My girlfriend and I had the pleasure of staying at the Huddleson Court, and we booked a package with the Green Gables restaurant that included beer & wine tasting, a dinner for two (appetizer, entree, desert, and non-alcoolic beverages).
Beer & Wine Tasting ($20 6 wines, $25 8 beers):
I chose the beer tasting, she chose the wine tasting. We enter the restaurant, and the room for the tastings is all the way at the back. To our left, two tables with the two ladies who served the drinks and offered information about each product. The wines and beer were interesting, all coming from American independent owners. The staff was knowledgeable, but some of the information felt very rehearsed. The very nice lady responsible for the beer tasting was throwing out beer jargon like it's nobody's business, but couldn't always answer very simple questions.
Other than that, it was a pleasure. The room was cold (it was a freezing cold winter night) but after a couple drinks we felt fine. The hors-d'oeuvre were filling, but nothing special. We could have absolutely skipped dinner, and just had more hors-d'oeuvres and left satisfied :)
The meal:
It was about 8PM when we sat down. We had a lovely small table in the main room, fairly close to the giant fairplace that illuminated and heated the room. It was romantic, and gave an excellent atmosphere. Our meal was prepaid through the package we had booked (including gratuity and taxes), so I wasn't surprised to see that the waitstaff gave us a little less attention that would be warranted in this kind of establishment. Our waitress, an older lady, was visibly tired from a long evening. I ordered a beer from their nice selection of microbrews, and we both had appetizers. The oven oysters were particularly delicious.
I had the filet mignon, and she had the clams. The filet mignon was very cook, and of perfect size. It was served with a red wine reduction that I didn't care much for (way too acid), over beef-stuffed blini's (think thin Russian crepes).
The desert menu looked very appetizing. I had the phylo and fruits dessert, which had blueberries, peach and other small fruits wrapped in phylo. It was supposed to be topped with creme anglaise, but was instead topped with the same fruit-based couli that my girlfriend had on her cake. I guess the chef felt a little lazy about 10PM, and hoped it would go unnoticed. At least, I would have welcomed a head-ups.
Summary:
We had a fantastic time at the Green Gables. The beer & wine tasting were fantastic, and so was the selection. When it came to dinner, the meal was mostly excellent, although not enough so that I see us driving another 1.5h back to the restaurant. Judging on what we saw, taking a package deal with the courthouse may not have been the best idea ever. I felt our service was a little rushed, and similarly for our food. Not 5 stars in my book, but still very recommended.
Tip: If you participate in the wine/beer tasting, you get 50% of night's stay at the courthouse, which for two, effectively makes the wine/beer tasting free :) read more