The New Woodshed Reviews
 

Did the new Woodshed open last night as advertised? Still no website. Appreciate any feedback from diners over the next several days. Thanks.

first hand report
 

Went to opening night at the New Woodshed (its official name). It was full! There were some kitchen glitches that caused long delays, but it was nice being back and the new design is perfect. Great looking bar too. Their web site won't be up for a week or so, says the owner.

More please!

It did open and was busy. Lyn Seeley was there greeting guests!

I just had a quick glass of wine, I just happened to be riding by on my motorcycle and said hmmmm...

Hmmmm, a fire alarm activation.... what a welcome to the opening :)



Cause: Smoke from the fireplace

Carry on !

We had a delightful dinner at the Woodshed this evening. The dining room is nice and spacious. The service was very good. It took a while to receive our cocktails, but after that the dinner service ran smoothly. Those in our dinner party enjoyed appetizer's, prime rib, marinated chicken, and salad. I would recommend it. In fact I am going again Wednesday night with some friends.

Does anyone have pictures? Will they be serving lunch? GBG do you like the new Woodshed as much as the old Woodshed from an atmosphere perspective?

Get Together?
 

Anyone interested in a Winni Forum get together at the New Woodshed? Nothing official, just a group of us who haven't connected in a while? Week night is best.

Busy on Saturday- only bar seating available- beautiful!
 

We tried to go on Saturday night but it was too busy, so we were offered seating in the bar and we ordered from the bar menu. The food was very good and the drinks are very good, staff was trained and very capable of making nice drinks. The restaurant definitely retained some of the character of the original. They even have a replica model of the original in the waiting area so you can see with the old restaurant look like if you had been there before. They still serve bread in the planters pot and the inside of the restaurant has the wood exposed beams and the big high ceilings, you can get reservations a few weeks out and I think it'll be well worth it.

Tried to call them a few times last night between 5 and 9 to make a reservation for next weekend but no one picked up. According to their Facebook page they were open - a bit strange/disappointing not to get anyone to answer.

Probably the worst time to try and make reservations at any restaurant in the country as it is their prime customer on the premises time and restaurants rarely hire a person just to handle reservations. If you reach someone at a restaurant at that time for reservations that means they are not very busy.

Try a hour or two before they open for trade, that is the best time.

i left a message on Monday(they are closed Monday and Tuesday) and got a call back to make reservations.
Alan

Good for you. Who is going to the new Woodshed this weekend? I think it may be too busy. The first time I get there I plan to hoist one in honor of Mr Haynes! Thank you sir. I hope you make a ton of money on your venture.

We are going tonight with our neighbors - really looking forward to it. Tried to get in Sat and Sun but booked.

Good friends went last weekend. Food was great, service / cooking was very slow. 3.5 hours for dinner. They said they will go back but not until they have better reports on the service. It did appear that they were slightly understaffed for the amount of business.

I live here... I am always Upthesaukee.

With all the work that went into constructing this fabulous building it is very disappointing to hear this "slow service " report twice !
They fully understood the interest in the venue and should know that they will be slammed from opening day until July . Problem is they will get the first timers who won't go back . The old cant make a first impression twice thing . they have a very short window to get this fixed

In an area of the country where fine dining is defined by a larger paper napkin and slightly higher grade of stainless flatware, hiring staff with the experience needed for a fast paced top of the line restaurant is difficult at best and near impossible for a first day out of the gate situation. 99% of potential wait staff in rural areas have never dined in a first class restaurant so they have no idea of what type of service it requires. And training, try as they might, most owners are about a quart short of a full gallon when it comes to this task.

Give them a few weeks to figure it out. By then the "must be among the very first so I can impress my friends" crowd will have drifted away and the regulars will begin to set up.

Besides what is wrong with a 3.5 hour dinner. You want fast go to Mickies D's.

I went to the new Woodshed for my second time last night. Once again I have nothing but great things to say about the service and food. Everyone in our party of 5 loved their meals. The manager offered to take a picture of our group. We took him up on it and it came out great. I will go back again and again.

. A bit condescending

A bit? That is an understatement.

Billy Boob: The place just opened up and it has been flooded with volume night after night. Don't you think you are being harsh? Somehow I don't think a lack of customers will be an issue for this business.

What part did you not understand. The part about rural folk in the wait staff business not being exactly up to speed with fine dining or owners not really knowing how to train the staff. Seems to me most complaints about restaurants are about the service and who trains the wait staff?

Hi GBG--Once the hub-bub settles down, let's meet and have a meal. I'll PM you later this month.

Sounds great! We will have to plan ahead. The restaurant is booked every night and it isn't even summer yet.

Woodshed virtual tour
 

Here is a Google Street View virtual tour of the New Woodshed. https://goo.gl/2CtU8F

Thanks for posting thr picture/tour. It looks amazing. I also found some great pictures on Facebook.

Does anyone know if the restaurant is open for lunch?

Facebook says open for dinner , 5 to 10 pm nothing about lunch
Also has the phone number and photos

Who is the chef at the new Woodshed?

Siobhan who was at the Restaurant Wolfeboro

What great news! She is wonderful!

OK, now that the kids have been yelled at to get off our respective lawns I've got a couple Woodshed questions:

-Anyone order a nice rare/medium rare cut of prime rib and if so how was it?

-Swirler size cocktails available, yes or no?

limited menu
 

- How about the menu? Has it changed as well?
Seems like last time I was there it was a bit limited.

