travel bite: The Little Red Schoolhouse – Campton, NH

October 9, 2023

Over Columbus Day weekend, we like to take a trip north to see the changing leaves in Vermont or New Hampshire. This year, we decided we would head to Campton, NH to try out The Little Red Schoolhouse. We weren’t alone.

It was their last day of service for the season, and the line snaked around the building. Parking was an additional challenge, and that was only the beginning. We waited in line for about a half hour watching and listening as they declared certain menu items gone, no bacon, no fried shrimp or scallops, no clam chowder. But when we got to the head of the line we got the worst news: the wait once we ordered would be two hours!

I don’t like waiting in line for things. I really didn’t like the idea of waiting around for two hours once I ordered. The couple in front of us bailed altogether. I had noticed other people quitting the line as we got closer. But I didn’t have a plan B, so we decided to wait. We were going to go for a drive, but instead just decided to sit in the car for a bit. It’s a good thing we did because the two hour wait was only about forty minutes, still long, but much more manageable. From the time we started looking for parking to the time I took a bite was about an hour and a half.

The food was good, but nothing worth a ninety minute wait or a two hour drive. I got the A+ Lobster Roll which was more of a B+, but generous with lots of claw meat. The bun was very good, points for that. The garlic fries were good but cold. I’m not sure if that had to do with the air temperature or the crowds. The fish in the fish sandwich nice and my son’s grilled cheese was excellent. Their tartar sauce wins points too.

The view is pretty, particularly from the upper deck, but we had a table a little farther back so we were looking past people to see the mountains and the valley. And the leaves aren’t far along in their annual transformation this year so it was less impressive than I had hoped for. In the end, I’m glad I gave it a try but given the distance and the wait, it isn’t something I’d go back to.