The Federal

We have been to this establishment a few times. Try to come here 2 a year, and always come with my in-​laws. I have yet to be disappointed. The food is sways exceptional, the service always fast and courteous. I always try and get to this place early. I have a drink or two in the bar area. One of the things I love is they come around with a taste of their food. They have servers walking around with a tray of spoons filled with a variety of menu items. It’s a nice touch, because it allows you to try what’s on the menu. I would highly recommend giving this place a shot, if you have a drive it’s totally worth it.

Never been here before; we were looking for a nicer restaurant in Western Mass for an anniversary dinner. Happened to come across The Federal on OpenTable and made a reservation. As you approach, it looks like the restaurant is housed in an older Inn in a residential part of Agawam.
We walked in and were greeted by the hostess who asked for our reservation. We were seated in the bright, open & airy dining room. For a Monday night the place was quiet but got a little busier as the night went on. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful in selecting drinks. She made a few recommendations which were spot on.
We started with the bucket of balls; essentially fried risotto with mashed potatoes and truffle butter. Yum! Comes with 10 or so small balls, so certainly a good size for an app. They also give you bread to start which came out warm and toasty.
As for our entrees, we ordered the Chicken Bolonese (loaded with cheese) and short ribs. The Bolonese was very good, lots of cheese, chicken tender and juicy and sauce was homemade. The short ribs were amazing! For $ 31 it better be and it delivered. A huge portion, lots of delicious mushrooms, peas, an egg and pignolis. Everything went well together and was a well thought out dish. Again, large portion and I eat a lot. I took home leftover that i’ll have for lunch.
Then dessert, ordered the chocolate sorbet. So smooth and chocolaty. We were also given some cotton candy too which was a nice touch. Everything was sooooo good! Our waitress was very attentive and sincere. Definitely a place to go… now! Good for a special occasion as it is pricey but worth every penny. I hope to be back in the area soon so we can come back!

This is my favorite date night restaurant. The mussels are amazing. I always get the filet mignon with truffle butter and half lobster tail. It is a little pricey but we’ll worth it. Service is spectacular also

If this restaurant was in NY you would never be able to get a table. The Federal never let’s me down, food is always prepared to perfection. 7 course Chef’s tasting is the way to go. Why not have it all, I just did and loved every bite.

Risotto balls are to die for! I had the Seared Atlantic Cod and the sauce it came on was so salty. Definitely not worth $ 32 and very underwhelming. The service staff are professional and do a nice job. The drinks were really good as well, especially the Cranberry Old Fashion.

I been here once but I can guarantee that this place is easily a 5 star restaurant. I casually stumbled across it while searching for a restaurant on Unilocal and decided to give it a try for a nice dinner after work.
I was instantly blown away by the old school, elegant and well kept appearance of the building. I was greeted nicely by the extremely friendly staff. The waitress was very nice and knowledgeable of the menu items including the wines.
I recommend the «bucket of balls»… guaranteed to warm up your palate for the amazing entrée to come. I had the Lamb cooked medium rare and I must say it was exquisite.
The have a nice dessert menu and complementary cotton candy, which I thought was a very fun ending to our meal.
PS: They offer freshly made doogie treats for those dog lovers

I’m not often moved to write a full review these days, but The Federal is exceptional. Where do I begin? Oh yes, how about the complimentary individually-​spooned risotto balls appearing on our table shortly upon seating. Yes, these balls are legendary, for obvious reasons. They whet the tastebuds perfectly for more. Four of us dined, and each ordered a separate dish. My quail was hands down the best I have ever had (and I never resist quail on a menu). My little bird was succulent, perfectly spiced, on a bed of real corn polenta. Another dish I sampled was a tuna special. slices of tuna steak near-​rare perfection. A third dish involved the deconstructed short rib and rosemary lasagna. A dish to fight wars over, for sure, more beautiful than Helen of Troy. If I had an extra stomach I would eat both a quail and this lasagna with its «ricotta beignets.» For dessert I asked for a single Federal chocolate. They weren’t sure if they had any, but, voila, they came up with a truffle that was situated on a plate with accompanying whipped cream, melted marshmallow, chocolate stick, almonds. It was like a cheese plate with its accompaniments, but chocolate! Lastly, complimentary house-​made cotton candy was brought out for all to enjoy! (Perhaps due to dining on a Tuesday night.) Our server Robert was fastidious and congenial, opening up to us over the course of the meal, showing a lovely subdued sense of humor. We were allowed to linger over the courses of our meal, as fine dining should be. Yes, it’s a little out of the way, but come for the balls, stay for the main courses and desserts (and ask for the adorable flower-​shaped butter pats for your table bread!).

