Most people drive past Merrimack Valley Golf Club and have no idea there is a full restaurant and lounge sitting on top of it. Honestly, the locals seem fine keeping it that way.
It is called Parlay. They describe it as a restaurant in the sky, and once you walk out on that deck at sunset, you get it. The clubhouse sits at one of the highest points in Methuen, and the view rolls over the greens all the way to the hills of southern New Hampshire. You can see 14 of the 18 holes from up there.
A course with real history.
This is not a new property trying to manufacture a story. The course was designed in 1906 by Donald Ross, the Scottish-born architect who went on to design about 400 courses across America. Merrimack Valley was only his second course in New England.
In 1971 the Kattar family bought the land at auction, and they still own it today. Kevin Kattar runs the course now, carrying on what his late father George started. This is a family that has hosted over a century of local tournaments, gives the Methuen High School golf team a free home course, and built a Veterans Memorial at the highest point of the property in honor of George and the many family members and friends who served.
In 2008 they went all in. They commissioned George F. Sargent Jr., a legacy Donald Ross designer, to renovate the course, and they built the new clubhouse with the deck and patio views that make the whole place work.
The bar downstairs was already a win.
Here is the part I love about this story. The Kattars already had a hit on the first floor. The Sandtrap Bar and Grille started as a quick watering hole for golfers coming off the 18th and grew into a full golfer and family dining spot where people actually linger. It is open every day and it has its own loyal crowd.
They could have stopped there. Most places would have.
What the top floor used to be.
When the Kattars built the new clubhouse, the upper level belonged to the club's private-event side. The building included a members' grille, fine dining in the Aurora room, and a grand ballroom for weddings and banquets. Beautiful spaces, but you needed an invitation to a wedding to see that view.
Then they took the top floor and built something completely different, something anyone can walk into on a Tuesday. Parlay opened in 2023 with its own identity: pink-lit bar, a mural-wall dining room, small plates, brunch, brick-oven pizza, and that deck. It did not replace the Sandtrap. It gave the people who already loved this property a second option. Golf clothes and burgers downstairs. Date night upstairs.
That is a smart business move and a gift to the neighborhood at the same time.
What their own website tells you.
Parlay's website keeps it simple. Three words: Sunsets. Drinks. Dining. That is the whole pitch, and honestly it is accurate.
The menu does the rest of the talking. Tuna tartare with avocado, mango salsa, and wonton chips. A Black and Bleu wagyu burger. Brick-oven pizzas. An 8 ounce filet. Sunday brunch runs from fried chicken and waffles to a lobster Benedict. The cocktail list leans into where you are sitting, with names like Deck Buzz, Golden Hour, and Par Pour.
What to order.
Kennedi is the boss behind the bar, and he took care of us the entire night. Start with the tuna tartare. That is my order every time, and the scraped-clean bowl below is the proof. Yes, they have caviar too.
Know before you go.
People love living on this golf course.
Here is the real estate part, because I cannot help myself. This course is not just a place people visit. People build their lives around it. Look back at that photo from the deck. Those homes along the fairways are real neighborhoods, and they are some of the most quietly desirable streets in Methuen.
- The Fairways on MVGC is a Toll Brothers built community on Fairways Lane overlooking the 13th hole, where homes have recently listed from the mid $900s to about $1.2 million
- The Reserve at Merrimack Valley Golf Club is a gated community along Country Club Circle and Valley View Way
- Greenside Way sits along the 3rd fairway, and Argilla Road backs up to the 8th hole
- Just off Howe Street, Toll Brothers also built two 55 plus communities, Regency at Emerald Pines and Regency at Methuen
That tells you something about Methuen. When people can walk to their own golf course, watch the sunset from a deck like Parlay's, and still be 30 minutes from Boston, they stay.
Why I keep a list like this.
I sell homes all over the North Shore and Merrimack Valley, and the question I get most from buyers is never about interest rates. It is where do the locals actually go. Methuen is one of the towns I watch every single week, and places like Parlay are exactly why people fall in love with living here.
If you want my full list of date night spots, vendors, and local favorites, just ask. And if you have been to Parlay, tell me what you ordered.