Where to go for special birthday dinner!
 

Hello All~

We just moved up here permanently to Tuftonboro.

Husband's birthday is next weekend and I am asking for suggestions for a delicious meal- it doesn't have to be country club fancy, but I would like something a little special. Several years ago we enjoyed Foster's Boiler Room in Plymouth, but we were staying in that area for a week.

I'm thinking 30-35 minutes tops for next Thursday night before the weekend vacation traffic. Does anyone have any recent good experiences to share from this summer for me? Thank you very much in advance!

~marine wife

Welcome to the Lakes Region!
The New Woodshed in Moultonboro is fairly close and is a nice place for a special dinner!
O Steakhouse on Lake Opechee is a very special place but a bit further than you want to drive in Laconia.

Go to O in Laconia.

It's 45 minutes but it is worth it.

We only go once a year for our anniversary.

That is not because it is too expensive.

We want to keep it special.

I agree with O but if you don’t want to travel far the New Woodshed is a good choice


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Osteria Poggio in Center Harbor. Reserve the cupola 4 floors up. Just enough room for a table for 2 with windows on all sides overlooking Center Harbor bay. Requires going up 3 flights of stairs from the first floor. Order off the menu or do a surprise chef’s menu. Did the chef’s menu for our 49th anniversary and it was a big hit.

Birthday
 

All suggestions have been excellent, but I would like to add Hobbs in Ossipee on Rt 16 just past the Rt 25 W intersection. You might also consider Garwoods in Wolfeboro right on Main St, and with a great view of Wolfeboro Bay.

We've been to Hobbs for lunch, which was lovely, as well as Garwoods. Thanks for all of the suggestions so far!

You can have a wonderful dinner at Lyons Den in Gilford. It’s well worth the extra drive for you. Make a reservation as it’s very popular, and request a water view table. We are in Moultonborough and have never been disappointed. In fact, we might see you there on Thursday. Try their crab cakes or stuffed shrimp....mmm
hmm. Enjoy the bday celebration! 🎉💥🎂⭐️🎉

Boca (if they have a table available outside) or Mise en Place in Wolfeboro

We have found Mise en Place to be overrated, but that’s just our opinion. Lyons Den a much better choice, worth the extra miles.

Depends what you're looking for. The 2 restaurants i chose focus on more creative menus than is standard for the lake. They'd be my choice for a special occasion, but I could see how a person looking for a great steak would prefer Lyons Den or New Woodshed.

Welcome to Tuftonboro. If you're not up for traveling to far the Bistro at the Lake motel in Wolfeboro is about the best you find local. If your not looking for a fancy atmosphere the Mountainview in Chickville is good. Haven’t been to the new Woodshed yet. Ate at the old Woodshed a couple times and left Hungary and light in wallet.

I noticed some of the suggestions have you driving to Guilford which is about 48 minutes from Tuftonboro. I’ve eaten everywhere there is to eat in the region, when I have a special occasion I take my wife to the Six Burner Bistro in Plymouth about a 45 minutes drive from Tuftonboro. I’ve been there at least 40 times and only disappointed once. If you’re not in for that drive, the ambience at the Lake House Grill in church landing is second to none.

go local
 

Welcome to Tuftonboro, indeed! I work out of Weirs and often tell folks that I work on the noisy side of the lake and live on the quiet side. Support the real local economy and visit the Pine Cone Pub.

Great choice I love the Six Burner it has fantastic food in a wonderful setting but I always forget to recommend it since it’s in Plymouth.


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We're at the Pine Cone twice a month, Bob, I like the place, too~

I would call the pine cone more of a bar and grill but it's been good every time I've been there.

For something special, you probably want a place that takes reservations and has good entrees, and this eliminates quite a few. Woodshed is tops, esp. prime rib 👍, and the Bob House is also quite good, but not quite in the same league, but prime rib and haddock are excellent and reasonable there. Pine Cone won’t take reservations, and they are pretty busy, noisy, etc...more of a grill atmosphere there. Canoe takes reservations up till 6:00, but they can be iffy and noisy. For this household: Lyons Den is #1, followed by Bob House and Woodshed. Enjoy!

What kind of food?
 

My top three:
For traditional: Lyons Den
Italian: Osteria Poggio, add points for the cupola
French: Mis en Place
All three are within walking distance of public docks.

BTW, Am I wrong? Nobody specializing in lobster these days?

We haven’t seen lobster on local menus since last summer, when Woodshed had a 2 lobster entree special, which I split with a friend. Wine’ing Butcher sells lobster meat by the pound.
BTW, I hope the OP will let us know where the special birthday dinner took place and how it rated. 🎂

Guiseppies best food and the most consistent. :liplick:

Well, readers, thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions. I intend to try all of them throughout the year, and will report back.

