Hit or miss. The place was not really busy, but more diners here due to graduation. The service is really welcoming and friendly, but the food is served slowly because they bring all the dishes at once. read more

SONOMA Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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Sonoma Restaurant on Plantation Street is the kind of place where you walk in "just to eat" and walk out planning your next visit. We stopped by on New Year's Eve, and instead of chaos, stress, or sad last-meal-of-the-year energy, we got great service, hot food, and portions big enough to start the year in a food coma. Everything tasted like it was made by someone who actually wanted to end the year on a high note. The staff was friendly, the vibe was relaxed, and somehow they pulled it all off on one of the busiest nights of the year. If this is how they treat New Year's Eve, imagine a regular Tuesday. read more

We made a reservation over a month before and the next thing we find out is the reservation is cancelled with a week to go, we were traveling from out of state and this made for a bad situation. There was no reason given for the cancellation, when we called we were told they could do nothing, this was completely unprofessional and the best thing you can do is avoid this establishment since they are not concerned about there customers. Avoid at all costs, too many other options around. read more

Visited about a month ago - Chantelle and Gigi were fantastic! Service and recommendations were spot on- I will definitely visit again.

I had dinner here for the first time tonight and I loved it! We had reservations so we didn't have to wait for a table. Our waitress was very friendly, although she was kinda taking too long to come to our table to see if we needed anything else but I didn't fault her for that cause I could see that she was working a bunch of other tables so she was very busy. I only have two complaints, 1. My sister ordered a martini that tasted like a glass of absolutely nothing but vodka, she couldn't even drink it and had to ask for a cup of juice to mix. My 2nd complaint is that the menu doesn't have many options. The food however does taste VERY good but I just wish the menu was a little bigger. Other than that, I was satisfied with my visit. read more

SONOMA Restaurant - Shrimp & Scallop scampi - Seafood Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

This place was great a few years ago. The place used to have a great selection of wines(I think they even had a sommelier at one point) We have had fantastic food and celebrated some great milestones there. Seems like a thing of the past now..... The wines selection has dwindled to a meager faded single page print out. The food is ok, not much creativity in dishes served. It is not worth the money spent. I hope the business looks to revamp the menu and experience. read more

After hearing so much about this place when it was in Sterling, I had to give this a try on a recent date night. Short story: Meh, but it is likely better when things are normal. We made a reservation via OpenTable. We got there and had to wait a little but we were early. It took a little for the waitress to get to the outdoor table so the host took our drink orders. Appetizers were fantastic but small. The carpaccio was delicious but the $15 dollar plate had maybe $5 of ingredient on it that wasn't balanced by the presentation or atmosphere. The shrimp cocktail was beautiful with sweet, fresh shrimp and plenty of horseradish. Pricey, but it earned it. The caprese had great fresh tomatoes and decent mozzarella. The balsamic drizzle tied it all together. My wife's filet mignon, ordered medium well was delivered on the cooler side of medium rare. She doesn't speak up, so she owns this one. The mashed potatoes were tasty but the texture was that of being over beaten, they were getting gummy. My seared scallops looked lovely but were undercooked. They repeated most of the evening. The pea purée and veg were delicious as were the potato dumplings. Creme brûlée was a bit heavy/thick and the shape was clearly chosen to expedite the order: deeper with a smaller footprint to cut the time spent bruleeing . Still tasty, just a lazy format. All said and done, apps, drinks, entrees, dessert and a decent tip had us about $210. This restaurant strikes me as a place that makes its money on its appearance and being in a hotel lobby. Being right by UMass medical makes doctors and reps sitting ducks for this high ticket lunch or dinner. It's mystery and unfamiliarity will be the only reason it's sustains itself. It is very good food with creative ideas, it seems the execution is inconsistent. I suspect it's done a lot better in normal times. I will most definitely try it again because it just seems like it is a great place that had not lived up to its potential. If you're looking to impress a date with a big ticket dinner, come here. Just make sure he/she doesn't really know food. This feels like somebody just kind of got the name and concept from somebody else and then "optimized "it. read more

