Canoe in Center Harbor
 

Late this afternoon I called Canoe to make a reservation and was told we're not taking reservations ...Oh, I said, OK. Are you busy right now? I was told they were not busy..Oh, good. We're coming right down...this was at 4:45pm...we were there by 5:00...Walked in, and was told that we could be seated, but we would have to eat fast...ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Never again.. thoughts please!

Happened to us--table was reserved, but they said if we didn't mind eating quickly they could fit us in.

I'm glad when reservations don't mean waiting when we arrive, so we appreciate restaurants like this.

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Canoe routinely serves large parties, but their food, service and cocktails are routinely good, so we don't mind navigating around the reservation policy.

Skip...
 

I would not accept that at a fast food joint let alone at a restaurant like Canoe. If you like that, keep going, if not, skip it.

I'm not one to linger much over a plate full of something I love....but being asked to eat fast is a bit over the line, I think...
Then again, one could ask "what do you consider fast"?
Might be an hour (which would be fine) or 20 minutes, which would be unacceptable.

The time it happened to us, we had just about 50 minutes--given that we had the kiddos, it was more than enough.

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Never again
 

I made a reservation for 8, six weeks in advance when I made the reservation I told the girl that answered the phone that I need to eat upstairs due ro the fact that my 80 year old father in -law just had his knee replaced, and she said " no problem , but call the day before to remind us "

Fast forward six weeks I called the day before and two hours before the reservation and they said no problem. We arrived fifteen minutes early and I remind the girl at the front and she said "I KNOW" so a half hour go by and a bachelorette party of 8 was seated up stairs, and then I was called and the rude hostess grabbed the eight menus and headed for the stairs, and I said we can't do the stairs and she told me sorry that's all we have !!

Stay away the owner doesn't treat his customers like he should, he bought into the woods head before it burnt to the ground, maybe because it was his main competitor ???

We have run into your scenario a couple of times at the Canoe with reservations/fitting us in. Yes, it bugs me but it is one of the most consistent restaurants in the area so we deal with it.

Unacceptable
 

If everyone that has issues with the restaurant stopped going, they would realize they need to change !

Good help is hard to find
 

In one way or another, we've had mediocre or worse service at all our regular places this year. My take is that the labor market is really tight. Not sure if it's fewer immigrants, fewer students, a strong economy or all of the above.

The thing that's separated good meals from bad for us is mostly our level of patience at the time.

Serenity now:D

It's not just this year with the CANOE this is been going on for years . maybe
they should just have take out only.:look:

We went once a few years ago, there was not a soul in the place and they told us they could seat us around 8. This was around 4:45 mind you. Perhaps they had every table filled for 5 o'clock, just weird to not have 1 customer in there and them tell you they cannot seat you. We have not been back since.

I've eaten at the Canoe maybe a dozen time and never had a problem with rudeness or seating. I found the staff friendly and outgoing and the food excellent.

If I was ever told to "eat fast" at any restaraunt I would say "of course" and then just eat at my own pace. If they pushed me to leave I would begin negotiating the bill. Frankly, it usually takes longer for the food to arrive than for me to eat it so I would tell them to talk to the kitchen if they needed more speed.

I also have been there a dozen or so times and of course had to wait but never told to eat fast. Food and service always excellent

Checkers Harbor for ME!
 

And the Village Kitchen is very CONSISTANT! In 20+ years I have never had a bad 2 Egg Cheese Omelet.

Only if it were Checkers Harbor again! That was good dinning!

Canoe in Center Harbor
 

I went in last night and asked to seat 6 at 5pm. They asked if there were any children and I said "yes a 6 year old" they said they had nothing until 9pm for me. Pretty insulting.

Clearly it was about my child and not about availability.

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Don't Understand a restaurant doing this...
 

When I see stories like this from a number of people, I am amazed to see the parking lot packed with cars most of the time.

We went to Canoe a couple of times and didn't particularly care for the food or the atmosphere, but understood that a lot of people did. However, if I called any restaurant and they told me they had openings and when I arrived told me to eat fast I would be out the door and would never return!

There are a number of good choices in the area that don't treat customers in the way a number of people on this Forum have been treated at Canoe.

Canoe has some of the best food and menu variety in the area. And I want to like it. BUT...from their" no child left behind ( or in front )" policy of 10 years ago to their reservation inconsistencies at present, there seems to be an attitudinal problem. This has been my personal experience on many occasions. On the other hand, we have had good service and experiences.

Of course, I could choose not to go there, but Oh that calamari. But I would not take a guest there because of the inconsistency and I would recommend only with a warning comment.

