Wildcat Inn and Tavern

Was back and it was better. Food was good as was service.

Amazing deal on lobster Tuesday at the Wildcat! My wife and I got 4 pounds of lobster (4 lobsters) for the price of 2 pounds. Perfectly cooked, with fries, and enjoyed immensely. This deal is probably seasonal so I would check before making my way there. Live music (Hoot is what that was called) was also super along with local beer to boot. What more could one ask for? Nothing I tell ya, nothing … Haha. Definitely worth checking out if staying in the local communities of Jackson or Conway. Very casual in the bar area where we ate, mix of locals and tourists. Not sure about other items on the menu so cannot comment. Would definitely visit here again if in the neighbourhood.

Great atmosphere — perfect cozy après-​ski vibe. A good spot to grab local beers. We had the onion soup, which was very cheesy and tasty, and a chicken caprese sandwich, which was good, but nothing special. Overall a great stop for a snowy day.

Disclaimer: This rating is for atmosphere and bar only!
NH has many classic bars. Many «typical» NH bars that feel like its the ski bums, and the farmers, the hicks and the locals. This is definitely one of those bars. Except this bar hasn’t changed at all since the 70’s. Literally.
The atmosphere is relaxing, interesting, typical NH bar ski type feel. There are cozy couches by the fire that you could snuggle up with a bottle of wine and never leave. There is a whole side of the bar that has ski lift chairs rather than booths. which is clever. Uncomfortable, but unique. There are ski posters everywhere, from magazines, Europe, history… they are great throwbacks and really make you feel like its snowing outside, and your cozied up next to a beautiful mountain. even though you aren’t. I also loved the wall décor. on one of the ceilings they have all jerseys from all over the world. An interesting touch to a small ski bar in NH.
Both times I went, there was live music. It wasn’t necessarily the best music, as it was people who were playing there the last time my dad was at the bar in the 70’s. But with a few good beers, and a fun atmosphere, any music sounds half decent.
This isn’t a place to go out of the way to. But if you are in town and want a beer and live music, this is perfect. Especially if you want to relive the 70’s.

Went to the tavern for drinks and appetizers and was not impressed, mostly because of the service. We ordered 3 drinks (cocktail, beer, and wine) and nachos and it took nearly 45 minutes to get our drinks or food. I don’t understand why drinks would have taken so long. They weren’t even too busy, either. Our waiter was really friendly, though, so it seems like it was an issue with the bartender and the kitchen. The nachos were pretty good. I had a Rhubarb Collins, which was interesting, but tasted like there was no alcohol in it.

Came in for apres and had an excellent hot toddy. Couldn’t be more pleased with the lobster corn quesadilla! The wings were great too! Try to get in early to snag the seats on the couches next to the fire!

My husband and I just had a late lunch here. It was beautiful out so we ate outside. The outdoor area is so beautiful! It’s grassy and the grounds are well kept. It’s perfect if you have kids or a dog with you. The food was delicious! My husband said the French onion soup was the best he’s ever had. I had the chicken salad sandwich with chips. The chips are homemade. At first, the waitress came back and told me they were out of chicken salad. She then came and told me they were making a new batch for me. I’m so glad they did! I definitely would come back here and I’d love to try the inn part as well.

How do you mess up lobster? Wildcat, which has a 2 lobster special on Tuesday night, managed to provide undercooked lobster with black gook running out. No it is not tomalley (which we were told) and it was not roe which is red. My friend and I have shared many, many lobsters and have never seen anything like it. The server was excellent and tried to make thing right but obviously couldn’t cook the food.

love this local pub in the middle of town of jackson… was here the first week in feb. 2014 skiing with some friends and it allways seemed that we showed up here every afternoon or evening… very quaint building that must be at least 200 yrs old, with a real fireplace going, small bar, real friendly bartenders and waitresses and good food… allways have a cold beer special like my PBR !! i have never stayed over here but maybe in the future… checked out the whole place and it is very clean incl. thier toilets !! i would def. recommend stopping in and checking this one out ! oh i almost forgot. check out thier HOOT NITE on tues. nites… alot of local talant come in and great singers and musicians… seems to start around 8pm

Ate dinner here on a snowy Feb 13^th.
Pros: Absolutely love the cozy atmosphere!
The food was good and presentation was super.
Cons: An off night I suppose because service was lacking. We got seated right away but then it was as if our table wasn’t on anyone’s list to service. However, once we got a server’s attention, all was a-​ok.

