Glenwood Pines

For a casual lunch or dinner, I love the Pines. Excellent wait staff and they’ve recently added some nice new menu items to go with their well-​known standards. Always busy in the evening, but there’s rarely a long wait because the service is so efficient.

Great local eatery with real beer battered Haddock, great clam and corn chowders, and little steamers. We finished the meal with great caramel apple pie and rice pudding (although I don’t normally like cold rice pudding, this was rather palatable)
They have decent selection of local beers, ginger beer and Ithaca root beer to wash it all down with :)

Have past this place many times and it’s always busy, finally decided to give it a try for lunch. Started with the corn chowder which was delicious. Between the 3 of us we tried the fresh fish sandwich, the crunch burger and the steak sandwich. We enjoyed all 3 as they were tasty and perfectly prepared. Sides are extra my son tried the French Fries, they were definitely frozen, not fresh, but tasted fine.
Service was fast, we were greeted as we walked in and seated right away. Service was quick to take our drink and food order and very attentive. Décor is rustic, bar feel but clean. Would definitely stop again.

One of my favorite places to eat in Ithaca when visiting my kids a t school. Sick of waiting for hours in town to get into a restaurant this place is for you. Very cool local atmosphere. cozy bar with bowling machine and pinball to pass the time if you have to wait for a table. The food is simple and tasty. The drinks are inexpensive. Good beer selection. Try the Pines Challenge, very doable and you win a cool shirt. If your looking for a local and not fancy place to eat this place is for you.

I got the double pineswood burger with thousand island sauce and crabcake on the side. They were very good but what really did it for me was the kentucky derby pie. PLEASE GET THE PIE.

I love the Glenwood Pines. Even after graduating Cornell over 20 years ago, I still make sure to stop by for a pinesburger. I love how it’s got a fun family environment, decently priced food, and a good bar. I don’t love the fact that you have to pay a lot for sides, but hey, it’s homemade. Overall, the food is a 3.5 star but worth stopping by if you’re coming through Ithaca.

As a person who eats here occasionally, I cannot believe how low the ratings are. The burgers are great. Not sure what these other people who complain about the food had but the pines burgers are special. Food is very affordable and the service is fast. There’s not much to compain other than the fact that they are not located closer to Ithaca.

Anyone who doesn’t give «The Pines» a five star rating is either unaccepting of a simple burger joint or was expecting something more. Quite simply, this is the home of one of the best cheeseburgers on the face of the earth. The rest of the menu is also great, but the Pinesburger is perfection. Fresh ground beef in a plentiful format. Cold draft beer. Onion rings on the side and rice pudding for desert. I’m in heaven. Staff is awesome. Great place to bring a big crew… including large groups of kids. Picnic table seating in the lower porch makes sure you’re able to enjoy yourself. Don’t leave Ithaca without trying!

Rag tag building does have a nice view, but I was left with a feeling of disappointment. Food was uninspired grease fare, tasted pre-​made and certainly not made with any sort of love. With that setting and proximity to food loving Ithaca, this place felt like a lost opportunity. That said, it was packed solid so clearly people are attached to the place, I’d guess more for the home-​timey setting rather than the food itself.

Same outstanding Pines experience as it was almost 30 years ago when I went for the first time. We were back in town to re-​live some old college memories and fill our 13 year old son in in some of what he’s been hearing about his whole life. The Pines did not disappoint! Pines burger (double with bacon) was as good as always, as was the service. I will be back whenever I’m in town, and will recommend it.

Just about my favourite place to eat in New York. I love the relaxed atmosphere and the food isn’t bad either. The open steak sandwich is beautiful, and add any two included sides from a long list and you’re in for a good meal.
The homemade slaw is amazing and is always one of my two sides. The chips (I’m British so they’re chips, not fries!) are always fluffy on the inside and crisp outside, just as they should be.
Service is always great. The servers are attentive without being intrusive and always get our orders to us quickly and accurately.
If I’m ever in Ithaca I always try to get here. You should too.

Service at the bar where I ate my burger was outstanding. The view of Cayuga Lake is memorable and the burger is as good as advertised. Definitely one of the top spots in the area.

Fantastic food, loved the bison burger! Quaint atmosphere, wicked friendly staff. Will definitely be back!

Oh man I love this place! Beautiful view! Family oriented! Just great food! I love the burgers on the French loaf bread! Yum! The rice pudding reminds me of my dad’s which I love! My favorite place in Ithaca!

This place is great! I’ve had a lot of menu items but I’d stick with the burgers, especially the Pinesburger.

