Stuart & John’s Sugar House

TOTAL rip-​off price wise. Basic breakfast — 2 eggs, toast, ham and home fries… FOURTEEN BUCKS!!! Then they had the balls to charge me TWO MORE BUCKS for coffee!!! It’s no wonder they don’t post prices on their website menu!!! I was the only one in there and all staff were sitting at a table chatting with each other… HELLO…no, change that… GOODBYE…forever.

food quality has greatly improved over the last several years; very friendly staff and owners — nice family atmosphere. highly recommend it!

Ate here on Columbus Day weekend while visiting with friends. The place is nothing to look at but the breakfast was really good. I had a harvest omelet which was large enough for two people and stuffed with sausage, locally grown apples and cheddar cheese. Fluffy and delicious, my friends’ pancakes were devoured as were corn fritters. Our waitress was great and the coffee was extremely good. It is a tad pricey ($ 12.99 for my omelet) but it was worth every dime!

Fantastic food. You can’t go wrong with the corned beef hash and eggs but everything I tried was excellent. This was my first experience with corn fritters and they were excellent as well

This review is for the restaurant, which is open every Saturday and Sunday for breakfast and lunch.
I had breakfast at Stuart & John’s recently, which is open on the weekend. On my way to VT, I stopped in here mid Saturday morning and the place was busy, but not full. I was seated promptly as I entered the restaurant. The place is not that fancy, which has that country kitchen atmosphere. The dining area is in one open room with several tables, small gift shop with plenty of NH maple syrup for sale, and the kitchen area is visible from the dining area. The waitress offered me fresh brewed coffee as I sat down. The coffee ($ 2) served in a green ceramic mug, was very good. The cream on the table was from Market Basket.
I was very hungry, so I ordered the Farmer’s Breakfast ($ 12.99) which consisted of 2 Plain Pancakes, 2 eggs (I got scrambled), home fries, choice of meat (chose 2 sausage patties), and choice of toast (I chose raisin). All meals come with unlimited NH Maple Syrup! The food was served to me in under 10 minutes! The portion of food was ginormous, piled on! The thick fluffy pancakes were really good with the maple syrup & butter. The scrambled eggs were decent, soft lump pieces. The sausage patties were grilled and very soft (the kind cut from a Jimmy Dean sausage roll). The raisin toast was buttered. The home fries (fresh cut potato pieces) were grilled and browned. I also ordered 3 Slices of Texas French Toast ($ 5.99) for carryout, which came out hot & soft and I made sure I drenched French Toast in maple syrup.
Overall, the food here was solid good typical country breakfast fare. Next time, I will try out the Fritters (corn and apple) with Maple Syrup! I came here very hungry and I left happy and full (sort of borrowed slogan from IHOP).

Took 15 minutes before any one checked us in. Then 1 hour to get seated. 20 minutes before coffee was brought over and only after asking for it. Asked for ketchup never arrived. Food was ok but not for price Omg prices!!! Used to come here every Sunday but not for a year and it got expensive.

One hour waiting. 45min for the food to arrived at our table when it was already out in the counter. The place is a big «not again» at least for me. Prices are cheap but not even worth the food, it was really non flavored not even the pancakes with tons of their maple syrup. Service was okay not great and not so bad.

Omelets and corn balls were excellent. Never ending maple syrup at the table is a real treat.

We are delighted to report that we returned to Stuart & John’s restaurant and enjoyed a significantly improved experience over our last visit in 2013. We’re indebted to Robyne, who sent us a note about changes and urged us to come back. We’re glad we did. Briefly, while the friendly service remains, the quality of the food seems up, and there is a huge change for the better in the restaurant environment.
Specifically, in 2013 we complained about a general lack of cleanliness and an overuse of cheap plastic/​paper items. That is no longer the case; the restaurant was spotless on our visit, loved the new floors and very pleased with the non-​paper cups and dishes. That means the focus now shifts back where it should: to the food, and we came away satisfied with the yummy pancakes, the sausage (which tasted homemade), the tasty corned beef and the nicely prepared eggs. We liked our server, though she got a bit overwhelmed by the crowds and was a little slow with coffee refills and the check. No matter; we like the changes here a lot, and we’ll come back and invite others to do so. Our thanks to Robyne; we believe in local owners and are extremely happy to write good things about them.

