Bill Z.
Yelp
I can't figure this place out. The decor and ambiance say "upscale," the food menu says "comfort food," and the liquor menu combined with the food menu says "gastropub." The music in the dining room was equally eclectic, alternating from blues to Pure Prairie League to Sinatra to 70s R&B, but little, if anything current.
Nothing about our meals were bad, but some parts of it felt like they should have been better, as in I was expecting a bit more.
So first, the things I liked:
- The beer and cocktail list. I was very happy with my beer selection, A Left Hand Hard Wired Nitro Coffee Porter. The cocktails were also interesting.
- The service.
- The hummus part of the mezze platter - it was really good. The whitefish is mildly smoky, and the tapenade is quite salty (I'm not saying these are bad, I'm just describing them; the hummus was my clear favorite). Personally I'd rather have pita bread than toasted pita - it just kept crumbling as I broke off pieces to scoop.
- The cole slaw that came with our entrees. I love a cole slaw which contains horseradish, and I'm glad I order this as a substitute for the fries.
- The after-dinner coffees. They really hit the spot. The dessert menu did looked interesting, but we opted for the coffees. There was also a nice selection of after dinner drinks and digestifs.
The entrees were what needed to be kicked up a notch. My companions's corned beef reuben was somewhat deceptively packaged, with a 3rd slice of bread in the middle. It was literally 3 slices of bread and 4 slices of corned beef. He lives in Tewksbury, and he compared this reuben unfavorably to what he could get at Deli King for much less. My Cobblestone burger looked delicious. But I asked for it medium and it came out well done, and the bacon had more flavor than the burger. But I'm glad they didn't try to disguise the flavor with condiments, and you can order additional guacamole and/or mushroom for it for a small charge.
This is possibly one of those places where the entrees vary, and over time if you dine here often enough you figure out which ones you like best. If we return, we'll definitely try different entrees.