Barnard Inn Vermont

It can spoil you when one of the best restaurants in the area is just down the road.The Barnard Inn, here in Barnard, Vermont, sits just one-half mile south of us, and that alone would make it a great dinner option for our guests. But the real draw is the great food, available at either the more formal dining room, or the casual Max’s Tavern.

Candlelit tables with fine linens set the stage for the cozy dining room’s special prix fixe menu, featuring appetizer, entrée and dessert. Local and fresh ingredients are the inspiration for the menu, which may include among other items, a creamy tomato bisque topped with Vermont sharp cheddar cheese gratin (one of our favorites!), roasted pumpkin soup, or crispy fried Blue Point oysters with chipotle mayonnaise.

Entrees can include dishes such as seafood curry with wild shrimp and ice blue mussels in a gingery coconut curry sauce or herb-marinated heritage pork, pan-roasted and served with bacon cheddar mashed potatoes—as yummy as it sounds. The kitchen also turns out a wonderful chicken schnitzel, and always has vegetarian options, such as a sweet potato tartlette, a savory mix of roasted potatoes, organic spinach and chèvre in a puff pastry crust.

Desserts are equally delectable. Crème brulée and a chocolate-filled bread pudding with caramel and chocolate sauces were recent offerings.

For those who wish to dine more casually, Max’s Tavern is the place to go. Here you can enjoy the same attention to quality with a small plate menu that is big on satisfaction. Many of the same appetizers and a few of the entrees served in the dining room can be found here, as well as some heartier dishes.

Max’s Salad is a popular starter – a mix of mesclun lettuce with candied walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and a dressing infused with local maple syrup. House-made pasta topped with a spicy Bolognese, Yankee pot roast with winter veggies and mashed potatoes, and Max’s juicy burger are all tasty options.

The restaurant is often open for lunch in the wintertime, which makes it a perfect warm-up for snowmobilers.

Barnard Inn
5518 Route 12, Barnard, VY
Tuesday – Saturday, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.