Type: Brewpub
Location: 3378 White Mountain Highway
North Conway, NH
United States
Phone: (603) 356-6381
Website: http://moatmountain.com/
Cost: Reasonably Priced Menu, $4.75 Imperial Pints
Visit Date: 01/15/2011
Beers: Hoffman Weiss
Moat Czech Pilsner
Moat Pale Ale
Moat Brown
Moat Stout
Smokehouse Porter
Nearby: White Mountains National Forest
Notes: One of my favorite brewpubs anywhere. I hate being cold, and I abhor the snow, but when my boyfriend suggested we head north over the holiday weekend for a winter ascent of Mt. Washington, my thoughts were with Moat Mountain. I agreed if we could recover here. Of course those were terms he'd happily agree too!
Now I can't be sure if my opinions of this spot are colored by the fact that I've never been here and not been tired and sore and in need of a nice beer to recover, or if they're just simply great. Food always tastes better after a long day of hiking.
Reasonably priced at $4 for a pint $4.75 for an imperial pint, and the quality is top notch. The place was packed when we arrived at 5pm (I guess winters busier than summer), we were told it'd be half an hour (so glad we got there early, by the time we were seated people were being told an hour!!) and we went to the bar to wait. Despite the bar being absolutely packed, we were served within a minute or two. By the time we finished our imperial pints (czech pils and brown) it was only a few minutes until our table was ready.
We ordered some more beers (stout and porter) and appetizers. All the beers were very good, we've gotten the sampler on previous visits and enjoyed every one. The veggie thai peanut chili is the stuff dreams are made of. It comes with a little wedge of soft corn bread, and is beyond good. I get it every time. My boyfriend said his wings were excellent. I tried the chipotle sauce the came in and it was fantastic. The only complaint here was that he asked if they could be very wet, and the waitress didn't ask if he wanted an additional side cup or warn that it would cost extra. He was pleased when he saw how much extra sauce he got, but pissed when he saw the dollar charge on the bill. I don't mind paying for it, but a warning would be nice.
I got the bean and pineapple wrap with cajun fries. There could've been more cajun on the fries but it was tasty. I'd have been disappointed had they called it a burrito, because a burrito it was not. It was a wrap with a mexicanish twist and a unique taste that I enjoyed throughly. My boyfriend got the peanut chicken pizza. The pizzas here are huge, he had to bring half back to the hotel for the next days lunch. The pizza looked great. I didn't try it because I'm a vegetarian but on a previous trip we shared a different one (tried to check their website to figure out which one it is, but you need flash to see the menu :( ~it came with kalamata olives, artichokes and I think goat cheese among other things, maybe it was called california?) and it was fantastic.
My second complaint was when we were ready to leave it took all of 45 minutes to get out. Pretty much after our meals were put on the table (by somebody else) is when the ignoring started. She walked past us several times. I called out to her wanting to ask for more water, and she kept walking. Eventually, still thirsty we finished eating and continued to wait and try to get her attention; and she continued to pretend there was nobody at our table, I don't know why she all of a sudden decided to ignore us, she kept coming to the other tables in the area and then turning her back to us to walk away and not notice us gesturing and calling; she didn't appear all that busy either. I mean it was warm, and we had a nice spot by the window, so it wasn't *that* urgent that we needed to leave (though, if we had to wait 45 minutes another beer would be nice!) but I don't wonder why the wait to get tables is so long; we got our table at 5:30 and left at 7:30. Eventually she noticed us and brought us the check and a box.
Still, the restaurant is great. Awesome food and beer, and decent prices.
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