El Sotano - Carta

Gypsy Apple Bistro

➤ Shelburne Falls, 65 Bridge St, 01370, United States

Carta • Bars • Cafés • Fusion • French

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"A second visit; my wife and I enjoyed a memorable Valentine 's dinner there in 2023. It 's a cozy little place, with the ambience of a cherished French bistro. And a good experience last night, but three stars because I want Gypsy Apple to improve. $45 for mains asks for something special; it 's the most restos ask in our area. A solid outing: food was professionally prepared and delicious. Filet mignon/ red wine and mushroom reduction, with asparagus and mashed potatoes x 2; seared salmon with lobster mashed potatoes; rack of lamb/ mint sauce and potato chimichurri. Local sautéed morel and lobsterhead mushrooms and crab cakes for apps. Vermouth/ sherry cocktails and glasses of Italian and Spanish red and white for dinner. We declined dessert, because after ordering the crème brulée were informed that the refrigerator broke down. Meats were all expertly cooked: a nice medium on the steaks, and a nice rare on the lamb, with good searing on both without affecting the juiciness within. Vegetables were the right texture and color, fresh green yet cooked just right. A good crabcake, and tasty mushrooms. Server was engaging and professional, removing bread crumbs before the mains arrived. A few constructive criticisms: The room was empty when we arrived at 6 sharp, even though it soon filled up. But it took 1 hour for the appetizers to arrive, and another hour for dinner. 2 hours pass before your guests get to enjoy your wonderful food? Our dining companions, who were recognized and greeted warmly by our server as semi regulars, said that you are getting this reputation. So three hours for a dinner of 3 4 courses was not an off your game evening. No free glass of wine to apologize for your delay? The music, while not technically loud, was brash and intrusive. '90s hip hop and random alt rock at a classy place, with many of your guests over the age of 60? I still have some Biggie lyrics memorized from my 20s, but an elevated experience is NOT where I want to remember college parties. You can do better; think of your guests. No music is best, but perhaps a little acoustic instrumental of any genre can work in the background, to muffle separate conversations. The presentation of the food was uninspiring, and most of the accompagnements were mundane. For $100 per person for everything (drinks apps mains tax tip), you can do better than simply steaming/ sautéeing asparagus stalks. And they were not even broken in the middle the spear is the best part, not the stalk. Your mashed potatoes were a lost opportunity. Nothing outside of simply boiling one kind of potato with some butter and some salt? You can and should strive to inspire. Meat and potatoes can be elevated; use your creativity. Yes, for one of the plates, you used lobster mashed potatoes: bravo! But for the others, why not, for instance, some hazelnut oil? Or perhaps, a special kind of heirloom potato, or combination thereof? It can still be an effective template for the meat, without being intrusive. Also, please do not serve good bread and allow some of it to be frozen in the middle. We will be back, Gypsy Apple, because we support you, but please improve to the level of which you are capable."

Hearty Eats

➤ 24 Bridge St, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, USA, 01370, United States

Carta • Fish • Cafés • American • Canadian

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"This restaurant is NOT SAFE for people with severe peanut and nut allergies like me. Long story short, I had an anaphylactic allergic reaction to the food here which landed me in the ER until late at night. I informed the cashier of my allergies upon ordering, and he reassured me the food should be safe. I reached out to the restaurant twice after the incident, and haven't heard anything back. I'm going to follow up either in writing or another way very soon. It makes me sad, because I was excited to find a fast health food, vegan friendly, locally sourced place like this. As someone with severe peanut and nut allergies, it's been hard to find safe vegan places because of the prevalence of peanuts and nuts in vegan food. It's great that this restaurant cares about offering gluten free food, but shouldn't they care equally about being genuinely accessible to the many people with life threatening peanut and nut allergies? Dietary restrictions: This restaurant is NOT SAFE for people with severe peanut and nut allergies. Sesame seeds are also in a lot of their menu items."

West End Pub

➤ 16 State St, 01370, Shelburne Falls, United States

Carta • Pubs • Food • Cafés • Grill

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"Travellers, this is a solid American pub in shelburne falls near the bridge of flowers. The restaurant is lovely inside and the people working there are very pleasant. The retro cocktails are big fun. The whiskey sour was delicious. Both sweet and sour.Right from my childhood. The chowder is delicious and well balanced. The goat cheese strawberry salad was delicious and large sothe soup and salad made a nice meal. The citrus salmon entree was well cooked but overall it is too sweet for me. The rest ofthe plate, zucchini, rice, and a small salad, was delicious. I wish there were half stars for this place. Check it out. Werecommend. TLDR ? solid pub worth the visit"

Buckland Pizza House

➤ 13 State StMA 013701011, Shelburne Falls, United States

Carta • Pizza • Salad • Hamburger • Sandwiches

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"Just happened upon this place while lost on our way back from Berkshire East. Saw the bridge of flowers and had to stop. This pizza shop had 30 min left to close when we walked in. Ordered a large pie 1/2 ch, 1/2 roni. Pie was awesome. Crust was crunchy ay the crust while soft and cheesey all the way thru. Sauce was banging. Overal all great pizza. Also, even though we showed up late and ate in-house, staff couldn't care less and we did not feel rushed. Gonna make a plan for the bridge of Flowers and for sure going to have lunch/dinner here."

Baked

➤ 4 Deerfield Ave, 01370, Shelburne Falls, US, United States

Carta • Cafe • Cafés • Brunch • Bakeries

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"on Tuesday, late morning. how many local restaurants they seemed to be a little short personal, but the guy who treated dinge did this with grace and humor. a very good **** mary, decorated with olive and picked mushroom, although I prefer celery. a personal quibble. in the face of my druther, it would have been a bit more spicy. really good hot coffee. I've been envying. it came hot today, a rare thing. I did it! very generous and decent housekeepers, an excellent Hollandaise sauce on it, with more than enough to coat these in-house riders, and what seems to be a homemade English muffin. it was all quite expensive, and I ate on the back deck with view of the water. a certain plus. yup. a way around rte. 2 during the trip. I'm just a piece on the road. I'm back."