We dined here the night of a big snow storm. It was close to our B&B. We were pleasantly surprised to the quality of food and the quaint atmosphere. We had the loaded potato skins which were great. I had the cranberry walnut salad which was excellent and my boyfriend had the New England Haddock Dinner, which had a lobster sauce that he raved about! I had a bite and it was really tasty. It was served with a large helping of sweet potato mashed with spices that made it taste a bit like pumpkin pie! It was really excellent! We had a tour of the dining room, after eating in the Tavern. We will definitely be back next trip to Jackson for more skiing!

Nice and cozy bar area. Fairly standard menu. The Cobb salad was hearty and well made. There was live music and the waitress was friendly and prompt. We’ll definitely be coming back on our next trip to the region.

After waiting 15 with 2 little impatient kids just to talk to the hostess who was incredibly rude (clearly a little overwhelmed which I 100% understand) however do not give me an attitude for trying to come eat at your restaurant! So I walked out with my 2 hungry kids and husband and found somewhere else to eat… so sorry I can not comment on the food! But the first impression left me running!

So we had a pretty good day of skiing. My husband and I just wanted a good relaxing low key dinner. What we got was not that! We were seated for 15 minutes before we got water, which I had to ask the bus boy for. Then another 10 minutes before the waiter came to take our order. We ordered everthing at the same time. When our apps showed it was bland, cold, and unappealing. Before our meal arrived we ordered another drink. Our entrees arrived 2 hours after we arrived. We ordered the haddock and the chicken marsala. it shouldn’t have taken 2 hours! The meal, nothing special, definately not worth $ 18 each. So we finished our meal and our second drinks hadn’t arrived so we cancelled them. The service was very unapologetic! Aweful! Will never go back to eat. Only for a drink in the bar after a day of skiing. Nastalgia is the only reason I’ll go back.

My family and I went to the Wildcat Tavern on a Thursday evening. We had a gift certificate from
for $ 25 that was accepted there so we figured we would give it a try. We had been there several years ago and remembered the cozy atmosphere and tasty comfort food. That was then, this is now.
The tavern still had the old New England charm but the fireplace wasn’t lit. It would have been a nice touch on a cold NH evening. We were promptly seated and greeted by our waitress who quickly took our drink and appetizer order. The wings and potato skins were tasty however, our waitress didn’t bring napkins, a necessity when eating wings. We should have stopped here, because the main courses were barely edible.
My pulled pork tasted like it was prepackaged, not made fresh, and as if it had been microwaved whereas it was unevenly warm. It was sprinkled with a recognizable supermarket barbecue sauce. My wife ordered the same and hers was cold and not edible. The pulled pork from Trader Joe’s is better. My youngest ordered the Gobbler, a roasted turkey sandwich. They serve better turkey sandwiches in most school cafeterias. The sandwich simply had no taste. The only decent main course was the macaroni and cheese. We ordered it without lobster. My kids shared this. Thankfully, management took one item off the bill and we had a $ 25 gift certificate. It still certainly wasn’t worth the price.
The Wildcat Tavern would be an excellent candidate for Chef Robert Irvine’s Restaurant Impossible. Perhaps he could restore it to the restaurant that I remember.

