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September 2023 by Karla Prudom
Beautiful log cabin with a wood furnace. Such gorgeous views and wonderful service. The food at the restaurant was great and the staff was helpful and friendly. Definitely be back.
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September 2023 by Jo Anne Blankenship
Had an amazing and relaxing time. Was nice to put the phones down and enjoy family. Every cabin had a beautiful view of the lake. Will definitely be back.
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September 2023 by Nancy Walters
A drive to The Birches for lunch or dinner is a must for us when we are in the area. The lodge is beautiful, rustic, and cozy. The views of Mt. Kineo and Moosehead Lake are spectacular! We love going on Friday or Saturday for their prime rib which is delicious and filling.
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August 2023 by David ..
Good part: Wow what a neat old Lodge and great food. We had supper reservations here after a moose watching pontoon boat ride.Bad Part: despite them telling us we had supper reservations when we booked the boat ride, we were nowhere on the list when we arrived at the restaurant. Luckily some tables had just cleared out so we got a table (because it was late -7:15pm).Which brings me to the boat ride. It was a nice ride on the lake to see Mt.Kineo and the views and the captain was a nice man. But, with all of these moose tours, the tour guides know with pretty much certainty where the moose hang out every day and know their patterns. But when someone asked, can you almost guarantee we'll see some today, the captain shrugged and replied, "Wellllll. This summer has been hit or miss." Now, I know moose are generally elusive to the common Mainer or tourist but, if a tour guide would normally see them almost every day but has seen them once in the last two weeks (and that has been the case all summer) then you shouldn't be selling moose tours! They could have at least given us a discount at supper but laughed and laughed when we mentioned it. Jokes on us. We spent a lot of money for a tour that didn't have the things we went to see and then spent $80 more for supper. Skip the boat ride. Go for a great supper in a nostalgic and authenic Maine Lodge with a fantastic water view.
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August 2023 by Douglas LaRosa
Went here food was awful scallop potatoes were under cooked and cold, chicken tasted horrible the garden salad was old and wilted The rolls were stale, the artichoke and spinach dip look like it was 3 or 4 days old the coin chips that came with it were stale. It was a very bad experience.
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August 2023 by Bailey McFadden
Went to the restaurant for lunch. Our waitress was very kind and warm and our service was very prompt. I had a Reuben sandwich, which was pretty good (a little soggy in the middle of the bottom bread, but still very tasty) and I had their pineapple upside down cake for dessert, which was fantastic!
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August 2023 by Lisa P
Recently stayed in the Elmer Bemis. On the water, private, good swimming and a private dock just as I was looking for. Nice lot with amazing views! While we the day outdoors, inside was not as enjoyable and very uncomfortable.Upon arrival, the floors were dirty and surfaces gritty. The cleaners quickly returned to mop the floors and wipe surfaces. Appreciated their kindness, however their cleaning was not stellar, so we went to the store and purchased $50 worth of cleaning supplies to clean deeper ourselves for some comfort. Part of this cost was Raid for the red fire ants around the outdoor fire pit.The toilet was leaking water all over the bathroom floor. Day 1, two people came out to evaluate, used our bath towels (provided to us for our stay) to wipe the floor and place around the toilet to soak up the water and said they would come back the following day with a new seal. Day 2, one person came and replaced the seal, however it still leaked and so we called and another person came out later that day, tightened the water supply hose to the toilet and used more of our towel stash since the first was saturated, and said he would be back the next day with another seal. I let him know that we would be out for a few hours the following morning at a certain time in hopes that he could come during that specified time but didn’t show up until after noon on Day 3 to “fix” the toilet. Day 3 were told it was known that the toilet needed to be replaced and they will bring a new one the next day. Day 4, he shows up (unannounced) with a new toilet to install. We left for a couple of hours and came back to the same old toilet and no note as to why or what was done to decide on keeping the old. Since the leaking seemed to have stopped and I did not want anyone else to disrupt our stay, I chose to let it be. I think we had been inconvenienced enough by then!The fire extinguisher showed empty.We rented a boat. It was filthy as well! It had stains all over it, a missing door, and growth on the carpet under the seats. Definitely did not go barefoot as I normally would on a boat. It did not have a ladder and no gas gauge. The gas tank strapped down on the back was so filthy you could not see through to know how much gas was in it.Ants & Mice inside! There were black ants indoors for which the cleaning folks provided ant bait and it helped. Worse than the ants though, there were mice and lots of them. Each night we could hear them scratching in the walls and ceilings and saw at least one run back and forth through the camp. After googling what keeps mice away, we placed tin foil around and it seemed to help. On our last night/morning there, the water filtration system started making loud noises that awoke us at 3:00 in the morning. Because it was alarmingly loud and unknown to us, it scared us. After reading the tags on the machine that was making the noise, we were able to google and find that it was a water filtration system going through its regeneration cycle. Prior to this knowledge, we contemplated leaving and had started packing up and picked up the tin foil laying around. After learning that the noise was not an alarm of danger, we went back to bed without placing the foil back. Soon after, I jumped back out of bed to the screams of my friend who had a mouse crawl onto her chest and then got stuck in her hair when she tried to fling it off her. That is when we decided to leave! We packed in a hurry and while doing so, the mice were running all over the camp, three seen in one moment.While the area is beautiful and the lot is great with the desired private water frontage, I would not stay in these cabins again due to the lack of cleanliness, lack of maintenance, and with an obvious uncontrolled mice infestation. I feel the price for this camp is more than it’s worth.I left a note with reception to forward these concerns on to the owners in hopes that I would hear something from them, however nothing yet.
