First impression not good
 

We have out of the area for about 2 years before returning two weeks ago. My wife and I along with another couple wanted to go to the New Woodshed and give it a try. We had reservations for four and 8:00. We got there about 15 minutes early. The hostess said that our table was not ready, which was fine with us. So we proceed to go to the bar. The hostess chased us down and told us that we cannot be in here. we just want to sit at the bar. she replied you can not be in here. I said oaky I will just take a look around at the new restaurant. The hostess followed us around for about 5 minutes as we took a quick peek in each room. We then went back to the bar and spoke with the bartender and asked if we can sit at the half empty bar and her reply was why not. So I explained what happened. She kind of shrugged her shoulders and said well I need to go over to that other couple and smooth over with them the same thing that happened to them.
We had a quick drink then our table was ready. During the meal I did speak with the manager and he kind of laughed it off but did apologize. I guess that they are so busy that they did not need our $400.00 to return.
I will give one more chance before I write it off. There are plenty of restaurants in the area that will allow their patrons to sit at the bar and spend more money while waiting for the table.
BTW, the food was great and the wait staff was excellent.

I am sorry that you had difficulty with seating at the bar prior to your meal, however I am delighted to hear that the food was great!




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I'm just guessing but it wouldn't surprise me if they were shorthanded and the decision was made by management not to seat people at the bar because the attention the bartender would have to give to those at the bar would interfere with the needs of the rest of the restaurant.

Restaurants that take reservations will do so for two reasons. First to make sure the table is waiting for the guest when the guest arrives. Second to regulate the pace of the guests arrivals so has not to overwhelm the staff.

Showing up early for a late reservation can lead to problems for your party as well as many other parties in the restaurant.

If you enjoyed the food and the service I wouldn't burn the bridge because there are not many places around where you can spend $400 and feel good about it. Chances are that hostesses is going back to school soon and there will be someone else at the door to greet you next time.

The hostess said you can't be in the bar???? A public bar!!! Outrageous! I would have screamed bloody murder! baygo, when are you being granted sainthood? Patience of an angel.

Woodshed last night
 

Enjoyed a nice evening at the New Woodshed last night.
We called at 3:30 for reservations for 2, admittedly late for a raining evening.
We were told by a pleasant employee that they were fully booked, however, we might have some luck by arriving on the earlier side and wait list for the bar side.
We arrived at 6:00 and were told :30 minute wait and asked to wait in the lobby. We had hoped to have a drink in the bar, but, understand that given the design of the bar, it is not conducive to having folks stand around. Personnally, we'd rather have a warm bar scene such as the prior edition, however...after about :20, the GM came by with a hostess and told us our table was waiting.

Our waiter, an old school gentleman was warm and friendly. We ordered the house cut prime and filet. Both meals were top notch. Beef was very tender, vegetables were not over-cooked, and baked potatoe was delicious.

I'd rate the overall as below O, but, on par with Canoe, (a different experience). They clearly need more staff (the porch room was closed), but, that's a regional problem.

Looking forward to our next visit when we'll be sure to call ahead to make reservations to sit in the barn.

Excellent experience!
 

We couldn't get reservations for a time we preferred on Sunday and Thursday. Did get a 5:00 on Friday. We arrived in a downpour and were greeted at the door by a young man with an umbrella. Inside the staff was lined up to greet us. Service, soup, salads, entree's and desserts were wonderful. Our waitress Carley, was very attentive without being invasive. The rest of the staff were pleasant and helpful. Not one complaint in our party of 4, and trust me that is saying a lot. Some of these folks were not big fans of the old woodshed and read some nasty reviews before going. One is a restaurant manager who notices everything! He did observe that other party's seemed to be enjoying too. I was peeking into the porch and a waitress told me to go in and look around, check out the bar, which was busy. They even let me grab a skip and go naked pin for old times sake.
Our menu included, French onion soup, seasonal salad w/strawberries, blueberries, and goat cheese, Prime Rib, Swordfish, Steak, Pork Chop, Puff sundaes, Chocolate torte and cheese cake. coffee and tea.
No cocktails. The bill came to about $230. Which I didn't think was bad at all.
Looking forward to going again in November with a party of about 30. I will call well in advance for this:)
Fabulous way to spend our last evening at the lake!

