Lyons Den

Mr. V · 08-13-2017, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woody38

. The duck is the best I have had in years.

I wonder how their duck compares to that once served proudly at the now defunct Hickory Stick?

Slickcraft · 08-14-2017, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. V

I wonder how their duck compares to that once served proudly at the now defunct Hickory Stick?

I used to enjoy Hickory Stick duck once a summer. Now I enjoy duck once a summer at the Lyon's Den. A long time gap in between but I find duck at the Den equally good.

phoenix · 09-16-2017, 09:33 PM

went with a group in August in lieu of our normal trip to Sandy and we all enjoyed our meals. Will go again next year

nerual721 · 09-20-2017, 03:20 PM

Phantom, I appreciate your kind words and we do try to let our reputation speak for itself. However, there are a couple of issues to weigh in on here.

First, reservations or no reservations..... what a slippery slope that is. We recently received an email from someone who had a dinner reservation and though it was their first time the couple they were with have been here on numerous occasions.

I will not copy the customer's email here, but only my response.

Thank you for your email and thank you for coming to the Lyons' Den. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your food and your server. We have been operating for 11 1/2 years now and as I'm sure you noticed we are quite small. We seat only about 44 patrons at a time. Part of our success and reasonable pricing is attributable to our ability to utilize a table more than once in an evening. We have been taking reservations for 10 years and most tables of 2 to 4 people average 1 hour and 25 minutes from beginning to end. I checked your ticket and found that you were here a bit over 2 hours. I am sorry that you felt rushed. Should you decided to give us another try then I would ask that when you make the reservation you request a 2 1/2 to 3 hour table. We will do our best to accommodate you but may not be able to take a 2 1/2 hour reservation on a busy night. We do have other regular customers who make this request as they are aware of our size limitations.

I did also want you to know that when your server made me aware of the timing issue with your table I did make every effort to relocate the party of 6 that was waiting for your table but was not able to reconfigure any group of tables successfully to avoid rushing you. Again, my apologies.

I am not sure if there is a better way to have handled that situation but we seriously make every effort not to "rush" people with reservations. Accordingly, due to our size when people make reservations and we have another reservation before or after theirs we try to let them know that going in, so there is an expectation of any time limit or possible wait that there might be.

As for miscellaneous food complaints, especially portion size and pricing. I keep myself very well informed about pricing in the surrounding area restaurants and we are definitely on the low end of the scale price wise for the quality and portion sizes of our food. And, given the opportunity to "fix" a problem with price/portion we are very receptive to making adjustments. That being said I cannot fix a problem that I do not know exists. If someone leaves The Den unhappy and they have not brought it to the attention of their server or me directly then I am at a loss as to how to fix it. To hear about a complaint by reading it in The Forum or on one of the other social media review venues for the first time is irksome. We do our very best to make sure everyone has the best dining experience possible and on that point I will happily stand on our reputation and end my diatribe.

Lauren

Phantom · 09-27-2017, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nerual721

Phantom, I appreciate your kind words and we do try to let our reputation speak for itself.

Sorry have been traveling internationally ..........

Kind words perhaps, but also just stating the obvious as can be seen & verified in the posts that followed !

My view -- you can't please 100% of the people, 100% of the time (don't exhaust yourself trying), those very few who do not like the Den for whatever reason simply make it easier for me to get a Reservation!

.

Tmm1974 · 09-28-2017, 12:19 PM

Went to Lyons den recently for dinner. I found the food to be good quality but the portions were pathetic. The "jumbo" shrimp cocktail should be taken off the menu. Very disappointing and we won't be back.

Barney Bear · 09-28-2017, 01:29 PM

Went to the the Lyons Den recently for dinner. We found the food to be delicious and the portions were sufficient. Very satisfying and we will be back. 🐻

joey2665 · 09-28-2017, 04:45 PM

Like every restaurant some people like it some don't. Seems Lyons Den and Canoe are the two people like to go back and forth on.

As I stated before I felt Lyons Den was ok my first few times and I agree the portions, especially seafood can be a little on the light side, but after hearing all the raves about the duck I am certainly willing to give it another try.

Slickcraft · 09-28-2017, 08:06 PM

Portion size?