Sonoma at the Beechwood is excellent. I see some of the reviews here that are critical, I highly suspect much of this stems from experiences during COVID pandemic when help was hard to get etc. and surely before the new team came in to run it (see below). Things have now changed in a big way. Anyone looking for a great dining experience should head there. There is a new Chef John who is absolutely fantastic. The new menu shows such great imagination and creativity - unlike you would find anywhere except maybe some of the top restaurants in Europe or US. The food is simply fantastic. Gigi the manager is also great. I've been fortunate to have eaten in some of the top restaurants in the world (Michelin rated etc.) and I am so impressed with the creativity and diversity of great dishes here at Sonoma. You can't go wrong here. Typically there are only a few things on any restaurants menu that I would chose. Sonoma is different, about 90% of the dishes on Sonoma menu I would order. I've never seen to a restaurant with that hit rate. Chef John deserves an award for this transformation and creativity. Gigi the Manager, creates a very warm and welcoming atmosphere. Can't go wrong here - what an addition to the Central MA dining scene. You would think you are at the Top Rated Napa Valley restaurants but for 1/2 the price but with an even more creative menu. read more

Delightful fine dining experience with all the elements in place. It has ambience with soft lighting, white linen tablecloths, acoustic live guitar music in the background (at least on Friday when we were there) and colorful artwork on the walls. It has a nice selection on the menu that delivers both in presentation and taste. It has knowledgeable servers who can offer up suggestions for items to share. Finally, it has a great dessert selection. I love that we were able to make reservations online; what an added bonus. We ordered one of the specials of the night -- swordfish, and Bacon Wrapped Tournedos. Both dishes then came with I think 7 different sides of the chef's choice which tonight included fiddleheads, the fonds of a fern. Nice! For dessert, we split a delicious deconstructed apple pie with ice cream. Also worthwhile to mention is that their website touts that they use locally grown food -- definitely a plus. Expensive but worth it and such a nice date destination. read more

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Foid n service are great. Patio in the summer is fantastic also great for brunch in the winter

Wow. Has this place gone downhill since leaving Princeton. Would not recommend AT ALL. - forgot our bread after asking for it - asked for our salads as appetizer, pretty sure it was forgotten - salads were -finally- delivered right before the entree was delivered - had to ask for refill on water - had to find the server - twice- as we had waited a long time and did not see them for extended times. FOOD: chicken serving was absurdly small. pork chop was delicious. Sweet potato mash was not just a spice I didn't like. I think it was made with rotten potatoes. It was horrid. Considering how expensive this place is, it is one hundred percent not worth it at all. So disappointing. read more

Chef Brady, what happened? We stopped in for lunch with high expectations. The only saving grace was the pleasant and concerned hostess and waitress. First off, the setting is high end with soft music and attractive tables. The menu is limited. Mom wanted fish so chose the Icelandic Haddock. I opted for the veggie burger. The server confirmed the burger was not homemade. Also the fries were not hand cut. Lastly, she confirmed the fish was frozen. Wow...at this point our expectations fell. I ordered tea. Cheap and boring Bigelow tea was offered. This was a sign of what was to come. Mom's chowder was ok but super salty. The rest of the meal was so bad it is not worthy of my time in writing. In short, if I closed my eyes and tasted the food, I could be at any chain eatery. There was no flavor and poor quality. The server was accepting of our feedback. The hostess was equally concerned. We did not ask for any compensation. We just wanted to offer feedback. We will miss Sonoma in Princeton. Our family dined there for many years. I hope Chef Brady can make this new incarnation a success. Sadly, we won't be back. read more

