Amazing place. Wonderful food, classic French with lots of interesting variations. My mother in…read morelaw had cassoulet, my wife had a sole in cream sauce, but I had tagliatelle with smoked salmon. Plus incredible brussel sprouts appetizer, perfectly cooked. In addition, just a very friendly place, when we were leaving we had some wine left, and the owner sealed it up in plastic so we couldn't have trouble on the road!

Delicious food, excellent service & great atmosphere. Chef Dominique really makes you feel at…read morehome. Charming restaurant by the river. Highly recommended.

We had the winning bid on an auction for a free stay at the Wellsworth Hotel in Southbridge. We…read morebooked our stay for a Saturday night. We looked online for local restaurants to dine at during our stay. Neither my girlfriend or I have ever gone to a French restaurant, so we decided on The Metro Bistrot, due to all the fantastic reviews. I called and spoke with Jay (chef and owner) a week prior to make the reservation. We took an Uber from the hotel, as it's BYOB and brought a couple of bottles of wine. This was a Saturday before a big snow storm the following day. I think due to this, the restaurant wasn't as busy as usual. We ended up being seated in the back room all to ourselves. It was a very nice room that had about 4 tables. Stephanie, our server was an absolute delight! Turns out she works for the hotel as well and she's the one I spoke with when we booked the room. She opened our Beaujolais for us and brought some wine glasses. She kept the bottle chilled in the fridge for us. She went over some of the specials being prepared that night and was able to make some nice recommendations. My girlfriend ended up with the special seafood soup special with a lobster stock as a base. I ordered the escargot. Both were absolutely fantastic. She kept our bread basket filled with wonderful fresh warm bread to soak up all the goodness of the soup and escargot. My girlfriend ordered the boar shank and I ordered the stuffed quail that was stuffed with foie gras and pate. The boar meat fell right of the bone and was some of the most tender meat we've ever had. Both dishes were phenomenal. Jay stopped by our table to chat. He's super nice and even took some photos with us. We ordered 3 different kinds of cheeses prior to ordering dessert. All three we ordered were great! Stephanie also brought us a bowl of crackers to go with the cheese. For dessert, my girl had the cheesecake with an oatmeal crust and fresh berries. I'm not usually one for sweets, unless it Crème Brûlée, so I opted for the Boursin stuffed Shrimp, forgetting it wasn't an appetizer, but a main entree. It was out of this world! All the fish Jay brings in are always fresh and NEVER frozen. He even poured me a small glass of some white wine and it went so well with the shrimp. We cannot wait to go back. The prices are very reasonable and the service and food is second to none. Cheers!

Our second time here and one we make as a destination spot. It is so unique and in tucked away that…read moreit always feels like you are in on a secret. It is small and quaint. One chef and one server. It is byob and the menu isn't extensive. But it is mostly local and classic French. It is accessible and not pretentious. A place where the passion for French cooking is designed for locals. The food is interesting and has a casual vibe. Like a small village in France where farmers and artisans come. The space is small and seatings limited, so by the end of the night you can meet new friends if you want to. I would encourage you to bring an extra bottle of wine and share.

My wife and I went here for the first time tonight. I will not be the last. What a wonderful…read moreatmosphere and excellent service. She got the sea bass with bouillabaisse and I got the cannelloni. We were not disappointed. Great flavors. Perfect spicing for both dishes. You could taste the ingredients. Well done chef. We will be back soon.

Wonderful small restaurant in Shelburne Falls. Friendly service and amazing food! Definitely worth…read morea visit if you're in the area.

When my husband and son went to Le Mazet for lunch and brought me their leftovers, I knew that we…read morehad to go back that very same week for a family meal. We returned for Father's Day and we were seated immediately without a reservation, though I think we just got lucky so I don't recommend this. We all shared the warm olives, the croquet poulet sandwich, the fries, the quiche lorraine, the chateubriand, the roasted beets, and the strawberry ice cream. It was all a hit, and when a 3.5-year-old and a 22-month-old are enjoying your food without any coaxing or help, you know it's fabulous! My husband got some cocktail and I got the phony Negroni mocktail. Service was great and the atmosphere is chic without being uptight or snobby at all. We all left really happy. I still dream about that sandwich. I'd love to go back and try other things on the menu. I'm sure they knock everything out of the park. I am hoping Le Mazet will be our special occasion restaurant.

