One of the things that brings us back to Lake Placid year after year is that the town has a lot of restaurants for its small size and most of them are family-friendly, reasonably priced and pretty good.
There is plenty of standard ski-town fare: pizza, pasta, chili, steaks and burgers. But we see creative dishes, sometimes where we least expect them.
On our last two visits we encountered “ski-town pricing” more than we had in the past. We had pizza delieverd one night to offset pricey dinners on other nights.
Many places don’t accept reservations; some do if you call. And some very busy places have virtual waiting lists. Since we usually stay in town, we’ve added our name to a list and relaxed in our hotel lobby until our name was about to be called.
If it’s not Friday or Saturday, double check restaurant hours. A lot of places close on Mondays and Tuesdays in winter. Others stop serving at an earlier hour from Sunday through Thursday.
These are some of our favorite Lake Placid family dining spots.
More Trip-Planning Help:
• Read more: Top Things To Do With Kids In Winter in Lake Placid.
• I review My 2 favorite Lake Placid Hotels with ideal locations.
• Book the best price on a great Lake Placid hotel.
• Rent a vacation home right on Mirror Lake.
9 Lake Placid Restaurants That Both Parents and Kids Will Love
1. Kid-Friendly Brewpub: Lake Placid Pub & Brewing
We never leave town without a meal or two at Lake Placid Brewing. We have long loved all their beers and reliable pub fare—great chili, onion soup, fish & chips and sandwiches— in reasonable portions.
The first floor is a bar area with foosball and electronic hockey. The ceiling is low and it can be loud when it’s crowded. I prefer the upstairs dining room/bar. It has college pennants all over the walls, plus more tables, more light and reasonable noise levels.
If you have kids under 7, the well-maintained kids’ play area up on the third floor will make you love this place even before the food comes.
The Best Restaurants at Hotels
2. The Cottage Café
My favorite lunch spot in town, hands down, is The Cottage, the Mirror Lake Inn’s festive lakeside café. The room is lovely, the tab is reasonable, and no matter how busy it is, the service is friendly.
On our most recent visit, Rich and I shared a warm Brussels sprout salad and flat-bread pizza with a variety of sausages. It was a perfect light winter lunch. Tween Traveler had a cheese pizza off of the kids menu, which was what you would expect it to be.
I had lunch there with a girlfriend a few days later. We both had hot apple cider (not spiked, though that’s an option). She had chili in a bread bowl and I had a flatbread with ham, apple, red onion, mozzarella, blue cheese and a drizzle of honey. It sounds odd but was really tasty.
This is not the place to go with a big group. Even for two-to-four people, the wait for a table can be long at prime lunch or dinner hours. We’ve gotten a table with no wait midweek or mid-afternoon. Once when we did have to a wait we put our name on the list, took a beeper and went to play on the frozen lake until our table was ready.
3. Peak 47
I’ve had lunch twice at Peak 47, the pub at the Whiteface Lodge, after enjoying treatments at its lovely spa on girl’s days out.
The dining room has a cozy Alpine feel with a big fireplace and windows that look out on snow-covered trees.
The menu has quite a few interesting and appealing items. On our last visit my friend had a pumpkin-and-apple soup and I had tartiflette, a small pot of melted cheese with chunks of potatoes, onions, lardons and sausage mixed in and bread to spread it on. It’s rich, but it was an appetizer and a modest portion. It’s a good app to share though, maybe with a salad alongside it.
Previously we both ordered the chicken sandwich with fig jam, Swiss cheese and bacon. It came with freshly made potato chips and crunchy, lightly dressed cole slaw.
It’s not busy in the afternoon and it’s easy to get a table near the windows or the fireplace, whichever you prefer. I imagine it gets more crowded as people return from their winter activities in the late afternoon.
The Lodge is outside of town, on the road toward Saranac Lake.
4. Generations
We’ve had good breakfasts at Generations when we’ve stayed at the Golden Arrow, which has the best lakeside location in town. We recently had dinner for the first time in a while. It has a more appealing menu and modestly better prices than some of the other hotel restaurants on Main Street.
Three of the six people at our table had beef on weck, their signature sandwich, which is similar to a French dip but served on a kaiser roll with caraway seeds and salt (the weck). Some had it with the Swiss cheese and caramelized onions and some without, but they all gave it a thumbs up.
Teen Traveler and I both ordered fried Brussels spriouts and gnocci. I wasn’t expecting the gnocchi to be fried, too. It was crunchy and the tomato, red onion, truffle oil and Parmesan tossed in gave it a complex flavor.
