4 Best Restaurants in Lakes Region, New Hampshire

A legit contender in New Hampshire's fierce battle for the best pancake house, this rustic timber-frame roadhouse is run by a family who've been producing maple syrup for five generations. Open only on weekends, Benton's serves stacks of pancakes in several flavors, including strawberry shortcake, Mounds Bar, and Grandma's apple cinnamon. There's stuffed French toast, omelets, and breakfast sandwiches, too, but who are we kidding? This place is all about those fluffy pancakes.

It may have the word "secret" in its name, but this artisan ice-cream shop with a walk-up window and deck as well as a spacious indoor seating area has a devoted following—let's just say the cat's out of the bag. This is some of the richest and delicious ice cream in the state, and there's always a great lineup of unusual flavors, such as Thai tea, roasted cherry chip, honeycomb, and strawberry buttermilk.

Pause during your stroll through inviting Bethlehem for breakfast, lunch, smoothies, lattes, or homemade chai tea at this quirky organic café that specializes in vegetarian fare and made-from-scratch baked goods (try not to pass up one of the justly renowned scones). On cool mornings, warm up with a hearty breakfast burrito; terrific lunchtime options include the artichoke melt panini or the bountiful green salad.

This artisan dairy is located inside a converted general store that now carries gifts and foods from a few other local vendors, which you pick out from shelves and refrigerator cases and pay for yourself with cash or Venmo (the shop is unstaffed). The creamery sells delicious farmstead-made cheddar cheese as well as ice cream and ice cream sandwiches in about two-dozen flavors, including cinnamon, blueberry, and ginger.