The Cottage at Mirror Lake Inn — Restaurant in Town of North Elba

Ive been coming to lake placid for 20 years. first off, almost every dish at the Cottage is microwaved. Its unreal how they pull it off. But the locals don't order much of it and the tourists have no clue. Furthermore, its super expensive and ultra-limited.

On the drink side, if you can get a spot at the bar you're in business. BUT, the bartenders don't move quickly and apparently as of late, you can't sit at a table to have drinks only. Where that puts you is in a narrow area between the dining room and the bar, reaching over another patron to get a drink. Regulars and important people gather at the end near the service bar where the bartenders give 99 percent of their time. Stand over there to increase your odds. Just get ready for the pissed off, career server to yell at you for standing in the way between the kitchen and the dining room.

Then you get the check. Immediately things run through your head. You can't believe it. Questions like "hey, i thought i ordered a house Cab...why is it $10 per glass?". or "I thought it was happy hour, why is my domestic bottle of beer $6.50 ?". "wait, does that bill say $75 dollars for 2 people? We were only here 2 hours!" Then you remind yourself its a tourist town. You remind yourself you're "paying for the location". You say to yourself, I guess $10 for a 12 oz bloody is about right.

When you finally get out of there, you have a "never going back" attitude. You tell yourself its the last time and the place is a total scam. Then a week or so later a friend comes into town. Or maybe you're looking for a quiet place to get a glass of wine, and the Cottage comes to mind. The Cycle repeats. Lets go to the Cottage you say! Here, here! One of the best places in Lake Placid! A true locals favorite! Ahhhhh, like the battered wife you return, thinking maybe its just you...maybe you need to give it another try...maybe you should stop being so judgmental.

Like the circle of life, it repeats again and again and again.

Well, I'll tell you what. I'll go again but i'll be the first to admit its the worst food , most horrible service and over priced place in the whole town. But until someplace pops up like it, i'm stuck. And so are you. Maybe i'll see you there. I'll be the guy standing with his jacket in his hand because I can't get a seat or sit down in the dining room because I don't want to order the overpriced microwaved food. Then i'll be the guy walking over to the Dancing Bear Lounge saying to my friend ,"I'm...

I have eaten at the Cottage on three occasions. Each time it has overall been a great dining experience, especially at night when Mirror Lake is lit up. The restaurant has a warm ambiance, the staff is friendly, and the food is generally good. Prices are a bit on the high side compared to similar foods at other restaurants. On this most recent visit, our table service was unfortunately not up to usual standards. Our server might have been new or maybe the place was just too busy, but our table was not bussed at all. Dirty plates from our appetizers and soups sat on the table for our entire 1.5 hour visit. It was also difficult to flag our server for additional items. The buffalo chicken dip appetizer was a bit underwhelming for $14.75, but the apple squash bisque was excellent. My black bean burger on a pretzel roll was fantastic, though it would be nice to have an option for french fries rather than chips (the restaurant does not have a fryer). The space inside the restaurant is rather cramped. It's been like that for years, and it's a bit worse with COVID restrictions and the clear dividing walls that are being used to separate patrons. The bathrooms are very small, and my sister complained about having to walk through the kitchen to get to the women's room. After all these years, I would expect the restaurant to invest some funds into expanding the space, especially considering its popularity. Maybe it's not possible, but there seems to be some land available for an addition. Still, The Cottage remains one of our favorite places to dine at when we are in...

Let's start with the positive, the view is amazing, well if there aren't any flies on the windows, I counted 5 when I was there. But it is right on the water and late summer...

Another highlight was the hostess, great attitude and accommodating.

We walked in a little before noon, there was one other table inside and several occupied on the patio. Three servers and the bartender to cover this. The four of them stood at the bar talking and laughing very loudly. They tended to the tables around us, but not us, not even water to drink.

Just as I said to my wife Let's go, 5-10 minutes after we had been sitting there. A server apparently had drawn the short straw and came to our table, saying there had been a mix up in communication. Maybe that was what the bar chat was about, laughing about who had to serve us...

We ordered two sandwiches, two glasses of tea, and a side of macaroni side. The tea was old, the macaroni salad was from a carton, the sandwiches were good, but could have been made at home, and the kettle chips were from a bag. This cost over $50?

Ridiculous, do what you want, but I won't darken...