?????
 

no cocktails ?:(:(:(:(:(

Just a Thought...
 

Since some restaurants are closed on Monday, it seems service suffers at those remaining restaurants that are open Monday.

:confused:

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Formula - Didn't you question the hostess and ask why you couldn't sit at the bar? If I mentioned that to the manager and it was "kind of laughed off" I would of told the person I don't find it very amusing. Just me..

Hostess
 

The hostess that we encountered was in her mid to late 60's. Her response to my question as to why we can not sit at the half empty bar was, "because you can't be in here", nothing more that that. The bartender told us that earlier it was very busy at the bar. Not sure why that was a problem when we arrived with again a half empty bar. My wife thinks that the hostess may be related to the owners and that there will be no changes made. I guess when we go back maybe next weekend we will see.

We went to the New Woodshed tonight (Sunday) for dessert and a glass of wine to kick off the new school year for my wife. They were busy but apparently less than the last couple nights. They are suffering, as are almost all restaurants in the area, from a painful lack of staff. They have tables they would love to use but cannot because they simply do not have waiters to handle the tables. People come in and see the open spots and are annoyed that they cannot be seated. The lounge and bar is being used to provide table service as well. They seem to be managing access to the lounge/bar to not overload the wait staff they have. If you don't do that, EVERYONE has a poor experience because all service will be slowed.

There was a group of 4 that came in with no reservation. They were asked to wait for lounge seating, as we were as well. They got indignant and huffed out. A few minutes later, we were seated in the lounge. If the other group had a little patience, they would have been seated in another 5 minutes. Oh well. I was happy to see them leave because their attitude was painfully evident and toxic.

The dessert was good and the service was fine. Atmosphere? I liked the old Woodshed's quirky feeling. The New Woodshed is very nice, a very polished version of what a barn restaurant should be. Comparatively perhaps a bit too polished for me. Not too much "quirk" to be found. An Interior Designer's idea of a barn restaurant.

My wife wanted some decaf tea and they didn't have any. We have seen this lack in several other places and I can't figure it out. People ask for decaf coffee and they have it. How hard is it to have some decaf teabags on hand?

Perusing the menu, prices are high, setting seriously high expectations. We will go a for a meal sometime and see if the prices are justified.

loved it
 

the hostess couldn't have been any nicer while seating us. our waitress was very friendly and prompt with the service. the meal was great-prime rib and filet. we can't wait to go back:)

Taking the wife to TNW for her birthday Sunday night...will report back but I expect it to be very good! Prime rib is my favorite all-time dinner!

Woodshed was a hit! 3 of 4 of us had prime rib and each dish was delicious and prepared perfectly (rare).
My wife had the duck and it was superb as well...great upscale place to have on the list of restaurants.
Service and friendliness was impeccable.

We were there on Saturday night with a party of 10. Everyone enjoyed everything. The service was great. Great birthday celebration!

The New Woodshed is Excellent
 

We were there with another couple about 2 weeks ago on a weekend. The place was well patronized as was the bar scene. We were seated quickly and pleasantly by a gentleman host. 3 of us had their salmon and one had the duck. All meals were great. An adjacent table had them bake a special birthday cake for one of their number and because one of our friends kept gazing at it longingly the host gave her a slice to taster- it was great as well. Prices reflect fine dining experience which is what we had. A definite "go back to" place.

Great experience!
 

We had an excellent evening at the New Woodshed last night. First of all, the building is beautiful when you arrive, fall decorations and mums. Great cocktails -we had the fall martini. We enjoyed the escargot and oysters for starters and very nice caesar salads. I had the prime rib and my wife had the filet... both done perfectly. Great desert choices (carrot cake from the cup&crumb). Service was excellent and very pleasant staff! Definitely a great place to have a special evening.

The New Woodshed.....SAD!
 