My husband and I had been to Sonoma in Princeton in 2017 and expected to be wowed again. We made reservations for Valentine's evening at 5:45. My husband asked that we have a table or booth in the corner or along the wall, and not in the middle of the room. However, upon arrival we were seated in the wine room at the table dead center in the middle of the room. After a few moments of watching my uncomfortableness, my husband asked to move us to another table. They obliged and moved us to a corner in the dining room. Also, said our first round of drinks would be free for the hassle. However, our check included them! My second 'complaint' was with my entree. They offered the Veal Oscar with this description: " *VEAL OSCAR sauteed veal scallops". What I got was a fried veal patty, not exactly sauteed scallops, or medallions which is what I had expected. In summary, the waitress Marie was very nice and accommodating, but the mix up with the reservation, along with the price of $85 for 4 oysters, a veal patty with asparagus and crab meat, and a dessert might make me think twice about going back. read more

Palio hash breakfast lots of food. $12. Got the toast included. Lots of food. A bit bland but adding pepper brought things to my liking. Butter was soft. Toast was perfect for me just a light brown. My wife's classic breakfast was also good. Her potato's were cubed at about 1 inch size and baked very nicely. Crisp on the outside and soft center. Two coffees and two menu meals came to $32.10. Continental Buffet seemed a bit sparse but for $15 it is low cost. They had items you could add for $5 to $8. Things like French toast. Service was good. Coffee refills were easy to get. read more

I was in Worcester on work and I stayed at the beechwood hotel. So, I had the opportunity to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I cannot comment on their breakfast since I only had a fruit bowl. For lunch, I had spinach and artichoke flat bread. It tasted fresh and packed with flavor. However, I found it too warm for my preference. For dinner, I had the house special red snapper. Fish is cooked well. It tasted fresh and seasoned perfectly. However, they topped the fish with mozarella and green peppers which I found to be unnecessary. They didnot add any flavor or value to the dish. The mashed potatoes are seasoned well and goes well with the fish. Overall, a nice filling meal. Service is quick and good. I'll go back if I am in Worcester again. read more

SONOMA Restaurant - Spinach and artichoke flat bread. - Seafood Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

Since relocating to Worcester - very different vibe and I understand they have a different chef now too. "Fancy" but not the same place.

Here's another restaurant I will never, ever visit! They were 5 star, fine dining, in Princeton. After moving to Worcester, we'll, enough said. I'm done wasting my money on inferior food and experience! read more

