We come to Russell Inn regularly Their veal Parmesan used to be the best now it's not on the menu; which I understand with the price of veal . Their sauce is amazing. Their chicken parm is very good as well as the eggplant parm Their grinders are huge ( the portions are all extra large); so no matter what you order there'll be leftovers --usually excellent service except in summer there may be a wait. Best appetizer is the fried mozzarella a huge square of deep fried mozzarella with a side of their delicious marinara. Always get a good meal here read more

Service is friendly, ambience is...well...basically absent. However I won't call the place terrible, it's just dated/grandma decorated, and a bit cramped. The issue driving a two star review is...the food. I've heard from a few locals that have been in the area a lot longer than me...that it was once quite good and was much under prior ownership. Can't speak to that much, but it wouldn't surprise me. All the menu tastes like someone else cooking another cooks food...or tier interpretation of it. You can tell there were some decent ideas here, destroyed by different hands and taste. The somewhat surprising amount of business the Russell Inn appears to pull in is certainly in part due to the fact it's the only restaurant in a small town, anything else is around a 15 minute drive away for most people. Clearly people within range have dropped their standards a bit, or just don't care so much...it's cheap, the portions are ridiculous (I mean this, the calzones are massive beyond reason...and the pizzas, starting at medium being larger than most large pies. It goes up from there to catering/banquet style massive. Sounds good right? Well it sure would be...if the product was actually good. Waxy yellow cheese, bland sauce, lower quality toppings, etc. This results in pizzas tasting as if they have been sitting out in open for 30-45 minutes before they get to you...even when they haven't. The salads are an unceremonious pile of cold cuts chopped up over cheap iceberg lettuce, also odd flavors in here, can't quite identify them, beyond frozen, old tasting. Some menu choices are downright odd no matter the ingredients. Seafood salad stuffed mushrooms? Yeah, they taste like they sound pretty much. This place is a prime candidate for Kitchen Nightmares, a Gordon Ramsey visit would do wonders for it. Just under the surface, this weird food with ridiculous portions quite possibly exists a better restaurant. It just needs better recipes, better quality ingredients, and a better chef. These menu items all taste like they were conceptually built with ingredients that are cheap and available, and never tasted by those preparing them. Just put out there as something they think is acceptable to the locals, average, uninspired flavors and preparation. Not this local so much, they are extreme desperation for me. read more

We ordered an eggplant parmigiana grinder with onions and peppers over the pone. My husband asked them to repeat our order to confirm they wrote down what he was ordering. When we got home and opened up the container there it was, our grinder, consisting of burnt eggplant, burnt grinder roll, no onion, and one sad slice of green pepper. Wasn't worth the trip to bring it back. Tossed it in the trash. Don't waste your money, go anywhere else. read more

Good food, friendly staff. Italian/ American vibe, serving pizza, subs, and dinner meals, with a full bar. You'll never leave hungry as portions are large enough for 2. Russell Inn delivers and has a function room for parties. Overall the Russell Inn is a great local restaurant serving the community. read more

At first glance rolling into the parking lot this place seems like from another time and place. I suppose it is, but that's no reason to avoid! I had the eggplant Parmesan. Wow, what an impression as it first appears on the table. A zillion layers of thin pan fried eggplant on top of pasta and topped with mozzarella. Tomato gravy had a good balance of freshness and sourness. I always liked this style and this didn't disappoint. Not too oily, either. Good home style cooking. Dining companion had pizza which looked better than it tasted. Well done, you guys! We'll visit again if we find ourselves passing through the Pioneer Valley. The Chicken Parmesan beckons me. read more

Russell Inn - a plate of lasagna on a table - New American Near Me - Russell, Massachusetts

The Russell Inn is one of those places that always has large booths and clean tables available. For locals, there is a large bar area. For diners, I have never really enjoyed the food here, however, lacking any family restaurants within several miles, we find that our children enjoy coming here to have dinner. We we have the children who love chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, and pasta with butter, and they are fairly happy here. The fries are not so great, but that is the kind of fries that they have. You know, the kind that get soggy after they sit on your plate because that is what happens to these types of fries (= disappointment). The last time we came here, one waitress sat in a corner on her phone while stacks of messy dirty plates were amongst several tables near us. It was towards the end of the evening, But it seemed pretty crappy for all of that mess to be left there while the person paid to clean it was sitting on her phone. I can't think of any time I've been here or any of the wait staff have been particularly happy to be working. I also haven't been here at any time where the place seemed particularly full. I wonder if there is any correlation? So, great place if you want to go get food for the kids, but I have found many of the specials to be not necessarily appetizing, and there is an extremely small amount of gluten-free food if that is your alternative (pizza or salad-I will save you from looking). While I would love for there to be more food options out here, I understand that there isn't really a population for change or improvement, especially now that Blandford Ski Area is not open for patrons to stop at after a day of skiing. I think if you are the burger or a wrap kind of person with a love of Yuengling beer, and don't really have high expectations, you will be fine. If you are like me and enjoy bit of diversity and, don't eat burgers or crappy Bud-draft beers, you will not necessarily find this to be the place to eat.. read more