I visited family this past weekend to check out the Keene Pumpkin Festival. My family wanted to take me to this restaurant — they had been once before and enjoyed it. Given it was the festival weekend, we were prepared for a wait. However, what we experienced was absolutely absurd. When we arrived around 9:45am, there was already a good crowd waiting. We received our buzzer and were told «about 30 minutes» for the wait. Shortly after arriving, we noticed the staff combining several tables to set up for a large party. We proceeded to watch this FOURTEEN PERSON setting sit unoccupied for nearly an hour, while the people continued to pour in. I continued to hear the hostess tell people arriving that it would be around a half hour wait. At least give people realistic wait times, or tell them the truth — that you have no idea how long the wait will be.
At the one hour mark of waiting, around 10:45, we inquired as to why this large table was sitting empty and how much longer it would be. The hostess indicated they had a 14 person party coming in at 11am. Why they set up for this party an HOUR before they were arriving is beyond me, as they could have served 14 people and turned those tables over in time for the large party’s 11am arrival. It was infuriating to stand and wait and see these tables go unused. At 11:15am (keep in mind we had now been waiting for and hour and a half), when only 4 people arrived to occupy the large table, we asked to speak to the manager.
The manager proceeded to state «Here at Stuart & John’s we’ve always had a no reservation policy. However, we do accept call ahead seating and this party called early this morning to tell us they would be in at 11». When I asked her to clarify the difference between «reservations» (which she stated they did not take) and «call ahead seating», she glazed over the question. I explained to her that in my experience, call ahead means just that — when you arrive, you will be seated at the next available table, while a reservation reserves you a table in advance that will be ready for you upon arrival. I understand that accommodating a 14 person party does require some advance planning to seat everyone together, but she should have handled this situation much differently. While I would not call the manager rude necessarily, I certainly did not find her approach with us professional and courteous, and she did not once apologize.
There was a large group of very unhappy customers, who had to sit and watch 14 seats go unused for an hour, and many of whom who ended up walking out. At the one hour mark we were going to leave as well, but were told we were next in line, so we stuck it out. We ended up getting seated at 11:55 (yes, TWO HOUR WAIT. Lunch anyone?). The food was decent, but a little pricey. I was not impressed with their use of everything disposable — styrofoam plates, paper cups, plastic silverware. I was appalled at the waste this establishment produces and truly hope they recycle as much as possible. Our waitress was FANTASTIC, however. Props to Hannah (?), she was polite and courteous and handled the stress of a stretched-​too-​thin staff with grace.
Stuart & Jon’s — I urge you to evaluate your policies on call-​ahead seating/​reservations, to develop a better practice for managing large parties, and to train your staff on giving more realistic/​honest wait times. I will not be returning.

We visit family in Alstead, NH several times a year and we always make it a point to have breakfast at Stuart & John’s Sugar House at least once each visit. The food is always good and the quantity is what you would expect for a country restaurant. Our only complaint on our visit today was that they seem to be getting pricey.

Great Pancakes but remember it is was it is… It’s a simple breakfast location at a farm. It’s four star people and food but a two star low budget operation. And there’s nothing wrong with that if you accept from the beginning. Your going to have paper plates and plastic forks so what… That’s the fun of it. It is was it is and it’s good!

I have heard so many GREAT things about this place. My parents were visiting from out of town and we wanted to take them somewhere special so we decided to come here. Unfortunately we were unimpressed. There was a 30min wait time, made us excited and wasn’t too bad. Then the crowded table and plastic silverware??? The loud «local» crowd and cafeteria like feeling. The waitress was nice, and attentive! The food was mediocre. Nothing too special except my sons pancake comming out looking like a teddy bears head. I almost died when the bill came! 3 Adults and a 2yr old… $ 80+ after tip!!! Yikes!!!

