A North Country Treat - Northland Restaurant & Dairy Bar in Berlin, NH
Written: Feb 27 '07
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Pros: Inexpensive, Quality food, Good service, Nice view of river
Cons: They should do breakfast!
The Bottom Line: Northland is a well kept restaurant with a pleasant dining atmosphere that offers good food at great prices
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| jps246's Full Review: Northland Restaurant & Dairy Bar |
Looking for a good place to eat while visiting northern New Hampshire? The Northland Restaurant and Dairy Bar in The City That Trees Built (Berlin, New Hampshire) mixes good food, good service and low prices together in a restaurant that you’ll probably end up adding to your list of stops when you’re in the area.
Located north of the center of Berlin on Route 16 near the Berlin/Milan town line, the Northland Restaurant sits up against the edge of the Androscoggin River and portions of the dining room look right out across the water.
The original Northland Restaurant and Dairy Bar burned down several years ago and the restaurant now has been rebuilt and open for a few years. It’s a large building with several individual dining rooms that can handle most crowds (I’ve never seen a waiting line when I’ve been there) and they can also handle private events in a number of different rooms.
When can I go?
The Northland Restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner – but these are northern New Hampshire hours, so while they open at a respectable 11 in the morning, they generally close at 9 on weeknights and 10 on Friday and Saturday.
There’s no difference between the lunch and dinner menus – the full menu is available throughout the day.
In addition to the sit-down service, you can call your order in and pick it up for take-out. You can also walk in and order take-out.
There’s also a ice cream parlor inside the building where you can order various sundaes and ice cream cones without having to sit down in the restaurant.
What do I find on the menu?
Pretty much anything you’ll find at any typical American bar and grill, you’ll find here at Northland, with a slight slant towards what I would consider comfort foods. This is solidly American fare – about as foreign as you’ll find is a few pasta dishes.
Starters, salads and soups
There are several different appetizers and salads available, though much to my chagrin, there’s no chicken Caesar or just plain Caesar salad available. I generally stick with the chicken fingers or the mozzarella sticks appetizers, as the others don’t really interest me. They include things like jalapeno poppers, spinach and artichoke dip and green pepper strips. The salads are basically divided into small and large garden salads and then a chef salad. There are also several different soups to choose from if you want. The chicken and rice, while not the best in the world, is good and is a great way to warm up on a cold northern New England evening.
Burgers and sandwiches
The majority of Northland’s menu is filled up with different sandwiches and burgers and includes a number of different deli sandwiches. You can even get yourself a hot dog or a buffalo burger! The deli sandwiches include basically any kind of sandwich you can imagine – if you can’t find it on the menu, just ask and they are willing to make it. I’ve used this part of the menu for hikes – I’ll go to dinner and order a sandwich for take-out and then have my lunch for the next day’s hike.
Platters
Here’s where I usually order my dinners from and almost always get the hot open turkey sandwich platter. You get a heaping portion of freshly cut turkey over bread (or stuffing) and then you get two sides, which you can pick from their extensive side menu. It includes fries, vegetables and a small garden salad to name just a few. There’s also various seafood items here like shrimp and scallops, along with prime rib, grilled chicken and ham steak. On Sundays they also have a fresh carved platter menu available that includes roast turkey, roast beef and baked ham.
Desserts
If you’ve managed to save room after dinner, Northland’s has an extensive selection of fresh desserts made right there and as you’ve probably guessed from the second part of their name, Dairy Bar, they do have a wide variety of ice cream available too. Everyone who’s had it enjoys the cheesecake (I’m not a cheesecake person) and I’ve also liked the apple pie, which you can get heated up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
My favorites
I almost always get the hot turkey sandwich when I go to Northland, along with fries and since I can’t get a Caesar salad, I go with a small side salad with my meal. My partner loves the fried or baked haddock platters and we have both been known to get a burger or a grilled chicken sandwich from time to time. We’ve also used Northland to get a sandwich so we have lunch the next day – we just make sure to get it without mayo so that it doesn’t get soggy overnight.
Costs
The most amazing think about Northland for flatlanders (those of us not from northern New Hampshire) is the price. Compared to just about any restaurant I’ve run across in eastern Massachusetts or even in the more touristy areas of New Hampshire, you will be paying a third to a half less money than you would elsewhere.
The average platter runs around $9 and when you add drinks along with an appetizer or dessert, you’re looking at spending at most, around $15 a person. That’ll be even smaller if you get sandwiches or skip an appetizer or dessert.
We had a large group of eight people at our most recent visit and all together, with all of us getting various platters, the total only came to roughly $150 and that was with plenty of wine and beer flowing.
You really do get your money’s worth here.
Service
I've never had a bad service experience at Northland. There are always multiple servers working each dining room and they are all very attentive, even if you aren't one of their tables. Just speak up and you'll be taken care of.
Final Thoughts
If you are in Northern New Hampshire and you are looking for a place to eat, consider swinging through Berlin and stopping at Northland Restaurant and Dairy Bar. You’ll find a well kept restaurant with a pleasant dining atmosphere that offers good food at great prices.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations The senior citizens hit the place for dinner around 4
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