The Highlands Restaurant & Tavern

I have been here several times and have always had great food and service. Very cozy tavern atmosphere downstairs and more formal feel upstairs. Very family friendly. The pecan chicken is my favorite dish. The muscles get great reviews. Try the butternut bisque if it's on the menu. I like this chef a lot. You will not be disappointed with this place.

I enjoyed my dinner here last night. They had a great special, buy one entree get the other half off, so of course my folks and I took full advantage and doubled up. The attention to detail in the cooking makes this place stand out, with really interesting seasonings and flavors. The starter salads, for example, came with Brussell sprouts and were actually enjoyable to eat and not something to pass the time on while waiting for the next course. Even the bread and homemade butter were flavorful and interesting. The one area in need of improvement is the soups; the French onion and barley were both lacking in flavor and unimaginative. My puttanesca pasta was solid and it was nice to have a vegetarian entree on offer, as a lot of similar places in the area do not. The pork chop was particularly excellent, cooked perfectly and so flavorful. We also managed to get in some excellent bacon covered shrimp with horseradish sauce.

The interior is nice and unique, looks to be a Colonial era house or thereabouts. The main room is divided between a bar and a dining room which for the most part works well. They have an additional, unnecessary TV pushed to the side of the dining room by the windows, which no one seemed to be watching and sort of clashed with the feel of the rest of the more elegant interior. I wasn't quite as happy with the beers on tap as all 4 were kind of mainstream beers within the same general range of styles. It would be nice to see at least two independent craft beers, a good IPA and perhaps a stout, to pair with the delightful food. The wine list seemed more than adequate.

Overall I was happy we made the drive out as The Highlands  has something unique to offer the area.

Not much to add to Meg's review.  Everything she says is true.  Food is great, waitstaff cheerful and informative.  There's a small, but good, selection of draft beers, something of which would appeal to most people's tastes.  Specials on Wednesdays and Thursdays are, for Wednesday, very inexpensive mussels and $2 bottle beer; Thursdays provide getting a second entree at half price.  The atmosphere itself, especially in the tavern area, is relaxed and comfortable.  

This is well worth a visit to unwind after a hard day, or to sample some great cooking.