BALLSTON LAKE - When great food and drinks come together with beautiful views on historic Ballston Lake, you get Finnigan’s On The Lake, a popular local spot with a unique and friendly feel.
Owners Stephanie and Matt Finnigan previously owned Carney’s Tavern on Main Street in Ballston Lake for about eight years. They leased the building their former restaurant was in, but wanted to operate out of a building that they owned. That wat was when the property at 175 Lake Road in Ballston Lake became available, and Finnigan’s on The Lake came to be in the site of the former Villago Pizzeria & Ristorante.
The Finnigans signed the paperwork on the property in 2021 and renovated, redecorated and revamped the space, adding bright color paints to compliment the original hardwood look. Large windows overlook the lake across the street from the restaurant, adding a picturesque view to the dining experience. The couple opened up Finnigan’s on The Lake in December 2021.
The property has a long history, which goes back to 1890. According to the restaurant’s website, research from Town Historian Rick Reynolds traces the property records back to 1890, when a retired sea captain built a house at the north end of Ballston Lake. Ice cutting on the lake took place near what is now the restaurant. During prohibition, an investor bought the building to run as a rooming house. Prostitution and gambling took place there, and it became a speakeasy.
The building became a tavern around 1940. Since the 1950s, the space had been a restaurant which was first run by the Romano family, and in 1973 it was turned into the Good Times Lakeview Restaurant which was run by the Fabini family who owned it until 2013. In the early 1990s a fire destroyed the upper stories of the building, but it was rebuilt about a year later. In 2014 it became Villago, which closed in early 2021. Stephanie and Matt Finnigan opened the space as Finnigan’s on The Lake in December 2021.
The restaurant offers a wide variety of drink options with classics like different beers, wines and seltzers, as well as a large specialty cocktail menu with unique drinks like a Dirty GirlScout Martini or a Ballston Lake Blue Lagoon. It also has something for everyone to eat on the menu, appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, pizzas with fresh dough, a kids menu, entrees like shepherd’s pie, a roasted turkey dinner, Faroe Island salmon and more.
Finnigan’s on The Lake also has live music, where a variety of local musicians play and a banquet hall for private parties and events. In addition to inside seating which features a large fireplace and views of the lake, the restaurant also offers patio seating as well.
The Daily Gazette recently spoke with Stephanie and Matt Finnigan about their restaurant Finnigan’s on The Lake, and here is what they had to say:
Question: What are some of the most popular items on your menu?
Stephanie Finnigan: We have our Finnigan’s Famous Rueben, that’s our most famous sandwich. We also have all different kinds of items, all across the board. We have everything from fish and chips, to pizza and wings to Italian
Matt Finnigan: We also have the Irish classics, like shepherd’s pie, we do bangers and mash, things like that. We’re well-known for that, we have a children's menu, we do homemade Italian. I cook too, I do a lot of cooking and prepping, we have a great team.
Q: How would you describe the atmosphere at Finnigan’s on The Lake?
Stephanie Finnigan: Very cozy, happy. Irish-y and lake-y. It's just a very welcoming and friendly place.
Matt Finnigan: It’s happy. The hardest thing we had to do is keep it Irish, but keep it lake-y, because most Irish bars are kind of dark, and here we are on the lake. So we chose yellow for the walls, we have all this original barn board. Stephanie helped to mill and stain it and hang it
Q: What are some of your favorite things about your restaurant?
Matt Finnigan: The fact that it’s ours, it’s got our name on it. We love the Town of Ballston Lake. Our fan base is stretched far beyond Ballston Lake, we get people from all over. My favorite thing about this place is just getting to put smiles on people’s faces.
Stephanie Finnigan: Our staff, we love our staff, we love our patrons, each other, we love being on the lake. Nobody is really just a patron, everyone is like friends and family. And also the food, we put out really great food here.
Q:As far as costs go, what do your customers spend on average?
Stephanie Finnigan: A table of two is usually around $50, maybe $55, we try to keep it reasonable.
Matt Finnigan: It depends if they are drinking or not. We serve a high-quality product, fresh ingredients, and we serve a larger portion as well. Me being a cook all my life, the food is near and dear to me, the food has to be good.
Q: Why should someone who has never eaten here before try Finnigan’s on The Lake?
Stephanie Finnigan: The food, the atmosphere, the staff. People walk in and they automatically turn, and they go “Wow.” This is how I describe it when I come in here, for me, it’s not coming into work, when you look at that lake it's therapeutic, whether you're a customer or you’re a staff member, it’s just so therapeutic to be here.
Matt Finnigan: It’s everything. Because the overall experience is going to check off most, or all of your boxes.