If you are looking for restaurants near Lake Harmony that can actually seat a group of 12, 18, or 22 people, there are several worth knowing about, and all of them sit within roughly 30 minutes of a Pocono Mountain Rentals home. Five are in Lake Harmony and Split Rock. One is a working organic farm about nine miles out in Long Pond. And two are in Jim Thorpe, about 17 miles southwest on Route 903.
Here is the part most dining guides leave out: in Lake Harmony, the size of your group matters more than the menu. A few places take reservations. Several do not. One will not seat you until every last cousin has parked. If you are coordinating dinner for 20 people, that information is worth more than a description of the appetizers.
So this guide covers both. What to order, and whether you can hold a table.
The short answer, by situation
- Big group, nice dinner out, want a confirmed table: Louie’s Prime in Lake Harmony or Boulder View Tavern on Big Boulder Lake. Both take reservations. Call well ahead in August.
- Lakefront deck, casual, kids in tow: Nick’s Lake House. No reservations, so send someone ahead.
- Late night after the little ones are asleep: Shenanigans. Kitchen and bar run to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
- Quieter dinner with a view, fewer crowds: Sunset Green at Split Rock Golf Club, open Thursday through Monday.
- Breakfast for a crowd: Broadway Grille in Jim Thorpe, or Pocono Organics if the group leans toward farm-fresh.
- You do not want to move 22 people at all: order party trays and eat at the house. Details in the last section.
Restaurants near Lake Harmony that can seat a large group
Louie’s Prime
The steakhouse of the group, family-owned and open since 2005, tucked into a stone-and-wood building on Lake Harmony Road. This is where a milestone birthday dinner or an anniversary night belongs.
Reservations are highly encouraged, and the reason matters for planning: the dining room is small. Call 570-722-3990 as soon as your dates are set, not the week of. Mention the occasion when you call; the staff will do something with it.
On the menu: hand-cut filet mignon, prime rib, and Delmonico, plus signature plates like surf and turf, rack of lamb, lobster tail, and more. Starters run to fried calamari, clams casino, and the crabmeat cocktail.
Nick’s Lake House
Nick’s sits directly on the water, on the site of the first hotel built in Lake Harmony back in 1923. Two full bars, a big deck, live entertainment through the summer, and a Sunday breakfast buffet from 9 a.m. to noon at $19.50 for adults and $10 for kids. For a family of 20 that has been on the lake all morning, that buffet solves a lot of problems at once.
Read the fine print before you go, because it is unusually specific and it will shape your evening:
- Nick’s does not take reservations. Not for two people, not for twelve.
- Every guest must be present at the time of seating. Nobody holds a table while half the group finishes at the lake.
- Checks split up to four ways. Sort out who is paying before you sit down.
- Outdoor seating is capped at 90 minutes when demand is high, with cocktails encouraged on the lower patio afterward.
- Closed Tuesdays.
The move for a large group is an early weekday dinner, with one person arriving first to scout the deck. From the 2026 summer menu: Reuben’s Ribs, a slow-roasted rack of baby back ribs available as a half or full rack, a 14-ounce grilled New York strip with roasted garlic herb butter, four different smashburgers, and pizza and stromboli that travel well if you end up ordering to go. Added plus: check out their live entertainment schedule every weekend!
Shenanigans
Open since 1987 and still the late-night answer in Lake Harmony. Karaoke every Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m., a DJ downstairs in Boomers, and a kitchen that stays open when everything else has closed. Friday runs 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Saturday from noon to 1 a.m.
It is also the most group-friendly menu in town in the most literal sense: traditional wings come in a 40-count for $44. Order two of those and you have fed a lot of people for very little. Beyond the wings, the kitchen leans hearty and a little Irish. Irish nachos layer kettle chips with Guinness pot roast, cheese, and avocado ranch. There is a Guinness-braised pot roast with root vegetables and demi glaze, a shepherd’s pie, and a Shenanigans Trio of mozzarella sticks, potato skins, and boneless wings for the table. Kids’ meals are $11 and include a drink.
No published reservation policy here, so call 570-722-1100 if you are bringing more than eight, and expect a wait on summer weekends.
Boulder View Tavern
On the shore of Big Boulder Lake, a Poconos fixture since 1984, and the single most useful restaurant on this list if you are traveling with a large group. Three reasons.
