By Nancy Brumback, Contributing Writer
Worcester – Wonderful views of a lake and rolling hills, the hilltop breeze, and outdoor dining on the deck make dinner at Grill on the Hill almost a mini-vacation. And you can add in live music as you watch the sun set.
Grill on the Hill is located on the grounds of the Green Hill Golf Course in Worcester, and is open to the public. There's no need to play a round of golf to enjoy the restaurant, but the Grill would be a great stop after a game.
The wide outside deck is filled with umbrella-topped tables, and in the evening you have the choice of a sunny side, good for the sunset views, or a shady side. Musicians perform on the deck from 6 p.m. to sunset on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings if the weather permits. And if the weather is iffy or just a little cool for your taste, you can dine inside the restaurant in the bar area or dining area and still enjoy the views through huge windows.
My husband and I stopped in for dinner one Saturday before the weather turned sizzling, and enjoyed the breeze and open air.
The same menu is available at lunch and dinner, so there's a good selection of sandwiches and burgers, such as the Italian open with an assortment of Italian cold cuts, chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts, or fried haddock. There are chicken and veggie burgers along with Angus beef options. Most of the sandwiches and burgers are $8.99, served with French fries.
Soups, entrée-size salads, many available with grilled chicken, steak or salmon, and individual pizzas??”flatbread or fire-grilled??”are other choices.
If you want more traditional dinner entrees, choose from barbecued chicken or baby back ribs, steak tips, stuffed peppers and a raft of seafood options, with most entrees priced under $15.
We decided to start by sharing an appetizer platter called the Scramble, a combination of old world Greek favorites, including stuffed grape leaves, spanakopita, tzatziki sauce, hummus, and pita triangles, with feta cheese, cucumber and assorted olives, for $10.99.
Then we opted for pizzas, each of us ordering one since they were billed as individual pizzas, fire-grilled pepperoni for my husband and the Mediterranean flatbread version for me, each $8.99.
Don's miss the Scramble appetizer platter if you like Greek food.? It was wonderful, more than enough for two and would easily be the appetizer for four people, since there was four of everything. The stuffed grape leaves were warm, with a hearty ground meat and rice filling and lemon-butter sauce for dipping. The delicate triangles of spanakopita??”flaky phyllo pastry filled with spinach??”were crispy and tender. Generous slices of fresh feta cheese were next to a pile of black olives, tomatoes and cucumbers, and a dish of hummus. We ate every bit of it. Only the olive pits were left!
After that, we were beginning to wish we had ordered only one pizza, and knew that should have been the choice when pizzas that could easily be shared by two arrived.
My flatbread pizza offered the thinnest possible crust, thin but crisp. Fresh tomatoes, baby spinach leaves, sliced black olives and more feta cheese were scattered over marinara sauce, and the combination provided a continuation of the Greek tastes from our appetizer platter.
My husband's pepperoni pizza featured a more conventional crust, but crisp and smoky from being grilled over an open fire, and topped with a combination of cheeses, not just mozzarella.
We took home half of each pizza??”a bonus for lunch the next day.
Since Grill on the Hill is a popular spot for golfers after a game, there is a full bar available and a good selection of beers and wine by the glass.
Grill on the Hill also operates a function room adjacent to the restaurant, and the complete range of function menu choices is on the website, www.grillonthehill.net, for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner events, as well as receptions.
Grill on the Hill is open for lunch and dinner every day, from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. For reservations call 508-854-1704. Additional information and directions are on the website, www.grillonthehill.net. The restaurant is located at 1929 Skyline Drive in Worcester. Note that the entrance to the golf course on Marsh Avenue is closed, so diners must use the Skyline Drive entrance into the golf course.
