Woodlands Tavern

[upthesaukee]

We went to the Woodlands Tavern last night for supper. I had the soup of the day for an appetizer, and then my wife had pork medallions and roasted fingerling potatoes. She said it was very good. She had the Crème Brule for dessert, and finished before I did....must have been good. I had the Creole Jambalaya, which was very spicy, but that is fine with me. They did ask if I wanted the seasoning adjusted down to medium or mild, but I do like my Jambalaya spicy. It was very good. I had a cinnamon apple cobbler for dessert, with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on the side, and was very good.

The meal was a little pricey, but good, and we both felt that we had good value for the meal. It is just not a place I would go every night for dinner. Bill, with one drink each, was $69 before tip.

Service was good, not great, but they have only been open about one week. I expect that service will improve and that the staff will improve. It was good, but at times slow, and our waitress was, for the most part, also the hostess.

As I said, we will be back and look forward to trying other options. We will also try them for lunch after golf one of these days.

[salty dog]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

We went to the Woodlands Tavern last night for supper. I had the soup of the day for an appetizer, and then my wife had pork medallions and roasted fingerling potatoes. She said it was very good. She had the Crème Brule for dessert, and finished before I did....must have been good. I had the Creole Jambalaya, which was very spicy, but that is fine with me. They did ask if I wanted the seasoning adjusted down to medium or mild, but I do like my Jambalaya spicy. It was very good. I had a cinnamon apple cobbler for dessert, with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on the side, and was very good.

The meal was a little pricey, but good, and we both felt that we had good value for the meal. It is just not a place I would go every night for dinner. Bill, with one drink each, was $69 before tip.

Service was good, not great, but they have only been open about one week. I expect that service will improve and that the staff will improve. It was good, but at times slow, and our waitress was, for the most part, also the hostess.

As I said, we will be back and look forward to trying other options. We will also try them for lunch after golf one of these days.

Glad to hear you folks enjoyed it. My wife and I have been following the progress of the renovations and are looking forward to visiting at least a couple of time during the two weeks we'll be up on vacation. We stay at a little cabin just down the hill on Railroad Ave so we can just walk to dinner. The William Tell was certainly an old landmark. My Wife's family is Swiss so she always enjoyed it but sometimes the food could be a bit heavy.

[Winnisquamguy]

FYI for wheelchair users the ramp is still not completed yet.Its on the list of things to get done but they don't have a time frame yet.

[Briangie]

Ate the last night with a group of friends. The place was packed!

Food was delicious, although it took some time getting to the table. They still have a few kinks to work out with service, but since they just opened, I am confident that will improve.

I had the old standby, chicken parm. Delicious, piping hot and filling. My wife had the stuffed calamari dish and loved it. All three couples raved about the quality of the food.

It is a bit pricey, maybe will be a once a month type place or a place to bring friends if they venture North to visit. I don't mind paying if you know the food will be great.

[jetskier]

We stopped by Woodlands Tavern this evening for dinner. They had a bit of a wait, so we decided to eat at the bar. The food was absolutely great. I had the duck and my wife had the jambalya.

They are clearly still working out some of the start-up issues as they appeared a bit understaffed. Not surprising.

My suggestion is to make a reservation, we will in the future as the restaurant is relatively small.

We will certainly be back...very impressed!!!!

Jetskier

[VitaBene]

Sounds like a nice place. I didn't know where they were so I found their page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Woodl...48756195268496

1602 Mt. Major Highway
Alton, New Hampshire 03810

[Slickcraft]

We made the long drive (1.5 miles) today and stopped by for lunch. We each had the panini of the day which was very good. I am happy to report that there are 8 draft beer taps and that (thankfully) not one is wasted on a bud or coors product. The lunch including two pints of Guinness and two pints of Peak ale came to $41 before tip.

[ishoot308]

We went to Woodland's Tavern today for lunch and it was fantastic! I had their french onion soup and a tuna salad croissant sandwich. Both were excellent. My wife had a house salad and some kind of pasta dish that was also excellent. My visiting nephew was also with us and he had the spaghetti Napoli. This was true Italian spaghetti basted in olive oil with chunks of fresh mozarella, fresh cut cherry tomatoes and a wonderful red marinara gravy made from scratch. It was just awesome!