Clearly, there is ambivalence on the Forum; but there clearly ARE some problems. Judging from the full parking lot, Canoe probably doesn't really care.

Missed Out
 

WE were up in the area and had planned on going to Canoe but found a couple of other places that we enjoyed so never made it there. Looks like we missed out on a potentially annoying situation.

How about... If you don't like Canoe's business model, then just go somewhere else. That way, you don't need to spend time complaining. It is interesting that you were "offended" yet still ate there..

Quite a mixed bag of complaints. Some, I agree, are lousy attitude by Canoe like the original problem posted. Others, like a Family area for kids and asking if people are willing to eat fast, I find reasonable. If I dropped in and they told me I had 50 minutes, I could easily enjoy a meal in that time, as long as they served me promptly. I would appreciate being offered the choice rather than just being turned away. As to kids, all parents think their kids are little darlings but many are not and even the best kid can have a bad day. When I am paying for an expensive meal, it is really annoying to have a whining, screaming, bouncing kid near me. Canoe tries to create spaces where kids can be kids and adults can enjoy their meals without irritation. I think that is a decent approach.

I clearly see room for improvement. Perhaps reservations for the family area would be helpful. Certainly respecting clearly stated mobility restrictions is needed.

We enjoy the food so we continue to go several times a year. As noted, the parking lot is full so many others obviously do as well and either work around or tolerate issues.

The reason for this is if you are dining with children they seat you downstairs upstairs except for the small bar area is adult only. I have two children been going there for many years and I completely understand this policy. Nothing wrong with separation when an all adult table is out without the kids trying to escape for a few hours and not having to deal with kids.

I'm not sure if this is the case at canoe but in some restaurants there are sections that New Hampshire state law prohibits children under the age of 21 from sitting in.

This is not the problem here. In fact, I recall from an older thread, parents were unhappy when the only place they were seated with their children was at the bar.

As long as it is not illegal, Canoe can have whatever seating policy it wishes and then patrons can decide whether this is the restaurant for them. The problem with Canoe is the lack of consistency about policy and a kind of crapshoot as to how you are treated.

That was a post from me.

We had reservations and four children older teens through single digits. That was roughly 12 years ago. They sat our party of 6 at a hightop cocktail table, maybe 24" in diameter right next to the bar with a group of vocal men using "bar language". At that time their policy was they do not sit children in the main dining room. Fine with me, but a 24" diameter table right next to the bar is not a suitable place for children, nor is it suitable for a dinner for six people. That was it for us until a few weeks ago when without children, we gave it another try.

Having just had some surgical work done on one of my knees, we asked for and waited for a table that we could get to without stairs. We waited 75 minutes. People that arrived well after us were seated in the area without the need for stairs. I was told they had reservations, but I had also been told you needed six or more for reservations and these were parties of 2 and 4.

After 75 minutes, I asked how much longer and was rudely told that my bad knee was not their problem and unless I could use the stairs, she had no idea how much longer it would be.

Needless to say we left and had a nice dinner, albeit late, at Lavina's. I am also looking into potential action against Canoe under the federal ADA. We used a cell phone to record two of these conversations.

We are done with Canoe.

R2B

Not a fan
 

The only reason I will ever dine at Canoe is if we are out with friends who insist otherwise I flat out refuse to give money to any place that has the attitude Canoe demonstrates over and over again. True the food is good but good is not excellent and even if it were excellent it would not be worthy of my restaurants dollars.

When I see the parking lot packed with cars I can only scratch my head and wonder how the owner gets away with it. Why change when people are clamoring to get in? Amazing.

Took the words right out of my mouth. I don't get it! I've been there 4 times and I have not been impressed by the food, the attitude of the employees, or their policies. I'm always willing to give a restaurant a few tries but after 4 times i'm done with that place and will never go back.

Canoe
 

I was there on Saturday with a group of friends. Food was excellent. Service was good. I've been there many times. Never a bad meal although I have had some poor service once or twice. I know how hard it is to staff a restaurant with the economy in the lake region the past few years so I never judge a place by one or two bad servers. It is just the law of averages with such a large influx of new employees in the summer.

One or Two?
 

The issues at Canoe are not one or two bad servers. The attitude that has been there from day one. The problems that come from that attitude comes from the top down. How does Canoe survive? Simple there are no real competitors in Center Harbor. If there were Canoe would not survive or they would have a real quick attitude change.

BTW if you are staying at a motel/hotel etc., reservations are accepted if the "concierge" calls them in. So much for Canoe caring about their regulars.

funny that canoe and O in lakeport are owned by the same company but the atmosphere couldn't be more different. we gave up on canoe some time back . we will sure keep going to O. best béarnaise sauce north of Manchester

Agree!
 