My last trip to the Glenwood Pines was, from beginning to end, a reminder of why this is the only restaurant in the area to have held my constant business for the last 20+ years. We were sat in the dining room with a lovely view of the lake, and brought our drinks promptly. I ordered the Super Delmonico steak, rare (the waitress made a point to inform me that their rare was quite rare, which I appreciated and was VERY happy with) with a side of double fries. The steak came out looking like a million bucks, with perfect grill marks and a side portion of fries that nearly overflowed off the plate. The first bite into it unveiled the smoky, savory flavor that only comes from cooking a great steak on a high quality grill. This is what has kept me coming back, it is the best steak in the area in this price range.
I have frequented this restaurant regularly for years, and have many favorites on the menu. The fish fry is absolutely fantastic, their burgers are all great, and they even have steamed clams most of the year! The restaurant has 3 – 4 arcade style games for the kids and is very family friendly in general, I have been going since I was a kid and I am sure many others have as well. I cannot wait to take my nephew when he is old enough! The service is generally fantastic, with only the occasional off night (and if you go a bit early or a bit late, as I generally do, you avoid the busy rush and slow service never happens).
Overall, in a town that has seen many of my childhood restaurants close down, I am glad my all time favorite has remained! I look forward to many more great meals here with my family.

If you don’t like this place, you should go ahead and book yourself a ticket on the first Trailways bus leaving Ithaca heading south. It is an authentic example of tavern cuisine in the finger lakes region. Yes, some places in Ithaca have a better burger for double the price. But how many of those places have a woodburning stove? Or a top notch wait staff? My guess is zero. Go to the pines and have a burger and a pint. Then go check out Taughannock falls. Then go have another beer at the Rongo.

When I dined at the Glenwood Pines on September 20, 2014, my experience didn’t meet my expectations. For a casual, independent American restaurant, I expected great food and friendly service. Online and in-​person, the restaurant received great reviews for the famous Pinesburger. I wanted taste it for myself. Also, I thought I could accomplish an item on the Cornell List of 161 Things to do.
The restaurant is located on the other side of Cayuga Lake than the major universities or downtown Ithaca. Before I left, I looked up directions on the restaurant website. Their clear directions made it easy to get there, but no directions for parking made it confusing to find a parking spot. Because the restaurant is mainly accessed by car, I would have expected parking to be clearly indicated with signs. The only visible parking lot from the road was too small to fit all the patrons who were dining inside. After parking, I noticed another parking lot lower on the hill, but I didn’t know how to access it.
Upon entering the restaurant, there was no hostess or sign to seat yourself. I was very confused, and I didn’t know what to do. After aimlessly looking around, someone came to seat us. We were not seated with menus, and our server did not come by for five minutes. Untimely service continued to be a trend throughout the dining experience. Our waitress only came to our table to check on if we needed to order. One time, she was approaching our table, but instead she bypassed our group for another party. Again when it was time to pay the bill, no one seemed to notice that we were at the bar ready pay and leave.
The popular Pinesburger was another disappointment that evening. The concept of a chargrilled burger, with Thousand Island dressing on a French bread bun was poorly executed. My burger was undercooked and the bun didn’t fit the burger. In addition, I could hardly taste the dressing that had absorbed into the bun. With the burger, I ordered french fries and the Kentucky Derby Pie. Both were great. All the food was also fairly priced for the portion size. I wish the price of the burger would include fries or a side instead of making it an additional cost. Furthermore when I was viewing the menu online, the prices were lower than the prices at the restaurant. The discrepancy wasn’t more than a few dollars, but it was frustrating.
If I enjoyed my burger, I believe it could contend for the best burger in Ithaca. However, I would reconsider going to the restaurant for the lack of service. With better service the experience would be satisfactory, because I really enjoyed most of my food and especially the view. The restaurant atmosphere was great. The inside felt like a cozy family restaurant with billiards, arcade games and quaint decorations. Also, the wide menu variety made it possible to order something different if I dined again. They offer everything from hot dogs to seafood. Because of the gleaming reviews, I would suggest dining at Glenwood Pines in hopes of better quality service and food.

After checking out Taughannock Falls a few miles away, I passed by this place and thought I’d give it a try. Despite being known for having a «famous» burger, I didn’t try it because a lot of the reviews here were pretty mixed. They have a pretty diverse menu so I thought I’d give something else a try. I went for the pig wings and fries instead. The fries were pretty good — they were crispy and salty enough that I didn’t need to use ketchup or anything else. The pig wings were really tender and came with a good amount of sauce. However, I wish they could have provided more, since two was really not enough considering the price.
The waitress was a bit slow in taking my order despite there not being that many customers at the time, but she did apologize for it and served my food very quickly following that.
I really like the interior of the restaurant as well. The outside makes it look like some boring roadside diner but the inside looks like a log cabin.

Nothing special, and certainly much better burgers to be found in the Ithaca area. Their prices a good and the food is rather bland and unimpressive. My wife had the «Compost Burger» which was a burger patty on half a piece of bread with mac ‘n’ cheese, onions, chips, 1000 island dressing, and hot sauce. It was lukewarm when it came out and not very spicy or inspired. I had the fish sandwich special, which was lukewarm, dry, and not spiced at all.
The bread is very thick and meant to convey the impression of large portions but you are really just filling up on bread. Fried mushrooms were pretty good, but they come out with no sauce or anything, and you have to pay extra for any sauces.
I won’t be back, but at least I can say I went.