Adult Dinner Tour #3 – Newport, Vermont
| 10.06.18
Updated June, 2022
Many of Newport’s restaurants line the banks of Lake Memphremagog. This provides some with wonderful views, and put others right near the boardwalk. This makes Newport a perfect place for an adult dinner tour.
We like to start by parking either behind Lagos or in the state parking lot up the street near the library – depending on where we decide to eat first. From either location you can walk along boardwalk, enjoying the beautiful views of the lake, frozen and sparkling.
Take the Newport Dinner Tour
Click on the links to view our full reviews of each restaurant and their food.
We often start the night at Lago’s Trattoria. Here we are greeted with a delicious cocktail list and many draft beer options. My favorites are the Lemon Drop, and the Green Mountain – a combo of melon liquor and vodka. They also have a few different versions of a chocolaty concoction that outshines most deserts, the name changes but check the cocktail menu for the chocolate option.
For appetizers we recommend the tuna carpaccio; fresh ahi tuna served on crispy chips with a spicy horseradish sauce. This dish is full of contrast: soft fish and crunchy chips, fresh fish and spicy horseradish, all creating a sensational dish that will leave you wanting more.
The lollipop lamb is another light option with fantastic flavor. Cooked to a nice medium, and well seasoned, this dish is a change from the many fried appetizers that appear on local menus. It is a little pricey, and only comes with two pieces – but it’s well worth it.
A second meat option is Nona’s Meatball – 3 soft meatballs, full of herbs and spices and dressed with house made marinara makes the perfect Adult Dinner Tour dish.
Eating dinner at Lago’s is an experience. Great décor and an authentic Italian menu make for a relaxing combination that will have you full and satisfied when you leave. If you are looking for a dinner entrée the stuffed pork chop served with an incredible eggplant Parmesan is the way to go. But during our adult dinner tour, we typically stick to just apps as the entrees here will leave little room for any other treats.
On leaving Lago’s we cross the street, walking towards the Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center. Before 5 p.m. you can try a flight of the Eden Iced Ciders at the tasting bar. If you haven’t tried ice cider, you are in for a treat. Some are like eating an apple off the tree just after the frost hits. Others are aged and carry caramel notes.
The Warehouse Restaurant is the next step, and you don’t even have to leave the tasting center. A menu filled with classic favorites, crispy fried chicken, and a few unique appetizer options makes for a fun dining experience.
We like the tempura shrimp – large shrimp coated in the most unique tempura batter that is not only extra crispy, but looks almost like tapioca pearls. Another delicious option is the crispy cicharronis – fried seasoned pork rinds.
Dinner entrees are on the lighter side, making this a great stop on our dinner tour. The melted brie grilled cheese, the fish tacos, or even the F.F.C. (a family recipe for fried chicken). If you didn’t try the meatballs at Lago, you could do so here — The Warehouse offers a meatball sub made with Lago’s meatballs – and it is AMAZING.
Extensive cocktail menus that include Martinis, bloody Marys, and Mimosas add to the dinner tour, as does the opportunity to play a game of pool. The four tables at The Warehouse, add a little more fun to the evening.
The Warehouse also offers weekly specials. Wednesdays are Sushi night, with a specialty roll prepared fresh by the chef. Thursday’s are Tapas night, featuring chef’s special small plates that make dining fun and let you try a number of items. Fridays are buy one, get one for $12 pizzas, and Saturdays finish off with tacos and margaritas.
By the time we leave the Warehouse, we are typically pretty full, but we typically finish up at the Dusit Thai. We order spring rolls to go, as these are our favorite and take them down the ally next door to Jasper’s Tavern where we typically find live music or a DJ on the weekends (these will be coming back as Covid restrictions lift). If there is a wait on our order, we’ll hit Jasper’s first, order a drink while we wait and send one of our party to pick up the order from the Thai restaurant next door.
Dusit Thai also offers a wonderful sushi menu – we sometimes grab a roll depending on how much room we have after eating at the other spots.
If you choose to dine in and try an entree, my favorite is the fried rice with scallops. Sweet and creamy, this is unlike any fried rice I’ve eaten. This is the perfect dish to split at the end of a food tour as it isn’t heavy and there is enough in an order to satisfy two people. If you like spicy, we recoment the mussels – but be warned, they are hot.
Lago’s, the Warehouse, and Jasper’s all have great martinis. My husband is partial to extra dirty vodka martinis (as our readers know) and likes the options at each of these restaurants – just in case you are looking for a cocktail less sweet than the ones I mentioned above. And every one is just a bit different – so in addition to trying a number of great food items, you can compare great cocktails!
The walk back downstreet to our parked car is refreshing, and helps settle the all we’ve eaten. And if we happen to go early enough, there are a few wonderful shops to browse along the way.
A final spot to check out if you’re on Main Street is The Dugout. Located in the same block of buildings as Lago’s but on the back side (enter from the parking lot), it is a little hard to find if you don’t already know about it. Take the flight of stairs down into the basement of the building and you are greated with a bar that knows how to have fun – and not take itself too seriously. There are arcade games, a ping-pong table, pool, a Karaoke setup, and tables with individual gaming systems. Geared toward the younger crowd, and the gamer kids, this is a bar meant for having fun. During the day, it is also a great family place. Inexpensive food, plenty of entertainment, and a full bar offers a fun way to end your night. And they are open late!
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