How's the Woodshed now?
 

My brother-in-law would like to celebrate my hubby's birthday tomorrow night at the Woodshed. Would appreciate any opinions about this restaurant.

New Woodshed
 

My wife & I went to the New Woodshed tonight with four friends for dinner. The service was great and the food was perfectly prepared. Will not hesitate to return. Highly recommended.

I have volunteered...
 

...to do the definitive New Woodshed review with some provisos:

First, this is partly tongue-in-cheek. Recognizing that this is both the Internet and the Winnipesaukee Forum, this is a necessary disclaimer.

Secondly, nothing tastes as good as it did 25 years ago. A wise man once said "Nostalgia is the biggest lie of all." It is.

Nothing is as good as it is in (fill in the blank, usually ones home town). Although I am from Florida and can say with authority that as inexperienced as some of the employees may be at the Lake, I take niceness over experience any day.

Regardless of what the prices really are or the value of the meal, they are too high.

With respect to speed of service, my late father-in-law was not pleased unless his meal was placed in front of him the moment he sat down. My late father, on the other hand, did not consider it dining if the meal was less than three hours. Guess what our family dinners were like?

Now to my review: the New Woodshed is pretty darned good.

But, to expand. The owners have definitely taken some financial risks. The building and grounds are lovely and very well done. There is the main dining room very much like the old Woodshed..but with better floors and seating; and there is a very nice and very large bar area.

We were seated promptly..the bar was buzzing and the dining room was busy but not full. This was Friday at 7 pm. It filled a little later. The service (Carly) was very good and: she handled my wife's questions (concerning certain food sensitivities) in just the right way. The pace was fine for us...appropriately midway between my FIL and my father's preferences. The large tables around us did not seem unhappy with the service. The manager stopped by the table and actually did things to help the young staff and please the diners. What a concept.

To answer questions raised on the Forum...Swirler sized drinks are available, the bread in the flower pot was there; and the bread was actually better than the old, somewhat bland recipe.

The menu is a good mix of the old and the new. There are a few new things, a few old things and some things borrowed. Oh, this sounds like a wedding. Anyway, the menu is a bit larger with a few more offerings. The prices are a bit higher...no surprise there. Salad does not come with the entrees ( $2.95 for the house salad, 3.95for the Caesar) both with an entree. But a lot of stuff does come with an entree. The usual veg-of-the day medley is a big improvement over the old-veg-of-the day medley.

I had the duck, dear wife had the filet, and both were good. We don't usually eat dessert, but there was a nice selection including some old favorites.

All in all, we will definitely return. The food isn't the best in the Lakes region ( Lemon Grass is our favorite). BUT...

...it is definitely the place I would take guests or celebrate a special occasion (it was my birthday) and we wish them future success.

The New Woodshed deserves it.

What he said
 

Our experience was pretty much the same...good review Newbie. The only gripe from our party was the portion size on the chicken and haddock dinners. I had 10 oz. prime rib and wife had salmon.....both excellent and sufficient. Prices are up, but so was the bag of groceries I bought earlier in the day. No surprise.

We went Memorial Day weekend - party of 4. Server came to table right away to take drink orders, but it took 20 minutes. Service was pleasant but slow - took an hour for appetizers to arrive. Food is excellent. Once the kitchen/service irons out the kinks, this will be one of the best restaurants around the lake. We will be back.

Nice Renovation, good but not great for the price
 

Great to have the Woodshed back; the renovation looks great, esp the barn/dining area. Having Siobhan as the chef is great. Jesse, the waitress provided great service. Overall, it was a good experience, and we'll return; but a few things that could be improved on to make it better - a couple in our group had the salmon that was excellent; two had the 'traditional' prime rib ... both felt it was 'ok', prepared well, but somewhat bland taste. Compared to other local places (including Mis En Place, Inn on Main) the New Woodshed price was not outrageous but definitely high for what we got. $250 + tip for 4 people.

Loved The New Woodshed
 

Just like everyone else I was devastated when the Woodshed fire occurred. Thankfully The New Woodshed has opened again and last night we gave it a try. We had a 6:30 reservation and were seated promptly at a great table in the main room. We marveled at the "old" barn that was relocated and became part of this Moultonboro icon. We all loved the decor and marveled at the fireplace in the center of the room. Every server, hostess and manager had a smile on their face and greeted everyone making them feel at home. One kind young waiter let me peek out on the porch and I was thrilled to see all the college and school banners on the walls! Just like old times but fresher and more comfortable than the old porch.
The food was delicious. We all ordered salads and an entree. It was nice to see a salad special, Greek with heirloom tomatoes! Our roasted duck was perfectly done, another member of our group had the pork chop with homemade applesauce and declared it the best meal in a long time!
I have been following the posts on this thread for some time.
It seems that it may have taken a few weeks to iron out the kinks but I have nothing but great things to say about the Woodshed. I wish them the best of luck and look forward to more visits.

Guess I will have to make a visit to get the proper gauge of the place. Most all the reviews on this board have been positive but speaking with a few people who have the New York city restaurant experience stated that it was overall terrible in both food and service. So who to believe. best to try it oneself. Restaurants are very subjective. Been living in NH 25 years and have yet to locate a decent hard roll, Chinese restaurant and only one real pizza place. But then coming from a metropolitan area into a rural area one must make great food sacrifices.