Concord's Colonial Inn

We came for lunch after a ranger at the Minute Man monute recommended the place, which was pretty cool. It’s a cute colonial inn, older than the revolution, with charm that fits the era and area. The dining room had a retiree kind of feel, and there was a fancy ladies’ tea party in the next room. We loved the food: clam chowder, fish and chips, and the “inn” burger. I’d recommend it.

The staff were very friendly, and I want to make sure that’s said. But I was disappointed. We weren’t told when booking that renovations were underway and that the kitchen and dining areas were limited. The room didn’t match what I expected from the online photos. I chose it thinking we’d get the old-style bed and breakfast shown there, but we walked into a tiny room in a modern-style section instead. The TV remote didn’t work, and the next day the water was off for a little while.

We only ate here, and the food was good. My pesto chicken sandwich was full of flavor, and the bread was good too. My companion ordered soup. The fries were well seasoned, and there was a decent beer selection. The colonial atmosphere was charming and really immersive.

The location was a plus: the Colonial Inn is on Concord’s monument square, and the quaint downtown is a five-minute walk away. The young man at check-in also helped us out by getting us into a room early in the Prescott Wing. The room may have been remodeled in the last 10 years, but it was quite small and spartan. We’d come from the desert Southwest to visit New England, following friends’ advice to see Concord and stay at the Inn. Without its “Colonial History,” though, we wouldn’t recommend this hotel. Our friends suggested eating at the Inn, so after settling in we asked about dinner. We were advised to reserve a table in the Liberty Dining Room, and we did. At our reservation time, we walked over from our room and told the hostess, who was covering both dining rooms, that we had booked Liberty in the historic part of the Inn. She said they didn’t take reservations for a particular room, then started leading us to the Market Dinning Room, saying both restaurants had the same menu. I reminded her we were hotel guests and that the afternoon host had asked which dining room we wanted. I politely said she could seat us where we’d requested or we could leave and explain things to management. Huffy, she took us to Liberty. In hindsight, we might have been better off eating somewhere else. The clam chowder and my wife’s squash soup were both good, but neither was hot enough. Her chicken pot pie was good too. My salmon burger special was awful, served on a huge bun with a chipotle pepper sauce I must have missed on the menu. About 30% of the sweet potato fries were dark brown bits from the bottom of a bag, nearly burnt. The rest were oily and overcooked. A very disappointing visit.