Johnson’s Dairy Bar, Seafood and Steak

I’ve heard they were bought out this year, menu appears the same, staff is the same, and service hasn’t improved. The food was good, nothing memorable but a solid meal for a decent price. Service was really slow. We’ll go back during off hours but won’t wait for hours it wasn’t that special.

Stopped for lunch: $ 26 for a cheeseburger, chicken fingers and a soda. Small portions and way too expensive, this is the last time I will be stopping here!

So the food here is at best ok. I’ve been coming here for a couple years mostly for my parents. The quality of the food has dramatically gone down, but for some reason some of the food has doubled in price! You get cold bread with even colder butter, with a steak knife stabbed into it. The wait staff is very friendly, by far the best part about visiting this place! Oh by the way two of us just finished eating, with no appetizer it was over $ 60! This place is way too expensive for what you get and the quality you receive! !

I’ve been coming here for years with my family, we’ve never had bad ice cream, food, or service Antoine we’ve gone. My inky complaint is not enough parking during the heart of summer.

Definitely a great ice cream place. We tried multiple varieties and everyone loved their choice. The portions, by the way, are huge. The non-​dairy offerings were not as impressive – skip the cheeseburger.
Classic New England place staffed by very nice people.

Do not go here for seafood. The steamers smelled like poop. … Literally. Thought this was due to being mud flat clams until my husband found the rancid one.
My «market price» 1 lb lobster was ¾ lb chicken lobster if I was lucky and twice market price.
A neighbor table was served fried scallops and they smelled gross.

Excellent fried clams and lobster. Loving NH and a whole lobster for $ 16. The clams were tender and flavorful. The deserts looked excellent but we were stuffed. The ice cream choices were extensive. Beautiful place, great atmosphere.

It’s important to note that my only experience with Johnson’s is with their ice cream. We have a cottage in the area and Johnson’s has become a must stop on each visit. The location is easy to find. It’s a bit outside of town, but what isn’t in this neck of the woods. The ice cream is served through a walk up window and there are plenty of tables to sit at to enjoy your desert. Don’t think you’ll take it in the car because the portions are quite large and unmanageable. Besides, ice cream is best enjoyed whilst sitting and relaxing. Everything I’ve had has been delicious. They have 4 different sizes. Baby (½ scoop), Kiddie (1 scoop), Small (2 scoops) and Medium (3 scoops). Witch each scoop being the size of a softball (Their wording, not mine), a kiddie is usually all I ever get. Take some time and stop by Johnson’s next time you’re in the area.

I visit Johnson’s every year and they never fail to accommodate my stomachs every desire. The waitress «Patty» was bright, cheerful and made the best recommendation. The sea scallops were cooked just right and melted in my mouth. Baked potato and corn were also cooked to perfection. Thank you

Me: How is the Lobster Pie?
Waiter: Great. Everyone who orders it loves it.
Me: I’ll have the Lobster Pie.
Receives Lobster Pie. Tries Lobster Pie. Thumbs down Lobster Pie.
From one seafood lover to another, unless you like overcooked lobster claw meat (mostly the tip of the claw that most people hate) that tasted like it was poached in water topped with a cracker crumb top that was soaked in butter, I would get my seafood somewhere else. Not worth the 29.99 they were charging here.
Pros that gave it the one star, the staff were friendly and the bread roll at the beginning was decent with the whipped butter.

Wouldn’t be my first choice for seafood but it’s ok. Service is great and the ice cream window is awesome on a hot summer day!

We stopped on our way home as we drove through around lunchtime. Service was good. Restaurant looks clean and cute. Standard New England country restaurant décor. Lobster was overcooked and dry but had a good flavor. A little disappointed that the lobster was overcooked. Vegetable of the day was corn and it tasted frozen without any seasoning and was really watery. It wasn’t terrible and it wasn’t impressive. For the price we were not impressed.

Ice cream is the best around. but food disappointing. If your looking for broiled forget it they have everything but. I have ordered take out burgers 3 times and they never get it right from overcooking my medium rare burger to completely botching the side dishes from wrong thing to not getting it at all. Only 3 stars cause of very good ice cream.