Let me first say that a group of us went to Sonoma many years ago in Princeton. We eat fine dining fairly regularly so we expect things to be cooked properly. We enjoyed the food but found there to be few greens, mostly starch, and hardly any Sonoma wines, which made no sense to us. Also, our party had three females and two males. The females were paying the bills. NONE of the females got menus with prices. We found this fairly outrageous in modern times. The females had to keep borrowing the menus from the males so we could make our purchasing decisions with the information we wanted. Fast forward to 2019. The same group of friends (short one female) decided to try Sonoma again in their new home in the Beechwood. We'd gone to the previous restaurant, Ceres, a number of times and enjoyed it. We were curious what Sonoma had done while settling in here. First, thank God Almighty, the females now get menus with prices on them. Maybe the hotel mandated it. I don't know, but in this case, again, the females were planning on buying. If we had gotten menus with prices again we would have definitely insisted on getting real menus. I just don't know how anyone thinks it's "nice" to give half of the table different menus based on their body parts. Still, the menu is extremely biased to have only a handful of wines from Sonoma. What? Look at the name of the restaurant?? And also, the menu is somehow biased against people who enjoy vegetables. Three of the four dishes came with no greens at all as their standard fare. It's not how I tend to eat normally. The fresh bread was very nice. The oil brought with it had the olive tapenade, the garlic, and something else at its center, so it quickly got messy. It'd be nicer to have separate containers for those. The extra starter was a nice touch, but it's not really "free" - at the prices you're paying here, it easily is included in that. We ordered calamari and a special - the Moroccan stew. That stew was extremely bland. We love Moroccan style food and there were very little spices here. I'm not talking about "hot" spicy - just even "flavorful" spicy. The chardonnay we ordered came out ice-cold and barely had any flavor as a result. When we talked with the waitress, she made a comment about the bar fridge being cold. Still, we're paying an enormous up-charge from the store price on this wine so we can enjoy it with our food. To bring it out so it has no flavor, at that large markup, makes no sense. The main dishes came out. Two of us ordered duck, at the recommended medium rare. One was medium rare and the other was more medium. The trout and hake were good, but for the hake the top piece was better and the bottom one gray and rubbery. The clams in the accompanying clam chowder hash were also rubbery and lukewarm. It's worth noting that Sonoma unlike most of the other fine dining restaurants in the area leans heavily toward pretentious in the sense that there aren't many options for the people who don't like adventurous dining. I like to eat that way myself, but let's say I wanted to bring a friend along to get her used to this style of eating. Just about everything on the menu has something "out of the ordinary" on it. That leaves hardly any choices for someone trying out this restaurant. There really needs to be a balance so that groups can come in and the "newer" members of the group don't feel uncomfortable. I strongly feel a restaurant should always be inclusive. Dessert. The dessert tray is nice but strangely this is where it got fairly bland. There weren't any special desserts here. And my water glass sat empty the entire dessert round so I had nothing at all to drink. Service really should have paid attention there. And, speaking of water, one of our table members had a glass with a healthy chip out of it which could have easily cut him. Something like that should have been spotted by the waitstaff. You might not expect it at a place with $8/plate meals, but here it's $45/plate. That extra cost comes with some extra expectations. So, to summarize. There are plenty of higher-end restaurants in Worcester to choose from. If you're taking someone out for a special meal, it's not like this is the only option. If you and your special someone look at the menu and find you absolutely adore two of the dishes, and don't mind the general lack of greens, you still should expect wine served at the right temperature to match them, given the high prices. You should still expect attentive service. And for everyone else, I highly recommend you really look at that menu before you decide on where you're going. The menu is fairly limited and the wine list is fairly strange for a Sonoma-named restaurant. You might find that the things your group enjoys eating are better found at one of the many other options out there. So I'll say, reasonably well recommended if you do look at that menu first and find it's a great match for your food interests. Just speak up about the wine read more

French? Ehhh ... I don't know about that one. I would call this more 'New French Fusion'. I've eaten at some of the country's best french restaurants and aside from the fact this place serves Escargot, I would not consider this to be a French restaurant (it used to be). The chef is obviously very talented and meticulous. However, I think he also may be a tad bit full of himself and that brings the menu into places it shouldn't go. After listening to a 7 sentence description of a menu item, I ordered it and it pretty much came out just like anywhere else. The menu is sort of limited ... I honestly spent a long time looking over it because none of the dishes really jumped out at me. There wasn't a lot of variety and some of the dishes seemed like there was just too much going on. Like every other reviewer said, I was a bit surprised that the same vegetables came with each dish. It's kind of weird that fish, beef and chicken all come with the same accompaniment. The tastes of the food were good ... however, I noticed my cut of meat was a little fatty. I felt like it looked huge but didn't really fill me up. The mashed potatoes and boiled veggies made me feel like I was at a wedding reception. There was nothing wrong with my meal but I didn't feel like it was special. This is a huge place with the locals ... many of the diners I overheard had been there three times that week and the waitresses seem to know many of the diners by name. I guess a small town like Princeton doesn't have many dining options and you wouldn't expect to find 'fine dining' like Sonoma offers in a place so ... remote. I wasn't blown away with the decor. I felt our table next to a blacked out window was a bit chilly ... even with the small, square plugged in space heater next to our table. (never seen anything like that before at a restaurant). The lighting was dim in most places but a bright spotlight over the table made it seem like the table was being flood lit from above and not as relaxed as it should be. I really had higher hopes for Sonoma. Personally, it was not my cup of tea, but go for yourself and judge. There are plenty of locals who have been eating here for years and love it. It does have a huge local following and a good reputation. Don't let my review sway you from going here because you may find it great. Me ... average to good. read more

