"My noble chums and I stopped by here last Saturday for an early even by our standards) lunch around 11:30am. This was a recommendation from one of the aforementioned chums, who lives fairly close by and is familiar with these Hopatcong seasonal hot spots. Definitely a cute area; I've been to the Sparta/Lake Mohawk area a few times, but that's pretty much the extent of my experience around here. I'd love to know how people found this place in olden times before Google Maps was readily available; it's basically non stop curvy one lane roads from Route 15 to the parking lot. A few of the non locals in the group were disappointed that the lake overall doesn't have a lot in the way of boardwalks, etc. to walk around and admire the view, which I'd have to agree with; not The Windlass' fault though and they definitely do what they can with their stretch of the lakefront. We were all very impressed with the outdoor seating off to the side/dock area, which we were told was for booze drinking almost exclusively. We decided after our meal to make the sacrifice and have some post lunch wine over there. And even the interior is pretty spiffy every time we walked by it, one chum kept pointing out the bar, which is designed like the front bow? aft? not sure) of a boat. Lot of cool optics here. We decided to split the Sweet Spicy Corn Crab Dip app $15), which came with fried saltines. Huge hit and would definitely order again. I shared the sentiments of one chum, who really enjoyed it but said at the end of the day she still preferred bread as the accompaniment for crab dip versus crackers, even ones like this that appeared to be flavored with something akin to Old Bay seasoning. Very strong contender nonetheless, and super flavorful. For my entrée, I made eye contact with the swordfish option on the daily specials menu $32), and that was that. As you can see from the attached, it's a gigantic portion and priced pretty much as expected. I'm not an expert on the fish market overall, but swordfish tends to be a higher tier item in my experience. There were one or two questionable fishy bites, but overall it was solid. The mashed potatoes were pretty scrumptious and a decent complement to the fish. I don't recall any issues with the service or our waitress. She was personable and efficient from what I could say, and the experience overall was very agreeable. I don't know that this is an off the charts, mind blowing waterfront restaurant, but it's good for what it is, and a legit alternative to driving two hours down the Parkway to a similar restaurant."