Have to agree with you 100%. We love O's also!

Dan

Both
 

I love both. Very different atmosphere. Actually at Canoe right now and had an awesome veal chop and the calamari and pot sticker apps. My daughter had braised short ribs which also were excellent with a bacon risotto There current reservations policy is any size party before 6:30 after 6:30 it is 6 or more.

What if your are disabled?
 

WHAT IF YOUR ARE DISABLED or RECOVERING from Surgery?

Do "THEY" force you to go down the "STAIRS"

I really do not understand your question and how it relates to my post. I am sure if you call ahead for a reservation and you need to be upstairs the can accommodate.
If you don't like the restaurant it is certainly your propagative. I am just posting my experience today and what I was told their reservation policy is at least through the summer season

Maybe yoyu missed this post be Resident 2B
 

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Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee View Post

This is not the problem here. In fact, I recall from an older thread, parents were unhappy when the only place they were seated with their children was at the bar.

As long as it is not illegal, Canoe can have whatever seating policy it wishes and then patrons can decide whether this is the restaurant for them. The problem with Canoe is the lack of consistency about policy and a kind of crapshoot as to how you are treated.

That was a post from me.

We had reservations and four children older teens through single digits. That was roughly 12 years ago. They sat our party of 6 at a hightop cocktail table, maybe 24" in diameter right next to the bar with a group of vocal men using "bar language". At that time their policy was they do not sit children in the main dining room. Fine with me, but a 24" diameter table right next to the bar is not a suitable place for children, nor is it suitable for a dinner for six people. That was it for us until a few weeks ago when without children, we gave it another try.

Having just had some surgical work done on one of my knees, we asked for and waited for a table that we could get to without stairs. We waited 75 minutes. People that arrived well after us were seated in the area without the need for stairs. I was told they had reservations, but I had also been told you needed six or more for reservations and these were parties of 2 and 4.

After 75 minutes, I asked how much longer and was rudely told that my bad knee was not their problem and unless I could use the stairs, she had no idea how much longer it would be.

Needless to say we left and had a nice dinner, albeit late, at Lavina's. I am also looking into potential action against Canoe under the federal ADA. We used a cell phone to record two of these conversations.

We are done with Canoe.

I have never eaten here and after reading these posts, I probably never will. It's one thing for the food to be so so, but I draw the line with rudeness and attitude. I deal with it on a daily basis at work and I'm certainly not going to deal with it at dinner with my family. No thanks Canoe, I'll keep rowing.

Love the food at Canoe, the quality has always been good, however, I've experienced the same as others have mentioned, regarding 'wait time & rudeness by Hosts". On a positive note, the waitresses have always been great !

I will continue to go to Canoe, but during lunch only.

We go every summer with a large group and have never had a bad experience. The food and service have been consistently great. Shout out to our most recent server Lily who was awesome!


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Still don't get it--just finishing at Canoe, and everyone at the table is overly satisfied. Servers were all great, and our waitress worked her magic for both my kids' meals. Look at this burger with pulled pork and crispy onion strings with sweet potato fries for $12--haven't had a better burger in the Lakes Region! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d18ff2754b.jpg

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Agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

I absolutely agree. As I stated prior I have never had a bad meal or for that matter all my meals have been excellent especially my veal chop special last week.

We've also only had good meals. Usually go with kids too and have never been treated poorly nor have I witnessed anyone being treated poorly with, or without, kids. Food has always been great for us.

Love Canoe
 

Absolutely love Canoe. Went there last night and had a great meal and great service. Tried to go Monday night and were told it was 45 minute wait. We did not have the time and went to Lemon Grass and had an awesome meal and great service. Lots of competition in the area. The fact that they are still around and busy speaks for itself. Having owned and operated a restaurant for 10 years, I get the reservation problems. We took reservarions for every time slot and every size party and got bad feedback for doing that. Restaurants cannot please everyone. I am happy that Canoe is here and uf all of you stop going I can have it all to myself.

You won't get any competition from me. I guess you have to be a regular for the hostess to be nice to you.

Never said the hostess was nice to me or host for that matter, but the hostess is not the one cooking my food or taking my drink order. They bring me to my seat and I never have to see them again. I understand too well a good host can make a restaurant and a bad hostess can ruin one, but life is too short for me to let that person ruin my evening.

Agreed somewhat
 

That's why I will never go back and I will tell everybody I know not to wast there shot life and have a bad experience

Excellent Restuarant
 

Off Season. Like almost all restaurants in area. Seems like the restaurants summer hires falls apart under the constant pressure of the tourists, That is why I don't go out during the tourist season!

