Solstice

My wife and I don't have kids and don't live near any of our relatives, and so consequently we're not super interested in doing a ton of holiday cooking when it's just the two of us. Instead we've tended to look for nice local restaurants that do a holiday buffet... and we've come to the conclusion that by far the best holiday buffet in the northwestern Vermont area is at Solstice. The food is superb and cooked right in front of you in an open kitchen, and the ingredients are locally sourced. Very little, if any, comes off the back of a Sysco truck. The waitstaff are friendly and attentive and the atmosphere is comfortable and relaxing.

DO NOT RECOMMEND So I wanted something different for Valentines Day and opted to try a resort. We knew it would cost more but for a 4 star plus hotel we figured the quality of food would match. We were wrong. The prices to food portions and flavor were WAY off. Lobster cavatelli pasta $36. It was flavorless. It was milk maybe some cheese, couldn’t taste it or tell in the texture, three leaves of spinach and maybe an oz of lobster? That’s being generous. The scallop dinner? $26 for 3 scallops that tasted like scallops nothing more. Not a full sized vegetable in sight and a soggy piece of bread that felt like it sat in water. The hostess had an awful attitude. Our waitress was nice and checked in on us but she was never the one to bring us our drinks or food. Felt like my tip should have gone to the whole staff. The hush puppies sat in the fryer too long and turned dry. There wasn’t enough sauce to save them. We didn’t even get dessert for fear of further disappointment. A $150 meal with one drink each I think is normal for a special night out but not for the poor quality of food. We actually talked about stopping at a grocery store to fill up after the meal...

We had dinner here on our first night of stay. We had our dog with us so we sat in the lobby. Server gave a fries as a side on my burger instead of salad but he was quick to replace it. No biggie. Found out later from our waitress that the lodge takes trainees/interns from around the world. We thought it was cool. So that probably explains the slightly not so perfect service from previous reviews. Well anyway we order a burger (18$) and a club house sandwich (18$) and crab rangoon as appetizer. Food is delish but price is very steep for what it is (expected of a luxury hotel) the crab rangoon was really good!

Spruce peak itself is an amazing place to stay, we loved our stay and the staff was helpful in every way. Which is why I tried this restaurant, it’s easy and we don’t have to drive around. Considering it’s so pricey I wasnt really satisfied with the quality/quantity of the food. The food had cute presentation but lacked flavor. Not worth the amount spent at all, nor was the service given that night. It’s very hit or miss I will Say, we did complementary breakfast a couple of times. First time was terrible terrible service BUT good food. Second time we finally had a great server who made us happy and a good meal as well. I cant speak for the whole menu but it’s a game of risk dining here, can’t go wrong with their breakfast! Save yourself the trouble and try out a local food spot, the ones we tried were amazing and worth the price!

Solstice has done an impressive job managing space in their restaurant despite COVID restrictions. Warm, lofty ambiance with lots of wooden beams and paneling. Hostess and wait staff were very kind, if a tiny bit slow. Food was tasty, though perhaps not good enough to earn the price of the meal. Unique cocktails. Large menu with moderately-sized portions. Would recommend the warm table cheese! Would I go again? Sure, if I happened to be at Stowe. But I wouldn’t make a special trip.

We ordered pancake, Omelette toast and fruit platter as to go. When we came back to the room to have breakfast we see that maple syrup was missing for pancake, toast was missing and strawberries in the fruit platter was mushy. The restaurant was in the same location where we stayed and thought of trying it. The resort and its service is really good but this restaurant does not provide similar service.