They were not busy when we were there but the waitress was extremely nice and service was quick. The owner came by our table to check on us and we had nice conversation.

All in all a great experience and I highly recommend the Woodland's Tavern!

Dan

[surfnsnow]

you do now that guinness is brewed by annheiser busch in the u.s. both owned by a Belgium company called inbev

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by surfnsnow

you do now that guinness is brewed by annheiser busch in the u.s. both owned by a Belgium company called inbev

Actually I never heard that, curious as to your source. This from the Guinness web site:

GUINNESS® is GUINNESS® - wherever you are. We always use pure, fresh water from natural local sources for the GUINNESS® stout brewed outside Ireland. That said, in blind tests (with a bunch of highly cynical journalists) none of our sample could tell the difference between Irish-brewed GUINNESS® and the locally produced variety. All the GUINNESS® sold in the UK, Ireland and North America is brewed in Ireland at the historic St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin.

[Newbiesaukee]

If you Google, the definitive answer is that some variety of Guinness is brewed in Canada. The Guinness website, by their own admission is not quite accurate.

Guinness is not owned by InBev.

[surfnsnow]

I have to admit my evidence now seems sketchy, at one point there was an agreement between a.b. and Guinness whereby a.b. brewed guinness in north america and guiness brewed bud for Europe. now, I can't find any evidence. same deal with Canada regarding labatts blue brewing bud for Canada. perhaps I have sampled too much of each?

[Seaplane Pilot]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

We went to Woodland's Tavern today for lunch and it was fantastic! I had their french onion soup and a tuna salad croissant sandwich. Both were excellent. My wife had a house salad and some kind of pasta dish that was also excellent. My visiting nephew was also with us and he had the spaghetti Napoli. This was true Italian spaghetti basted in olive oil with chunks of fresh mozarella, fresh cut cherry tomatoes and a wonderful red marinara gravy made from scratch. It was just awesome!

They were not busy when we were there but the waitress was extremely nice and service was quick. The owner came by our table to check on us and we had nice conversation.

All in all a great experience and I highly recommend the Woodland's Tavern!

Dan

Our experience was just as good. No sense repeating a well stated review!

[Overlake97]

My wife and I had a great dinner here on Sunday night (July 14, 2013)!

I'd been looking at the enticing pictures of their menu offerings on Facebook (see link in Post #6. Once on their page, click on "photos" link near top or on any random photo to bring up the album), so I had a pretty good idea of what I was craving even before seeing the menu. Ended up with the Creole Jambalaya, which the waitress warned me was very spicy, but I really didn't think so. It WAS excellent though, with nice, large pieces of shrimp, scallops, chicken and chorizo, plus assorted veggies and rice (ended up taking 1/3rd home) - and just enough heat. My wife ordered probably their simplest entree, the Spaghetti Napoli, and she really liked that too. We also had two appetizers: Grilled Lamb Chops and Portobello Mushroom, stuffed with goat cheese, spinach, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. My wife thought the mushroom was the best appetizer she'd had in a long time; and my lamb chops were great. Because they were followed closely by the seafood heavy Jambalaya, I felt like I'd had Surf n Turf!

Although I'm usually too stuffed for dessert, at Woodlands - motivated again by those great Facebook photos - I just had to try a dessert, and opted for the Eton Mess (fruit laced with thick cream). I also let the bar manager, who dropped by to introduce herself (it was a quiet Sunday night), talk me into a speciality coffee, with Kahlua, Amaretto and Bailey's irish Creme. Both after-dinner treats were worth it, and were a nice finishing touch to a great meal.

