The New Woodshed Reviews

[BrownstoneNorth]

Originally Posted by donnamatrix

Ahhh ... I don't think my review of the Woodshed was harsh, it was spot on. I know many who have gone to the new restaurant and liked it alot. The escargot just got a rave review on this site.Our experience was quite unsavory. I still love Piccolo ... but wouldn't plan to dress up and eat dinner there.

I don't think your review of the Woodshed was harsh, either, just honest, based on your own experience, and same goes for both the negative and favorable reviews from other posters who have actually dined there. I've been hearing wildly varying first-hand Woodshed reviews from Wolfeboro friends and shopkeepers I chat with, too; just today on the beach, one "great" and one "don't bother" from people who went on different nights.

What this says to me is simply that the quality of the food and service at the Woodshed is not yet *reliably* good enough to warrant the price and, for those of us who aren't nearby, the trip. The "yet" means I hope it will eventually be.
And thanks to all the adventurous souls who are posting their honest reviews.

[Chefjarrod86]

Hello everyone, lets face it how long was the original wood shed around? what? decades. how many times did they fall flat on their faces when first venturing to the lakes restaurant scene. what works? whats doesnt work?. I guess what i am saying is give them a chance, all restaurants have really awesome days along with really bad days but i always give it a couple tries. good luck, rally on wood shed.

[jeffk]

Originally Posted by Chefjarrod86

Hello everyone,lets face it how long was the original wood shed around?what?decades.how many times did they fall flat on their faces when first venturing to the lakes restaurant scene.what works? whats doesnt work?.I guess what i am saying is give them a chance,all restaurants have really awesome days along with really bad days but i always give it a couple tries.good luck, rally on wood shed.

While I also wish them the best and plan to visit when I can, a higher end restaurant has less wiggle room to "fall flat on their face" than a less "storied" restaurant might. Customers, rightly in my opinion, expect more from them. This is a "new" restaurant. It WILL have growing pains. That's forgivable. Before too long however they should resolve most of the issues and get things reliably humming along with only the occasional and minor flubs.

The "old" Woodshed had a reliability problem. When I arrived on the lake scene in 1993, it was my go to restaurant, especially with visiting guests. It was the place I could go to express the best in lake hospitality and by extension MY hospitality. I KNEW the atmosphere, service, and food would be stellar.

Then something changed. Service attitude slipped at times and food preparation was inconsistent. My soup was served cool one time and then returned scalding hot when I returned it to the kitchen. The response to the situation was either inattentive or spiteful. Neither is acceptable at such a restaurant. Period.

I do NOT judge the New Woodshed by the Old Woodshed's past. But the New Woodshed can certainly learn from the Old Woodshed's mistakes and try to avoid them. There are many good restaurants at the lake. There are only a few that you can go to and KNOW you will have a great time in all aspects. That's the goal the New Woodshed should be eagerly striving for. I wish them the best of luck.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by jeffk

While I also wish them the best and plan to visit when I can, a higher end restaurant has less wiggle room to "fall flat on their face" than a less "storied" restaurant might. Customers, rightly in my opinion, expect more from them. This is a "new" restaurant. It WILL have growing pains. That's forgivable. Before too long however they should resolve most of the issues and get things reliably humming along with only the occasional and minor flubs.

The "old" Woodshed had a reliability problem. When I arrived on the lake scene in 1993, it was my go to restaurant, especially with visiting guests. It was the place I could go to express the best in lake hospitality and by extension MY hospitality. I KNEW the atmosphere, service, and food would be stellar.

Then something changed. Service attitude slipped at times and food preparation was inconsistent. My soup was served cool one time and then returned scalding hot when I returned it to the kitchen. The response to the situation was either inattentive or spiteful. Neither is acceptable at such a restaurant. Period.

I do NOT judge the New Woodshed by the Old Woodshed's past. But the New Woodshed can certainly learn from the Old Woodshed's mistakes and try to avoid them. There are many good restaurants at the lake. There are only a few that you can go to and KNOW you will have a great time in all aspects. That's the goal the New Woodshed should be eagerly striving for. I wish them the best of luck.

You hit the nail on the head: pricy restaurants have less wiggle room for poor preparation and service.

For me, though, attitude matters almost as much as the food and price. Mistakes happen, I totally get that, but how an establishment handles them dictates whether I'll return or not. It sounds like TNW is doing a pretty good job with that.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

[noreast]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

You hit the nail on the head: pricy restaurants have less wiggle room for poor preparation and service.

For me, though, attitude matters almost as much as the food and price. Mistakes happen, I totally get that, but how an establishment handles them dictates whether I'll return or not. It sounds like TNW is doing a pretty good job with that.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

I agree, mistakes happen, you can have a bad meal anywhere for any # of reasons. The over all attitude and effort counts. The best can have a bad night, if you never go back because of it you will miss out on some great meals.