Russell Inn - White bread, breaded chicken, plain pasta and clam chowder . - New American Near Me - Russell, Massachusetts

Your steak and cheese grinders have changed for the worst. The steak meat you are using now is all fat. I will not order again. Second time I Could not even chew it. Threw it out. I'm out $30 for 2 grinders. Never again. read more

I had the worst pizza ever last night. I ordered chicken, spinach , artichoke, normally a favorite. The chicken was very dry, there was no sauce, little cheese, and it was flavorless. We told our waitress, who never came to see how things were during the meal, so this was when she came to gather leftovers and give us a check. All she said was, "I'll tell the owner, he's making the pizza". Based on this overall experience, I would not return or recommend this place to anyone. I am dumbfounded no one came out to apologize or offer compensation or a replacement. read more

A group of 14 friends and I went for lunch at Russell Inn. We each ordered different meals and all were served hot and st the same time. Everyone loved their meal, the wait staff was excellent, and we'll definitely be going back! read more

Just left the Russell Inn. Had the worst experience ever!!! I'm from Colorado and went with my sister who lives in the hilltowns. I've been there half a dozen times in the past few years while visiting family. I was just there two weeks ago the bartender was good and the food was what we ordered. I expected the same experience this time. Savannah took our order we ordered a large pizza (pie cut) she asked if we knew the size of the pizza and the couple next to us had a large we said yes we wanted a large pie cut pizza that we wanted leftovers to take home. Savannah put in the order as a medium pizza, pie cut. When the pizza came out of course it was a medium NOT large that we ordered and NOT pie cut. When we inquired about getting a small pizza and still paying for the large we ordered the other bartender Mattie was very rude and came up to us and said she didn't want to "put it (the mistake) on her (Savannah)" even though it was her mistake after all and that they could not correct our order. Then Mattie said she would only charge for a small beer instead of a large. When the bill came we were still charged for the large beer. These two were terrible instead of owning up to the mistake and trying to correct it they tried to make it seem like we made the mistake when ordering, even after Savannah admitted to writing down the order correctly but then changing it. When we were leaving we expressed how disappointed we were in the service, the regulars started to chime in saying: "well you saved money", "they're doing their best" we didn't care about the cost we told Savannah we wanted leftovers to take home (who doesn't love leftover pizza) and they were NOT doing their best they didn't try to correct their mistake! Also, Savannah had already taken my keno ticket during this confrontation with the regulars and then never handed me my winnings. What did she think it was a tip!! It wasn't I didn't leave one!! I GUESS GOOD HELP IS HARD TO FIND!! read more

Had lunch with my sister. I enjoyed the teriyaki chicken Alfredo. Delicious meal. Waitress was very attentive. I can't remember her name. I will definitely be ordering that one more time. It was just yummy. read more

The food is delicious and the portions are voluptuous. It was a great experience! I highly recommend. read more

Friendly service and yummy food! We were pleasantly surprised with our experience and will be back again.

Happened across the Russell Inn today. Cozy, fast amazing service. Crabmeat stuffed mushrooms ( a meal by itself), excellent, Tortellini soup excellent, Sampler plate excellent, oil dipping for bread excellent. Overall grade, excellent. 2 of us shared the meal and appetizers and we are very full. We'll be back! read more

Russell Inn - Crabmeat stuffed mushrooms (with 2 already eaten) - New American Near Me - Russell, Massachusetts

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Speed was slow, but quality and service was great. The meatballs will much bigger than you can by in the store. The salad was fresh and crisp, but the dressing was not homeaide. For the Shire this place is 5 stars compared to the other options, Boston this would only be 4 stars. read more

The staff seems to have an extremely high turnover rate. It seems like there's someone new every time I have been. Most recently I overheard the owner making derogatory comments about women in the restaurant. Not the type of establishment I would ever want to spend my time or money again. read more