This review is for the ‘inn’ part of the name, though I’ll also comment on the tavern.
We stayed here two nights ago on a road trip we’re taking through New England. I wanted to drive my girlfriend up Mt. Washington because it’s something my parents had done with me when I was a kid. This place lies in the nice little hamlet of Jackson about 8 miles from the start of the climb to Mt. Washington.
When we got there, I think they hadn’t gotten our room reservation from
yet. However, they quickly found us a room. My only complaint is that we had to lug our suitcases up to the 3^rd floor in the narrow staircases.
The room itself was great — very charming. The floors were a little crooked, likely from the place ‘settling’ over the years, but we actually had a two-​room suite with one room being more like a living area. I thought that was pretty great.
That night, they had live music at the tavern downstairs. The Australian couple we were seated with (the place was packed) said that someone had told them it was dubbed ‘hoot’ night, though I don’t know if the Aussies misheard something since I didn’t see that posted anywhere. To us, it seemed like an open mic night. It was totally awesome. Great atmosphere and great beer. The service wasn’t great, but it was also totally packed as I said, so we just got our drinks from the bar. At one point, a server randomly came out and put down a tray of a ton of different desserts that were free for the taking. That was awesome!
It’s worth a stay if you’re in the area! I can’t comment on the food in the restaurant, but based on the comments of other reviewers, I guess I’m glad that that we ate in North Conway earlier that afternoon.

We usually like this place but we had a waiter that just wasn’t with it.
Had a shared salad, no additional plate offered.
Asked for water twice, no water.
Asked for more bread, no bread.
One meal cold but waiter just smiled.
He had a good smile but not real like he really didn’t
Want to be there

The restaurant was absolutely HORRID. Three of us got the turkey dinner.
When the food arrived it was like planks of freezer dried and reheated meat. It was not even edible. They need to hire a real chef as the ambiance is lovely but the food is DISGUSTING. The server didn’t even ask how our meal was (she knew better). Our plates were full and we walked out hungry. Also It was freezing on the porch and we asked three times if they would turn up the heat. We ended up wearing our coats throughout the meal. :-(
This was a very bad experience for myself and my guests visiting from Massachusetts. STAY AWAY!

This review is for the restaurant only, not the inn.
When we first entered the restaurant we were given the choice of the very loud tavern or the «porch», which was quieter… but also turned out to be a bit chilly, especially for those with their backs to the windows (I mean, it’s January after all). We selected the porch and on the way there, the host practically insisted we hang up our jackets in a sort of ante room between the two dining options. To the point where he almost didn’t let us sit down until three of us had hung our jackets.
We sat down and our waitress was friendly enough. Two of us ordered iced tea, one had just water, and one had a vodka tonic. Then we mulled the menu for a while. We did eventually all get our drinks, but as dinner wore on, it would serve as an exercise in futility to get our glasses filled again in an expedient manner.
We ordered. Dave and Andy got salads and I got a cup of clam chowder for a first course. Both salads were over dressed. The clam chowder was the star of the meal for me. Big clams, potatoes, bacon and cream all harmonized. Perfectly seasoned and a good portion. Andy also got a crock of chili with tortilla chips. The chili tasted like Ragu spagetti sauce with beans thrown in it. Definitely not worth the calories.
Then the entrees came. I was excited for my crab cakes because of the experience with the clam chowder. I was sorely disappointed. Over worked and packed with fillers with a giant cup of spicy aioli on the plate. At least my salad was not drenched in dressing as Andy and Dave’s had been and I was able to enjoy the broccoli and raisins with almonds and onion.
Dave’s salmon was fine, but it was just «fine». Andy’s chicken had good flavor but was small and a wee bit dry and pricey. He ended up eating something else when we got back to the condo. My Andy’s meatloaf was a GIANT portion and tasted really good too. It was the best value. What that would indicate to me is that the tavern menu is their strong point and the more expensive restaurant menu is not worth it at all.

This place was great! We were surprised as we weren’t expecting much. We stayed the weekend when visiting to hike Mt. Washington. It was very clean and the service was excellent. It has a restaurant downstairs with mediocre food (the vegan burger was a frozen Boca burger) but the French Onion soup appeared homemade and was awesome. I would have given this place 5 stars but couldn’t because of the food. The tavern is cozy and has a good selection of beer including local brews. It was nice to be able to shower, eat and have the tavern all right there after that long hike. The best part was the eagle painting in the bedroom. It was the first thing you saw when you woke up and made you feel really free. I was thinking of putting one in place of my TV at home. It was wicked awesome.