Easily a 5 star establishment. Do not sleep on Le Mazet! We've walked by so many times and I regret…read morenot trying this place sooner! Definitely need a reservation to get in on the weekend fyi! When we arrived we were seated at a beautiful booth. The interior is gorgeous here. Our server was fantastic I wish I remembered his name! He suggested some great items. We started with their steak frites and I cannot rave more about it! First this plate is definitely shareable. Among myself, my husband and young toddler we destroyed this. My daughter was eating so much of this steak and so were we! It was sooo tender and we loved the gravy on top. The fries were amazing and when they were drenched in that gravy it was chefs kiss! What really brought it all the together was the salad paired with it- it was light and refreshing and the dressing was so good! For dessert our server suggested the chocolate custard so we got that and a berry handpie. We ate both and kept saying "oh my god" with each bite. My daughter especially loved the chocolate custard but my husband and I loved both equally! We immediately said after our meal how we have to come back. We cannot wait to try other menu items and their cocktails next time. We are huge fans and will definitely be back!!

Overall, a very nice experience. The ambience is sweet. Our server was great, very friendly and…read moreattentive. We had the grilled octopus as an appetizer- it was delicious, very well-cooked and tender. I ordered the chicken dish- Poulet À La Gaston Gérard- holy moly, the sauce on this is so delicious I had to keep reminding myself not the lick the plate. We had the vacherin for dessert- soooo delicious. Highly recommend checking this place out!

Overall this was still a positive experience. Now I adore French food! It is probably the best in…read morethe world if you take both sweet and savory flavors into account. It is one of my favorite cuisines to cook and eat, so I was very excited to try this place. However, the service actually outshined the food here. Our server was kind, attentive, friendly and went out of her way to make sure we enjoyed our meal. The restaurant wasn't busy that night, we were only one of two tables seated. The escargot was absolutely hands down by far the best thing we ate. I could smell it before it even came to our table! The mushroom sauce was rich, flavorful, herbaceous and so so fragrant. The snails were perfectly cooked and tender! My only critique of this dish was that I wish it was served in puff pastry rather than fillo dough. If you are feeling brave this dish is a must order! The house salad was okay. It was under seasoned. It had some pear slices and tomatoes. It was well dressed with a dijon vinaigrette. The sad part was the mesclun mix, it was old and slimy. I had to eat around the slimy bits which was gross. Now with vivid memories of the last time I had duck confit dancing through my mind, for my entree I ordered the duck confit. I took a bite of this with expectations high and was immediately perplexed. Confit is supposed to be moist, tender, decadently rich and flavorful because the duck is slow cooked in its own fat, which this wasn't. Could not have been. If I was told that this duck was roasted instead, I wouldn't have argued that it was confit at all. But then I tried to fork one of my vegetables. All the root vegetables were still hard and also unseasoned. I don't even understand this. The haricot vert were well cooked but unseasoned. The beef bourguignon fell flat. The sauce was too thin and the root vegetables were also hard on top of this dish. I loved the mashed potatoes because they reminded me of my Nonna. Hers were made with salt water and butter but not with cream so draw your own conclusions lol. The creme brûlée had me truly confused. It had a very unique texture. It wasn't rich and creamy, which comes from the use of heavy cream. It was much lighter, like if it were possible to make creme brûlée with whole milk or maybe half and half. No real discernible vanilla flavor either, definitely no real vanilla bean in here, which is my personal method. I ordered the pear tart and was sorry I did honestly. The tart base, which is typically made with butter in the dough was definitely made with a vegetable fat like crisco instead. And to add insult to injury, I could taste that it was going/had gone bad/tasted overcooked, so basically an unpleasant sour/bitter flavor. The frangipane punched you right in the face with almond extract, it was so overwhelming it ruined the balance of the dessert. But at least it helped mask that tart crust flavor. The caramel sauce was thin and basically flavorless. The pears were still hard. The tart was cold and served with cold ice cream from a carton. I would have thought that a restaurant of this caliber would make their own. In short, don't order the pear tart! Well I think that's all my comments, do with them what you will.

Fantastic food, service and atmosphere. This is, by far, the best restaurant in southern VT…read more Everything we ordered was perfect; white truffle risotto, tomahawk pork chop, sweet potato vichyssoise, carrot cake. Wow!

Wow. Best dinner I've had in Vermont in a dozen years. Had a reservation with a friend, but decided…read moreto eat at the bar. John was a consummate professional, expert mixologist and all-around great server. Food was amazing- pate, cassoulet, and cheeses, with perfectly paired cocktails, wine, and port. Don't miss, but save a seat at the bar for me.

Omg the lunch special 3-courses for $25 was such an amazing deal for the portions! Everything was…read moredelicious! I ordered the cheese plate, croque and the crème brûlée yum! Seriously everything was so tasty and I overate.

