1820 House

With the ambiance of an old farm house, this is a lovely place to share dinner & drinks with special friends. Outstanding cooked to order meals; shrimp Bordino (broiled & topped with buttered ritz crackers– an old favorite), fresh fish served with light salads were our evening choices. Be prepared to have lots of time to relax and enjoy the gorgeous view of Skaneateles lake from the hilltop. My family ate here two nights before & enjoyed perfectly grilled tender beef filets!

A charming place, with spectacular views of Skaneateles lake and spectacular food. In the summer, this place is packed with the seasonal residents of the Finger Lakes area and tourists, and in the off seasons, locals abound. Either way, make reservations so that the chef knows what to plan for – it’s a tiny kitchen with a small and talented staff, but sometimes, they just don’t have the capacity for everyone that wants to dine.
We have been there dozens of times, and it never disappoints.

We ate here last night and were absolutely blown away by the food, the view, the friendliness of the staff… everything! We didn’t have reservations and they were pretty full, so we stayed at the bar (great beer selection on tap)…split an appetizer of beef skewers with peanut sauce and fried calamari — fantastic. I had the veal and lobster/​angel hair/​capers/​tomatoes/​wilted spinach dish, and it was absolutely astonishing. So incredibly good! My husband had the NY strip and shrimp — he raved. Perfect medium-​rare and with a good crust, potatoes and sweet onions on the side — again, just perfect. We kept saying, «I can’t believe how good this is!» and we were talking about the food and the ambience. Sinatra playing in the background, charming bartender, gorgeous view of the sunset over the lake, clearly a lot of regulars enjoying a Friday night out… very, very reasonable prices too. If we lived here, we’d treat ourselves once a month. Highly, highly recommend.

We took our daughter here for a special occasion based on a friend’s positive review. The food was very good with a small but pleasing menu to choose from. I had the veal and lobster piccata with angel hair pasta. For appetizers we ordered crab cakes with red chile mayonnaise and a cheese dish. The crab cakes were tasty– did find a small piece of shell and the mayo for dipping was nothing special. The cheese was good, served with pita and my daughter liked this. Warm bread served with a sweet butter was nice but very small portioning. My main course had a lovely presentation and the sauce and veal were very tasty and the veal was tender. The lobster was overcooked so a bit chewy and the meat had not been cleaned well– pieces on there that didn’t belong. My daughter had the steak and shrimp with potatoes (very good), however the shrimp was overcooked and therefore not as tender as it should have been. My husband had the salmon special which was blackened, this was fresh, tasty and the winner of the entrees. The water poured was warm and without ice as well.
My main issue was the hospitality– it was seriously lacking. No one went out of their way to make us feel welcome or were even friendly. After our entrees were delivered, we didn’t see our waitress until it was time to offer coffee and dessert. My daughter also had to request that she have her remaining entrée packaged to take with her– there was a substantial amount remaining on her plate. Waitress did not come back to ask for drink refills either. Our check was put on the table without comment. We wanted to have someone take a picture of the three of us for the occasion but I didn’t dare ask anyone as they were not approachable. The service was seriously lacking and due to this I would not return. Entrees were pricey and I except great service for that price

The 1820 House is a little bit off the beaten path, but it’s a worthwhile trip once you arrive. I see one out of town woman complained about the «atrocious» service, but it really isn’t, unless you are in a hurry or are used to overbearing, white glove service. Plan on 2.5 hours for dinner and a good deal of time between apps, dinner and dessert. Just relax, sip your wine, and you’ll enjoy it, otherwise don’t even bother going.
While the menu isn’t the most expansive, the options we sampled on our most recent visit (and first for some) were delicious. The steamed clams were especially memorable, and the steaks were top notch and cooked perfectly. The salmon was fresh and they were happy to leave off the panko breadcrumbs. Wine selection was surprisingly good, happy to see the Antinori on there! Desserts were excellent, especially the bread pudding. I see the menu has changed since our last visit, too. I view that as a positive, gives you a chance to try new things every so often.
We had such a good experience we are going back again this weekend. While we frequent the other Skaneateles dining options routinely enough, the 1820 House has been added as one of our favorites. You should try it, but don’t be in a hurry!

The chef thinks fat and salt are all it takes to make a meal ‘fine dining’.
Admittedly, I change my order to reflect my dietary preferences, so I always give a review with that in mind. On this evening, I ordered the sautéed chicken and vegetables without the extra lemon butter sauce and angel hair pasta. The chicken arrived breaded. Half the menu featured Panko bread crumbs, as if this were the latest and greatest in culinary discoveries. My dish was chosen because it wasn’t listed as breaded. I could see the salt on the mushrooms.
All of the specials, a lamb, rib eye and a fish each had the exact same unimaginative sides.
The service was the real kicker. Absolutely atrocious. Slow, unprofessional and uninterested. I went in search of a waitress, any waitress, twice.
I was on vacation, but even if I lived there– no way I’d return.

