Reviews for Lago Trattoria

06/17/2024 - Ronny B.
Good service

07/11/2023 - TAS
Lago is part of the Common Man group of restaurants that has stuck it out in the NH restaurant scene for a long time. Unfortunately this one seems to be struggling now on most fronts. The waterfront setting in lovely Meredith is a fantastic backdrop for a meal. However our dinner tonight amounted to one execution whiff after another. We came to celebrate good news with friends, and Lago's service and food took a lot of fun out of what should have been a great evening.

We brought a magnum of a high end wine with us, knowing from past visits that Lago's wine selection is very pedestrian. The wait staff informed us that management wouldn't allow us to open that bottle, even with a corking fee. What a bummer.

But then the cascade of errors mounted. Three different times serving pieces came out dirty (two plates and a fork) over the course of dinner. Yuck. By dirty I mean bits of food stuck to it that were obvious to the naked eye.

Our flatbread appetizer took over an hour to arrive. While the restaurant wasn't particularly swamped the kitchen was plainly struggling to keep up. That wait continued as we twiddled out thumbs waiting for our entrees. Unfortunately, this reminded us of prior experiences at Lago.

I saw a veal dish on the menu that looked great and asked the server to check with the kitchen to be sure they pound their veal thin. She ran off and quickly came back saying they told her it would be. When it arrived it was as thick as a steak or a pub burger. The flavor was okay, but total whiff on a specific request. My wife had to hunt all over her seafood risotto for a few minor scraps of lobster. This is New England people! We can go to Shaw's or Hannfords and get live lobster steamed for <$12/lb most of the time! Getting chintzy on your priciest menu item is lame.

At least the table bread was tasty.