The Lighthouse Restaurant and Lounge

March 13, 2016
The Light House Restaurant has a new chef!
We had stopped eating there because the food was just so-​so.
After recently hearing about the change, we went with friends for Brunch and it was so much better. Everyone enjoyed their meal, the wait staff was great and the prices were appropriate.

Chad’s eSCAPE review.
Service (½) — Friendly staff and I am able to be seated quickly each time. Both times I’ve been here recently, the follow-​up service has been pretty slow. This includes time to order, time it takes the food to arrive, checking back up and refilling drinks. The service timeliness is something I would expect from a very busy location. The waitress on my last trip though did offer a menu special that was comparable to my order saving me a little money.
Cost (¾) — For a medium grade steak and seafood restaurant I found most of the seafood options to be a little on the pricey side. However, other menu options and steak dishes were all reasonable. It would be difficult to get out of there for less than $ 30/​person.
Atmosphere (1) — Well decorated and on theme. Includes a dining area with a semi-​romantic/​semi-​professional setting to a bar where you can be more casual. The décor is true to the theme in all areas.
Palate (¾) — I have had both seafood and steak selections and they have both been good. Being in Vermont, I was excited and looking forward to the cheese soup and it was just okay. The salad bar selections have been well stocked and fresh both visits (I was there early both times). Tuna special was wonderful in both taste and presentation (see picture). Highly recommend you try it!
Everything Else (1). The salad bar is a superstar. Loaded with many, many choices to include relish items, 8 – 9 salad dressing choices, three salads and any salad fixin’ you can think of. You can easily fill up there alone. The restaurant is also on the same property at a great Hampton Inn location. Easily accessible by foot in any condition. (Even in freezing, snowy January like this visit.)

Salad bar was the best part. Appetizers were horrible. Food was bland and had no flavor. Over priced. Lobster wasn’t fresh. Service was slow.

After eating at numerous restaurants around Vermont this was by far the best. Food was great as well as the service. Attended with a large party of 16 in the evening. Food came out Ina reasonably quick time, all together and hot.

I have to stay at the Hampton Inn at least once or twice a month. Most of the time I am sick of driving by the time I get to the hotel so I just walk over to the Lighthouse Restaurant. Because I am there on business I tend to just sit at one of the bar tables. I have probably had 10+ meals at this location. Here is my observation:
Pros:
–Very Convenient when staying at the hotel
–Solid salad bar with fresh ingredients
–French Fries
Cons:
–Very very slow service at the bar tables
–Salty buffalo chicken wings
−2÷3 times I order the chicken breast it tends to be dry and overcooked

This was without a doubt one of the most horrible dining experiences I’ve ever had. If I could give five negative stars, I would.
A friend and I went here looking forward to a nice, quiet, and tasteful experience as part of the Vermont Restaurant Week. The first red flag should have been that it was almost empty on a Friday evening. The one other time I ate here about a year ago, it was really good, so we stayed.
The hostess, for some reason that still escapes me, thought it was a good idea to seat us directly next to another party rather than stagger and space out the seating – the place was almost empty and it would have been nice to offer guests a little privacy, especially since there were more than enough empty booths.
There was live music that was obscenely loud and amplified by speakers; there were covers of various pop songs – don’t get me wrong – there’s a time and place – but it’s not what you expect with the prices they charge.
I am not joking, the noise level was toxic. I could not hear my friend across the table. Keep in mind, The Lighthouse considers itself an upscale dining experience. I’m unable to think of another establishment that holds itself in a similar regard that has live music with a volume level that rivals the front row at a heavy metal concert.
At some point, one of the few other parties decided to scream along with the singer’s rendition of Sweet Caroline. From a revenue and service standpoint, this should have been a red flag to management. This was in the main dining area of the restaurant – the oddest thing was that the bar area had a more sensible noise level.
The service was very slow – especially considering the small number of guests – the wait time was made worse by my extreme desire to leave.
I had the Korean Boneless Short Rib Sliders, salad bar, and Grilled Bistro Steak. I ordered the steak medium – which it was – yet somehow the outside was like leather. I had a martini, which thankfully was strong to dull the awful experience.
Our waitress was friendly. She did a decent job in an outrageous atmosphere.
It’s stunning to think that whoever is running The Lighthouse thinks that what’s going on there is a good idea. However, the massive amount of empty seats on a Friday evening speaks volumes.
The prices were completely out of line with the experience. I prefer to support local businesses, but seriously, Texas Roadhouse has far better food and a much more tranquil atmosphere. Save yourself the money and aggravation– avoid this train-​wreck.