If you are waiting for friends or just popped in for a beer, order the giant Bavarian pretzel. It’s served warm with cheese sauce and a piquant German mustard they make in-house.
The dessert menu is short, but the cheesecake and apple tart are both winners.
Quick, Easy Lunches
5. Wyatt’s
When we want something very quick, cheap and easy we head to Wyatt’s, a Tex-Mex counter inside the Alpine Mall on next to the Golden Arrow.
Everything in this burrito joint is fresh and feels homemade. The beans and meat that were supposed to have a kick had a nice one — they have their own hot sauce if you need more heat.
Tiny Traveler, was not a burrito fan on our first visit and was happy with a plate of rice, beans and cornbread. Now she happily tucks into their made-to-order tacos or burritos. They have recently added mac & cheese to the menu, too, an easy kids’ favorite.
The price is right. They have a counter and a few tables inside the mall. But most people get their Tex-Mex to go.
9. The River View Café
The River View Cafe at High Falls Gorge is one of my favorite places in the area. The menu and hours are slightly different every time we visit. But what remains the same is the comfy love seat next to the wood stove with a view of the gorge.
I’ve spent a few happy mornings here with a mug of tea or a latté and my laptop while my family was skiing at Whiteface Mountain, just up the road. We’ve also stopped for aprés ski hot cocoa and tap beer in the afternoon when it has kept longer hours.
The winter “brunch” menu is a mix of hearty breakfast dishes and lunch items like grilled cheese and chili. It’s closed on Wednesday and Thursday in the winter and is otherwise open until 3:00.
Lisa G’s Restaurant
On our latest we didn’t get to eat at Lisa G’s because they had cut back their winter hours to a few evenings a week. This was too bad. It’s on the outskirts of town and is a convenient lunch spot from the ski jumping, cross-country ski trails or the Mount Hoevenberg complex.
On a previous visit, four adults loved it; two teens were so-so on it. Both ordered wings because other items that might have appealed had twists they were suspicious of, like garlic-scallion fries with the fish ‘n’ chips.
There are tempting vegetarian options, like Moroccan nachos and a curry noodle bowl. Rich and I split a coconut-butternut squash soup and steak-and-Swiss sandwich. The chili, burgers and fries (with or without garlic and scallions) are good, too.
5. The Pickled Pig
The Picked Pig is right across from the Olympic Center and can be packed on nights when there are ice skating or hockey events. It’s a kid-friendly place with reasonable prices and portions that are very shareable.
Over several visits, we’ve tried the chili, chicken tacos with maple-jalapeño slaw, shrimp tacos with mango salsa, and pulled-pork and brisket sandwiches. The tacos were especially good.
On our two most recent visits I’ve found their food a little heavy. I’d like to see a salad, sandwich or soup on the menu that doesn’t have pork in it. The shrimp tacos are your best bet for something that’s easier on the arteries, but they come three to an order and none of can ever eat all three.
Teen Traveler is fond of the place because it’s where she discovered Saranac Shirley Temple soda. Most restaurants have it, and some have Saranac’s ginger beer, orange soda or root beer, too.
For a Fancier Dinner
7. Jimmy’s 21 Lakeside Italian
We’ve eaten in Jimmy’s three years in a row now and it’s likely to be an annual repeat for us.
It’s mostly standard Italian dishes but they are done reliably well and the service is always cordial, even when they’re busy and our teens are indecisive.
The lasagna, fettucine alfredo, lobster ravioli and NY strip steak are reliable and repeat orders for our group. This year I tried the scallopini with mushrooms, roasted red peppers and white wine garlic sauce The flavors mingled well and it was filling without being heavy.
Jimmy’s takes reservations by phone. We got a table without one on two visits but not without a wait. If you have more than four people, want to eat at the peak dinner hour or have young, impatient children, I would recommend calling.
Breakfast & Coffee in Lake Placid
8. The Downtown Diner
The Downtown Diner, which sits right at the beginning of town, doesn’t look like much from the outside, but we’ve gotten in the habit of having a big breakfast here on our last morning before leaving town. It’s no-frills decor hides consistently good made-from-scratch food.
The service is friendly and everything is made in-house from the hash to the salsa I had on Mexican eggs on a previous stay. On our latest visit I had excellent blueberry pancakes while everyone else had omelets, scrambled eggs and biscuits. Both the chandeliers and the hot cocoa are fabulous so don’t miss either.
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Photos of Lake Placid BrewPub, Saranac Soda, the Cottage, Liquids & Solids cocktail and the disco ball by FamiliesGo©. All others courtesy of the restaurants.