Bolton’s Lake House

I want to love this place. I really do — the view and the atmosphere are great and it’s close to my
could be so much more!
1. You order at a window and then go pick a seat somewhere. There is no wait service, just food runners… kind of like a boardwalk restaurant. It’s weird but… I’ll bite. There’s a space for a tip but you guys haven’t done anything yet so why would I tip? The servers must get screwed out of tips a lot like this. I don’t carry cash.
2. All 3 times we have gone, getting a drink at the bar takes forever. Not because the place is packed — it isn’t — but the bartenders (2 different girls) are chatting in a corner with their friends while a line forms. We left instead of ordering second drinks yesterday.
3. Consistency. Chicken fingers have come out crispy and well fried once, and then soggy and gross yesterday. I could hardly eat them — the batter was sliding off the chicken.
4. No cocktail service outside so if you want a refill, you have to go back inside and wait in line. The line that takes forever.
5. The food is… decent. It’s not out of this world, it comes in a basket and they give you plasticware to eat it with. The crab cakes are good but I’m fAirly sure nothing is fresh, just frozen and fried. That said, the prices are insane for food that I ordered at a window and ate with a plastic fork. $ 25 for 2 thin crab cakes alone on a plate, chicken fingers, and a small coke is highway robbery.
Long story short this place could be so much more. Hand cut fries would go a long way. Train bartenders to be attentive and you’ll get higher turnaround, and more sales! Actual utensils would make people feel like their money is more well spent. Allow your food runners to serve drinks, so when they say «can I get you anything else?» They actually can!
I want to love this place but my wallet says it’s not worth it. :(

Nota bad place. But not a great place. Why would they name it lake house when it’s on a pond? Took forever just to get a drink outside. I had to go in and get it myself. Five min later I got my drink brought out to me. I don’t know. Didn’t try the food. Because I didn’t stick around long enough.

Went here today and food was fab! Fried clam strips fried scallops coconut shrimp was very sweet.
Service could’ve been better, it took a while for food to arrive.
The staff was very friendly! More than one staff was asking how everything was and if we needed anything.
Also a very nice view of the Kingston lake.
I would definitely come back.

The view is very nice and the food is good (it’s not outstanding but very good). If the food were a step up and the dinnerware was ceramic instead is paper and plastic (which gives a cheap feel to the meal), this place could get 5 stars.

Very Good, indeed!
Freshness and preparation is top-​notch and the deck’s view of the lake is a beautiful bonus on a sunny day or during sunset.
So happy to live so close… other area options should take note of how it’s supposed to be done…

My son got food poisoning from their clams. We will NEVER eat there again. It’s sad to see such a great location not have the quality of seafood you would expect living here in New Hampshire. When I go somewhere for seafood, I don’t want a plate of French fries with little seafood.

What in the hell just happened? Should have just robbed the money straight from my wallet without me looking Bolton’s! Nothing worse than craving fried lobster for over a month, coming out to dinner with my family for a birthday dinner, then when the lobster shows up all that was there was small pieces of fried claw meat on top of an enormous bed of tasteless frozen fries! 8 tiny claws. Somewhere there are 4 tails that these claws came from. Would have been nice if even 1 ended up in my plate! I gave you a second chance after I was left unpleased my first time Bolton’s…I won’t be back a third!
PS Stop trying to fool people with the ridiculous portion of fries making your baskets of food look huge. It’s not working!

Portion sizes have gone down. They need to keep the portions they had a year ago since your food is served in baskets and your order at a window. However everything tasted great.

Can’t recommend this for more than the bar.
Too expensive for the lousy food.
This was our second visit this summer and we’d be hard pressed to go back. Order at the window, get a number and find a table. As you might have read, the servers only drop your off, never return. No tip system seems to equal poor service.
This time I got the surf and turf special — shrimp and pulled pork. The 6 medium shrimp had a strong ammonia-​like overtone and we’re obviously precooked and thrown on the griddle for a minute for looks. The 1 cup of pulled pork tasted like it was made with meat past its date, cooked until safe and covered up with a sauce. I couldn’t eat it. Even if it weren’t so bad, $ 23 was way to much for what I got.
The first time I had the boiled lobster and steak tip special, my wife had haddock and our two kids had hot dogs. They were busy but a 45 minute wait for that kind of food is unacceptable. It’s tough to screw up boiled lobster but it was way over cooked — shrunken and tough. The steak tips were pretty lame and I felt they were defrosted in a microwave then thrown on the griddle for a minute.
We live locally and try to support local businesses but I’m all done at this place. Without much competition it understandable why they are still around if this is normal for them.