I was traveling for work and shared a meal with my coworker at a'vert brasserie on a Tuesday night…read more The restaurant was pretty empty unlike some of the other popular restaurants in the area. We were seated by the window and were given freshly baked bread. We ordered the French classics: mussels, escargot, duck leg confit, and steak and fries. The mussels came out first and were pretty average. I usually like sipping the wine broth it comes with or dipping fries/bread into the broth. The escargot had plenty of oil and seasoning. It was actually too salty even though my coworker requested less salt on everything. I enjoyed dipping the fresh bread into the oil. Lastly came the entrees. I was a bit disappointed in both of them. The hanger steak was cooked medium rare like I wanted but the texture was not great. I was hoping for a more tender cut and this was a bit tough and lean. The frites were cooked well and very crispy. The duck confit was very tender but I didn't think it was amazing. Overall I don't think I will be returning to this restaurant with so many other great options around. I might be biased as I am not too familiar with French cuisine but we already sampled most of the classics already.

Another truly wonderful evening at Audette! On a beautiful July evening that saw lower Thames…read moreStreet bustling with activity we stepped inside Audette to find Carmen and her team seamlessly entertaining a full house. Settling in with Dan, our captain, taking care of us in the way only he can, we enjoyed hearing about the summer additions to the menu. Deciding between the very tempting options we chose the Crudo, Beef Tartare, Octopus, Lamb Saddle and Tuna au Poivre. Each dish was amazing. The Crudo with its combination of flavors, including grain mustard, was the perfect starter. The Octopus prepared confit style was incredibly moist and tender on the inside while having the perfect pop on the outside due to being finished on the grill. With a bit of backside spicy heat in its flavor profile, it provided a wonderful contrast to the cool of the crudo. The Tartare remains outstanding and a go to. The Lamb Saddle was to quote Dan a perfect lamb filet mignon. With a touch of harissa in the sauce it makes having additional bread a must. The Tuna au Poivre, having come from a freshly caught whole yellowfin, was amazing. Pepper crusted and seared rare with a Bonito brown butter sauce. Special mention to Max and his updates to the wine list where he is broadening countries of origin - think less French centric. One of his additions is Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2024 from Sicily, which Dan chose for us, and which was delicious and very approachably priced. Ending the evening as we always do with grand marnier souffles and Dan & Julia's espresso martinis, Carmen graciously accommodated our request to move from our table to the always inviting bar, this despite the approach of closing time. As always Audette delivers the special experience!

When I saw "Fine French Dining" as a dinner option in Newport, I was excited as we were celebrating…read morea birthday and also because I was trained in classical French cuisine. Upon arrival we were greeted quite quickly and my coat dispatched to the cloak closet. The hostess took us through the bar to a two top and let us know our Captain would be with us shortly. While waiting my partner and I both selected cocktails from the menu. The Captain arrived and took our drink orders, also letting us know that there would be two dessert specials, both of which required ordering at the beginning of the meal as they took time to prepare. Both the Grand Marnier Souffle and the Tart Tatin sounded wonderful. Cocktails came after a short wait, and we put in our order: To Start-Beef Tartar and Sweetbreads, followed by Caesar Salads for us both; and then Duck for my partner and Filet for myself (both medium rare). We selected a hearty Pinot Noir to go with the apps and entrees. This would be one of the few times we saw the "Captain" throughout the meal, and to be honest I'm pretty sure they were short at least one server, as most of the food was delivered by the bus boy (I can't give him the honorific of commis or assistant) or the bar tender. Bread and butter were dropped unceremoniously on the table, and that's ok because the French bread was average and the slice of butter tube was nothing special. A few grains of black or pink salt would have kicked it up a bit, a short spiel about the local bakery that makes the bread could have been nice, something about the local herbs and honey in the butter could be good (there wasn't any but hey I can dream...) Our Waiter returned with wine and offered to pour early so it could breathe but no need as it's a Pinot Noir and we have some time as we were both finishing the cocktails (which were also very well made and tasty), but the offer was appreciated. Appetizers came , and the bus boy had to be told who got which one, but to be honest the sweetbreads were just fantastic. The beef tartar was good but nothing amazing. The wine went very well with both. This is where the night turned a bit south, as the "salads" came out. Using a 6inch ring mold, the kitchen chopped romaine to the point where it was smaller than ¼ inch by ¼ inch sized, then tossed that in a very light dressing consisting of mostly anchovies. Finally the entire ring of lettuce was crusted with bread crumbs (and I assume parmesan) providing a 1/2 inch tall salad 6 inches across with gritty topping and tasting very much of umami but not so much like Caesar salad. To the point where we couldn't eat them and they had to be taken off the bill. Entrée Time. Once again the inability to code the ticket so that the servers know which entrée goes to which guest is just subpar. The duck, while crispy on the skin was way past medium rare and seemed a bit small for a full duck breast. Sauce and Rillette was pretty good. Filet (when I pronounced the 'T' during the ordering process the server didn't understand, but I guess that's just me being picky) was also well past medium rare, the bordelaise was fair and the beets were great. We ate the food as it was there and we were now hungry and realizing this was not to be the amazing meal that we thought it would be. Our bus boy came back to clear and take coffee orders. I was also going to get a Grand Marnier to go with the souffle and cork the remainder of bottle 2 of the Pinot Noir but when I asked for an Americano he was completely lost so I just asked for a 'cup of coffee' and my partner had a double espresso. I didn't want to burden this poor guy with more things he didn't know about like aperitifs. The Souffle came out and busboy tried to make a show of breaking the crust and adding crème anglaise to it, but it just didn't work for him, maybe because the crème anglaise was so think it didn't pour it kinda glopped off the spoon. That's OK because when we broke into the souffle it turned out to be fancy scrambled eggs (so they overcooked or overwhipped or both). The tart tatin was again 6 inch ring mold sized and looked like a fried egg white on a piece of toast. True it tasted good but it was in no way shape of form a decent Julia Child like tart tatin. The server came over and I asked him to remove the souffle and also informed him that his tip wouldn't be so very good as he didn't check on the cook on the entrees nor the dessert until it was pretty much time for the check. After removing the two salads and the desert, our bill was still over $400 for the meal, which is, to be completely honest, about $200 more than it was worth.