[surfnsnow]

thanks for the menu tip overlake

[FranklyH500]

We ate here last night and had one of the best meals ever in the lakes region.
My wife and I have both been coming here since we were children and we've eaten in a bunch of restaurants. Woodlands grill was a standout. I had chicken Parmesan and it was perfect. Tender moist chicken. ( not a cutlet) the sauce was delicious and the presentation was a work of art that you could eat! My wife had a chicken Caesar salad that she raved about. Our server was attentive , well dressed and very welcoming. I had a glass of the house Cabernet that was excellent and a bargain as well. I would recommend this place to anyone.

[polarisman14]

Wanted to share my experience with you guys as well.

Short version, it was excellent.

Long version, my wife got the French Onion soup to start and I got the soup of the day--Chorizo in some kind of spicy gumbo-style broth with kidney beans,tomatoes, onion, celery. Both soups were very good and hearty, full of flavor. Then the wife moved on to her entree, Chicken Parmesan (says it's the best she's ever had!) and I tried the Seared Duck Breast. That was also excellent--the skin on the outside was slightly crispy and the meat was super tender and juicy. The port demi was a nice touch as were the raspberries and strawberries and small arugala salad on the side. The drinks we both had, the "Kaboom" and Toblerone Martini, were presented in a very unique way (especially the Kaboom--very cool) and were as tasty as they were neat to look at. We split the dessert special (chocolate and fudge cake with almond on the outside and a puddle of raspberry glaze). One word--decadent.

We'll definitely be going back.

[riverat]

Good friends of ours wanted to try out the Woodlands a few weeks ago and were told by the hostess that they probably would not want to wait for a table because it was going to be about an hour wait, they said why and was told that they just seated 2 large parties totalling 28 people.
They really wanted to stay but were told "do you really want to wait an hour" and they decided to leave, disappointed they did not get the chance to dine there. Maybe next time they're up, and make reservations.

[polarisman14]

Yeah on Fridays, sat, and sun you want to make reservations for anything after 2pm-ish. They said it's been crazy there since they opened, they are getting much better and streamlining the whole process but still need one or two more staff members to keep up with the rush. Good things come to those who wait .

[Lyver]

Originally Posted by polarisman14

Yeah on Fridays, sat, and sun you want to make reservations for anything after 2pm-ish. They said it's been crazy there since they opened, they are getting much better and streamlining the whole process but still need one or two more staff members to keep up with the rush. Good things come to those who wait .

That surprises me that I have read several reviews saying they need one or two more staff members, then I see the owner post on Facebook that he can't find any help, yet I know 2 EXPERIENCED people who have applied, interviewed and have heard nothing back from them.

[Jeanzb1]

After reading all these glowing reviews, I'm hesitant to say anything negative; however, we were there on a Friday night several weeks after they opened (four of us with a 7:00 reservation) and it took a full THREE HOURS! And that was with no appetizers and no dessert! Totally unacceptable. The people at the table next to us got up and walked out after waiting 1/2 hour for a waitress to acknowledge them. Sorry but we are not rushing to go back.

[lunch lady]

Seven of us went to dinner last night and we all loved it. I am so glad to have it opened. I really missed the William Tell and this new restaurant really fits the bill. I think they are going to give "O's" a run for their money. I waitress was very attentive and very pleasant. Will try lunch next week.

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by lunch lady

Seven of us went to dinner last night and we all loved it. I am so glad to have it opened. I really missed the William Tell and this new restaurant really fits the bill. I think they are going to give "O's" a run for their money. I waitress was very attentive and very pleasant. Will try lunch next week.

I wish them well.

The off-season is so tough on restaurants around the lake. Do you know if the will be closing for the winter or making a go of it?

We usually eat at Lyon's Den in the winter; never, ever at O's. I hate to share my winter business by taking away from Lyon's den, but variety at the higher end is important as well.

R2B

[mcdude]

I had the pleasure of celebrating a birthday here recently. Everything was delicious. The server was friendly and attentive and our food arrived in a timely fashion. There were fresh flowers on the tables. I have no idea why they call it a tavern....it's not really "tavern-ish" at all. My only suggestion would be a little "dinner" music in the background ....would have been perfect.