I went to Canoe this past winter. There were two parties in the dining room and we were one of them. The server was extremely slow and the server just kept standing around. It was not good service and thus it was not enjoyable! On the other hand 15 of us had a meeting at O's this past Thursday. The service and the food was great!

Great food
 

I will say I never had anything but great food, but the service summer / winter always has been horrible

I can forgive rude and bad service once, maybe even twice, but after that I don't care how good the food is. The whole experience is important.

So I decided what the hell, I'll try the canoe. What an absolute mistake. The food was so BLAND and everyone's posts here was true. What an attitude on the hostess, the service was horrible and the drinks were aweful. I should have just kept paddling. Definitely won't be back.

I think we can all agree that service right now is wanting-everywhere. Canoe has never been my favorite. I prefer Lavinia's and New Woodshed is damn good-although I haven't been in a few weeks.

The hostess is your first impression and if the hostess is rude then things go downhill from there. Almost every time I've been to Canoe my first impression has not been pleasant.

There are several posters here that actually like Canoe. Myself included and also evidenced by how crowded it can be especially during the season and on weekends. As mentioned above I do love the new Woodshed also, but I would compare the more to "O" than Canoe in terms of menu choices

Perhaps the crowded feel is from the lack of parking, so every time you drive by you get the impression they are packed :confused::confused:

Do employees park elsewhere?

Not referring to the parking lot, I am strictly speaking about inside the restaurant. I have dined there at least 15 times and unless you go extremely early it is always crowded so they must be doing something right. :liplick:

Maybe they just cater to regular repeat customers and give new comers attitude.

That is a complete misstatement, with the 3-4 times a year I go there they have no idea who I am or how many times I've gone there and besides in season and out of season and also depending on the night the hostess is different.

Maybe all the employees are told to park in that lot to give the appearance of always being crowded! :laugh::laugh::laugh:




.

Well then maybe It's just my T-shirt that says, "don't be nice to me". :emb:

Maybe its the way the hostess is treated :eek:

Ya, that must be it. I must really hate that place so I go in with an attitude and all the other places I eat at I'm fine. :laugh: They never have to worry about my attitude ever again.

Works for me. Rather dine with people that don't have an attitude, I am so glad you admitted it finally. :laugh:

OK, I see where this is going.

I'm not the one how took it in this direction. Have a great day.


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I've never had an issue and generally like Canoe quite a bit. I go 1-2 times a year and really enjoy it so I'll throw one to the other side. Maybe I just go with good company but never noticed "bad service" or "attitude" in all the years I've gone there. I'm younger in age, so not sure if that makes a difference or not.

What I don't get is the logic behind bashing restaurants on a regular basis. I don't do it (I don't think) but do enjoy the banter that goes back and forth in these threads. How bad does said service and food have to be that people immediately resort to the forums as their personal yelp to cry to the world. I gotta imagine that almost every restaurant in the Lakes Region has someone monitoring this forum. Canoe's been around for a while and as far as I can tell, it's probably not going anywhere. There's always going to be people in the world that are genuinely unhappy for whatever reason or any given day...why let a hostess that doesn't shower you with kindness ruin a dinner? I've probably spoke too long now, just wanted to add that I enjoy Canoe when I go. :D

Very nice post "thank you"

Actually, you are the one who took it in that direction. First you imply that Biggd must have an attitude toward the hostess, then you tell Biggd that you're glad you won't be sharing your dining experience with him. You're the one who took it to personal attacks.

Not True at All
 

Not true and this is not the first time I have had an issue with Biggd. He loves to push peoples buttons. My suggestion is before you side with someone on an issue like this go back and read all their posts.

Thank you, but it's not worth digging the hole any deeper with this guy. I have no issues with him. He has one view of Canoe and I have a completely different view of them.

Don't appreciate being referred to as "this guy"

I have eaten at Canoe quite a bit. Consistently good food, a good wine list and good service.

The employees park at the church. They have a shuttle that runs people there and the CH town docks.

I will say that it is getting close to needing a little reno (bathrooms mostly). Scott and Co. have done a good job in giving us 4 dining options around Winni alone.

"Thank You Button"

Dining out VS. eating out
 

In my opinion - There is a significant difference between dining out and eating out. Let's look first at eating out as that is the easiest. You and your family friends etc. have enjoyed an active day of whatever and are hungry or you simply need to have breakfast lunch or supper. You want something fairly fast, tasty and most likely reasonably priced. For this you are usually willing to put up with a bit of shoddy service and attitude from a variety of service people and if everything that you receive is not 100% at least you achieved the goal. Eating out. Atmosphere is far down the list of requirements. Clean fast and tasty at a fair price. Rave reviews.

