Top of the Park

Wow, talk about culinary GOLD.
After a long weekend outing in Wilmington, my friends and I ended our trip with a drive to Lake Placid to explore the town. The weather was colder than usual, so shortly after walking on the frozen lake, we were craving some hot cider and munchies. This and a quick Unilocal search (because what kind of Elite would I be if I didn’t) yielded Top of the Park.
On the top floor of a sports bar, Top of the Park is a relatively new and small establishment right on the edge of Mirror Lake. It has a small bar seating area with two small TV’s showing sports, but the rest of it is 6 – 8 tables of indoor fine dining and the same amount of tables outdoors. In case you are adventurous enough to sit outside during the winter, Top of the Park actually has heat lamps that are supposed to keep you warm, but I imagine the scenery is beautiful no matter the weather.
Our server, Maria, was very friendly. She explained the tapas styling of their menu, made great recommendations, and chatted with us quite a bit given we were there at 5:00 pm and no one else was there for dinner yet. (The restaurant did fill up a bit by the time we left.) We even found out she lived in NYC for some time. Way to represent!
Because everything was tapas style, our party of four ended up ordering six dishes, two of them being the specials. The pricing is pretty similar to NYC tapas pricing ($ 10−16/dish), but OH. MY. GOD. Everything was AMAZING. I had so many mouth-​gasms in that meal it should be a sin.
1) Confit chicken wings — dare I say… better than Korean fried chicken?! The skin was so crispy, the meat was so juicy, and the flavor from the brine and duck fat added so much dimension.
2) Roast quail — never had quail before, but it wasn’t dry or gamey whatsoever, and the mushroom ragout was sooo yummy.
3) Seared wagyu beef — perfectly cooked and tender meat, and jus was perfect.
4) Rainbow trout — perfectly cooked fish (read: not dry), and the white butter sauce was so good I wanted to lick the plate, but instead I just tried to scoop up more wild rice with the sauce.
5) Pork tenderloin (special) — same thought as the beef.
6) Truffle mac & cheese (special) — I was already full by this point, but I still managed to stuff myself with a little bit of this and the garlic bread. The «mac» was more like tortellini, but the «cheese» was so creamy and cheesy.
If I ever find myself in Lake Placid again, I am definitely coming back!

Amazing. We stopped for drinks while visiting the area, the drinks were delicious and the bartenders were extremely friendly and the service was great. We will absolutely be back when visiting the area

Fantastic place that serves fine dining quality plates on a smaller scale… great if you’re looking for a laid back casual place but want the high quality food that’s cooked to order. The tuna dish, wayagu beef, and calamari dishes were amazing. The aged balsamic strawberry dessert was to die for. Exec chef Bill Bentz was a really cool friendly guy and an amazing chef. Truly everything we ate was delicious!

Great spot in town, cocktails are on point and beer list is impressive. Cheese plate and small plates are very good!

Couldn’t be more please. The manager Elyse was wonderful. Great service and food. Don’t leave without having the Chocolate balsamic strawberries.

This place is the bomb. They have amazing cocktails and the food is ridiculously good. They are «small» plates but they are very fairly sized. My husband and I shared 4 plates and it was sufficient enough to hold us off for many hours before a light dinner. The staff is very enthusiastic and passionate about the cocktails and food. Wonderful atmosphere and amazing views of the lake and town.

Excellent food, great drink selection and even better staff! Sit inside or outside. In the winter they have heaters and fires on the deck. Try the pan seared feta. A must visit!!!

We picked this place for dinner with the intention of trying out all the small plates and the food did not disappoint. We did have to order essentially 80% of the menu to share between 2 people, but it’s a chance to try out a lot of different things. Everything was well prepared in decent portion and beautiful presentation.
The cosy and calm atmosphere is much appreciated given the tourist-​y nature of this area of town. On a less chilly night, you may opt to sit outside to take in the night view of the lake and keep warm by the fire. Do bring your date here and dress nice. Try to ignore the big family hovering around the tall table in sweatshirts and sneakers.
On the downside the place does suffer from an identity crisis of wanting to be both an elegant tapas bar AND a homey sports bar. Personally I do wish the lights were a bit dimmer and there was no distracting TV right behind the bar.

