Max's Restaurant & Pub at Snowvillage Inn — Restaurant in Eaton

Recent visit was wildly disappointing. It was quiet when we arrived - just a few tables. Live Music playing, looks like fun. Let me start by saying the setting and location is stellar. It’s got a view to die for. It’s a beautiful place. It’s a hidden gem (or would be) if they could figure out how to do service. Chatting with the manager at the table I said “duck is really tough - is chef known for his duck?” And he said it was a perfectly executed duck. Gnerally I know better to order the duck, but I did. Because I love a well done duck. So long story short. An hour plus goes by and no food. Others getting served that arrived after us which makes me a little crazy. We were very confused. Waitress (inexperienced) was nowhere to be seen. The room was empty except for another waitress delivering wedge salads. After maybe an hour and 15 minutes our salads finally arrived! And then along with them 2 entrees. And then a couple more! Success! The waitress apologized and said the problem was the chef had burnt the duck and had to remake it. Well that would be just fine, it happens, but instead of do the right thing and serve the meals in a normal fashion (salads first even?) but they held all the other prepared entrees in the kitchen this whole time while he/she redid the duck. So we had ice cold spare ribs. Ice cold steak. Ice cold frites, and a duck dish that was actually warm and quite tasty. Aside from the wait we had one winner at the table. My question is - and will always be - why is hospitality so misunderstood in this area? Don’t let 3 dishes and your reputation suffer from one kitchen mistake. Stand up - Apologize - and slip in a free snack while the one ruined dish gets remade. I begged my wife to send her cold, congealed steak frites back (you could see it had been sitting for some time) but she said “I don’t have another hour to wait to eat”. Sad part is this all could have been handled seamlessly but now we are all unpleased and won’t be back. The food is not cheap - this isn’t a diner it’s high end - and the fact that the quality was not respected says a lot. Could be good on a better night - try it for yourself. But if I could figure out why experienced restaurants and chefs just mishandle service and the concept of hospitality - I’d be a rich man. And we are locals. So we’ll remember that $250 check and the cold food and...

Fortunately, we stayed no more than one night. Upon inspection of our room, the room had a low ceiling we a beam that was shy of six feet. I asked the manager if we could change rooms since I'm six foot and might bump my head on the beam or door jam at night. She wouldn't, even though we were there long before the other check-ins. The bottom bed sheet also had a sizable hole.

Food at the restaurant was expensive and disappointing. The Caesar salad was bland and tasteless with added store bought croutons. They charged us for bread which turned out to be a bland focaccia. The main course eventually came with a tired roasted chicken breast with dried seasoning baked on. It was more like the size of a quail breast. The sliced & fried potatoes were at least twice fried and dripping in grease.

The waitress was nonexistent during the course of our meal. She never came over to ask about our courses. When the meal was over, I let her know the meal was Disappointing. She brought the manager and she asked us about the meal. After we told her, she barely listened as she told us the restaurant gets awards and excellent revues. She made us feel that we had no idea what we were talking about. Needless to say, we decided not to leave a tip. The manager later took it upon herself the next day to add a tip to the bill and add a service charge for the room.

My overall opinion is steer clear until they find new management and chef.

In the area of Eaton Center, NH, we would recommend the friendlier Inn at...

My boyfriend and I stayed here for our anniversary and now we absolutely can't wait to visit again. The Inn is adorable and rustic, the staff welcoming and friendly. We stayed in the Chimney House. Our room was super cozy with its own gas fireplace and a very comfortable bed. They had freshly baked cookies in the room for us when we arrived. We got the beer and nuts package. I don't know what their spiced nuts recipe is but it was amazing. We got to end each day by sitting comfortably by a crackling fire with our drinks or cozying up in our room to the gas fireplace, playing board and card games. The food at the pub was delicious and each morning we went over for a fantastic breakfast that started off with freshly baked muffins. My only small disappointment was that the pub didn't offer a more casual menu for dinner. But the area is close by to more great restaurants. And it is right down the road from King Pine, which is full of all different kinds of winter activities. The attention to the small details at this inn was so touching. You don't get freshly baked goods and romantic breakfasts (their eggs in a basket were heart shaped and I almost couldn't get over how cute it was) just anywhere. We loved our stay and made so many great memories here. We will definitely be back to...