Less than awesome to say the least. 45 min wait for a table usually means the place is hopping and probably good. Finally got sat at a table with no room to fit two tiny 10 year olds. Waited 20 min for someone to come to the table. Didn’t get all of our drinks at the same time. Misinformation about the food. No silverware. Half the food came out while the other 2 sat there with no food for 20 min. Over cooked filet mignon that was dry and tough. Over all a terrible experience. Very apologetic waitress but she couldn’t keep up. Waste of a Birthday dinner.

I work just up the hill from the LIghthouse and often go there for lunch. They have a good salad bar that is well stocked with fresh items. The staff is friendly and competent. I would definately recommend them for lunch or an after work appetizer!

Stopped by on a Saturday night for a beer and snack. Mmmm like a morgue. Stopped serving food at 9:30. Beer was a cold local one, just not enough to make you want to hang out.

I enjoy going to the Lighthouse occasionally — especially when I’m in the mood for a good steak. My last visit didn’t disappoint. I ordered the prime rib special which came perfectly cooked with asparagus, twice baked potato and some kind of spinach & egg combination that I really didn’t care for. Washed it all down with a Switchback.
Be careful not to over do it at the bountiful salad bar prior to your meal or you’ll be taking home a doggie bag.
Finished off with a chocolate raspberry mousse — excellent!
The musical entertainment of Rick Guest & his dad singing Frank Sinatra tunes was a hoot!
Over all — good comfort food with decent prices — would definitely recommend for the family, travelers and those not looking for an overly «fancy» menu.

Poor service.
The staff at the Lighthouse in Colchester VT must throw Chinese fortune telling sticks or peer into the crystal ball to know that I’m coming in. Today I went in for lunch and was hugely letdown by the incompetence of the wait staff. A young, attractive hostess greeted me when I came in a few minutes before noon. I spoke first and asked was I the first one for lunch. She replied through a mouth full of food that, «No, there were five others already seated». She was also unaware of the food particles clinging to her mouth and the slight glimmer of salad dressing that helped to hold those particles to the side of her mouth. After being seated in a booth facing the salad bar I couldn’t help but see into the little room where the silver wear packs are assembled. The hostess was wolfing down all kinds of food while thinking she wasn’t able to be seen by anyone. I’ll give the kitchen credit as the beef stew on the salad bar was very good. A thick, hearty broth filled with red skin potatoes, peas, carrots and load with chunks of braised beef. It was delicious. Also the bow tie pasta tuna salad was noteworthy. I also had the crab cake appetizer to go with the salad bar. They were nondescript rounds of a commercial cake that had spent about 30 seconds too long in the frialator. The trio of accompanying sauces couldn’t hide the over doneness of the crab cakes. The best part was at the end of the meal. The statuesque blonde that was my waitress asked me if there would be anything else as she cleared my table and presented my check. I requested some additional water and she was off. I waited nearly 10 minutes before leaving my table and approaching the hostess stand to get rung up and get out of there. I think at this point I’m going to stay away from here as the staff through its lack of attention to service degrades what might otherwise have been an acceptable service. Robert Irvine, if you’re reading this, the Lighthouse should be your nest rescue mission.

I travel often and I have eaten here several times including tonight!
The bad…
Service in the bar is consistently slow. You usually can get your first drink fast, but everything after that is slow. It’s painful. Even if you sit right at the bar. The food will come out fairly quick though. Once you get a chance to order it. I have always experienced faster service in the dining room. Waiting to get your check can be like pulling teeth.
The prices are on the high side but not terrible considering what you get.
The menu is boring and hard to understand. You have to pick «proteins, starches», etc. no simple burger of sandwich on the menu. They offer it but you have to ask.
Substitutions are not really allowed, simple stuff is ok.
The good…
The salad bar is amazing! People who say it’s «so so» are crazy! They offer many things including fresh bread, roasted garlic, three seasonal salads that are always different, plus coleslaw, bacon, cheeses and tons of dressing choices. The salad bar is always fresh and full. Someone is consistently monitoring it.
The meals are always good. Well plated and tasty. The serving are not overly large, but larger than chain restaurants tend to be.
The waitstaff is pretty friendly.
Location is great, right near the highway and the hotel.
I have never seen a wait here.
They have a nice wine list and good beer on tap.
They have outside seating (but it is part of the bar which has pretty slow service).
Over all this place is good, they need to update the menu and add a server to the bar. Amazing salad bar and the food is always good. For faster service sit in the dining room.

