some point during the lunch experience.

+1

Customer service was rude! They don’t close until 12 am so we got there 45 mins early to order to go and one of the workers came and locked the door as we were approaching the door

So disappointed in the food quality and service personnel. Have been to waterside before and food was good, must be the bad cook working on Monday. Chips were stale and wings undercooked. To top off we sat outside to enjoy the water view in a non smoking patio area. New arrivals of Four seated at the table next to us lighted up cigarettes. When I pointed out that it was posted non-smoking, they said they had permission from the serving staff. The serving staff acknowledge that they had given them permission to smoke. My suggestion to her was next time ask the people already seated in the area if it would bother them. Common curtsey would have helped the situation a lot.