We made a reservation for Friday night at 6:15. We were seated right away and chose the outside seating area. It was a great patio area with plenty of room. We ordered drinks and were given an amuse bouche of a zucchini pancake. It was a nice touch but kind of boring and a bit under cooked. The bread was the best part. I could have just had that for dinner. It was piping hot and served with black and green olive tapenade, roasted garlic purée and olive oil. It was fantastic. My husband ordered the clam chowder and enjoyed it. I got the iceberg wedge. It was a big portion. We both ordered the filet medium with mashed potatoes and veggies. Both steaks were cooked to our liking. I felt like overall that our dinners were lacking seasoning. They were good but not great. We did not get dessert. The waitress took a very long time to ask us if we wanted the bill and to return with it. For the price I would rather go to Willy's in Shrewsbury. It could be a great place but needs some fine tuning. read more

Take this off your list of good places to eat! Poor service. Food was cold. It's just a hotel with a restaurant and nothing special. Very expensive but the outside was nice that's about it. Never again. read more

Horrible. The worst. Even the server. She didn't seem to know what planet she was on. Food was barely warm to room temperature. Steak was thin slab and grizzled. Awful awful awful food and expensive. Only mistake- we should have walked out right after they brought our meals read more

We want to support this restaurant for staying open safely during COVID, it's lovely patio and great servers. But our last visit in early June was disappointing. The nicely cucumber wrapped salad was gone. The menu even shorter than before and very skimpy sides. The bar had no olives for martinis...how hard is it to send someone down the road to a grocery store to replenish? Please don't lower your standards now when you have More competion. read more

We started our after work get together in the bar, drinks were great. We decided to enjoy the beautiful weather, so as instructed by the bartender, we took the bar menus outside, and ordered another round of drinks. We decided on food from the bar menu only to be told we could not use bar menu outside. We told servers that bartender told us we could use bar menu outside ( we met at 5pm) Our server said no still and even asked manager who also said no, mind you entire outside seating was empty, so we got our check and went to Burtons where we enjoyed our food and drinks very much read more

Sonoma is a classy joint with all the delicious aesthetics to offer. The place is attached to the hotel, and the standard of beauty is highly lovely. They feature a gorgeous stained glass ceiling centered within the restaurant. The staff are extremely kind, helpful and accommodating, and try to expedite the speed and convenience of their service whenever possible. The ingredients used and range of items offered on their menu covers all the essentials and is carefully crafted. Their pricing is reasonable as well. Overall, excellent experience! read more

My wife and I ate here a few months back we had gone to the Princeton location a few yrs ago and we used to go to Ceres the restaurant at this location before Sonoma took it over at the Beechwood. If you're going for the same experience you had at Princeton you'll be disappointed as I think the previous owner just sold the name and its a different chef. The service is still excellent it was dead the night we went in March before Covid shut downs. The food was excellent. The hummus was perfect smooth and creamy. My Osso Bucco was tender and flavorful. Plenty of GF options. This place is a little pricey so was Sonoma in Princeton. I enjoyed the menu options and pairings. Recommended for celebration dinner out. read more

Sonoma has been one of my family's favorite resturaunts for many years. We were so happy when we enjoyed the same quality of food and service at their new location. The food is always of the highest quality, the service is exceptional and the menu has something for everyone. I enjoyed foie gras, calamari, crusted red snapper & sticky toffee pudding. SO DELICIOUS! I've always been in love with their wine list and was thrilled to now find Cakebread Cellars chardonnay offered by the glass! Everyone in our party of 8 had only great things to say about their meals. Everything was cooked perfectly & paced properly. We will always return to Sonoma for an exceptional & memorable meal. read more