OMG we had the most surreal and best experience at Cafe Triskele!! Excellent service from Gilbert,…read morethe owner, himself. He was warm, kind, and generous! Apple tart was hot and delicious - wish I could have another! Intimate indoor ambiance with plenty of space. 10/10!

This is my second time coming to this restaurant. We drove 45 mins to get here so clearly we really…read morelove this place. All of the food is fresh and you can tell it is made with love. The service is incredible and all of their staff is friendly. I am a big escargot fan and their butter garlic sauce is divine. We will be back again.

While this restaurant has been a long-standing part of the well-regarded and historic country inn,…read moreFOUR CHIMNEYS INN, the high quality and caliber of their food merits a separate listing for the Four Chimneys Restaurant. It is simply outstanding ! For us, we almost didn't get to know about this restaurant. They are closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. We initially had our room reservation for one night, on a Tuesday, so we lost that opportunity. But then, we asked if we could stay another evening till Thursday morning, which then opened up the possibility of dining on Wednesday night at this restaurant... and we are soooooo glad that we did. We were so pleasantly surprised to see a beautifully appointed dining room, impeccably trained waitresses, who said and did all the right things that one would come to expect from classically trained French chefs and restauranteurs. This restaurant starts off with an amuse-bouche, and while I took a photo of it, I don't recall what is was (even though they told us), but I do know it was delicious. Bread was served with a choice of maple butter, tomato jam, or olive oil drizzled with balsamic vinegar. We then each ordered an appetizer. My husband ordered some chilled spring pea vichyssoise drizzled with creme fraiche, served with a smoked salmon crostini that he kindly shared with me. I took a taste of his soup, and while it was very tasty, I wasn't used to any kind of pea soup being eaten cold. I loved the salmon crostini, however. As for myself, I ordered the Maine lobster and blue crab tower as my appetizer, which came with a remoulade sauce, a garnish of olives, tri-colored peppers and crispy capers. It was delicious, and I ate the entire thing. Surprisingly, it wasn't at all spicy, which I questioned seeing jalapenos as one of the ingredients. If they were in there, I don't know where because it wasn't spicy at all... just loaded with flavor. We were then given a decent size scoop of lemon sorbet with a blueberry on top to cleanse our palates. As for our entrees, we both ordered the Faroe Island salmon en croute in a dill beurre blanc sauce, that was accompanied with nicely seasoned green beans. We ate all the food on our plates because it was that good. Unfortunately, though, that left no room for dessert, so I have nothing to comment upon for that. I will, however, reiterate how well prepared and delicious the food was. It was clearly French food but prepared with expertise and the freshest Vermont ingredients. Toss in the knowledgeable staff who were also very warm and welcoming, and they have a winning combination. We truly enjoyed ourselves and were so glad we had the opportunity to dine with them.