The Anchorage — Restaurant in Sunapee

Our group of 5 stopped in for dinner after hiking Sunapee. We had searched for nearby restaurants and the menu looked good. I’ll start with the positives. The location and atmosphere were nice, right on the water with a nautical theme. The food was average overall. The burgers, chili, chowder, cowboy sandwich and egg rolls were enjoyable. Our experience would have been slightly overpriced but pleasant if it weren't for the problems. It was not crowded at all when we arrived at the tail end of dinner time on a Sunday evening. Our first hint of trouble was when the coffee came out. It was a little over room temp. The waiter apologized and went to put on a fresh pot. A glass of water had been forgotten and was requested a second time, not a big deal. Our coffee troubles were not over. When the new brew came out it was typical restaurant passable, but oddly no spoons were provided for stirring. We asked for refills when the waiter eventually stopped by. He took the mugs away to the kitchen and returned without more creamers. Were these fresh mugs? Were they switched out of order? Who knows, but coffee pots should be brought to the table. Also one of them was sloshed around with coffee spilled onto the saucer in the carrying process. When the meals arrived, the burgers were good. Not great, but good although a little too pink for how they were ordered. The cowboy sandwich and the egg rolls were well liked. Unfortunately, two of our party ordered bowls of soup as their meal. The portions that came out would barely pass for a reasonable cup. The dishes were small and shallow, not what you’d expect for $8. The chili was supposed to be loaded with meat, topped with cheese and served with cornbread per the menu. Well, there were some bits of meat in the small bowl, there was no cheese and the bread was a half-size plain dinner roll. It also should have been hotter temperature for serving. We figured it was time to get the check and go elsewhere for the rest of our meal. We had 3 separate checks. One of them was correct. Our drinks all had free refills, but two of the checks charged twice for coffee and tea, which took two corrections for the waiter to get sorted out. All told it took us nearly two hours to get out of there. It should have been maybe 45 minutes. None of us had been there before so maybe this was pre-season staff training time and not typical, but they certainly don't deserve...

I've been coming to Sunapee every summer my whole life... quite literally since I was in my pregnant momma's belly, and the Anchorage has been there for as long as I remember. Switching owners every few years was hard on continuity and quality of menu. It's almost like you have to review it every year. And why not?

So, this review is for 2016... I think it's likely to be a good one. My family and I visited at lunch. I was sad to see there was no longer a fried clam basket on the menu (though that may have been gone last year too... the years run together), but there it was as a dinner special! They were great and so were the potatoes which were sliced like chips but thick like home fries. Too much fried food for me to handle in that one platter which was HUGE, but the clams were breaded and peppered well and not greasy. I tasted my dad's chowder. That's usually a good marker for how the year is going to turn out food- wise and it was solid. It was a good hearty chowder that might show up as a contender in the chowder contest this year. Maybe not top awards, but solid, none the less, and great for a craving. The piece of fish on my husband's sandwich was also HUGE!

I will mention that I don't review on price unless everything is outrageous. It may be expensive to some but my mom and I could have easily split the fried clam dinner. Portion size was very generous, though the chowder bowls were pretty normally sized. Also, keep in mind that is hard to operate a seasonal restaurant in New Hampshire profitably. I'm happy to spend a little more to keep this place around forever.

Overall, I'll always recommend the Anchorage. The food can be great or sometimes not, but nothing beats sitting by the water with a yummy bowl of chowder in this amazing little...

Every year, we have dined at the Anchorge, and every year we have been disappointed. The best part of this years experience was the sweetest waitress. But things moved very slowly. The older floor manager/hostess seated a party in front of us, left us standing there with a young man who would not make eye contact. He looked scared stiff. She came back, did not make eye contact, looked up and asked, "how many?" No hello, how are you, nothing. She spent some dialogue with the junior host about which of the waitstaff was going to get assigned our party. He must have been in training. But we were still standing there. Very nice waitress came after ten minutes or so. Asked for drink orders but since we were ready, we ordered our meals as well. Broiled fish sandwich, Cobb salad, Caesar with chicken and macaroni and cheese from the children's menu. It was a very small serving of Kraft , dried out and congealed, but she ate it! (She was starving). Nasty piece of fish, very small and inedible, decent Cobb, and the Caesar was good (a little wilty)but not the chicken, reheated, dry and rubbery with sinew. One of us had Pepsi, the rest, water. $54 then tip. Seems like it was a training day, many staffers walking around, socializing amongst themselves, but service was slow. Busiest day of the season I imagine. We WANT to like it, beautiful spot. But mediocre to nasty food at a high price. Every year , we go, are disappointed, and don't go back. I would recommend simple sandwiches, soups with one or two specials, bar food, easy to prepare. Kitchen should not be putting out such low quality , and something is off if they can not make decent mac n cheese. If you serve fresh, decent food, people will be...