Dining on the Dock: Dinner at Snug Harbor

It’s hard to describe exactly what made dinner at Snug Harbor, a lakeside restaurant in Hammondsport, New York, so perfect. Was it the table on the dock? The cool evening air? The beautiful golden light as the sun set behind the hills? The roaring campfire?

Whatever it was, the evening was just lovely.

This lakeside restaurant has been around since 1890, serving up good food & hosting patrons, many who pull up in their boat. Snug Harbor just feels like a great local place – not only did the bartender know everyone, many of the patrons seemed to know each other as well. Blissed out on too many samplings of Finger Lakes wine, we were led to a table right on the dock, so we could watch the boats go up & down Keuka Lake.

We started with a gorgonzola wrapped in puff pastry, floating in buffalo sauce – it might be the best appetizer I’ve ever had in my entire life (& that is not an exaggeration).

Then we moved on to the main dish: I had a giant steak (kind of embarrassed now that I think about it…) & B had proscuitto wrapped chicken. We finished off the evening with a sinful flourless chocolate cake.

After dinner we moved from the dock to the shore, where Snug Harbor built a giant campfire. We chatted with other couples around the fire – turns out another one was from the next town over from us – & dreamed of a life where we could come back to Keuka Lake every summer. When we do, Snug Harbor will be the first place we visit.

Note: Our visit to Snug Harbor was provided compliments of Snug Harbor Restaurant, but that has nothing to do with the fact that I’m so in love with this restaurant that I want to move there. All the complimentary meals in the world couldn’t make the atmosphere this perfect.