Suggestions for dining?
 

We are going to be lakeside for a couple weeks this summer and are bringing some guests who are west coast "foodies." They appreciate quality ingredients, preparation, presentation, service, and dine out frequently in some of the hottest restaurants in the Seattle-Tacoma area. I would like to find something comparable in New Hampshire for their dining pleasure. One restaurant I've dined at that I'm sure they'd like is Mise en Place. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

O's
 

Any of the O's restaurants will be a good choice as well as Hobb's Tavern is Ossipee. Hopefully the Woodshed will be as good or better than before.

Coming from a sophisticated environment of restaurants, you will have to work hard to rise above NH's Meat Loaf and Mashed offerings but then they might just enjoy a few evenings out slumming with the locals.

Suggestions for dining
 

Between now and next summer is plenty of time to work up a list of restaurants. As next summer gets closer, the list of restaurants will get longer.

One thought I have is that you just may not find 'their kind of restaurant' in the Lakes Region, so, capitalize on that and take them to some local places so they can get the feel of local, hometown dining.

Take them to the Smoke House on the corner of Rt 25 and Rt 16 in Ossipee; take them to George's Diner in Meredith; try the Downtown Market Grille in Wolfeboro; make a trip around the Lake and stop at any one of many, many interesting little 'mom & pop' places.

If fine dining is a must on your list, try Church Landing in Meredith.

My guess is that you will get a lot of responses to this post. Good Luck.

Definitely Tavern27

Try "The Manor on Golden Pond" in Holderness. Wonderful food and beautiful old inn.

Suggestions
 

O's (both Laconia and Wolfeboro)
Tavern 27
Lyons Den

Any of the above would be a great choice!

Dan

Lemon Grass Restaurant & Sake Bar -

64 Whittier Highway (Rt 25)
Moultonborough , NH 03254
603-253-8100

www.lemongrassnh.net

Two of the finer restaurants in the lake region are: O Steak & Seafood in Laconia & Lakehouse in Meredith.

One of the things I love most about the restaurants at the lake is that they're (mostly) not poofy but serve great food. When my friends from NYC visit, I take them to places that I feel exemplify NH life, as mentioned above.

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The O has great steaks! But like you said it is a little more pricey than most places in the region.

Including beverages, "fine dining" in Seattle will generally run between $75 and $100+ per person. Cost in NH is not likely to be an issue.

My 2 cents. Trying to recreate the fine dining experience of home kind of misses the point of traveling. To me it sounds like you want to stack the restaurants in NH against Seattle and prove they are as good.

Personally I would rather rub elbows with the locals and have a lobster roll sitting at the bar at Walters Basin rather than being fussed over by waiters at some stuffy restaurant.

There are so many good choices of places that have great food, good people and a genuine NH experience but are not "white table cloth"

To each his own.

don't forget the woodshed will be open be then

Dining Options
 

When we want to step it up, we go to --

Local Eatery
O's Seafood & Steak
Tavern 27
Squam Lake Inn (summer)

You can't go wrong with any of these options. We also enjoy Mise En Place, but it's on the other side of the lake. Lavinia's is a good option too.

O's in Laconia, Lyons Den in Gilford and last but not least Garwoods in Wolfeboro

Just because a restaurant provides a dining experience that is considered a notch or two above others does not mean it has to be "stuffy".

Great suggestions, thanks!

They / we usually eat at "normal" restaurants, and will probably stop in at such places as Ellacoya, Pops, and I want to check out Faro.

But this is our vacation, a time to have fun; being a foodie is a hobby, a quest for a culinary experience above and beyond the norm.

Over the years I have enjoyed the dining opportunities available at the lakes region and have been impressed at the overall quality and variety.

If your hurting for cash your not going to the O or at least shouldn't be. If you have the mindset cost isn't an issue than that is good, because I haven't left the O in a while with out spending at least $75 for dinner.

Hell a NY strip is like what $28, a filet probably $25 right there you're at $58 with 20% tip you already at $70 with no drinks.

And yes, bring them to a lobster place, because we all know Seattle doesn't have a clue how to cook Maine lobsters.

