Senior H.
Yelp
TIME TO MOVE ON I GUESS
I've been to Woods Hill Table about a dozen times over the years. Breakfast service when new, and many dinners since.
The ambiance is polished and cozy like a posh UK country gastropub, but tables are a bit crowded.
*** THE GOOD ***
Our first dinner at Woods Hill was brilliant. Charming and skilled service.. smoothly timed delivery. I inquired on the steak tartar and was told the owner had a plate every night. SOLD... and it did not disappoint. Fine uniform prep I seldom see, quail egg, NOT drowning in cornichons, served chilled.... impeccable. A wild boar ragu pappardelle for entre was decent, but boar was more broken down (pulled?) than I prefer and so there weren't umami pops of flavor from chunks of boar... this is perhaps a preference difference. We had found a great spot. Woods Hill Table was a gem.
*** THE BAD ***
Fast forward through time and the last four meals have been a disappointment. For example, I brought a 15yr chef friend for steak tartar and frites and a cab franc... the plated dishes looked lovely but were pretty much room temperature, which makes the texture a challenge rather than a treat. Unknown if this is a heat lamp issue or room temp beef used in prep, either way the dishes were warm. Still better than the mayo puck served by a certain Boston Bovine eatery, but I was a bit embarrassed at having talked up the dish and made the arrangements. Decided it was an off night and would try again in the future: A few months later the tartar still looked lovely (a bit coarse) and WAS nicely chilled, but was tough chewing and imbalanced flavors. Still a lovely restaurant, but time to move on from the tartar I guess.
*** THE UGLY ***
Recently returned for a rare night out (kids do that) and the place is still packed with a charming but busy atmosphere. A charming, if busy atmosphere. Won't knock attentiveness to the table as a busy night is always tough.
THE FOOD - very inconsistent
I should have taken a salad as they looked elegant and ethereally fresh and light.. as if floating on the plates. On a cold winter night, I had a craving though, and was surprised that the fries were scraps... very salty... and oddly chewy and without crunch or crispness. Junk
ENTREE -
Icelandic Cod a la Plancha - a mess.
- While the sauce was fantastic... light and sweetly complex, I wish the serving as a smaller/deeper dish with more sauce ... it was a highlight but chilled almost immediately in the unwarmed broad pasta bowl.
- The blue roasted potatoes were not my thing, and I wish they instead had been little islands of puree that I would scoop with other bites or sauce.
- "Jumbo lump crab" is flat out lie... forget visions of "jumbo lump crab" elegantly arrayed on that lovely sauce. You'll get a sweaty little shredded wad, tucked under the fish.
- The fish... that poor Cod... was wildly overcooked and mushy. The seared crust was very thick and difficult to cut through and the mushy fish (overcooked or thawed too fast?) would squirt out from underneath. There were a couple of good bites farthest from the seared crust that faintly whispered of how delicate and flaky the filet should have been. TAKEAWAY: Don't order seafood at Woods Hill.
Why so worked up about bad fish in boston (hardly rare)? With a cautious eye, the staff almost immediately asked after my first bite if the food was ok. Much like a sommelier sniffing the cork and imperceptibly wincing, but serving the wine and carefully looking to see if customers would notice that it's off. I replied the food was "OK" and continued to pick at the plate. We don't often get out for dinner these days and I didn't want my disappointment to spoil the experience for others. We had no time for the kitchen to remake it anyhow, and I no longer send food back; I cut my losses and find better spots.
I hope things turn around. This could be a great spot again someday.