Ok I have to share this experience with all of you.
A group of us were out on the sleds this past weekend and we were in Meredith bay enjoying the scenery of the derby. We wanted to go for a quick ride on the snowmobiles but we didn't want to go too far. So we came up with the idea to go ride the "Prison Loop" in Laconia. For those of you that are unfamiliar with that, it is a loop that takes you from Parade road around down to Winnisquam and back around the prison to Parade Road. Not a super long ride but a nice ride. We were about to head back to Meredith when we saw signs for Tavern 27 and we all decided we wanted to check it out. Just grab one quick drink and poke around and be nosy.
We noticed quite a few sleds and cars in the parking lot, it was Saturday around 4:30ish. From the moment we opened the door to walk in I was impressed. First thing we noticed is the small bar area was pretty busy. The owner (we figured this out later) greeted us at the door with an extremely warm welcome. We looked towards the bar and noted that there was really no room for us. We said to the owner we were only grabbing a quick drink. He immediately accommodated us and invited us to take a table in the dining room. I was impressed as he was probably only going to make $30 off of us. We sat at a high top round table in an extremely well decorated really neat old farmhouse. You really need to go check this place out. They have done a ton of work inside. Check out the custom sconce's on the lights, way too cool.
Anyway our waitress was awesome she took a drink order offered us several types of water and was super quick with the drinks. In the meantime the owner was cleaning tables off and came to talk to us. Well this little conversation ended up being a great deal more than that. He ended up pulling up a chair and sharing his life's story with us. Everything that led him to where he is right now. All I can say is that this is the kind of guy you want to have success. He has a great inspirational outlook on life and he has seen and done quite a bit. He has extensive restaurant experience from Florida to Colorado and between. We checked out the menu and discussed all of the dishes and their inspiration. We never ordered any food as we all had plans, and some had wives waiting for them
He didn't care that we were only spending a few bucks, he treated us like we were his best customers.
All I can say is that if this is reflective of the service at this establishment than we will be back and I am sure we will be back again after that. The items on the menu looked absolutely mouth watering. Tapas are traditionally Spanish type dishes. What the owner has done is take Tapas and customize them to the Northeast palate. Lots of neat seafood items and some meat and potatoes type stuff. We asked how many tapas would feed a table full of 4 hungry adults and he recommended about 6 per table +/- as some items are hearty and others are more of a taste experience, like an artichoke dish on the menu.
I really wish I could share a review of the food for you all. I decided to share this story because the experience was so memorable for us. When we go back I will share the food review for you.
Thanks baygo, see you again soon.