Absolutely incredible. The Federal is not like other restaurants where you get variations of the same dishes you get everywhere else. They offer unique menu selections you won’t find elsewhere.
My last meal? Grilled cheese with bacon and topped with an over-​medium egg. On the side, I was served lobster tail and lobster meat in a tomato-​bisque. Thin-​cut fries and a salad rounded out my meal. It was amazing.
For dessert, they offered free lemon-​flavored cotton candy in a large goblet.
The Federal is a must visit the next time you’re in West Springfield.

Absolutely my favorite date night spot. Food, staff, and Décor are spot on-​never disappointed. Enjoy eating in the bar area better then the dining room. Love their truffle butter sauce!!!

This place is great if you want to pay too much for small portions, the food was good but I’m not the kind of guy that this place is hoping to walk through the door i guess.
When i was there the whole place smelt moldy like an old wet rotting out house.
Wait a min…
The other customers there were clearly disallusioned by a place that may have once been the nicest restaurant in town but clearly that was a long time ago.

Hands down, one of the best, if not best restaurants in Western MA.
Risotto balls are the obligatory order on the menu. Hard to pass them up. Spot on delicious.
Creative menu choices, prepared exceptionally well. Talented, professional, helpful waitstaff.
Looking for a — hey lets get dressed up and go fancy tonight — kind of place. Next stop — The Federal. You won’t be disappointed.
Jazz guitar in the lounge was a nice touch as well.

This place is amazing! I ordered the braised short ribs with red wine sauce and a side of mashed potatoes/​fried Brussel sprouts. It was a created plate off the «be the chef» menu. Wow. Everything went well together and was cooked to perfection. Atmosphere is very comfortable and the service was fabulous. Two water pourers were very attentive and our server was sweet and very knowledgeable. Extensive wine selection. My husband had the filet mignon with garlic butter and the same two sides. He loved it. For dessert we shared the apple purses. Yum. We also were given the complementary blue raspberry cotton candy. Would come back to this place in a heartbeat.

This is a wonderful restaurant. High end and great food and service.
If you are looking for fine dining this is the place in Agawam.

Over priced for the quality of the food. They served scallops that went bad TWICE! Do they not check the condition of the food before they cook & serve? Server apologized but no further action was taken. In most restaurants manager would come and check up on the customers to ensure their quality of service… but not at The Federal! In fact, the server handed us the bill without asking if we wanted the dessert… Basically telling us to leave indirectly. If Federal aims to be an upscale restaurant, they need to use higher quality ingredients, properly train the servers and renovate the place so it won’t have that old dirty look.

Went to The Federal on a Sunday afternoon for a Anniversary Party. The food was some of the best I’ve had in years as was the service. We had 2 pasta dishes, chicken franchise, sliced prime rib, roasted red potatoes, fresh green beans. antipasto, mussels, baked stuffed shrimp. All the food was served hot and perfectly seasoned. This is the perfect place for a special occasion dinner.

One of the hardest parts of moving to New Jersey last week was leaving behind our favorite restaurant.
We went to the Federal a handful of times while living in East Windsor and made the ~20 minute drive over the start boarder for the best occasions — anniversary, Valentine’s Day, my birthday, our late date night in the area, etc.
Only once did a meal disappoint, and even then it didn’t run us off. That one time, a large party was in one of the rooms with a buffet set up. Our meals were good and edible, but didn’t seem to have the same attention has other trips. That time aside, everything else was always great.
We generally ordered off the night’s «additions» menu, either an app or an entre. From salmon, to scallops, to steak to short ribs to the pork chop, everything is great. It’s hard to pick wrong at the Federal. The kitchen staff really knows what they are doing.
On the apps menu, the risotto balls are excellent. A bucket is great, but little mentioned secrete is complimentary (one per person) are sent out, so if you are just looking for a taste, the bucket isn’t necessary! The apps and salads are all very seasonal, especially on the additions menu. Most recently, we had the stuffed figs and the tomato stack — both excellent.
The desserts are also great. I highly recommend the pot brownie. It’s mostly a light chocolate moose with brownie chunks and berries, served in a ceramic pot. So good!
The cocktails are also a much. The specials are great, but even classics are solid pours.
If we ever make it back up north, we will be back!