[polarisman14]

^^Funny you should mention that--on their facebook page they said they are doing the prewiring for the audio system this week. That was my only gripe too, everything else is great. Can't wait to go there with my parents in a few weeks and introduce them to the "new and improved Tell."

[Shore Driver]

Went there with my wife and had a nice meal. The Jambalaya was very hot and had a good amount of meat (chicken, sausage, shrimp, scallops in that order). They do warn you of the heat when you order and I overheard a lot of people ordering it!

Wife had chicken francaise and she liked it.

Bill was reasonable. Crème Brulee was not the best but the chocolate lava cake was very good.

7.5/10

[Just Sold]

The Woodlands met and exceeded our expectations last evening. We started with the Antipast Misto plus a side salad. Mrs. JS had the Shrimp Parmesan and I had the Beef Chasseur, cooked to perfection and sooo tender. Everything was wonderfully delicious and the Tiramisu (Baileys and Kahula) and Cre'me Brulee really topped it all off. My glass of red wine was also perfect. Our bill was well within what we would expect for this level of service and food.

Business was good with all of the 4 seat tables occupied by 6:00. Only the few 6 seat tables were empty.

We will be back.

[Winni Luvr]

I just returned (sadly) from a beautiful week in NH and while we were there we had a lovely dinner at the Woodlands Tavern. I wasn't sure before we went up to the lake if a new restaurant had taken over at the old William Tell location, but on our way to Mt Major for a hike we were thrilled to see a new place had opened there.

I had the Pork Loin, my husband had the Jambalya, one of my daughters' had the Shrimp Parmesan and the other had the Gluten free pasta dish, which we were thrilled they offered. The waitress was friendly and attentive and made our visit there all the more enjoyable. From what I could see and hear from the other tables it looked like everyone else was having the same experience. All of us enjoyed our entrees very much and I will definitely go back there again.

[mcdude]

Originally Posted by polarisman14

^^Funny you should mention that--on their facebook page they said they are doing the prewiring for the audio system this week. That was my only gripe too, everything else is great.

Question for the more recent diners; Is the audio up and running?

[Just Sold]

Originally Posted by mcdude

Question for the more recent diners; Is the audio up and running?

As of a week ago no music was heard but I did see speakers on the dining room wall.

[jetskier]

Originally Posted by Just Sold

As of a week ago no music was heard but I did see speakers on the dining room wall.

We were waiting until the end of the holiday weekend as we knew the restaurant would be crowded otherwise.

First, they do have an audio system installed and running. They are still playing with the setup a bit and the chef is partial to heavy metal although the staff keeps the music much more tame.

The restaurant was not crowded, but the music does tend to mute the background conversations and we were told that they will be installing curtains to further soften the acoustics.

The food was extremely good (as always). They are running specials on Monday and it was beer and either steak tips/mushroom pie or lamb stew. I opted for the steak tips/mushroom pie with a Guinness. It was somewhat like a Wellington with a flaky crust ... very good and reasonably priced. As you can guess, we now consider this one of our favorite restaurants in the area.

Jetskier

[mcdude]

Originally Posted by jetskier

the chef is partial to heavy metal

Jetskier

oh great! .....one should be careful what they wish for!

[polarisman14]

Happy to report that I had another good experience at the tavern for lunch today. They are making many improvements--as previously noted they have music now, they have artwork on the walls, and now have themed dining nights as well.

I had the venison osso bucco on a bed of parmesan risotto and that was fantastic as was my wife's lobster salad on a criossant roll. The drinks were good per usual and my mother was thrilled with the soup du jour.

We'll be back.

[riverat]

Congratualtions to the Woodlands Tavern!

Golden Trowel Award
Presented for rehabilitation, additions, new landscaping, maintenance or other visible improvements.

By the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce(Laconia/Weirs Beach)

[Merrymeeting]

Well deserved. We went there for the first time about a month ago. It was a wonderful meal, in a warm, cozy, room, on a bitterly cold, winter, night. Well worth the trip.

[mcdude]

According to today's edition of the Baysider, the Woodlands Tavern offers the following specials....which look like quite a value!