My favorite place to eat seafood without having to go too far. Love the bar, and the big deck facing the lake.

Beautiful setting, lively bar and good seafood, but my surf and turf dinner left me cold. The grilled shrimp were tasty and well prepared, but the steak (ordered rare) was cooked to a leathery finish – dark gray inside and out. Would I go back – absolutely. But this time I’ll stick to the seafood.

Really nice staff and good food. Would come back again. Extremely clean and updated as well!

I went this past Monday expecting a great meal because others said it was good. I had the worst meal ever. I got the 2 choice combo (clam strips and haddock). The clams were terrible, one big mushy mess and what was cooked had no breading because it all fell off. I found in total 4 strip that were edible. The fries were so soggy because the soggy clams were on top. The haddock was so over cooked it just became one big mess when I tried to eat it. The onion rings on the side were so under cooked that they had no color and were soggy on the inside. My boyfriend got chicken fingers and clam strips, same thing with his meal. Definitely not worth the $ 40! The view on the deck was nice but the employees working could have cared less about service or even smiling. I was so disappointed I even took a picture of my wasted food!

Location is nice, place is very clean, staff is young and very nice. With the right touch the food could be better. The surf and turf is $ 23 and I guess we just expected more. Steak tips were below average and the Haddock wasn’t fresh. Probably want to stick with a burger if you go there.

Dropped in for lunch. Had not been here in 20 or more years. I sense there may have been a few owners since my last visit. Very clean. The woman taking my order, as well as the cook and possibly the owner, was friendly and courteous. Ordered the clam basket and found the clams stuck together, greasy and poorly battered. Cole slaw lacked taste. Onion rings same as clams, poorly battered and greasy. Would not go back.

Closed for the winter… Went there several times. Great food. Portions could be a little better but I may be used to seeing heaping piles of seafood growing up as a kid. It was always enough for me… Men in my party did want more. I like the order at the counter thing… For food… Really preferred the cocktail waitresses which were only occasionally on. I don’t want to get up and go to the bar for more drinks. The fro yo was pricey but if I really wanted one… Didn’t mind paying it. Will definitely be back!

Huge improvement. New owners. I have been here under previous owners. Finally new management reached full potential. Beautiful location right on Kingston Lake. Larger menu great food very reasonable. My group of 14 people were very satisfied and they can be hard to please seniors. Parking free. Close to highway. We all had various seafood and salads. Haddock was awesome and good portions. We will go back often. Ignore paper plates and plastic cups due to being right on the lake (town regulations). Sit on deck and life the view. Photos do not do it justice. Next time I will post photos.

I’ve eaten here twice in the past two weeks. The food, service, prices and atmosphere are all incredible. My husband said they were the best fried scallops he’s ever had. We have two little ones and it’s very kid-​friendly. I’ve gotten the fish taco’s both times, more like a burrito but absolutely delicious. Excited to go some night for a date night (kidless) or with some friends so I can have a few drinks on the patio. I can’t wait to go back!

The food and service is matched only by the beautiful scenery. We stopped by on a perfect, sunny day and ordered clam chowder and whole fried clams. The food is ordered at a counter and delivered by the friendly staff.
The clams were delicious, plentiful, and reasonably priced. The fries were also well done. They also have three kinds of soft serve ice cream (non-​dairy, dairy, and sorbet) but our meal didn’t leave any room for dessert.
Highly recommended.

Decided to try the Lake House for dinner tonight and while standing in line waiting to order, I see one of the cooks sneeze into his hand. He then proceeds to pick up a handful of onion rings with that same hand and place them on a customers plate. We complained and walked out. We were disgusted.