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This Monday, March 9, the former Swingo’s Silver Grill and Swingo’s on the Lake space in the Carlyle building in Lakewood will once again open its doors to the public. Swingo’s on the Lake closed more than a decade ago.

Summer House (12900 Lake Ave., 216-270-2300), a new restaurant by Tony George, promises guests a summertime vibe 365 days of the year. The project has been years in the making.

The large space has been completely reimagined, with a 50-seat bar and stellar views of Lake Erie and downtown Cleveland. The bill of fare is described as Mediterranean, but there are plenty of creative American and Italian dishes on the menu as well. Many of the dishes conjure memories of Greenhouse Tavern and Trentina, kitchens that chef Vinnie Cimino once called home. Cimino is joined in the kitchen by Thomas Asimakis, formerly of Blue Point Grille.

Appetizers and snacks include deviled eggs with caviar, grilled oysters with yuzo kosho butter, smoked chicken with white BBQ sauce, dry-aged beef tartare, smoked Lake Erie fish dip with crispy potatoes, and the Summer House plateau, a tower loaded with chilled seafood, cured meats, cheese and pickles.

A pasta and flatbread section includes bucatini noodles with tomato gravy, gemelli pasta with caramelized garlic and breadcrumbs, and a bacon and date topped flatbread. Entrees, priced $23 to $36 (save for a 16-dollar double cheeseburger), feature bone-in pork belly with onion confit, cast-iron half chicken with crispy potatoes, fried perch and walleye with vinegar fries and Southern comeback sauce, and a New York strip steak with black garlic butter. Or you can leave the decision making up to the kitchen by ordering “Michael’s Favorite,” a chef’s whim dinner featuring fire-roasted kebabs, chefs’ treats, seasonal specials, house pita and accompaniments.

For now, Summer House is dinner only, but lunch and weekend brunch will be added shortly.

The Carlyle building is located on Lakewood’s Gold Coast, next door to Winton Place, home to Pier W.

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This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2020.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

5 replies on “Summer House to Open Next Week in Former Swingo’s Space in Lakewood”

  2. Soon as I read the words “Tony George”, my next thought was: “Fork you, Tony, and the resturant you rode intoo Lakewood on.”

  3. I believe the former name was “Swingos Silver Quill” and then in the mid 90’s, “Swingos on the Lake.” I have heard such amazing stories about that place and I wish the best to the Summer House team!

  4. The taxpaying public still deserve to know why he suddenly pulled the cost cutting city Clowncil ballot measures off of the ballot at the last minute, even after they were certified by the board of elections!!!

    There was finally a chance to streamline our bloated and rubber-stamp city Clowncil and actually save some money in this corruption filled, outrageously high-taxed city, but no, that of course didn’t happen!!!

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