I made a phone call to Lakehouse Grille in Meredith requesting a window seat for the view, and my name was put on a list. Luckily, the 22 mile drive was a breeze and I arrived in 38 minutes getting a terrific table overlooking the lake.

We ordered Lobster Corn Chowder, Short Rib Nachos, Haddock in a lobster sherry sauce, and the special, which was grilled Salmon over arugula. They offered warm rolls with Assiago cheese, and gave us a plate of dark chocolate shavings for dessert since we were too full to order anything else after dinner. The portions were very generous.

Our server was wonderful, a student from Romania on his 2nd year working there, who was attentive and got me the chef's ingredients for the potatoes my husband had that I'd requested on top of everything else.

The restaurant, for anyone who hasn't been, is visually beautiful, wood beams, logs, fireplaces everywhere, super decor, a gorgeous bar, and the views are very nice.

The bill, with 3 drinks, came to $97.00 before the tip.

Some people wore jeans, others were in more upscale casual attire, but it was a comfortable place that I would return to with out of town guests for the ambience and food.

As an aside, I was told by an employee that the property was sold last year to the Marriotts.

Again, I truly appreciate everyone's input and will get to all of them- Thanks!

That sounds perfect! Thanks for sharing.

Does the Marriott family have residences on the big lake?

Indeed they do.

Osteria Poggio Cupola
 

This past weekend was the 29th anniversary and I wanted to do something special and different. I read through this thread and decided to give Osteria Poggio a try. When I made the reservation I asked about the Cupola room and it was available. I also had the choice of ordering off the menu, or having the chef come up with a custom, 4-course meal, along with their choices for wine pairings. I chose the custom route. It was awesome!

First course was 2 starters...pan-seared scallops, (the big sea scallops), with a plum reduction, and diced up pepperoni on arugula with some sort of demi-glace and some sort of roasted peppers, (you can tell I paid a lot of attention to the descriptions). Excellent.

2nd course was 2 salads....one that was a bit more "tart" with super-thin slices of lemon and garnished with watermelon, and the 2nd was more "savory" with roasted cherry tomatoes and onions

3rd course was 2 pasta dishes....one a risotto that could best be described as "sweet and cheesy", and the other was gnocci, with artichoke and garlic. Both were excellent, but a slight nod to the risotto.

4th, (main), course was 2 surf n turfs...a filet mignon and halibut, with a garnish of green beans and other miscellaneous vegetables. The beef and the fish were cooked perfectly.

Dessert was a piece of white chocolate cheesecake to share, with wild berries on top.

Food and associated wine pairings were excellent, service was excellent, and the pace was perfect. The only Public Service Announcement I would provide is that The Cupola is very tight quarters. We are not large people, (5' 9" and 5' 4"), and there was no room to spare. There is just enough room up there for a table for 2 and that is it. Also, the stairway leading up to it is narrow and steep, so it would be a challenge for people who are tall/big, or have difficulty getting around.

Regardless, we are definitely going back. They recently announced mid-week spaghetti suppers and pizza and beer nights, starting mid-September, and we will definitely be checking it out. Highly recommend this restaurant!!

Thanks. Good information. We are both tall, not willowy, and tight spaces make me crazy. Cupola not a good choice for us! 🤨

29th?
 

Glad it was a great evening. Love the place. But 30 is a big year. What will you do to top 29? It gets tougher each year to top the previous year. Maybe a tradition of repeat each year and let the chef try to top himself? A favorite place is a great tradition.

who knows...??
 

My wife likes to joke, (I think :eek: ), that I am on a year-to-year renewal, so who knows if the 30th will happen...:D

Actually, though, we are considering a great family vacation for the 30th, which we have never actually done, as we spend all our family time at the lake.

We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon, and we said back then that if we ever have kids, we will bring them to Hawaii on our 20th anniversary. 10 years ago we had the whole trip booked a year in advance, but at the time of the trip our son was quite ill and in the hospital for a number of months, so we had to cancel the trip. Our kids are now lobbying for the family trip to Hawaii for our 30th, claiming that we "owe" them, (yeah, right...), so we'll see....

Don't Delay. 🏄🏻 🏄*♀️ 🌴
 

This motheaten old grizzly suggests that you go to Hawaii. It's fantastic. One can never guess what the future may hold. 🐻

Do it....life is short! Enjoy it!

Do it! We spent our 30th wedding anniversary in Hawaii this past June with our two grown boys, and had a wonderful time.

Maui used to be the hot island, but I hear that Kauai is the "go to" island these days.