I suppose that because that I am from an older generation that quality rates much higher than a huge serving size. Often we are presented with way too much on our plate and a mound of food does not make up for it being average at best. Apparently a common criteria for rating served meals now is pounds per plate as evidenced by the sizing of clothing. Currently medium is the former XL. Oh well, each to their own.

Descant · 09-28-2017, 10:34 PM

Yeah. I used to be a medium, now XL. Took several decades to make the transition. And I still have take home from Lyons Den.
Let';s face it, Lyons Den has some very dedicated patrons, some who are never pleased anywhere, and some who will, over time, move into the dedicated category.
Aside from quality, price, service, etc I appreciate the reservation process that gets me in and lets me know that my neighbors will be arriving later and we can all be seated sometime, instead of being turned away.

Resident 2B · 09-28-2017, 10:40 PM

Lyon's Den is our favorite restaurant in the lakes region. Food, service overall dining experience are second to none. No other restaurant comes close.

R2B

rsmlp · 09-29-2017, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

Lyon's Den is our favorite restaurant in the lakes region. Food, service overall dining experience are second to none. No other restaurant comes close.

R2B

One thing I can tell you for sure is that everyone's opinion varies depending on their own taste. I find Lyon's Den good but nothing special. Squam Lake Inn good. Lavinia's, Canoe, Lago, Lemon Grass, Corner house all good. For OUR money, Woodshed and Lakehouse Grille slightly better than aforementioned. i guarantee other opinions will vary.

joey2665 · 09-29-2017, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsmlp

One thing I can tell you for sure is that everyone's opinion varies depending on their own taste. I find Lyon's Den good but nothing special. Squam Lake Inn good. Lavinia's, Canoe, Lago, Lemon Grass, Corner house all good. For OUR money, Woodshed and Lakehouse Grille slightly better than aforementioned. i guarantee other opinions will vary.

You've got that right especially on this site!!!

Biggd · 09-29-2017, 11:24 AM

I've run my own business for over 40 years and I can tell you that it's impossible to please everyone. I always think of the line in the movie "Road House", "be nice until I tell not to be nice". There are just some people that are impossible to please and will push you to the limit no matter how nice you are.
As a customer I'm not a complainer in public unless provoked. If I don't like an establishment I just don't go back. There are plenty of others businesses that will gladly take my hard earned money.

joey2665 · 09-29-2017, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggd

I've run my own business for over 40 years and I can tell you that it's impossible to please everyone. I always think of the line in the movie "Road House", "be nice until I tell not to be nice". There are just some people that are impossible to please and will push you to the limit no matter how nice you are.
As a customer I'm not a complainer in public unless provoked. If I don't like an establishment I just don't go back. There are plenty of others businesses that will gladly take my hard earned money.

Absolutely agree, like you we were in business for over 55 years and you can't please everyone, it is virtually impossible. I have found always be pleasant for as long as possible, let them try somebody else and many times they eventually return

09-16-2017, 09:33 PM	#3
phoenix Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: phoenix and moultonboro Posts: 1,562 Thanks: 63 Thanked 276 Times in 194 Posts	went with a group in August in lieu of our normal trip to Sandy and we all enjoyed our meals. Will go again next year __________________ it's tough to make predictions specially about the future