Wonderful hideaway on the second floor of a building overlooking Mirror Lake (there’s a sports bar below). After a short day on the slopes, I dragged my gf here around 5 pm for an afternoon snack/​early dinner. Tapas/​small plates seemed like a good way to go.
We walked in just as the staff was opening up. They were very friendly and invited us to check out the view from the patio. We sat inside, but braver souls ventured out and turned out not to need bravery at all – TotP is prepared with blankets and table tikis and bonfires to warm you up.
The drinks selection was great across the board (they take liquor and wine seriously here). TO start, we ordered a half plate of Charcuterie (Cured Wild Boar, Prosciutto, Venison, Duck, Irish Cheddar, Shallot Marmalade, Grain Mustard, Toasted Baguette). The wild boar was not available and somehow I was able to live with that. It was delicious.
Also:
Seared Wagyu Beef: ****
Pan-​Seared Local Feta: ***** Amazing!!!
Rainbow Trout (Wild Rice, Chive Beurre Blanc): ****
All in all, an outstanding option for light bites and drinks, with a view that can’t be beat.

Fun and attentive staff
Tuna was delicious and we ordered a second plate of the Wagyu Beef

This is by far the best place to come enjoy cocktails and an amazing meal. The staff is personable and very friendly. I would recommend coming to Top of the Park to everyone. They are happy and will explain any dish or drink. They work hard to please the patron.

View is perfect, décor is great. Dave the bartender is the icing on the cake. He puts so much attention in every cocktail.

Really good service. Clean place. Expensive little dishes. The cheese plate was great. The calamari was not my liking and so small for what you pay for. Good value for the wine. But shocked that I was charged $ 2 twice for a little bit of extra bread. I mean really cmon? And not even saying anything but putting it on the bill. A little communication would have been nice. And then… They turned off the mets World Series game in the 7^th inning for college football.
Not going back.

Awesome place for drinks and small bites with a killer view of Mirror Lake. We had a phenomenal evening here watching the lunar eclipse. Hospitality was warm and welcoming up to and including offering us fluffy blankets to cover up with as the chill of the evening set in. Drinks and food were all reasonably priced and delicious. Don’t miss the wings!

Beautiful view! Excellent service and great drink choices. The food is pretty fancy but looks beautiful. We just had a few drinks and the server brought us blankets and was extremely friendly. Best view!

Second time worked out much better. It’s getting chilly in September and they have plenty of thick fluffy blankets for you and your family.
First time the service sucked.
The wings are the best we ordered three for 4 of us.
There is only ONE scallop in the scallop dish. It’s very delicious but it’s $ 14 for one scallop.

The small plates are delicious, the views are perfection, the libations are tasty and the owner, Rob, is a delightful host. We will definitely be back again!

Ordered one of everything on the menu except nuts and anchovies. Wings are REALLY good. The trout was delicious and the wagyu beef was great. Everything else was ok and Id stay away from the salad. Just wasn’t worth trying or special. The scallop (singular for $ 12) was tasty but it was literally one and overpriced big time.
The cheese and meat plates were solid and the server told us where everything came from. Would definitely get the meat plate, wings, beef and trout again. However, we probably won’t be back just due to extremely slow service. Not the servers fault. Kitchen seemed bombarded and it was Labor Day weekend on a Saturday night. But we didn’t receive our first piece of food for about an hour and it is all small plates. So regardless of how busy it was, that was disappointing.
If it wasn’t for some of the overpriced items and the slow service would have definitely been 3 stars and potentially 4.
TLDR: Focus is definitely bar, not food and should be treated that way. My review is based off of food, food prices, and speed of service. People may go here for drinks and 1 – 2 plates and it would probably be perfect for that.

We visited Top of the Park for our wedding after party and were extremely pleased with the service and drinks we enjoyed there. It’s located on the top floor of Players at the intersection of Main St and Saranac Lake Ave. We paraded over there with a group of 75 or so merrymakers around 11 pm and they were more than happy to accommodate us in the long bar and indoor seating area, as well as the large patio overlooking the lake. Huge selection of drink options and the staff was quick to serve and keep everyone’s drink full.
Tip: they do have an elevator if stairs are an issue!
Hopefully next time we can give the food a try!

It is more of an upscale bar/​restaurant with excellent cocktails, Food not recommended for kids. The appetizer are excellent and their main menu is limited, but it is outstanding.