The Russell Inn is a true gem in the hill towns! Amazing food for so many years. Best sauce around! Their fried mozzarella is my #1 favorite of any place I've ever tried. Their stuffed mushrooms are delicious, stuffed with a seafood stuffing, loaded with flavor. Pizza is light, airy, soft dough, not greasy at all. Shrimp Francaise was to die for..lemon , butter sauce was perfection, served with huge, tender, sweet shrimp! Service was outstanding as well! read more

Russell Inn - Shrimp Francaise - New American Near Me - Russell, Massachusetts

Meals were great , server was awesome and the place was clean . Seems like staffing is the biggest problem here but they manage it well . If you don't mind a longer wait it's worth it . Food is consistently good , read more

The food is decent, depending on what you order. The waitstaff is mercurial and scarce.

Excellent food! The Zuppa di clams was outstanding! Spinach artichoke dip had huge chunks of real artichoke in it. Everything was really fresh and delicious. Will definitely be back! ^^^This is an update to my initial 5 star review from 2 years ago. We were very disappointed in the new menu. We've visited on 3 previous occasions and always had a great meal. The two items I mentioned in my first post are no longer available but the quality of the food has gone way downhill. The garlic Parmesan chicken wings were flavorless and absent of garlic and Parmesan. The calamari tasted like batter and the chicken Marsala and marina on the ziti was too salty. I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio and couldn't even finish the glass. It was definitely a lower quality wine. We looked forward to our meal after a long drive from Boston back to the Berkshires. Unfortunate we will not be returning. Bummer. read more

To Drive 100 Miles for lunch, certainly speaks Volumes about the Quality, and Dedication that the Peluso Family has demonstrated for the last 35+ years at the Russell Inn. The Russell Inn Sampler with lasagna, stuffed shells, meatball and sausage along with a caesar salad makes an Excellent Meal, with plenty to take home. Veal parmesan, fresh and generous portions just add another solid reason to drive to this Italian "Mecca"! read more

I have eaten here a few times and am finally going to sit down and write a review because this time everything was literally outstanding. My daughter had the Chicken Parmesan as well as the missus and they were both great with the homemade red sauce. The bread came to the table hot with butter and some olive oil with herbs to dip in. I had the hitman burger with fries, the burger had grilled salami, pepperoni, roasted peppers, romaine lettuce, garlic mayonnaise and provolone cheese and it was perfectly cooked. Our waitress Samantha was on top of her game and came back several times to see how things were and if we needed anything. Boom. We will be back next weekend. read more

Russell Inn - Hitman with fries - New American Near Me - Russell, Massachusetts

They do not accept out of state IDs, even with various other cards to back up the ID; this is a bizarre policy that I've not encountered anywhere else in Massachusetts or even in the US in general. The waitress said we needed a passport in order to get drinks. She said they don't have a card reader, but as far as I know it is not a legal requirement, and in any case they could obviously purchase one, but don't care enough to do so. The buffalo chicken pizza and the wings were decent but the veggie pizza was not good. I wanted to take some wings home and asked for some blue cheese with them, and they said they'd charge me extra for it... this sort of nickel-and-diming is pathetic. I definitely don't recommend this place and won't be returning. read more

CONGRADULATION'S! Fantastic Food! A Huge "A Special Thank you to the Chef's" they are Amazing! The Waitress's are Very Professional & Kind, Always Friendly!! The Pizza is Delicious! Marinara sauce is EXCELLENT! Your diligence & dedication does not go unnoticed, not at all! #loveit read more

Food is quite good. Not a place you'd take someone to impress them but really good for a casual meal with friends.

Drove about 15 miles tonight . Closed up. Looks like today was the day to shut down . Friday evening 1/13/137 . To bad. This was a decent place to go . JOHN read more

Authentic Italian is hard to come by in Western Mass, especially when you grew up so close to the North End of Boston. However, the Russell Inn is a game changer. Don't let the outside appearance fool you. Inside awaits a bevy of Italian meats, cheeses, and sauce that belongs in your empty, sad stomach. Owned by the Peluso family, this restaurant has been around a long time. The original owner has passed but his two sons now operate the place and stay true to the original recipes. Service- Ehhh, depends on who you get. Some servers are friendly, some are zombies. The bartenders are great and the bar attracts many local regulars. The kitchen staff knows what's up though. Not very often will you wait a long time for your food- even sauté dishes. Atmosphere- Quaint and family-owned, this place used to be an actual inn. It is not the most beautiful place but it is comfortable and features photographs of Italy on the walls. Definitely a casual place you can relax and have a nice meal. Food- Super fresh ingredients. Although the sauté dishes can be a bit pricey- $14-$17 - they all come with homemade bread and soup/salad. Try the chicken broccoli Alfredo or my favorite, the chicken marsala. Portions are huge! Get in the car, take a scenic drive along route 20, and enjoy an authentic Italian meal. read more