I went there with a large party of 12 last night for dinner. We were hoping for a nice seafood dinner. Right off the bat, as soon as we walked in, there was a terrible smell in the waiting area. It smelled dirty and like old fish. It made me scared to get any seafood. Five people at my table ordered the baked haddock… Out of those five plates, three had to be sent back because the fish was bad. We noticed the horrible smell as soon as the fish was brought to our table. Thankfully nobody ate more than a bite or two of their fish so we didn’t get sick but it was pretty scary that we had so many bad plates of fish at one table. The only reason I didn’t give one star was because our waitress was very nice and their ice cream is delicious. I would not go back for food.

This is an excellent place to get ice cream. My family of 5 had generous servings for less than $ 20 (1 shared because it was so big). Courtney was a great waitress; very attentive and remembered everything. She was also very kind to my kids. I liked this place better than Jordan’s in Belmont, which is another of my favorite places.

Defines the term «mediocre» when it comes to dinner in the lakes region. This is a long-​term rating, not a one-​time impression. Haddock fans may get what they need, but not much else going on here. Really there are any number of better choices around the Winnipesaukee region.
Nice selection of ice cream is all that gets them their second star.

The service was excellent. The food is decent, not enough burger choices for a place that serves American basic cuusine. The pulled pork sandwich looked good. I had chicken scampi, a nice twist on the classic shrimp dish. Could have had more flavor. I’ve been there before, not my first choice for a meal in the Alton New Duram area, but only because I have other places I prefer. Certainly worth the trip, food is good, B prices reasonable. I would go 5 stars but the food is a little bland.

Bullet point review:
–The warm wheat bread whipped butter was good
–Sizable amount of tasty onion rings for appetizer: crunchy and thin
–Served peas with no spoon!
–Haddock sandwich I order came in a big bun, which was a little over cooked
–Service was great, the staff was very friendly
–The mail meal came super quick; we hadn’t even finished our onion rings yet.
–The baked potato and peas included with the haddock sanwich were standard; tons of butter provided
–Very reasonably priced
–Place was somewhat loud
–Standard decorum

I really feel awful writing this review. This is the first time I have eaten in their dining hall. I’ve had fish and chips for take out before and it was average. I’ve eaten at the Northwood location which I think is average. However, after last night, not only do I feel that I’ll never go back here, but I need to warn people to stay away.
The bread was warm but stale. I had the fish chowder to start off. It was disgusting. The broth was watery and had no flavor. The potatoes were not even cooked and the fish tasted fishy and looked like mush in the bottom of the bowl. I followed it with a steakhouse Caesar salad. Salad itself was bland. Dressing was watery. The sirloin tips were properly cooked and flavorful. The last straw was the salmon entrée. It looked pale, had been overdone, totally devoid of flavor. The side of corn also had no flavor. This place has got to have a really bad chef if they bring out food this consistently unseasoned. Total bill came out to around $ 45 with tip. That was the worst way to spend $ 45 on food. Was it just a bad night for the restaurant? I don’t know but I ate it here on a Saturday in December. There were only a few people in the restaurant. Maybe the locals have learned to stay away or not eat here in the off-​season.
I feel sorry for most tourists going to the lakes area who would probably end up eating here. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of other choices until they get to Wolfeboro.

Takeout Window is nothing special but is expensive considering it’s $ 7.99 for a cheeseburger consisting of a generic, pre-​made frozen patty. American cheese (the only option), lettuce and tomato are standard. No pickle, no chips but you can make it a dinner and get some (soggy) french fries for another dollar.
Fish chowder was $ 4.99 for a small (8 oz) and was pleasantly loaded with fish. The broth is traditionally thin, which I like, but it unfortunately tasted very bland (fish-​milk). No hint of onion or butter and it needed seasoning.
There’s «good food» and then there is «good-​enough» food and in my opinion, this barely hit the mark for «good enough» considering the cost.
For the record, I’ve never eaten in the dining room and have heard enough good things about it that we will try it sometime. But for now, the take out window is best kept for satisfying your ice cream cravings.