*review NOT for restaurant– rather, the sugar house itself *
Visiting the Sugar House was a great experience– both educational AND inspirational. (Not to mention the intoxicating smells of maple syrup ;))
Family-​Run establishment with a great history (Stuart & John, lifelong friends– started tapping maple trees as teenagers in 1975. Here they are 30+ yrs later with a successful business that incorporates environmentally friendly technology. They were even awarded a grant by the state for their «green» efforts!)
Alisha was charming, passionate about her family’s business, well-​spoken and has a real talent for explaining the entire process from tree to table! ;) Alisha, you’re awesome!
We actually got to meet and chat with Stuart & John, who are two of the the nicest, most down-​to-​earth guys you will ever meet. (Happy 55^th B-​Day John, hope that maple cake your mom baked for you was delicious!) They are still very much involved «hands on» with the day-​to-​day workings at the sugar house, more hospitable than you can possibly imagine, and still best friends! Most importantly? They serve up a delicious final product.
Businesses like Stuart & John’s bring a sense of pride to any community– while reminding us that a youthful vision, combined with honest principles, passion and perseverance really do pay off. Bravo, Stuart & Johns! This WV girl is proud of you!

The food here is wonderfully tasty. Honest good home cooking. Paper cups, plates and plastic flatware left me a little put off but this place is no frills. $ 25 breakfast for 2 the price is moderate for this area. Real maple syrup naturally. Coffee was good but again I would have enjoyed it in a ceramic mug rather than a paper cup. All in all I will definitely eat here again because the food was so well prepared and tasty. Nice friendly and quick service too!

Where do I begin… Do I start with the bare round ugly tables? Do I start with the plastic knives and forks in plastic cups that are always on the table ALL DAY??? Do I start with the dirty floors, the 115 things on the table or the uncomfortable chairs you have to wait forever in to get a meal you could have gone without?
I’m sorry. Maybe I was expecting just a little more with the popularity of the maple syrup making in another part of the building. Maybe a nostalgic pretty dining room with antique NH and Vermont eclectic finds on shelves and walls. Maybe pretty lighting and REAL silverware. Maybe nice tables and chairs to go along with their farm views and flavor. Little things like that could go a long way to making this so much better than it was. But then again how can you serve fried food upon fried food from the freezer and be any good. Total waste of money and total waste of time trying to find something good to say about a place that could be better with a little imagination and pride.

I am not a breakfast fan, and this place wowed my with their Southwest Omelet and fresh sausage patties.
The décor isn’t anything to get excited about and you do eat off of toss away plate, cups and forks.
The prices are fair and the food is super good.

Great syrup and syrup consumption substrates like pancakes. Very cool farm location, great views, feels like a pancake breakfast put on by a local organization.
Get out there and support this great farm. Not the fastest service, so be prepared to wait. Very casual dining room with a view of the kitchen.
Real maple syrup!

Straight from the maple tree right on to my plate.
Start with breakfast, end with a tour of how to make maple syrup. Or «sirup» if you’re French Canadian. Yum! Yum! Yum! (Hi. Go for a side of the homemade sausage patties with your pancakes. Bye.)
These guys are proud of what they do. John explained that they use a machine that was intended to distill water to remove water content from the sugar syrup (reverse osmosis) BEFORE they start to boil it. Takes it from a 43:1 ratio to 7:1. *Insert science-​y things here, etc.*
Awesome-​family-​run-​first-​class-​farm-​quality. Four stars due to wonky paper plates and plastic silverware only.

OMG, fresh hot pancakes (with various fruit toppings or chocolate chips), farm fresh eggs, coffee, fresh maple syrup and waffles. Cheap, farm fresh and good! Come here for the maple syrup not the meal.
This place is only open seasonally (its mostly locals), closing for winter around the end of Nov. You can buy maple syrup products in amazing different containers, (ie. statue of liberty maple syrup, house shaped or with trees drawn on the bottle) in bulk. They also sell high grade, gallon sized maple for only $ 50. This is a great place for kids, they offer free coloring crayons, for $ 1.75 you can buy a coloring book about mapling trees and they have a special kids menu.