The Local Restaurant Scene - Burnham Mansion Steakhouse

Tim called me Tuesday at lunch to ask if I wanted to meet him, his parents, his aunt and uncle, and his grandmother at Burnham Mansion for dinner that night. I spend more time with Tim's family than my own, given that mine is four hours away, but I still hadn't met his grandmother. Plus I had heard good things about Burnham Mansion. It's a large historic farmhouse located just outside of Peterborough on Highway 7 and Keene Rd. They do weddings on the grounds there now, as well as have the restaurant and a catering business.

The house is beautiful - very well kept and the rooms are lovely. High ceilings, great moldings, big mirrors and fireplaces. Our waiter was great. Very personable, incredibly polite. He was there often enough that you had everything you needed, but not so often that he interrupted the company. It was a great setting to celebrate Tim's grandmother's 89th birthday. 

Too bad the food didn't live up to that. I had the amaretto chicken and I would have been skeptical if someone had tried to convince me it wasn't a frozen chicken cutlet. The sauce didn't have anything to recommend it either. Just a fairly bland cream sauce. The potatoes were almost overcooked and the vegetables were just your standard fare - broccoli, carrots, mushy sweet potato. Maybe Burnham Mansion is marketed towards an older crowd, but I wasn't impressed. There are so many amazing restaurants in Peterborough doing brilliant, locally sourced gourmet food. That was what I was expecting in a setting like this. It was decently expensive as well. The chicken dish I had was $17.99. The coconut creme pie was better - a large serving and the coconut filling was dense and rich and creamy. The toasted coconut on top gave it a nice crunch. I have to thank Dean, Wendy, and Bob for footing the bill. Even though the food wasn't wonderful, the company certainly was.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this place for a dinner out unless you like really bland, over-cooked food.