What's not to love! Homemade food that's delicious and reasonably priced. I'll be back

Great Italian and American good. Tonight we enjoyed prime rib & calzone, great portions. Great service from Amanda. read more

Russell Inn - the dining area of the restaurant - New American Near Me - Russell, Massachusetts

On a roadtrip hungry for lunch? Check this place out... attentive staff and many choices to choose from. Fresh delicious food served up hot. The American and Italian meals are extremely good. It is family owned and they serve it up quick in the kitchen. We will be stopping by again sometime soon.. read more

So, not only does this restaurant have mediocre food, it also has random hours and random times that it is open..... let's take for instance, that you are vacationing in the hill towns of western Massachusetts, during the summer (when they should be open) and you try to order food from the local eatery, just to find out that they have closed for the next couple of weeks, right after COVID.... That to me seems as though they (being the only restaurant in town) are a bit too big for their own britches.... Stop eating here so someone can come in and make food that people don't have to worry about .... read more

My wife and I stopped by after some Kayaking in the Berkshires. Nice atmosphere very pleasant staff and a nice crowd for a weeknight. I ordered the homemade lasagna and my wife ordered a chicken pasta dish. I opted for the tortellini soup and my wife went with the salad with her dinner and loved the house dressing. My soup was ok kinda like Angie's tortellini in chicken broth I make at home. My lasagna was a huge portion and it was as good as any I've ever had! Plenty of meat and cheese! My wife enjoyed her fish and the Price was fantastic! Will be a regular stop for us as we did see the pizzas on tables around us that looked awesome! read more

Came to sit in the bar for a couple of beers. The bartender was as cold as the beer. Maybe she's new, not sure but a smile goes a long way. Bar is full with town people. Good place to come and chill out. Their whacky wednesday pizza special is a good deal. Would have given a better star rating if the customer service was better. read more

Russell Inn - People - New American Near Me - Russell, Massachusetts

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A great little spot between Exits 2 and 3 on the Mass Pike, the Russell Inn has good Italian and American food and huge portions. We sat in the dining room, but they also have a bar area with pool tables. It's worth the drive. read more

Only 3 miles away and it's been an hour and 5 minutes for a chicken Caesar wrap and fries. I even had to add soda to make the minimum dollar amount. If I knew it was going to take this long I would have either picked it up myself or went somewhere else. read more

The atmosphere at The Russell Inn is amazing and lively..... they have multiple TVs to watch Sunday football and on Wednesday they do Wacky Wednesday where you can get a 16 inch large pizza for $11 and their pizza is amazing!!! They also have awesome beer on tap and make some amazing cocktails! My boyfriend and I love going there and always look forward to going back!! read more

I ordered takeout and my mother is a vegan so I ordered her pizza without cheese. I even had a conversation with the girl on the phone about it and she said they'd use a different sauce because the normal one has cheese in it as well . When we opened the box there was cheese all over it. Couldn't go back as they close before I'd get back. Disappointed to say the least they usually don't mess up but this was blatant disregard. read more

Russell inn is in Russell of which I only saw the restaurant-lounge, a state police branch & a small professional building; all on US20. One of the Tuesday seniors special was the open face turkey sandwich with broccoli & mashed potatoes--cranberry jelly too of course. Good turkey, good gravy & all made a good meal. read more

This place is so inconsistent. I've had great experiences there before but this time the pizza I had was just...OK. I mean, Red Baron pizza from the freezer section of the grocery store tasted better than the last pizza I got from there. However there really isn't much of a choice when you're that far in to the sticks. I have been there for breakfast a couple of times and it was pretty good and cheap! But I mean, I just don't see what all the hype is about this place. I don't know if it's just an issue with hiring the right cooks and keeping them ? Or is it just inconsistency with where they buy their ingredients? Maybe I'll just stick to breakfast since it seems to be the only thing I really enjoy having here. read more

Stopped for a light dinner New Year's Eve. Okay decor but it was clean. Waitress pleasant. My husband ordered a calzone, quite large, which he was happy with. I ordered fish and chips, the fish had been frozen so not super good. All in all I'd say it was just okay. read more