11 Best Restaurants in The Adirondacks and Thousand Islands, New York

Smoked ribs are the specialty at this perennial local favorite, and if you like them you might consider buying the bottled barbecue sauce. The wedge-cut fries are thick and satisfying, and the hearty breakfasts include all-you-can-eat buttermilk pancakes. In warm weather you may eat on the small deck. There's also a full bar.

Locals come into this casual, family-style Italian restaurant for hearty portions of meatball lasagna, veal Parmesan, or a seared Delmonico steak. There's a lounge and pool table.

This café-bakery has light fare like soups, hot and cold sandwiches, and baked goods. Bag lunches are available, too, for skiers, hikers, or anyone who just likes to brown bag it. Outdoor seating is available.

Excellent gourmet pizza, seafood specialties, pasta dishes, a full wine list, and homemade desserts make it hard to decide what to order at this pleasant spot. Dine alfresco in the warmth, and by lantern light in the chill.

This lively first-floor restaurant and bar at High Peaks Resort has been a hit with locals and out-of-town visitors ever since it opened in fall 2008. The menu has classics like big hamburgers and homemade pizza as well as steak. It's also great for breakfast.

Despite billing itself as the village's "best-kept secret," this sports bar and restaurant near the shore always seems to be hopping. The daily menu includes pizzas, burgers, appetizers, and dinner specials where the chef gets creative with what's in the kitchen. Cheese sauces are common. There's fish on Friday and prime rib on Saturday.

The extensive menu at this casual downtown eatery and microbrewery combines American and Continental fare. For a starter you might sample the escargots and mushrooms in puff pastry and cream sauce or bite into the nicely laden bruschetta. If you want a spicy-sweet start to your meal, try the Mardis Gras shrimp (spicy shrimp baked in jalapeño corn bread and drizzled with honey). Steak selections include a filet mignon (6- or 10-ounce options), sirloin sandwich, and New York strip steak au poivre. There are also seafood items, like the Seashore Pasta, packed with mussels, artichoke hearts, clams, portobella mushrooms, and sun-dried and grape tomatoes. The staff will know just which microbrew should go with your meal, and if you or your kids want to try a homemade brew but without the alcohol, order a root beer, made on the premises with pure mountain water and cane sugar. (If you're really curious how the brewing process works, request a tour of the small brewing facilities.) For a sweet finish, share a slice of the New York cheesecake drizzled with strawberries.

Like the East Cove restaurant, Log Jam looks like a refined log cabin, with three stone fireplaces and attractive wood furniture. Despite its down-home feel, the place serves upscale dishes like prime rib, roast duck, and steak au poivre, which comes with sautéed mushrooms and shallots in mustard sauce. Fish dishes include surf-and-turf combos as well as more-complicated preparations. There's also a salad bar.

If you like New York City–style pizza, this is the place for you. This eatery has pizza on par with anything there, served up in a fun, casual atmosphere. Veggie lovers will enjoy the Tree Hugger (pesto, spinach, garlic, and more), while carnivores will go for the Carcass, loaded with every type of meat available in the restaurant.

This casual restaurant right on the banks of Lake Ontario serves a robust menu with fun-loving entrée names like That Fire Thang, (a spicy hamburger concoction featuring salsa, jalapeños, and chipotle mayo). Other dishes include Alaskan crab legs, steamed Canadian mussels, wraps, pasta, and the fish of the day. There's a wine list and a martini list. Wi-Fi is available throughout the restaurant.

The upstairs dining room, called 110 West Main, begins service at 5:30 pm daily; breakfast and lunch are served downstairs; and all three meals are served outside, weather permitting. Salads and sandwiches are popular—try the grilled portobello mushroom sandwich. Alfresco dining is in a New Orleans–style flower garden with wrought-iron gates and a stone archway. Wine tastings are offered on some days of the week.