True, maybe a poor choice of words. My point is just that fine dining is not generally going to yield a true New England experience like it might at a more casual locals place. I used to travel for work to Memphis a lot and my boss at the time never wanted to go to any of the 100's of awesome bbq places because they looked "sketchy"

Lemongrass is a must as is Local Eatery. Enjoy!

Alton Bay has Shibley's at the Pier which has always been a great experience for us. Well worth a visit. They recently finished a complete rebuild of their lakeside deck.
http://www.shibleysatthepier.com/

Faro for sure.


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Lago in Meredith. The food is good and you can look out over Meredith Harbor, Town Docks, boats on the lake, etc.

You know what hasn't been a great experience is Joe Greens in Wolfeboro--maybe one of the best views on the lake, but all three times we ate there the food was meh at best.

I gotta say, I really like Canoe. Also, at the end of the season we found the restaurant on Squam whose name eludes me at the moment (Walter's? The Bass Hole?) but was really good. Nice scenery there, too.

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The name of the restaurant is Walter's Basin.

Thanks, moose--we had a really nice meal there and highly recommend it.

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Driving?
 

I see good suggestions all around the lake, so it's not clear where OP's homeport is.

Lobster, clam chowder, corn on the cob.etc, etc. Not available in Seattle. outdoors, shorts and sneakers, almost anyplace.

Unique, New Hampshire? The Crystal Quail. An easy drive from Alton. A little more from other starting points. And have your friends enjoy the NH Wine and Liquor Outlets. Go to one of the wine specialty outlets for huge selection. (Yes, I'm "one of the owners") They'll have to buy the wine and bring it to the Crystal Quail. (No financial interest here.)
http://www.crystalquail.com/

Wow! Open since 1976 and hidden from the masses. Menu looks intriguing. $75 PP without the wine and no CC will take out about 99% of the posters on this board but then that is what has kept you nicely in business as a secret place for those who "know" and appreciate something a bit different here in NH.

Congratulations.

If you're going to be here for 2 weeks and they're really into into fine dining, you might want to consider a day trip to Portland, Maine. It's an hour & a half from anyplace on the east side of Winni. It has become a fine dining destination because there are so many amazing restaurants there, including quite a few James Beard award winners & nominees.

East of Suez.


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Suggestions for dining
 

"Dining" might be a stretch, but it would be an absolute travesty to travel across the country and not visit the Wolfeboro Town Docks to enjoy a hot dog from 'Hot Dog Bob' himself. It is clearly not about the actual hot dog, it is about the experience, the ambience, the aura, the camaraderie, the unlimited people-watching, the very 'Hot Dog Bob' himself.

For a few (very few) bucks, you won't have a better 1/2 hour during your visit.

If you have a large enough group and access to a boat you could go to the place on Cow Island for dinner. I forget the name but it's reservation only and usually fully booked before summer starts.

Mama Luci's or Gus's lodge.Highly recommended at least once for a very unique experience.

If your friends are real foodies, best of luck around here. Mise en Place would be pretty good, but the Seattle area has some cutting edge food. It is all relative. The best I've had around here is The Crystal Quail, if they are open. Quaint and good. After that, Portland ME, is a very god foodie town. I have always been amazed that the lakes region cant support a true high end restaurant.

Mise en Place
 

Not so sure Mise en Place is still in business ?

PM username "Barbara". She was a regular at Mise En Place.

I live here... I am always Upthesaukee.

I was there two weeks ago. Hands down best dining experience in the Lakes region.

I would suggest using Yelp as a guide, if you have a restaurant with 50+ reviews with a 4 star or better rating you will get a good meal. That said I absolutely cant stand the common man restaurants, these places have continually spiraled down in quality. Tavern 27 is one of the best places I have been to in the past 15 years on the lake, I enjoy O and really Enjoy the Canoe who are both owned by the same owner scott oulette last time I checked. A chef owned restaurant is always a good idea, there's care that goes into the product purchasing and they usually have their line cooks on point. I've become quite the food douche but that's my two cents.....

The Local Eatery in Laconia is a good choice. Enjoy your culinary adventure!