For a restaurant in the middle of no where (residential neighborhood), The Federal certainly is a great experience. The sister restaurant of Vinted wine bar in West Hartford Connecticut’s Blue Back Square, The Federal provides a large variety of foods ranging from steaks to seafood. I took the lady here for a nice dinner. We had shrimp, lobster, scallops, and throw the sirloin in there too. Great wine list and bar. Food is well made and prepared to your liking. I can easily go on and on about the food but take my word for it and give it a try! The always complete your meal with in house cotton candy! Wait staff are quick and very knowledgeable. I just wish they would write their specials on a paper rather than telling you because who the heck has time to listen and make any sense of what they’re saying when you’re 1 starving like a malnourished child or 2 drunk like a white girl.
The atmosphere is great and certainly dressy. Unfortunately we did not plan in advance and came here last minute dressed like we just left the hoods of Springfield. It is strange because there is always a very cold draft flowing through the building. It is in an old house which was converted to the restaurant. In my opinion, it was probably an old funeral home.

My wife and I decided to try this place out for New Year’s based on the reviews. It’s hard to believe that this place exists in Agawam which isn’t exactly a ‘food’ mecca. By the time we arrived for our late evening reservation the place was packed with people. We were seated immediately in a nicely appointed room with a few other tables in it. The place was nicely decorated for the holidays, with gold and silver balloons in the bar area. They had a few special items on the menu, but you could order anything off the rest of the normal menu.
We had the ‘basket of balls’ as an appetizer, and as others have said they taste great. My wife was one of the last few folks to get the lobster special, and I had the veal chop which was cooked perfectly. The greens were a little ‘soupy’ that the chop was served with and not particularly tasty. The salad specials were good, but nothing to write home about. I was glad to see that there was not yet another Kale salad special.
Overall, a great experience with very good food. I wouldn’t eat here frequently as we weren’t blown away, but I could see going on special occasions.

I do take what my buddy, Max H., says to heart, especially when it comes to awesome food. But I decided to challenge his bad review and try this gem out. I had bookmarked this place when I moved out here and was determined to check it out for myself.
I booked a date for my fiancé and I through the open table link they had on Unilocal.I told them it was my anniversary in the note section. An email was sent to me to confirm the reservation. Quick, easy, and no phone calls had to be made. Love it.
My fiancé and I don’t get out much, since we have a young child. So we decided to snazz it up. We arrived about 15 min. early. I gave the hostess my name and she said «happy anniversary.» How sweet is that? Talk about making it personal! I was also immediately seated. Score!
That was where the chemistry for us began. Nicole K. was our waitress. Talk about being awesome! She was on her ‘A’ game. She gave fantastic recommendations, was really knowledgable about all the menu items, and was extremely attentive. I wish every waitress I had was like her!
Everything from the appetizer to the dessert was perfect. The dishes were beautifully made with a handsome amount of food. The cocktails made you thirst for more! My fiancé was amazed at how quick his cup of water was getting refilled, he joked about someone spying on us to ensure it never passed the halfway mark.
I ordered a plate with lobster and was amazed at the amount of lobster meat there was on there. They don’t mess around here! This was the perfect place for us to celebrate another wonderful year together. Thank you for being such a great restaurant. This is totally not what I expected after I read my friend’s review. I personally told him that I honestly disagreed with his review. Maybe things have changed, or maybe it’s always been mind-​blowing!!! I will come again… If I can get a babysitter, lol.
If you haven’t tried this place, you are totally missing out!

The Federal is almost an oxymoron… nice ambiance & décor but casual with all the diners dressed in jeans … great presentation of food but non-​upscale word choice on the menu… it’s odd but i guess it works for them!
the pastas come in half portions which was definitely more than enough for our stomachs after the appetizers & complimentary starters!
–complimentary bread basket
–amuse bouche: a risotto ball on a spoonful of truffled mashed potatoes… pretty tasty! i wish they gave us this before we ordered the «bucket of balls»
—«bucket of balls»: essentially arancini. not a fan of the bucket since the risotto balls are thrown on top of mashed potatoes and get soggy
—hearts of romaine caesar salad: a bit lemony but still good & the parmesan crostini was to die for!
—«pasta & meatballs»: it came w/​a tomato sauce instead of a pesto sauce as stated in the menu. not bad!
—truffled «mac & cheese»: we ordered this w/​short ribs on top. the mac was nice & cheesy and the ribs were tender
—complimentary cotton candy: a playful touch to the end of the meal!
I’m not inclined to go back. but i think its a great escape from the lack of good food in the area!
NOTE: last seating was at 8:30PM on a friday night since the kitchen closes! & the restaurant is located in a little neighborhood street & looks like it used to be someone’s house