The Inn at Hancock — Hotel in Hancock

Pinks at the Inn at Hancock, a fun but flawed restaurant.

Pros

• Attractively decorated, if not appropriately country, dining room with well-spaced tables

• Menu with numerous interesting meat and fish selections, and several specials as well

• A friendly, attentive and knowledgeable waiter

• Good mixed drinks and an extensive, interesting mocktail list

• Nice jazz music from the lounge, although rather loud even in the dining room

Cons

• Four of us ordered the Turbot special, and all four plates were lukewarm, and that’s being generous. Cold fish for $79 per turbot entree, with no side dishes doesn't work.

• We wanted a nice white wine to go with our fish, but the white wine list has exactly 11 choices. Ten are under$100, and the 11th is a $1,500 white that won't be ready to drink for years. Really? The under $100 list is not well chosen, and the Chablis we ordered was borderline undrinkable.

• Very pricey for what one gets--$375 per couple without the wine. At this price point, a restaurant needs to deliver, and Pinks does not, at least not to the level of the cost.

• When you make a reservation at Pinks, you get an overly fussy e-mail about dressing for the occasion, suggesting wearing jackets “should the spirit move you.” So we all wore jackets, but we were the only table in the entire dining room with jackets. Pinks, the market has spoken, and it's time for this country inn to drop its pretensions about jackets.

Conclusions

• We wanted to love Pinks, but this price point isn’t going to fly in rural NH. So the restaurant will depend on attracting mostly Boston and New York visitors who are more accustomed to paying up. But this audience also knows what kind of a dining experience to expect at the Pinks price point, and Pinks doesn’t provide that, at least not yet

• Everything about the dining room and presentation suggests a top-quality meal is forthcoming, thus making the cardinal mistake of over-promising and under-delivering

• And yet we all had an enjoyable time at the Pinks. I hope Pinks gets its act together and fulfills the ambitious expectations it is...

I genuinely enjoy everything about The Hancock Inn: its location, the food, the service, the rooms, and the ambiance. Make no mistake about it, Hancock in and of itself is the quintessential tiny New England village, with a simple main street that harks back to the Colonial days, a general store, and no traffic lights. You won't find any amusement parks or loud distractions here - and that's probably just what you need. While modern day necessities such as Wifi and cable TV are available at The Inn, the things you don't realize you need are right outside of your door, be it the lovely garden behind the restaurant or the serene small town vibes just out front. Owners Marsha and Jarvis are perfect hosts, ensuring both your comfort and your happiness are a priority. The innkeepers and contributing staff follow the lead of the owners, providing a level of service that makes it seem that they are delighted to do so, a rare find in this modern fast-paced world. Dinners are delicious and inventive, and an opportunity to do so outdoors in the garden is always tempting when conditions permit. For me, the game changer is the breakfast. Jarvis brings a rare talent to the breakfast kitchen, waving his wand over simple delights like homemade English muffins, steel cut oats, homemade sausage, and poached eggs, and ultimately creating magical deliciousness. Wondering if each bite is the best bite you've ever had of each of the items has become the norm for me there, and with five breakfasts now under my belt, I can say confidently that The Hancock Inn puts the "breakfast" in bed and breakfast, making it an ideal destination rather than just a stop along the way for a weary traveler. Kudos to the entire team at The Hancock Inn and thank you for everything you do to have made my stays both memorable and...

The attention to detail that owners Marcia and Jarvis Coffin have given the Hancock Inn became apparent the moment Catherine and I stepped into the lobby, when I pulled out my wallet and Marcia told me to put my money away and she and Jarvis greeted us with an old-fashion handshake. Marcia then gave us a tour of the inn, starting with a quaintly furnished sitting room and a colonial tavern with wooden plank flooring and a bar downstairs. We passed a cozy reading nook in the hall stationed at a window at the top of the stairs. As we entered our spacious room our hearts opened up. While the room’s colonial charm (private fireplace!) was consistent with the rest of the inn, Marcia and Jarvis also managed to provide modern luxurious accommodations, which meant we didn’t have to have to sleep on a horse-hair mattress or listen to pipes rattle inside the walls like some ghost’s ball and chain. We stayed in The Bell Tower suite and, despite the name, we had a sound sleep in a comfortable canopied bed with a breeze wafted over us from a soundless air conditioner. Throughout the inn, the quality of workmanship in the woodwork, the colonial furniture and period artwork bolstered a warm and authentic atmosphere, but the overall cleanliness won Catherine and me over. No stained chairs or worn carpets or spider webs anchored to table legs. In the morning we enjoyed a fresh home-style breakfast in the tavern, which overlooked the expansive, well-kept grounds that included their organic vegetable garden. The garden is actually kept up by Jan, one of the Hancock Inn’s stellar employees. Her strawberries would turn the Jolly Green Giant even greener with envy.

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