Overall, a very pleasant dining experience.
Very extensive salad bar with a wide variety of dressings. Bread was very high quality and fresh.
Nice selection of American food favorites. Our dinners were well prepared and quite tasty. Ingredients are local and fresh. The checks attention to detail in preparation was admirable. For example, standard «market cut fries» were fresh, not frozen, and made from russet potatoes. Even the coffee after the meal was well prepared and locally sourced.
Service was a bit slow due to being short one waitress. Our waitress was friendly and attentive.
Pricing for boot food and drink was reasonable given the quality and portion size.
Physical atmosphere was comfortable.
Highly recommended. We will come back on our next visit.

Went for lunch and had the ham, potato, pea special. Delicious all for $ 8! Very large portion. Great glaze on ham, perfect mashed potatoes.
Coworker had salad bar, nice selection and two soup choices.

Overall I think this place was fine, but it just could be so much more.
For the price, they give you a ton of food. You get a salad bar which is mediocre, and fresh bread, which was very nice. I ordered a Bistro steak with potatoes, and a large group of fresh cooked veggies, all around the portion size was massive.
You’ll see in my picture however the presentation was really good, the potatoes weren’t bad, however the steak lacked flavor or spice. I was rather disappointed overall with the steak, which really was cooked right, just terribly bland.
I really think that with just some adjustments this place could be pretty fantastic.

I had the Sirloin special w/​sauteed mushrooms, carrots, asparagus and twice stuff baked potato. it was cooked perfectly medium. My 5 year old was able to order an unlimited salad bar at the kids price and the chocolate peanut butter pie is to die for. Definitely recommend this restaurant located out front of the Hampton in Colchester, VT. (I-​89 exit 16 located on North/​East side of I-​89.
This is definitely a place I’ll add to my return to locations.

It was fine. I had prime rib and the person next to me chastised me since I am from the midwest and eating prime rib there but to be honest the fish didn’t sound too appetizing and I admittedly am picky about eating birds as well.
The prime rib I figured was something easy to make and eat, and it was. I wasn’t disappointed. I didn’t take advantage of the salad bar since you already get a soup side and vegetable with, which made the meal even more affordable.
Service was slow at the bar but only because of local and hotel traffic, there were a couple of managers that filtered in and out but never stopped long enough to help out.
I think if you are staying right there, its a perfect spot to stop if you don’t want to leave the area.

There were some positive and some negative aspects to my dining experience.
First, the negatives:
— two of the three stalls in the women’s room were non-​functional
— food was so-​so: some combinations of ingredients didn’t work that well
Positives:
— salad bar was fresh and tasty
— bread was simple but warm
— nice presentation of food
— lamb was properly cooked
— quail was delicious
— server was friendly and attentive
Overall equally positive and negative. I would probably go back.

High prices, low quality, poor service. That basically sums it up.

Who would have thought the Burlington’s best restaurant would be located at the Hampton Inn, Colchester? Burlington is a city filled with restaurants and offering a great variety of choices. Hands down my experience at the Lighthouse sets the bar for all others to be measured by. We hosted our best friends for dinner just two weeks after the restaurant opened. We anticipated a restaurant that would still be working through «growing pains». Instead we encountered a packed restaurant and lounge with a 30 – 45 minute wait. Everyone loved their meals and the service was exceptional. The specialty drink menu was extremely well thought out. They offered a Whiskey Manhattan that I’ll literally never forget. The night we were there an entertainer performed in the background. It set the tone for a memorable evening. The entertainer’s 80 year old father took over the mike and belted out amazing versions of Sinatra’s classics.
Best of all… the prices were completely reasonable. We’ll be back.