Gunstock pass holders get 15% off....everyday!

On Sunday buy one entrée and get the second for half off

Wed - 25% off food for ladies

Monday is Beef and Beer Night! Steak and Mushroom Pie $8.95
Bacon and Mushro0m Burger - $6.95
$1.00 off each pint of beer with purchase of an entrée

Happy Hour - 3-6 p.m. through March - 25% off total bill

[Duke's]

Went there tonight. We had the steak and mushroom pie which was fabulous. Wait staff is friendly and attentive. Great specials during the week. A great place with attention to detail. Check it out you won't be sorry.

[Eric Weiss]

I just want to take a moment to introduce myself. I am Eric Weiss. I am one of the owners and Executive Chef of the Woodlands Tavern.
I just want to thank everyone for all their support over the last 7 months!!
We have major renovation plans scheduled for Nov14 that will totally transform the bar, and porch areas. Much more, user/ customer friendly!!
I want to thank everyone for all the critiques on the forum, in-house and on FB. We are just a bunch of hard working people trying to make a living. We make mistakes. Everyone does. We do our best resolve any issues, so long as we know there is a problem.
Good, bad or indifferent, your opinion DOES matter! All i can ask is, if you dine with us and have a problem, let us know right away, dont go away mad, without giving us a chance to fix things!! We learn from you, the customer!!

Cheers, Eric

[Alton Lady]

Originally Posted by Eric Weiss

I just want to take a moment to introduce myself. I am Eric Weiss. I am one of the owners and Executive Chef of the Woodlands Tavern.
I just want to thank everyone for all their support over the last 7 months!!
We have major renovation plans scheduled for Nov14 that will totally transform the bar, and porch areas. Much more, user/ customer friendly!!
I want to thank everyone for all the critiques on the forum, in-house and on FB. We are just a bunch of hard working people trying to make a living. We make mistakes. Everyone does. We do our best resolve any issues, so long as we know there is a problem.
Good, bad or indifferent, your opinion DOES matter! All i can ask is, if you dine with us and have a problem, let us know right away, dont go away mad, without giving us a chance to fix things!! We learn from you, the customer!!

Cheers, Eric

I saw your rude post on the Lavinias thread, and then this. Funny, you don't want people to leave without giving you the chance to fix things, but like that they do it to your competition???

gravy boat
Senior Member

Ellacoya
We just went to Ellacoya and left after five minutes. Nobody acknowledged us or said that someone would be with us. Two employees in the bar area and only one table full.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to gravy boat For This Useful Post:
Eric Weiss (01-27-2014), RLW (01-26-2014)
01-26-2014, 05:37 PM #2

[Eric Weiss]

My post was mearly trying to correct the misuse of the term Executive Chef. We have had our share of complaints, however, if you go through all of our reviews on our FB page and TripAd, compare them to other establishments, i'm sure you will see a common thread. We dont attack our competitors. We thrive on competition as it makes us strive to be better.
We have no control over what customers post about their experiences elsewhere. If a patron had a bad experience elsewhere, that is the other establishments issue.

[BroadHopper]

Lighten up people! I have good experience as well as bad in every restaurant I have been to! Everyone have their bad moments and I expect that. If an establishment has thee bad moments than I will not return!

I don't expect management to get on their hands and knees if I make a complaint but I do like to see remedial action. I'm happy with that.

A great example was at Patrick's Pub. A party of four couples were seated promptly in the upper deck despite a rather busy weekend. Things went downhill as the waitress as extremely inattentive. Either Alan, the owner, notice it or it came to his attention and he introduce himself to the table and personally became our new wait staff! This was totally unexpected! That is what I call remedial action above and beyond. On the way out he gave each couple a $20 gift certificate 'in case we came back'. Well none of us had a problem about coming back!