First, it takes reservations, by phone at 570-722-9696 or online through Resy. Second, it has a private events space and a team that handles group dining. Third, and this is the one worth writing down, it sells party trays for pickup, which we will come back to.
The kitchen’s signature is smoked meat. Chef Steven Virola’s recipes are cooked low and slow over a blend of cherry wood, mulberry, and white oak, and the smoker output is what to order. Beyond that: Certified Black Angus burgers, slow-roasted baby back ribs, twin crab cakes, and a prime rib hoagie with provolone and jus at lunch. Happy hour runs weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. at the bar.
One number to plan around: Boulder View Tavern reserves the right to add a 20 percent service fee for parties of six or more. That is not a surprise charge, it is a posted policy, and for a table of 18 it is worth factoring into the budget conversation before the check lands.
Sunset Green at Split Rock
Two miles from the center of Lake Harmony, on the top level of the Split Rock Golf Club clubhouse and open to the public. The draw is the room itself: west-facing windows and a patio over the golf course, which means the sunset arrives with dinner.
This is the pick when the group wants a real dinner without the volume of a lakefront bar. Reservations are available through the restaurant, and the schedule is the main thing to check, because it is not open all week. Current hours are Sunday/Monday/Thursday 11am to 8pm, and Friday/Saturday 11am to 9pm.
The menu is Italian-leaning and priced more gently than the view suggests. Lamb lollipops with red wine reduction at $18, linguini with white clam sauce at $23, hickory smoked BBQ ribs at $18 for a half rack or $29 for a full, chicken Francaise at $28, and an eight-ounce filet at $44. Entrees after 5 p.m. include soup or a house salad. There is a catering menu as well, which matters for the life-event crowd.
Worth the drive: Long Pond and Jim Thorpe
Pocono Organics Cafe, Long Pond
Nine miles from Lake Harmony, about 15 minutes, across from Pocono Raceway. Pocono Organics is a 380-acre Regenerative Organic Certified farm with a market and cafe attached, and the kitchen is run by executive chef Lindsay McClain, a Food Network Chopped champion. Produce is harvested and walked to the kitchen the same morning.
It is breakfast and lunch only, which makes it a morning stop rather than a dinner plan. The cafe serves breakfast from 8 to 10:45 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., open Thursday through Monday and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. It is BYOB. Gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options are on the menu, which is genuinely useful when your group of 22 includes four different sets of dietary rules. Free farm tours run Saturdays at noon, so you can build a morning around it.
Molly Maguires Pub and Steakhouse, Jim Thorpe
About 25 minutes from Lake Harmony, on Hazard Square inside the Hotel Switzerland, the oldest commercial building in Jim Thorpe. Family owned and operated by the Behan family of Dublin, open daily from 11 a.m., with an enclosed porch and a heated patio bar that extends the season on both ends.
Molly’s is the practical Jim Thorpe choice for a mixed-age group: kids’ menu, casual dress, prices that will not startle anyone, and enough room to seat a crowd together. Order the tater kegs to start, oversized tots stuffed with bacon, cheddar, and chives with horseradish sauce. From there: shepherd’s pie under piped mashed potatoes, fish and chips built on two large beer-battered cod fillets, the Molly Maguire burger with peppers, mushrooms, onions, and bacon, or a 12-ounce New York strip with a peppercorn brandy demi-glace. Call 570-325-4563 ahead of a large party.
Broadway Grille, Jim Thorpe
Also in Jim Thorpe, inside the Victorian Inn at Jim Thorpe, with cast iron balconies and tin ceilings. Two things put it on this list.
The first is breakfast, served every single day, starting at 8 a.m. on weekdays and 7:30 a.m. on weekends. If your group wants one big morning out in town before the train or the trail, this is the spot. Bananas Foster French toast with rum-caramelized bananas, strawberry cheesecake pancakes, a chorizo Benedict, creamed chipped beef over toast, and the Broadway Breakfast with two eggs, home fries, toast, coffee, and juice at $15.
The second is that you can reserve a table online, which is rare in this area. There is also a private parties space and the Underground bar downstairs for live music, so a group can eat upstairs and stay put afterward.
Two scheduling notes: the Grille is closed Monday for dinner, and the weeknight specials are built for groups. Tuesday is $2 Yuengling drafts with a half-dozen wings for $7, Wednesday is $4.50 rotating tapas plates, and Thursday is $3 tacos, all in the pub from 4 to 10 p.m.
