3 Best Restaurants in Skaneateles, The Finger Lakes

Go for the fried-fish sandwich and clam chowder, stay for the down-home atmosphere at this Skaneateles institution. The menu, posted over the counter where orders are taken, also includes steamed clams, fried shrimp, grilled chicken, frankfurters, and ice cream. Drop by Friday for lobster bisque. The counter staff shouts your name when your order is ready. Sit in the dining room under watch of the colorful mural of Skaneateles, at an outdoor picnic table, or take it to go.

A Tuscan-style eatery, Rosalie's is upscale but relaxed. On a weekend night in the downstairs dining room you can forget meaningful conversation unless you read lips. (The smaller upstairs room is quieter and more romantic.) The buzz is about the food, served in generous portions. The Italian fare includes appetizers such as carpaccio—ultra-thin slices of raw beef served with capers and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese—and main dishes like chicken scaloppine with lemon butter, pancetta, and artichoke hearts. Don't skip dessert—the Banana Budino is unbelievable: layers of creamy banana pudding, real bananas, house-made cinnamon-sugar puff pastry, almond cookies, and caramel sauce.

The original 1807 tavern, rustic compared with the elegant dining room, is perhaps the best place around to experience Old Skaneateles—meaning pre-1980, when the village was more of a cozy bedroom community for Syracuse than a vacation destination. Menu favorites include traditional Yankee pot roast and crab cakes with scallop mousse. Seasonal offerings might be seafood bouillabaisse or chicken-and-biscuits. An enclosed porch lined with windows is open in warm weather.