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August 2023 by Janice Sickenberger
Dinner at The Birches was excellent. Service staff were prompt and friendly. Salads arrived on nice cold plates. The baked scallop dinner with scalloped potatoes and asparagus was excellent. Our group also had baked stuffed haddock and eggplant Parmesan which were excellent as well. Topped off with decadent desserts. We left happy and content, having enjoyed a lovely meal with great views of Moosehead lake.
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August 2023 by Maddie Rhoton
I am so in love with this place and its employees. We had the most pleasant experience on our recent trip to Moosehead Lake and it’s largely due to the staff, particularly Marsha (at the front) and Sierra (at the bar/restaurant). (Sorry if I’m spelling your names wrong). The rooms were so cozy and reasonable. The breakfast food was delicious and I hope to try the dinner food in the future. The bartenders (restaurant employees) were very friendly and heavy pourers. And the view was the cherry on top. I loved my stay at the Birches and will certainly be back. I also highly recommend them. You will not regret your stay and the amenities they have to offer.Rooms: The rooms are cozy and old fashioned. Each room was equipped with a fan and a deck with a table and chairs to enjoy the beautiful scenery from the rooms. The bathroom is shared with the other 3 rooms, however there’s a bath house outside with showers and toilets as well.Food & drinks: Highly recommend the breakfast burrito and omelette as well as the sausage links and home fries! In addition, the Moosehead beer on tap was delicious.
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August 2023 by JR Ewing
Living in Jackman, we have always intended to visit the Birches for dinner. We have heard mixed reviews from the locals, which kept us going to our usual haunts. Given the busy week, our regular favorites were sold out.We finally made it to The Birches! We had a later reservation, but we got here early and we walked the property. It’s really nice. The bar area is nice too. We were seated right in the center of a very busy dining room. For the first few minutes, we exercised patience as waitstaff walked by us repeatedly without any greeting. After 15 minutes, it got far more frustrating when new parties arrived us, we’re seated, given drink orders, appetizer orders and been served food. Honestly, nobody had greeted us at all. Now, if it was a corner or the room it would be understandable. When our frustration gave way, I had to excuse myself to find the host and ask for service. I have never felt so invisible in my life.We were like the ghosts in Beetlejuice who tried to scare away that new family. We could have stood on chairs and moonwalked across the table and nobody who worked I’m here would have blinked! At least the food was redeeming. Steak was excellent. I’m the end, we were offered free desert for being the very last customers in the dining room, but no surprise that everything we wanted had been sold out. Must have been sold to all of the customers seated after us……. Good food, but unfortunately the lack of service will forever be what we remember! At least we had a few laughs and one heck of a memory/story.Hard, hard pass from us. Try Greenville for great food and service!!
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August 2023 by 78subguy
We ate dinner here on a recent trip to moosehead. Very nice place. Food was very good, prices were excellent. Atmosphere was very pleasant. Only complaint and it's very minor was the sinage leading to the restaurant from Rockwood are small and easily missed if not really paying attention.
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August 2023 by Brian Michael
While the lake and environment are amazing, it's the people that really make a difference here, Marcia, Debbie, Clark, Gerry, Eric, Wendy and Lori were kind, professional and went out of their way to take care of our family group. Make sure rent a boat to see the back of Mt. Kineo it's truly awesome.
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July 2023 by MJ H.
This review is for dining only- not for any other of the services that the Birches offers. Up in the Moosehead Lake area, the options for dinner are few, and the Birches offers a peaceful location and view of the lake that can't be beat- five stars for that.The old lodge has a lot of charm and feels cozy and very "early 1900s" all around, so five stars for that also.The food itself is all over the place. My crab stuffed mushrooms were incredibly delicious and full of crab. I couldn't get enough. The chicken Caesar salad had chicken that was beyond overdone on it, and the chicken was quite hot on top of the salad so made for wilty greens and the croutons and dressing were not also not great. My friends and husband had similar results... some stuff fine, some not. I wouldn't say it was bad, or good... we'd probably return, but I'd just fill up on crab stuffed mushrooms and maybe try some dessert.
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July 2023 by Jeff R.
Living in Jackman, we have always intended to visit the Birches for dinner. We have heard mixed reviews from the locals, which kept us going to our usual haunts. Given the busy week, our regular favorites were sold out. We finally made it to The Birches! We had a later reservation, but we got here early and we walked the property. It's really nice. The bar area is nice too. We were seated right in the center of a very busy dining room. For the first few minutes, we exercised patience as waitstaff walked by us repeatedly without any greeting. After 15 minutes, it got far more frustrating when new parties arrived us, we're seated, given drink orders, appetizer orders and been served food. Honestly, nobody had greeted us at all. Now, if it was a corner or the room it would be understandable. When our frustration gave way, I had to excuse myself to find the host and ask for service. I have never felt so invisible in my life. We were like the ghosts in Beetlejuice who tried to scare away that new family. We could have stood on chairs and moonwalked across the table and nobody who worked there would have blinked! At least the food was redeeming. Steak was excellent. In the end, we were offered free desert for being the very last customers in the dining room, but to no surprise, everything we wanted had been sold out. Must have been sold to all of the customers seated after us....... Good food, but unfortunately the lack of service will forever be what we remember! At least we had a few laughs and a memory/story. Hard, hard pass from us. Try Greenville for great food and service!!
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June 2023 by Lauren Tillotson
We got super confused on where exactly to go after pulling into the driveway. There were signs, but the small font was hard to read as you were driving by! Friendly staff, beautiful view, okay food.