Feeding 20 people without leaving the house
Most guests staying with Pocono Mountain Rentals cook at least half their meals, which is exactly what these homes were designed for. Chef’s kitchens, dual refrigerators, and dining tables that seat 18 mean a group can run a full week of dinners without anyone getting in anyone’s way. The homes were built for the logistics of gathering, so enjoy them.
The middle path is worth knowing about: two nearby places will cook for your whole group and let you pick the food up.
Boulder View Tavern party trays: Full trays serve approximately 20 people, which is the right unit of measure for these homes. Forty tavern wings run $60. Smashed cheeseburger sliders are $165. Roast beef with mushroom gravy is $295, chicken Francaise $160, and mac and cheese $140. Sides land between $44 and $75, garden and Caesar salads are $75 each with a dozen rolls, and a brownie and churro combo closes it out at $46. Order the trays, set them on the island, and let people eat when they are hungry instead of all at 6:30. Full Menu Here
Pocono Organics Platters to Go. Sized for 8 to 10 people, so plan on two or three. A grazing platter of hummus, babaganoush, cheeses, cured meats, and fresh baked bread is $75. Roasted grass-fed top round with horseradish crema is $180. There is a Caesar at $72, a Cobb at $64, antipasti vegetables at $75, mac and cheese at $65, and a breakfast continental with muffins, scones, coffee, and juice at $55. House-made cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing are $48 and worth ordering the night before a ski morning or a hike. Orders need 48 hours’ notice and a 50 percent deposit, so call the farm early in the week.
Sunset Green also has a catering menu, which is the one to ask about if your group is celebrating something specific.
How to actually pull off dinner out with a big group
Five things learned from 25 years of hosting large groups near Lake Harmony.
- Call before you arrive, not the day of. Louie’s Prime, Boulder View Tavern, Sunset Green, and Broadway Grille all take reservations. In August, those tables go early.
- Split the group. A table of 22 is hard anywhere in the Poconos. Two tables of 11 at the same restaurant is easy almost everywhere.
- Go early or go midweek. A 5 p.m. Tuesday dinner and a 7:30 p.m. Saturday dinner are two completely different experiences at the same restaurant.
- Ask about the check before you sit. Nick’s splits four ways. Boulder View Tavern may add a 20 percent service fee at six or more. Decide who is paying in the driveway.
- Check the day of the week. Sunset Green is Thursday through Monday. Pocono Organics is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Nick’s is closed Tuesday. Broadway Grille does not serve dinner Monday. Hours shift with the season, so confirm before you load everyone up.
For more Lake Harmony dining options, including places we have written up in past years, see our full local restaurant guide.
Frequently asked questions
What restaurants near Lake Harmony take reservations? Louie’s Prime requires them. Boulder View Tavern takes them by phone or through Resy. Sunset Green at Split Rock takes them through its website. Broadway Grille in Jim Thorpe takes them online. Nick’s Lake House does not take reservations at all.
Can a group of 20 eat together at a restaurant in Lake Harmony? Sometimes, with advance notice. Boulder View Tavern handles group dining and private events, and Louie’s Prime will work with a large party if you call well ahead. Most groups of 20 have better luck splitting into two tables, ordering party trays for pickup, or cooking at the house.
How far is Jim Thorpe from Lake Harmony? About 17 miles by road, roughly 25 minutes on Route 903.
Which restaurants near Lake Harmony are best for families with kids? Nick’s Lake House for the lakefront deck, Boulder View Tavern for the lake view and a kids’ menu, Molly Maguires in Jim Thorpe for casual pub food, and Broadway Grille for breakfast. Shenanigans works for families earlier in the evening, before karaoke starts at 9 p.m.
Where can I order food for a large group to eat at our rental? Boulder View Tavern sells party trays that serve approximately 20 per tray for pickup. Pocono Organics offers platters to go sized for 8 to 10 people, with 48 hours’ notice. Sunset Green at Split Rock also caters.
Can you get breakfast for a group near Lake Harmony? Yes. Nick’s Lake House runs a Sunday breakfast buffet from 9 a.m. to noon. Broadway Grille in Jim Thorpe serves breakfast every day. Pocono Organics Cafe serves breakfast Thursday through Monday until 10:45 a.m.