Now on to "Dining out" I equate dining out to attending an elegant symphony performance where everything from the concert hall to the orchestra to the audience itself plays a part in the evening. You can have an awe inspiring concert hall (Read restaurant interior) and a group of professional musicians but if they do not all play together at the right pitch volume and sequence the performance will not be fine (read menu selection, presentation, taste flow of courses and top level of service) Even such things as sound level in the dining room, and of course the audience. Are they respectful of the music (read are they loud and crude) are they attired appropriately for the venue. Nothing worse than sitting trough a concert or a dinner next to an unwashed or inappropriately attired person or group.
Hence Dining out requires effort from the restaurant owner to fine tune the atmosphere, the menu and to TRAIN the staff (something sorely lacking in the vast majority of NH restaurants) and then deliver it all in a flawless way. It also requires the guest to respect the effort of the establishment by not being boorish, not coming in or becoming drunk and obnoxious, and not turning up in ball hats and t shirts if the atmosphere calls for better in attire.

In my experience of the Lakes region fine dining is difficult to locate, There are a number of places that aspire to that goal but fall short for a variety of reasons. On the other hand there are vast numbers of places to eat out which seems to be the preference with most local and summer folk.

You must have a personal connection to this establishment. You seem to take offense to the negative reviews and thank people giving good reviews?

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No I do not, I like the place and I have no issues with negative reviews (you dont like the establishment its fine with me) but every time I make a positive post or a post opposing you, you always quote my post. You have done the same is other posts, go bother some else

You guys should really take it offline....Maybe meet at Canoe for a beer to discuss!! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Dan

Yup, I've definitely seen their employees walking in groups of 2-3 to the restaurant from the direction of town. I assume they are pretty strict on employees not taking up parking in front.

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Excellent Dan love it, very very funny!!!!!!

I expect restaurants/ bars that I frequent to treat me like a regular! Most restaurants do. However, newcomers should not be treated poorly.

Nah, they should "settle it" in the Octagon.

http://www.californiaindianeducation...Fight_Cage.jpg

I agree but I have experienced this first hand at other restaurants. My wife and I frequent Lago's and although I've never been treated poorly there I do notice that they go out of their way to please us now that we are regulars. Even when we first started going there the staff was always friendly as it should be, no attitudes at all with any of the staff.
I understand that restaurants are having a hard time staffing this year but the good ones can usually hold on to good employees because they are so busy and they treat them well.
Everyone has their favorite "go to" places. Some places we go to, my wife likes and I don't. Lago's is one we both like. My wife liked Canoe but I didn't.
I never give attitude when in a restaurant, I was being sarcastic with my earlier response. If I don't like a place I just never go back. But I will give it more than one try. Sometimes it's just an off night.
When I go out to eat I expect to be treated nicely by the whole staff. That's part of the dinning experience. If they want my money they should be nice.
On another note, we went to Faro's at the Weirs Saturday night for only the second time and the food was fantastic and the staff was wonderful. Our first time there was when they had just opened and they didn't quit have their **** together but I'm glad we gave it another try.

Ill be honest, I have both ends of the spectrum with the Canoe, but everything else is a common man restaurant with some of the most bland and awful food you will over ingest. Ive been up the lake for 17 years now and can tell you the Canoe is the most consistent food in the area. For giggles here are my reviews of the Canoe..

https://www.yelp.com/biz/canoe-resta...source=(direct)

Just leaving Canoe--Saturday the 30th at 7:22--and, yet again, we were thrilled with our experience. Service was a bit slow--it seemed everyone came in at the same time--but the serving staff and food were equally awesome. That burger with pulled pork and onion strings with sweet potato fries and a Shirley Temple is OFF THE HOOK!

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Is that "Shirley Temple" as in ginger ale and cherry juice or is there an adult libation of the same name? Just wondering...

Modern Shirley Temples have Sprite and Grenadine. I've always ever known it as a "mocktail."

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Mocktail 🍹
 

We older geezers know that non-alcoholic concoction as a Shirley Temple, named for the famous child actor of the 1930's. 🍒

In later years she was also a UN Ambassador

That would be a "Burly Temple".

I believe when you add Vodka it's called a "Dirty Shirley"...

Dan

There's a bunch of storage in the parking lot, and a banner over the sign saying "Getting a facelift, see you in April"

Remodel underway apparently...

If you go onto their Facebook page you can see pictures.


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