Beautiful job restoring the facility, terrible job with service, the most pathetic, insensitive general manager in the lakes region and food that doesn't come close to what Lynn Sealy stood for or tolerated. The two hostesses are insensitive, clueless and out of place.

A smile was always the order of the day when Lynn ran the Woodshed. There was a hop in everyone's step and the experience always top-notch.........what a disappointment! We've been back 3 times now and will never return.

Do yourself and your hard earned dollars a favor, stop at the Canoe, The Bob House or the O, in those establishments, you'll be greeted genuinely, the food is consistently very good and the service, timely with a smile and no attitude.

What a sad day, never thought we'd see the day when we'd say we won't return to the Woodshed; but after three strikes........You're Out!

I had a different experience. I stopped by one day last week in the afternoon to see if I needed a reservation. I was greeted by Checkers, the dog, and later by Susan, who gave me a tour of the restaurant. I came back later for dinner. Staff was friendly and helpful and the food was very good. I will go back.

Agreed LJ! Given that the Woodshed is within walking distance, we have eaten there often. After their initial, opening jitters, all has been great! We typically sit in the bar but have used the dining room 4 or 5 times.

We had dinner at The New Woodshed last night. Fabulous from start to finish. Very welcoming when we walked in; efficient service from Julie; excellent prime rib and hanger steak; delicious sides. Too full for dessert. 5 stars!!


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Well .....sorry LadyJane and VitaBene....but I am in complete agreement with ACME on the Broads. I, too, have very willingly given the new Woodshed three opportunities and yes....they have failed every time. I too will never return to the new Woodshed as there are so many much more worthy restaurants.

I have been to New Woodshed about a month ago for the first time since they reopened. I have visited the Old Woodshed maybe 5 times and the experience in New Woodshed was better than any of the times before. Yes, the food is still pricey as before and still good. However, I no longer need to waste the whole evening to have a meal, if I do not want to. The waiter we had was great and food and drinks were coming out of the kitchen/bar promptly and as ordered. I was not that emotionally vested in the old restaurant and for that reason and the reason I mentioned above I will not miss it and will continue to patron the new place until they disappoint me.

My wife and I tried the Woodshed for the first time this past weekend for our anniversary based on comments on this page. It was a mixed experience but I want to be fair and provide both the good and the bad.

The good:
-we sampled the raw bar with oysters and shrimp cocktail...EXCELLENT.
-Out waitress was attentive and knew everything on the menu very well. Its clear the owners take care to bring their staff up to speed on their entire menu.
-The drinks were perfect. I like a good martini and my wife tried the blueberry lemonade drink and both were well crafted.
-The restaraunt itself was very welcoming and had a very unique feel to it.
-our desserts were very tasty. My wife had the "creme" dish and I had the chocolate mousse pie. I think we were pushing it having dessert with so much food.

The "not so" good":
-the prices were very steep even for one of the nicer restaraunts in the area. While we weren't there to pinch pennies...I think many will frequent the restaraunt less often due to prices and that may cause some struggles to keep the place going...especially in the off season.
-The meat: my wife ordered the pork chop and I ordered the lamb chops. Neither of us are picky and will not complain if the tempurature of the meat misses by a bit. Understanding that both cut were very thick and can be a challenge for inexperienced chefs because of it....my lamb chop was raw (not under cooked but deep purple raw). I sent it back (which I will only do if things are really bad) and it came back well done (I ordered medium rare). I ate the chop because I didn't want my wife waiting all night for me to get the right tempon my chop. About 1/4 way through my wifes pork chop...she sees her chop is also raw in the middle (a HUGE health risk with pork). She was going to cut around it but I told her it was dangerous and to send it back. It came back the second time...still raw so she sent it back again. By the time her chop arrived for the third time, I was done eating.

