Don’s Lighthouse has become a staple restaurant in Cleveland. We use to frequent this restaurant years ago and it’s been years since we have been there. Don’s is located in Cleveland’s Edgewater neighborhood across from the lakefront. The building that Don’s is located in has a very interesting history dating all the way back to 1911. Don’s Lighthouse was opened in the building in 1972 and has been operating ever since. serving seafood, steaks and chops. The building is gorgeous on the inside and out. The inside is separated into a dining area and a lounge area. With a beautifully bright mural on the wall.
On to the drinks and food. We ordered some bourbon, which they do have a couple options and a glass of sauvignon blanc. They brought out bread and butter as a starter. The bread was soft in the middle and crunchy along the crust, which is my favorite way for sliced bread to come in a restaurant. We ordered a sampler as our appetizer. When I checked the online menu I did not see this anymore so they may not be carrying this all the time. The sampler consisted of a Maryland Crab Cake, Bruschetta, and two shrimp with cocktail sauce. I enjoyed this appetizer because it allowed us to try multiple items on the menu. The crab cake is topped with roasted corn relish, remoulade, and a chipotle honey. It had good flavor and texture to it but was on the small size. I wish it would have been bigger. There were 3 pieces of the bruschetta which had artichoke tapenade, asiago cheese, and marinated tomatoes. This was a unique mixture but it worked well together. The sampler also came with two decent sized pieces of shrimp with some cocktail sauce and a lemon.
I was so excited to eat at Don’s because they have Blackened Swordfish on their entree menu that I think is just amazing. When I had originally checked out the online menu it was not listed and I was super sad but it was on the menu in the restaurant so of course that was what I decided to go with. We also ordered the Steak Oscar. The Swordfish comes with wild rice pilaf, sautéed Brussel Sprouts, and a whole grain mustard beurre blanc. I switched out the rice pilaf for the whipped potatoes which were creamy and I preferred with the Swordfish and Brussels. The Swordfish was cooked perfectly with a nice crispiness from it being blackened on the outside. The fish itself had good flavor without the sauce but the mustard beurre blanc brings all the components of the meal together. The Brussels were slightly soft, which depending on how you prefer your vegetables is fine. I like my Brussels a little more on the burnt crispy side. The Steak Oscar is a 10 ounce Texas Sirloin, and ours was cooked to a perfect medium. It comes with whipped potatoes and broccolini with a hollandaise sauce over it. The crab was fresh and did not have a fishy taste and the Broccolini was cooked perfect still having a slight crunch to it.
We were there for a special celebration so they provided us with an eclair donut covered in chocolate and whipped cream with a strawberry. We were appreciative for the desert to celebrate. Anything eclair is more my husbands thing than mine. I ate the strawberry and a bite or two of the actual eclair and let him have the rest. He said it was really good and the bite or two I had it did taste pretty good.
Don’s Lighthouse is still a great restaurant all these years later.