11 Best Restaurants in The Adirondacks and Thousand Islands, New York

This restaurant near Whiteface Mountain Ski Center earns high marks for its American fare, served in an attractive dining space with cloth-covered tables, candles, and a wall of windows. A section of the menu is devoted to the restaurant's namesake, trout. The delectable fish may be panfried or served in more- complex ways but it's not all about the fish here. Options include Long Island duck and New York strip steak. The cozy pub serves hamburgers and sandwiches.

This café-bakery has light fare like soups, hot and cold sandwiches, and baked goods. Bag lunches are available, too, for skiers, hikers, or anyone who just likes to brown bag it. Outdoor seating is available.

Excellent gourmet pizza, seafood specialties, pasta dishes, a full wine list, and homemade desserts make it hard to decide what to order at this pleasant spot. Dine alfresco in the warmth, and by lantern light in the chill.

Enjoy upscale fare in a casual, comfortable space with cloth-covered tables in this chef-owned restaurant. The menu at this local favorite emphasizes seafood: shrimp scampi, sautéed or broiled scallops, king crab legs. Filet Oscar is butterflied filet mignon dressed with crabmeat, asparagus, and béarnaise sauce; veal Oscar is similar. The menu also includes chicken Parmesan and other chicken dishes.

This lively first-floor restaurant and bar at High Peaks Resort has been a hit with locals and out-of-town visitors ever since it opened in fall 2008. The menu has classics like big hamburgers and homemade pizza as well as steak. It's also great for breakfast.

In the heart of downtown, this English-style brewpub serves standard pub fare and manages to project that neighborhood-meeting-place feel that Brits love. Dishes include fish-and-chips, stout-and-cheddar soup, assorted wraps and salads, blue-cheese-topped steaks, and buffalo burgers. Try the sampler for the gamut of microbrews Davidson Brothers produces.

Gaze out at the St. Lawrence River as you tuck into the Italian-American fare at this waterfront restaurant between Clayton and Alexandria Bay. Families like the casual atmosphere, and the kids like the game room. Dishes include veal preparations, lasagna, eggplant Parmesan, sautéed chicken livers, chicken Parmesan, scampi, fried scallops with citrus sauce, and New York strip steak. Weekend reservations are strongly suggested.

The extensive menu at this casual downtown eatery and microbrewery combines American and Continental fare. For a starter you might sample the escargots and mushrooms in puff pastry and cream sauce or bite into the nicely laden bruschetta. If you want a spicy-sweet start to your meal, try the Mardis Gras shrimp (spicy shrimp baked in jalapeño corn bread and drizzled with honey). Steak selections include a filet mignon (6- or 10-ounce options), sirloin sandwich, and New York strip steak au poivre. There are also seafood items, like the Seashore Pasta, packed with mussels, artichoke hearts, clams, portobella mushrooms, and sun-dried and grape tomatoes. The staff will know just which microbrew should go with your meal, and if you or your kids want to try a homemade brew but without the alcohol, order a root beer, made on the premises with pure mountain water and cane sugar. (If you're really curious how the brewing process works, request a tour of the small brewing facilities.) For a sweet finish, share a slice of the New York cheesecake drizzled with strawberries.

If you like New York City–style pizza, this is the place for you. This eatery has pizza on par with anything there, served up in a fun, casual atmosphere. Veggie lovers will enjoy the Tree Hugger (pesto, spinach, garlic, and more), while carnivores will go for the Carcass, loaded with every type of meat available in the restaurant.

This casual restaurant right on the banks of Lake Ontario serves a robust menu with fun-loving entrée names like That Fire Thang, (a spicy hamburger concoction featuring salsa, jalapeños, and chipotle mayo). Other dishes include Alaskan crab legs, steamed Canadian mussels, wraps, pasta, and the fish of the day. There's a wine list and a martini list. Wi-Fi is available throughout the restaurant.

The upstairs dining room, called 110 West Main, begins service at 5:30 pm daily; breakfast and lunch are served downstairs; and all three meals are served outside, weather permitting. Salads and sandwiches are popular—try the grilled portobello mushroom sandwich. Alfresco dining is in a New Orleans–style flower garden with wrought-iron gates and a stone archway. Wine tastings are offered on some days of the week.