During the summer months, the wait staff is made up of experience college kids or teachers on summer break. So I expect a trained crew. In the winter they are back to school or work. So you will find a different crew off season, more laid back if you will. I expect management to make sure they don't get too lazy, but what I find that management tends to 'take a vacation' off season and thus the attention you get in the summer 'may not be there' off season. I take that into consideration for the 'seasonal joints'. Off season I stick with the establishment that consider themselves 'year round' such as Patrick's Pub and T-Bones/Cactus Jack.

[Alton Lady]

I agree Broadhopper. How a business responds to their mistakes is really the most important thing. I have had negative experiences with a number of businesses, but do not as a rule post those experiences publically. I just find it bad business to trash competition, or to take pleasure in the mistakes of others. And I won't patronize a business with owners that act like that.

[belly_button_biter]

Originally Posted by Alton Lady

I saw your rude post on the Lavinias thread, and then this. Funny, you don't want people to leave without giving you the chance to fix things, but like that they do it to your competition???

gravy boat
Senior Member

Ellacoya
We just went to Ellacoya and left after five minutes. Nobody acknowledged us or said that someone would be with us. Two employees in the bar area and only one table full.

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to gravy boat For This Useful Post:
Eric Weiss (01-27-2014), RLW (01-26-2014)
01-26-2014, 05:37 PM #2

Actions deserving of the "Golden Snot Rag Award"

[blacksheep]

I've got to say, Mr. Weiss... after reading your post on the Lavinia's page, and then doing a little research about Woodland's Tavern via your fb page, I'm not too impressed. I found your 'joke' about how you haze 'newbies' by making them look foolish, in order to put them in their place and send the message that they aren't 'chef's' obnoxious. I found the trite and flirty way you refer to women who comment on your fb page as 'babes' disrespectful and unprofessional. I couldn't find your educational credentials listed anywhere... and the photos of your food look like your style is primarily large portions smothered in various sauces - possibly delicious, but not exactly fine dining. Then I saw the picture of you, standing arms spread, in front of your newly acquired restaurant. Gotta say...not looking very 'executive chef' in that picture. Maybe this tone of 'competition' is the way it's done in Jersey, but it's really not the way it's done in the restaurant culture here around the lake. You need to keep in mind the fact that you may need something some day - an emergency product you've run out of, an employee, advice from a seasoned pro, any myriad of things. Typically area restaurants have been eager to support each other, and have enthusiastically offered help in times of emergency. The culture is not one of 'I'm better than you are!' it's more a culture of mutual respect based on the fact that everyone has worked hard to try to find a niche that meets a customer-based need, while offering somethng different than the guy down the street.

[Eric Weiss]

The ladies that i call babes, are dear personal friends. They know beyond any doubt that it is not being disrespectful.
As far as hazing, we all go through it in this industry. Our instructors did it to us, we do it to each other.. Have you never pranked anyone?
Character building...

Perhaps the page developers could create more than a thank you button.
I cant control what others post. Their experience is,their experience. If they mentioned my place, so be it. Why go after me, after all, Im not responsible for what service they received.

I have lived outside the US for 20 years, so what you may find offensive, i don't. To each their own.

I have never slagged off / critiqued any competitor, on any forum.

[Merrymeeting]

Eric,

I've posted a few times on this website about enjoyable evenings spent at your new establishment. I also congratulated you on your Trowel Award. So I would like to see you succeed and have a bias in that direction.

I have to say that your post that started this storm didn't read well for me, and your subsequent posts are not helping.

I suggest you quit while you are ahead (?) before you need to use the trowel to dig yourself out of the hole you seem to be digging deeper.

[tbonies]

Perhaps Pete Carroll should sit down with Eric "Richard Sherman" Weis too?

[Bumble2249]

What's going to happen folks is everyone is eventually going to realize that Eric's attitude and self righteousness is common place for his restaurant. It trickles across the entire management/owner staff. Good luck to them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by Bumble2249

What's going to happen folks is everyone is eventually going to realize that Eric's attitude and self righteousness is common place for his restaurant. It trickles across the entire management/owner staff. Good luck to them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it is time to let this go... I am not one of those people that slams posters based on post count, but in this case you obviously just joined this forum, or are using a pseudonym, to grind your ax.