The New Woodshed Reviews

LadyJane · 04-24-2017, 03:08 PM

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.

VitaBene · 04-24-2017, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyJane

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.

Sully · 05-18-2017, 09:55 AM

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.

dxd · 05-18-2017, 12:31 PM

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.

MikeF-NH · 06-25-2017, 06:46 PM

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.

wifi · 06-25-2017, 06:58 PM

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

FlyingScot · 06-25-2017, 09:51 PM

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.

Grove84 · 06-26-2017, 05:21 PM

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.

Old Hubbard Rd · 07-08-2017, 08:53 AM

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!

sky's · 11-05-2017, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Hubbard Rd

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!

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

06-25-2017, 09:51 PM	#7
FlyingScot Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Tuftonboro and Sudbury, MA Posts: 2,379 Thanks: 1,281 Thanked 1,017 Times in 627 Posts	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.

06-26-2017, 05:21 PM	#8
Grove84 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 90 Thanks: 24 Thanked 41 Times in 20 Posts	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.

07-08-2017, 08:53 AM	#9
Old Hubbard Rd Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 462 Thanks: 141 Thanked 54 Times in 33 Posts	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!

04-24-2017, 03:08 PM	#1
LadyJane Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: northern Ct. Posts: 335 Thanks: 129 Thanked 50 Times in 33 Posts	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.

The Following User Says Thank You to VitaBene For This Useful Post:
Lakemamma (05-06-2017)

05-18-2017, 09:55 AM	#3
Sully Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 49 Thanks: 110 Thanked 10 Times in 6 Posts	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.

05-18-2017, 12:31 PM	#4
dxd Junior Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 9 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	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.

06-25-2017, 06:46 PM	#5
MikeF-NH Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 318 Thanks: 2 Thanked 120 Times in 80 Posts	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.

06-25-2017, 06:58 PM	#6
wifi Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 1,321 Thanks: 282 Thanked 287 Times in 169 Posts	Maybe not very "sophisticated" but I use a meat thermo.....is it that hard ?