The Retreat

The Retreat in Liverpool, NY offers frozen and traditional margaritas as well as Strawberry and Raspberry flavors. Special thanks to our photographer and scribe, Sonya.

Courtney gives The Retreat 6 out of 10 limes wedges.


"Feeling the need to drink a margarita near some body of water, we ventured to Liverpool. The Retreat is next to the lake and has a patio, which is about as tropical as you're going to get in Syracuse. Having heard tales of plastic cups and lackluster margaritas, I had low expectations but knew that the mission demanded a sample. The waitress was not amused by our explanation of the mission, which would have immediately lowered the score if I was not such a fair person. But, I definitely docked half a point for the next words out of her mouth: frozen or on the rocks. Frozen? Frozen?! We just explained to you our very serious quest, and you asked if we wanted a frozen margarita? Sorry, Retreat, this purist doesn't do frozen. Very quickly the waitress returned with our margaritas, on the rocks. The speed of service did make me question the quality of drink, as did the presentation. The glass was quite small and there was no garnish, although the rim was well-salted. Since we were seated and not at the bar, we didn't have the benefit of watching how the margarita was made, which made analysis slightly more difficult. The margarita was quite sour, which I enjoyed but note that it was on the brink of bitterness. Something in it tasted quite cheap, but since it was light on the tequila I'm guessing the subpar culprit was the sour mix. In sum, this was a completely average margarita and the $4.25 price was neither a ripoff nor a bargain given the size of the drink."



We take this mission very seriously.



Angela gives The Retreat 6.5 out of 10 limes wedges.


The Retreat has a large, pleasant patio and is one of my favortie locations for drinking outside on a nice day. Weeks ago (pre-margarita mission), I did just that with my dear friend Ryan (classmate and Tejas native). It was a perfect sunny day for a margarita. Since we were sitting outside, the margarita was delivered in a plastic cup, and not just any plactic cup. It was the really flimsy clear plastic ones that hold maybe 6 ounces. No salt. Oh dear. At least there was a lime wedge. Since the experience was pre-mission, pre- self acclaimed margarita master, and because The Retreat regularly attracts a robust crowd, Courtney and I saw it our duty to our followers and all of Syracuse to go and give it a fair shot. Nice salt job. No lime? I got a lime on my plastic cup weeks ago, and no lime on a real glass? The sweet and sour balance was surprisingly good. It had a little sting, probably from a well tequila. I think we learned here that it is important to observe the making of the margarita. Overall, it was average. There was no blissful hallucination of a tall, dark, handsome and shirtless man on the beach offering to lotion my back. Is that too high a standard in the 'Cuse? Nah. Nevertheless, when the moment calls for a margarita and I find myself at The Retreat, I'd order one here, unlike Hafner's, where I would run like Forrest.