Having said this, I know mistakes happen. It certainly wasn't the waitresses fault and her tip didn't reflect that. The chef made 3 mistakes but I've worked my share of kitchens and understand how hard it can be to get the temp right on a thick cut of meat....but he did "miss" 4 times on one table of two. I was most disappointed that, in an establishment of this caliber, the manager didn't drop by to say a few words. While we weren't expecting a comped round of drinks or dessert...this is common in high end restaraunt when they don't live up to the billing. I was more expecting an indication that management cares about the quality of food going to the table for a $200 bill for two people.

A huge ovation to the waitress, the bartender and the person running the raw bar. You folks knocked it out of the park. As for the rest...my last visit to the Woodshed. You could have killed my wife with raw pork and nobody but the waitress seemed to care. A true disappointment to a perfect start.

Maybe not very "sophisticated" but I use a meat thermo.....is it that hard ?

Maybe they get overwhelmed?
 

We've been 3 times--the first 2 were in the off season, and both were great in ways similar to those described by others.

Our 3rd trip was 8pm the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Most things were good, but the service was unbelievably slow. When I complained gently to the manager, he did what he could, and was almost embarrassingly attentive (the kids even got a chuckle out of it). But we were really soured on the whole thing. As in Mike's case, it seemed almost impossible that they could be so inept.

My conclusion--they get overwhelmed and are unable to recover in the way that most restaurants would. It's almost as if they stop thinking about things like clocks and meat thermometers.

I don't mean this to be harsh. We like the restaurant and the staff a lot. But our visits will be focused on slow nights and the off season.

New Woodshed
 

We visited Friday evening to celebrate our daughter getting into graduate school. The service was good but not overbearing , we had reservations at 6:45 and during that time we were there it is 40% occupied but our meals and service were quite good.

We gave it another chance....
 

We tried the New Woodshed last year and they were out of Prime Rib. We gave it another shot just last night. I called for reservations and they were fully booked which usually means they are going to be busy and they should use this as notice to prep enough food especially PRIME RIB!! The outside looked beautiful! The dining room reminded me of the old Woodshed. The prices are really high now and guess what happened again? NO PRIME RIB! Our table was able to get 1 piece of Prime Rib and they were out! How does this happen at a place that specializes in Prime Rib in the height of SUMMER season? Why not cook a little extra and serve shaved steak or use it the next day in some sort of creative dish like most restaurants do? Drinks were great! I wish they could get it together! All our dinners were tasty and we did enjoy our dinners but were very disappointed about them running out of PRIME RIB!

I went for the first time last night. The food was very good but pricey. I got the 12oz prime rib and it came out perfect. My wife got the pork chop and my dog loved it for breakfast this morning.The waitress forgot my second beer after asking twice but other than that the meal was very good.

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How would you compare to “O”? Prices are similar, Woodshed is a decent ride for me plus I think the food and service are a little better at “O”. Your thoughts?


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I love O's. We were going to go there but we heard good things about the Woodshed but had never been there. O's is much better. As a matter of fact I had a great prime rib at the Bob House last weekend that was as good if not better than the Woodshed and much cheaper.

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Based on my 1st visit to “O” steakhouse (last month) and my one visit to The New Woodshed last year, although the Woodshed was great, I feel that “O” as a restaurant has them beat hands down. “O” is a special experience!

Agreed!

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I love the Bob House. Never had a bad meal there. That’s my exact feelings on Woodshed, there are other options just as good or better and closer to home.


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Bob house still has the best haddock and for a great price

HOLLY blank. OUR FIRST TIME THERE THIS YEAR and they were out of prime rib as well. good food, but very loud inside.

Went to the Woodshed again Sat night with another couple. We had a wonderful time and we all had great meals. I had the prime rib and it was very good. I still say O's has them beat as far as the food goes but we had a great night and we look forward to going back again.

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I agree. Woodshed is nice for a change of menu and atmosphere but “O” is better over all.


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As far as the lakes region, O' s is a cut above everthing else for food. The steak is as good if not better as any of the fine steak houses in Boston.

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I can attest to their Kobe being the best I ever tasted but there’s something to be said for a couple of we’ll marbled Angus strips from Hannaford...tonight’s dinner was superb. Of course, l’m an excellent steak cooker I will admit. :D