Had an outstanding anniversary dinner there last night.
We both went with chef specials. Mine was a ribeye with a lobster tail, mashed red potatoes and baby spinach in a garlic butter. It was wonderful. The lobster had great flavor enhanced by the garlic butter sauce. The steak wonderfully spiced and cooked as ordered.
My wife, a lover of lamb, went immediately for the rack of lamb with a blueberry sauce. Her smile and the way she savored each bite let me know that she was happy.
We sat outside — even on a day where the temp hovered in the high 90’s the restaurants position on top of a hill overlooking Skaneatles Lake had a cool breeze.
Give this place a try its 45 minutes from Syracuse and maybe 15 from the village.

I had very high expectation before going to the 1820 House. We sat outside and had a beautiful view of the lake. For a restaurant of this caliber, we sat on white plastic lawn chairs (the table and the umbrella were nice and stirdy). Four of us shared four appetizers: crab cakes, steamed clams with sausages, mushrooms with pita chips and a special grilled shrimp appetizer. They were all good — no wow factor though. My husband used his knife in the appetizer round. The waitress scraped the sauce off the knife then set it for him to re-​use. He had to ask for a new knife. We had two bottles of wine. After the first bottle, our waitress asked if we wanted new wine glasses. I was surprised that she even asked that question.
My husband and friends enjoyed their entrees — they told me. Mine was scallops and shrimp in a Thai red curry sauce. My scallops and shrimp were not properly seared before being dumped into a pot of curry. Also, the vegetables in the curry sauce seemed boiled — they were not sauteed (esp. the onion) before being put in the sauce. The red curry sauce was not spicy (i.e. not full of spices or heat). The rice served with the entrée should have been jasmine rice or some fragrant Asian rice, not the blah round grain Uncle Ben stuff.
For dessert, I had the strawberry shortcake with ice cream and my husband had a banana bread pudding. The banana bread pudding was excellent. My biscuit was a little bit too bitter.
I am glad that we tried the 1820 House. The view was great but the rest was just good or average.

The 1820 house was such a pleasant surprise! My hubby had picked it out for a dinner with my family and I was skeptical — we’re a hard bunch to please and I would not generally take my parents to a place that I hadn’t eaten at beforehand. The website wasn’t promising (it was just too hard to tell if this was a place that was over-​reaching), and once we arrived, the country charm atmosphere was just too reminiscent of so many other restaurants in these wine country areas that fail to pull of the concept of casual fine dining/​elevated comfort food.
But! Everyone in our party of six loved their meals. I started with some duck quesadillas which were amazing. I could have just had four plates of them and been totally satisfied. I then had a tenderloin steak — and it was cooked perfectly. I ordered it «very rare» — and that’s what I got — but it still had a fantastic crust to it, which I would never expect outside of a steakhouse. The sauce that went with it was great.
I sampled a few other things around the table — some of my sister’s greek cheese & garlic appetizer, a chicken dish my husband had — everything I tried was great with only one exception — the lobster bisque was not my favorite. But let’s be honest, no one’s lobster bisque can hold a candle to my mother’s.
I really enjoyed my meal there — and though while this experience is certainly a lesson in how things do not have to be fancy to taste good, I’ll still hold out that last star because the food and the atmosphere are just so incongruous. If it were food alone though, the 1820 House is a deifnite 5 stars.

This one time carriage house, now restaurant is a hidden gem on East Lake Rd in Skaneateles. I have never been disappointed with the dinners here. The ingredients taste so fresh. My compliments to Rich the chef. The service is always excellent. The outdoor seating in the summertime offers spectacular views of Skaneateles Lake. I would recommend making reservations during the weekends in the summertime.

I’m from Skaneateles — grew up there. So I like to think I know the area pretty well. And 1820 house is easily the best restaurant in the area. Everything is cooked by the chef who owns the place, and he’s just great at what he does.
Other then how good the food is, it’s also got the best view of the lake of any restaurant in the area — I recommend eating outside on the deck, weather permitting.

This is a pretty good restaurant which is a little off the beaten path. The ambiance is pleasant, and the food is good. They don’t have the biggest menu selection. but what is on the menu is worthwhile. Service is very good. If you are looking for a quiet, little place, you’ll like the 1820 House.