Sandra K.
Yelp
TLDR: A new small business with great sustainable values ran by the beloved Baker family, but the price and service were quite a shock!
With the excellence and strong following of the Old Westminister Winery, we were eager to try their new venture, Burnt Hill. Starting with the good. The architecture and interior design is stunning! Think modern farm with a Japandi interior and warm cozy lighting. We viewed the new lounge as well, which has complementary furniture but a more relaxed, casual feel. We went at night but we highly recommend going in the day and sunset, when you get to view the scenery and the wild sheep! We were greeted at the door with the Blanc de Blancs (as part of our reservation fee) and had a Polaroid taken by the staff that was given to us at the end of the meal (a nice personal touch). We opted for the $85 tasting experience, which included 3 tastings of the estate wine, turkey red bread with heirloom tomato butter and brown butter sesame butter, acorn squash soup, Apple fennel salad with romesco, salted peanuts, and olives. The food was delicious and executed perfectly. The bread was warm and had a nutty tone, and the butters complemented it so well - they also explained the multi-day baking process and it truly is a labor of love! The salad was fresh and crisp, with the perfect tang from the romesco sauce. In addition we ordered the pork torchon which had a lovely flavor from the cured pork and got to try the chocolate cake and strawberry sorbet which were the perfect ending. We also got to chat with Drew and Tae, who were so kind with their time and shared the story of Burnt Hill.
Now some problems I have. The hefty non-refundable reservation fee of $26, though it includes a tasting of the Blanc de Blancs, felt forced, especially as reservation deposits are typically refundable. Not the typical method but we bit the bullet. We also thought coming in that the $85 fee for the tasting experience was exorbitant but were hoping to feel at the end that it was worth it but unfortunately we didn't. The wine pours were half of a typical, and the garden snacks were overall not filling. Though they were delicious, the soup was only a sip, there was literally 10 peanuts, and not even enough olives for 2 per person! I'm not one to usually think about the price when experiencing a high end restaurant, but we unfortunately could not stop thinking about it. There is no sample menu on the website so we were not sure how filling the snacks were going to be, so I had to eat a small dinner before going, which I do not love that I had to do. I definitely would have been hungry otherwise. We also were disappointed with the service, given the caliber and price of the place. I asked about how one of their dishes was prepared and they could not answer, which is surprising given how small their menu is. They were more proactive about trying to clear our plates (literally one server came 5 minutes after the other) when there was plenty of space on the table, making us feel rushed, than filling our water. We were quite dehydrated at the end of the meal and I think water is quite important for a wine tasting especially for the drivers at night! Finally, it seems like their concept heavily leans on regenerative agriculture and farm to table dining, which adds to its uniqueness (and even price). If such an important concept, I would have liked to be introduced to the story, even if through a short blurb on the menu, if not through the waiter. This would be incredibly important to set the tone and intentionality of the meal. I also found it odd that our chairs were pointed towards the dark windows. In the day it makes sense to see the scenery, but for night time, it would have been much better to face the rest of the restaurant - which again is beautiful.
We really wanted to love the place, but with the pricing of the menu, it's just not worth it. I would expect full pours with the wine and multiple sizable dishes, especially with the dinner time seating. I'm quite sad I have to give it a 3, but I am excited for Tae's chef counter to open and hopeful about how Burnt Hill will transform and grow over the next year.