09-20-2017, 03:20 PM	#4
nerual721 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Under the restaurant Posts: 23 Thanks: 1 Thanked 34 Times in 5 Posts	Reservations or no reservations; miscellaneous food/pricing complaints Phantom, I appreciate your kind words and we do try to let our reputation speak for itself. However, there are a couple of issues to weigh in on here. First, reservations or no reservations..... what a slippery slope that is. We recently received an email from someone who had a dinner reservation and though it was their first time the couple they were with have been here on numerous occasions. I will not copy the customer's email here, but only my response. Thank you for your email and thank you for coming to the Lyons' Den. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your food and your server. We have been operating for 11 1/2 years now and as I'm sure you noticed we are quite small. We seat only about 44 patrons at a time. Part of our success and reasonable pricing is attributable to our ability to utilize a table more than once in an evening. We have been taking reservations for 10 years and most tables of 2 to 4 people average 1 hour and 25 minutes from beginning to end. I checked your ticket and found that you were here a bit over 2 hours. I am sorry that you felt rushed. Should you decided to give us another try then I would ask that when you make the reservation you request a 2 1/2 to 3 hour table. We will do our best to accommodate you but may not be able to take a 2 1/2 hour reservation on a busy night. We do have other regular customers who make this request as they are aware of our size limitations. I did also want you to know that when your server made me aware of the timing issue with your table I did make every effort to relocate the party of 6 that was waiting for your table but was not able to reconfigure any group of tables successfully to avoid rushing you. Again, my apologies. I am not sure if there is a better way to have handled that situation but we seriously make every effort not to "rush" people with reservations. Accordingly, due to our size when people make reservations and we have another reservation before or after theirs we try to let them know that going in, so there is an expectation of any time limit or possible wait that there might be. As for miscellaneous food complaints, especially portion size and pricing. I keep myself very well informed about pricing in the surrounding area restaurants and we are definitely on the low end of the scale price wise for the quality and portion sizes of our food. And, given the opportunity to "fix" a problem with price/portion we are very receptive to making adjustments. That being said I cannot fix a problem that I do not know exists. If someone leaves The Den unhappy and they have not brought it to the attention of their server or me directly then I am at a loss as to how to fix it. To hear about a complaint by reading it in The Forum or on one of the other social media review venues for the first time is irksome. We do our very best to make sure everyone has the best dining experience possible and on that point I will happily stand on our reputation and end my diatribe. Lauren

09-28-2017, 12:19 PM	#6
Tmm1974 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Laconia Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Portion control Went to Lyons den recently for dinner. I found the food to be good quality but the portions were pathetic. The "jumbo" shrimp cocktail should be taken off the menu. Very disappointing and we won't be back.

09-28-2017, 01:29 PM	#7
Barney Bear Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 962 Thanks: 498 Thanked 274 Times in 175 Posts	Portion Control/2 Went to the the Lyons Den recently for dinner. We found the food to be delicious and the portions were sufficient. Very satisfying and we will be back. 🐻

09-28-2017, 04:45 PM	#8
joey2665 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Meredith Bay & LI, NY Posts: 3,222 Thanks: 1,219 Thanked 1,009 Times in 649 Posts	Here we go again Like every restaurant some people like it some don't. Seems Lyons Den and Canoe are the two people like to go back and forth on. As I stated before I felt Lyons Den was ok my first few times and I agree the portions, especially seafood can be a little on the light side, but after hearing all the raves about the duck I am certainly willing to give it another try.

09-28-2017, 08:06 PM	#9
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,343 Thanks: 1,249 Thanked 2,121 Times in 970 Posts	Portion size? I suppose that because that I am from an older generation that quality rates much higher than a huge serving size. Often we are presented with way too much on our plate and a mound of food does not make up for it being average at best. Apparently a common criteria for rating served meals now is pounds per plate as evidenced by the sizing of clothing. Currently medium is the former XL. Oh well, each to their own.

09-28-2017, 10:34 PM	#10
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,472 Thanks: 1,385 Thanked 1,667 Times in 1,086 Posts	Yeah. I used to be a medium, now XL. Took several decades to make the transition. And I still have take home from Lyons Den. Let';s face it, Lyons Den has some very dedicated patrons, some who are never pleased anywhere, and some who will, over time, move into the dedicated category. Aside from quality, price, service, etc I appreciate the reservation process that gets me in and lets me know that my neighbors will be arriving later and we can all be seated sometime, instead of being turned away.

09-28-2017, 10:40 PM	#11
Resident 2B Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Shore, MA Posts: 1,358 Thanks: 996 Thanked 314 Times in 164 Posts	Lyon's Den is our favorite restaurant in the lakes region. Food, service overall dining experience are second to none. No other restaurant comes close. R2B

09-29-2017, 11:24 AM	#14
Biggd Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Waltham Ma./Meredith NH Posts: 4,259 Thanks: 2,309 Thanked 1,229 Times in 787 Posts	I've run my own business for over 40 years and I can tell you that it's impossible to please everyone. I always think of the line in the movie "Road House", "be nice until I tell not to be nice". There are just some people that are impossible to please and will push you to the limit no matter how nice you are. As a customer I'm not a complainer in public unless provoked. If I don't like an establishment I just don't go back. There are plenty of others businesses that will gladly take my hard earned money.