Made the mistake of thinking this would be an experience similar to the lovely upscale Sonoma in Princeton. The food was ok, but it's a far cry from the special occasion-type restaurant it used to be. Examples: their assorted breads used to arrive with a trio of spreads including a roasted garlic purée and a delicious tapenade. Now you just get some French bread and butter balls. They used to offer a Caesar salad in a Parmesan crisp bowl. Now it's a run of the mill salad (for $10 no less), with no noticeable Parmesan at all. The menu was very limited but I'd chalk that up to their recent reopening. My husband had the grilled salmon which came with overdone asparagus and plain/unseasoned jasmine rice. I ordered the scallops which were seared nicely, and the pea purée was good, but was accompanied by large (deep fried) potato dumplings that seemed more like hush puppies than the soft pillows of potato I was expecting. The service was very good. However when we were seated at a booth I put my arms down on the table and immediately found a sticky spot. How can that be when they're supposed to be sanitizing everything between diners? I suppose if you lower your expectations and do not expect the fabulous experience of the Princeton Sonoma of the past you'll be ok. We will not return. read more

Reserved table for Thanksgiving meal. Came from Long Island to enjoy holiday with our two college students. Well we sat at 4 pm and finally flagged someone down at 4:40 to take our order. Got our drinks at 4:50, soup or salad at 5:00, dinner at 5:30, and waited long for dessert at 6:30. Someone posted that they got bread at an earlier seating, but I guess they ran out at our seating because we saw no trace of it. Food was okay, but not really worth $65. Each plate had a different amount of food on it, and my husband and daughters potatoes were cooked to oblivion. Then the manager walked around telling us to clap for the cook when he brings him out because he cooked so many meals. I guess they don't usually get that much business? The waitress was nice and handled herself well considering the management did not bother to check on us until we had food in front if us, nor did he explain or apologize for the extremely long wait. Would not eat here again. read more

Went here for my birthday. we made a reservation for 5:30p on a saturday but didn't need it as we were the only ones there when we first arrived. the staff was friendly but the server did not check on us frequently and we waited a long time for refills on water and to pay our bill. the meal was okay, but for 120$ we expected more. the mashed potatoes looked like they were instant and presented like they were served from a ice cream scoop, which takes away from the fine dining experience of it all. i probably would not go back. the food was okay, but overpriced and nothing i couldn't get for half the price somewhere else. read more

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You don't expect to drive out to the middle of nowhere and enjoy a delicious, gourmet meal but Sonoma delivered. It's was a costly night out for two, and the place feels a bit upscale and stuffy for a younger crowd but we enjoyed every bit of food that was placed in front us. The menu is small, but everything sounded so amazing I had a hard time deciding. Ended up starting with the escargot, and for our meals the sweet potato gnudi (the vegetarian option) and the pheasant. Each main dish comes with six sides (small, tastings really) that vary form night to night which I thought was an interesting touch. Definitely don't skip dessert - they have this cart that displays the offerings for the evening and we splurged and ordered the apple tart which was sooooo tasty. read more

SONOMA Restaurant - Each entree comes with six sides that vary from day to day. - Seafood Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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meh we've tried to reserve for Thanksgiving but they weren't open. We got an e-mail that they would be open this year. we had been when the location was Cere's bistro and it was fabulous. Sanoma, not so much. the salad app was really good, greens, spiced pear and nuts wit a light dressing that complimented the ingredients well without over powering. We had the Turkey. The turkey was nice and moist but the plate was bland. It was served with mashes potatoes and something mixed with a few carrots (cabbage?) and stuffing. everything was almost the same color. I would have expected either green beans or some kind of winter squash, and no cranberry! The rolls were served cold (refrigerator cold) and seemed to have been store bought. We had to request salt, pepper and butter. For all the hype, I would have expected better. Servers not very attentive and we had to look for our server a number of times. read more

