Sugar Hill, New Hampshire is a favorite travel destination with easy access to Franconia Notch State Park, Cannon Mountain Ski Area, breathtaking scenery, great lodging options and some fabulous restaurants. We found a gem called Sunset Hill House.

Sugar Hill NH Dining at Sunset Hill House

Dining at the Sunset Hill House in Sugar Hill, NH has two facets of pleasure. The first being the location and view. There are very few places that can offer such an exquisite vista from the dining room, where there are ample windows from which to enjoy the majestic view of the Presidential Range while you dine. When the sun sets, it highlights the mountain beauty and the seasonal foliage. This may be the green leaves of summer, the brilliant colors of fall, the new growth of spring or the incredible white - almost blue - of winter snow.

Once you have settled in from the initial delight of this breathtaking view, you will then feast your eyes on a menu that will tempt another of your senses - the palate. We were happy to have chosen the Neighbor to Neighbor Dinner, benefiting the Society for the Protection of NH Forests. Nancy and Lon Henderson, owners/innkeepers of the Sunset Hill House, donated all the profits from dinner this Saturday night to support this popular conservation cause.

So, with that said, four of us dined on appetizers starting with Cream of Spinach soup with Boars Sausage garnish, seared tuna in a spicy roasted pepper and sweet mango sauce, and Dover scallops with a lemon wasabi sauce, served with herb rolls and butter. Next, a salmon served over shrimp infused rice, filet mignon with a port-peppercorn sauce that you could cut with a fork, and two of us selected the succulent pink peppercorn and fennel seed encrusted rack of lamb with a sour cherry fennel reduction sauce. Roasted red potatoes and fresh asparagus graced the plate for the meat, as well. A very light beaujolais accompanied the meal.

The selection of wines at the Sunset Hill House is incredible. They offer many by-the-glass selections, including Champagne. The selection of bottled wines is sure to impress any fine wine aficionado. Dessert sounded quite enticing, but...since the meals were deliciously filling, we ordered only one pear tart with ice cream and homemade whipped cream - heavenly!

One of the surprises of the evening was how enjoyably the time flew by. The wait staff paced our courses perfectly so that we felt neither rushed nor languished. Their knowledge of the menu and available wines was outstanding. The price was reasonable for both the fine quality of food and the serving sizes. We recommend The Sunset Hill House for an all-around great experience. Contact them in advance for reservations and tell them NHLiving sent you.