Having been to Sonoma many times before--both when it was in Princeton, and now at its current location, we chose it to celebrate our anniversary there. Unfortunately, our experience did not live up to our expectations. What was advertised on the menu as "grilled feta" came out as a slab of cold feta--not grilled in any way. It was tasty, but not as advertised. The wrong entree was sent out to my wife. My entree, while tasty, was way over salted. We both wanted dessert. Only 1 option was available. We both ordered it. One plate was brought out, with 2 spoons for us to share it. Our server was very pleasant, and did the best he could. But we were told there was only 1 chef in the kitchen, trying to prepare starters, entrees, desserts for the whole restaurant. I found the cost of the meal--$162 for 1 starter, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, 1 cocktail, 2 glasses of wine, 1 cup of coffee (regular ordered, decaf served)-- a bit high for the quality. I understand the staffing challenges restaurants are experiencing today. I am not sure we will visit Sonoma again. Which is a shame, as its Princeton location had been one of our favorite restaurants. It was special. Now it is just OK. read more

I was very disappointed in this restaurant and I won't be going back anytime soon. We went to lunch today and was joined by several bees (we were inside.) The waitress & others were not helpful at all. It took a very long time to get our food. Once we got it, at best it was so-so. Even if it was good, we couldn't enjoy with bees swarming. read more

Brought a client to Sonoma upon recommendation - they did not lead me astray. A great wine list, and the menu is unique but accessible - though pricey for sure. I had the pear salad, which is delectable - and then moved to the filet, which was perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. Finished the night off with some creme brulee, and that was to die for. Sonoma is a great find tucked into a strip mall in Princeton. The prices make it a bit prohibitive, but if you are looking for a great dinner out and aren't worried about spending a little more - Sonoma is a great spot. read more

The turkey sandwich on the lunch menu is advertised as "Sliced roasted turkey breast, garlic aioli, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise served on marble bread". It is actually served as: two slices of deli meat turkey, a slice of American cheese, some cold bacon, iceberg lettuce, mayo, on sliced white bread, with one slice the heel/crust piece. This is just the beginning with this restaurant. Came with a large group for lunch - both food and service were terrible. Avoid. read more

Showed up at 5PM for dinner with a party of 6. The restaurant was empty and had just opened for dinner. They were out of 2 or 3 things on the standard menu (Rib Eye, Raw Oysters, Orecchiette). There were no specials. The drinks were a ripoff... couldn't even taste the vodka in a martini. The food took about an hour and 45 minutes to come to the table. The $50 a plate steak was pre-sliced when it was brought to the table so it was dry and cold. The duck had been sitting under the warming lamps too long waiting, it was dry and disappointing. The duck also had a weird schmear of tomato sauce on the place which made no sense. We sat for long periods of time waiting for dinner with dirty app plates and empty drink glasses. Dinner and apps was a 2 hour and 45 minute ordeal. We didn't dare order dessert or coffee after that wait time. What killed me the most was leaving the waitress a $85 tip on a $450 bill for shit food, long waits and poor service. We will never ever ever ever go back to this place again. read more

I like to be positive, so let's start with the good stuff: The ambience is excellent, the service is excellent, and the background music is excellent. The wine list is stunning in its breadth. Parking is plentiful. Great location: Princeton is a beautiful area. So why only two stars? The food. It is entirely mediocre, and some things were really poorly prepared. For this price range, in central MA, I expect much, much more. I had the Seafood Thermidor, which was gratuitously overcooked. What they did is take good quality shrimp, lobster, and scallops; grill them to perfection; and then drop them in a vat of hot brown gravy (I'm not kidding), until they have the consistency of chewing gum. My wife had the Cajun Scallop and Sweet Corn Crème Brûlée appetizer. Sounds cool, right? Expecting some crazy savory creme brulee? Nope. It was sweet. Basically dessert in advance. Who wants a 4 inch disc of sugar as an appetizer? And the "Cajun" Scallops had no spiciness. I had the escargot app, which was fine. And my wife had the chicken saltimbocca, which she said was OK, although quite heavy. With each entree, they serve exactly the same set of small sides. This is just strange. Some of them were outstanding (green beans and caramelized fennel), but most were just meh, and some were kind of awful (a dollop of garlic mashed potatoes, with about 80 times the right amount of garlic). But from a culinary perspective, this makes no sense. The sides with an entree need to be thought out. They should complement, contrast, enhance, distract, or something! The play between the entree and the sides is where the magic happens, and at Sonoma, there is no magic. There are two different cocktail menus. One is full of house special drinks, all of which look like the factory-flavored-vodka + a liquor + some juice variety. I'm sorry, but if you are going to go this route, using factory flavored vodka is a deal breaker for me. Infusing is not that hard, people. The other cocktail menu is an assortment of classics. Much better. I had the Negrone, which was perfect. I followed that up with a dirty Kettel One martini, which was kind of watery (I guess the lesson is "strired, not shaken"). As I said earlier, the wine list is amazing, but I've left my wine-snob days behind me, so I can't speak to the prices or quality of the selections. Everyone else in the place seemed delighted, though. And finally, dessert. Another bright spot. They bring around a cart, and everything looked excellent. Our two samples, were, in fact, very, very good. Perhaps you should just skip dinner and go right to dessert. Bottom line: This is a very expensive restaurant for the area, and it does not deliver. read more

I have attended the bar and restaurant at the Beechwood for many years, since 2003 when I had my first interview at a nearby company. I always thought fondly of the place and considered it a hidden gem in plain sight ( we all know we need these in Worcester!). The restaurant also now has an outstanding outdoors location, that should be a dramatic advantage in these days of COVID-19 and social distancing. Food had always been quite good, with a bar menu and pretty good dishes and appetizers. However, the last few months have seen a dramatic drop in service. I really hope this place gets their act together and returns to its former glory. A few weeks ago, my family went for brunch and service was slow and subpar. After requesting and waiting for sugar and a teaspoon for coffee, my sister went into the restaurant to get them. Despite the manager seeing her, he did not make any attempt to help her until she directly addressed him. He provided them to her after handling the spoon from the bowl part (ewww). The waitress came out eventually ( 20+ minutes ) to see if everything was ok. My sister told her she had gotten the sugar and teaspoon herself, to which the waitress replied that "no, it had been herself the one that had brought them out " ( very strange). Finally, their food came out, this time with the manager stopping by and confirming that all their food was fine. To that, my family had to raise that they had no silverware ( shouldn't the manager or the waitress noticed that?). Silverware comes out, one of which had a set of double forks. I don't think my family is going back. This Friday, I went with one of my friends for drinks. We sat outside and waited forever for no one to come out and ask us if we needed anything. There was no bar menu and just 3 appetizers. We ordered their calamari which seemed over fried and had none of the condiments ( Portuguese style ) they used to have. Service was slow and inattentive, with bread eventually coming out in a small basket and the butter packets just being dropped on the table ( no little plate). There were 2 waiters, a lady at the bar and a manager ( always on his phone and different from the brunch one) so I cannot understand how service could be this so slow. Needless to say, these have been quite the disheartening experiences. The location is pricey, so I would expect much better service than a diner or a brewery, but in fact, most diners and breweries have muuuuch better service! I really have tried to support and recommend this restaurant over the years and I sincerely wish them to improve. Unfortunately, there just seems to be a lack of dedication by the owners to meet basic service expectations. The staff and managers need guidance and supervision to nudge them to go make this place worthwhile again. read more

A fantastic wine country type restaurant located in the hills of North Central Massachusetts. The food is absolutely worth the trip. The service is good too. It is a real surprise for a North Central MA restaurant. It is located in Princeton, MA which is a real nice old New England town. Perfect for a date on a sunny, cool October day when the leaves are peaking. Make sure you call ahead. read more