John Andrews Restaurant

Overall, the reception was friendly, the service was professional, the food was delicious. Nice intimate romantic setting. An issue I had was the miniature side dish portion, size of two tablespoons. In my opinion I felt the menu was heavily overpriced, Hanger steak $ 36, glass of house wine $ 11. The bread lady, as if they were $ 100 bills, handing out one slice of bread from her basket with a pair of metal tongs. This I never experienced before in my life. She did not offer a second. Coffee, very good, $ 4, two gulp miniature cup, no refills. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who needs to be on portion control or on a diet.
SPECIALS: In today’s times with copy machines, why can’t restaurants not include a sheet in the menu presenting the specials of the day? Furthermore, why do they never mention the prices?

Fantastic food! A bit pricy but worth it. I had roasted chicken with sweet potatos and brussel sprouts. Sounds simple but believe me it was excellent. My wife loved the roasted garlic farmhouse bread appetizer. Reminds us of the NYS Culinary Institute «American Bounty» Restaurant. We will be back!

I went with friends to this place and I must say i wasn’t expecting much and so, for the most part, was pleasantly surprised.
Unfortunately the first thing that came out was a bit less than awe-​inspiring. I put in an order for the soup special which on paper sounded really interesting but was, in fact, how shall I say this… far less than interesting. More to the point the corn chowder with fish in it (I forget what kind of fish) was really bland. Without the fish there would’ve been no flavor to it at all.
The next course, however, a combo of lamb loin and lamb shoulder (it was a combo as they only had one order of each and one of my friends had ordered the same thing so we split it up) was very good. The meat was tender and very flavorful. I had a glass of Pinot Noir with it which was a great match for the dish. Another friend had the duck, which he said was good, but he didn’t offer more of a review than that.
The place was ok from a look/​feel standpoint. Not too «cutesy» as I had feared it might be. The service was attentive and swift.
For the most part the food was very good, like I said except for the soup. So I would’ve given it more stars, but…

You definitely need to make reservations– this place was packed on a Saturday night and rightfully so! This may be my new favorite restaurant in the Berkshires!
The service is good and the ambiance is rustic and pleasant. They seemed to truly appreciate our complements and we heard them informing the kitchen staff when we left that we loved everything. I thought that was really nice.
Also they clearly mark their gluten free options on the menu– and there are many. I highly recommend this restaurant if you have Celiac or an allergy– almost all entrees are naturally gluten free and they are very knowledgeable.
John Andrews nails the essence of farm to table. Everything is incredibly fresh, simple and minimally processed.
Try their homemade soda– Strawberry Rhubarb was delicious and not overly sweet.
I had their duck with the maple balsamic glaze and thought it was good. The skin was a little on the salty side though. My mom had a sauteed soft shell crab special and raved. My bf had the steak and was really impressed with the generous portion.
The homemade ice cream is the perfect way to end the meal. Definitely try the Basil flavor. I know it sounds strange but its sweet and refreshing– almost like a green tea ice cream.

Had dinner here the other night. Veal stew. Nothing like one would expect in a stew. No thick broth. It was just like they plopped a few scoops of veal and vegetables into a bowl. Very mediocre. Appetizer of chevre cheese and toasted bread also mediocre. The saving grace was the drinks were good. Would never eat here again.

We were in the Berkshires for a wedding, and on the first night here, with no wedding party plans, decided to try out John Andrews. Good reviews, pics of food looked good, why not.
We were able to get a friday night reservation an hour before going over there. Upon arriving, it wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t empty either.
We first ordered the foie app and fried oyster salad. We were pleasantly surprised that they brought out the foie first, and split the order for us (we were planning on sharing the app and salad together). It was a nice unsolicited touch. The foie dish was delicious. A small portion, but each bite was great. We got a little further into the wine, they came and cleared the plates, and then reset our silverware in advance of the next course… however, it wasn’t a regular setting, it was a steak knife and fork for me, a regular setting plus spoon for my wife. Hmmmmm, looks like we’re skipping the oyster salad and going right into the pasta and rib eye if i’m not mistaken.
I looked for our waiter, but he was nowhere to be found. Food delivery and clean up was all handled by other folks. When he did stop over to the table, he smelled like a fresh cigarette each time.
Do what you want on your own time for sure, but maybe a couple fewer smoke breaks would’ve not had us a skipping our salad.
Anyway, at the end of the night they did knock a starter cocktail off the tab to make up for the mishap, which really wasn’t such a big deal (we were stuffed as it was). The larger issue is that the food just wasn’t that impressive. It was fine. The foie was nice, the winelist was nice, the ribeye was nice as was the pasta (braised duck and papardelle). But nothing stood out. It’s a great place considering where you are (not in a large city), but I would’ve hoped for something to stand out a little more than anything did, the service to be better (not skipping courses) and the broccoli side with the ribeye to not be cooked to mushy.
I wouldn’t consider this fine dining (even though the check seems like it) but it was a decent enough meal. Just don’t expect to be floored.

I highly recommend John Andrews. The ambiance is lovely and warm just like the staff is, but the food itself is the king of the show.
The fried oysters and the zucchini blossoms are both very good appetizers and last time I went, I had the duck as my entrée and it was exquisite. A great restaurant overall, classy, cozy with a great wine selection and awesome, well presented food.
A+

Last night we celebrated my 45^th birthday at John Andrews. The service was professional, the wine and the food were fantastic! We will be back!
Thank you!

Apologies for what is the lengthiest review I have ever written but it is a tale that needs to be told… What happened to service? Or, how a perfectly nice evening can be ruined by a crappy waitress. We have been to JA 4 times before but will never return, all because of the service.
We were at JA on Sunday night and I must say, the staff is in need of SERIOUS retraining. Had a 7pm reservation and were seated promptly. But it was the edge of a good long while to put in our drink order. As we waited for our drinks the «bread person» came into the room, she went to the two other tables recently seated and brought them their «single doled out slice» and walked right past us. Hubby had to flag her down and ask her during her next appearance.
Seriously I’m not kidding, you have the choice of ONE SLICE of bread. Come on, rationed slices, not even a small piece of each kind? CHOOSE which you would like rationed… and the slices are small. I have never been to an restaurant that did that. Talk about cheap.
The food was good, not great, but good standard farm to table fare. (We have been to JA 4 other times) But now let’s get to the meat of the problem as it were. The service has a long way to go. I get it if this is just your summer gig. but please go work in a coffee shop if you want an off the books job or if want this job learn how to do it.
Our incompetent waitress, I’ll call her «IW» came to tell us that it would be «a minute» for our drinks and «would we like to order in the meantime»… ok why not??? Why not? Because IW has no idea about how to time a meal.
We received our cocktails and within 2 minutes IW brought our appetizers… who wants to have to rush through their G&T or Manhattan? We had ordered our wine when we put in our order, what a mistake… IW brought our bottle to the table seconds later and opened it while we were still gulping our drinks with our appetizers… trying to keep pace.
Good-​olé IW true to form NEVER came to re-​pour our wine. Obviously IW was never trained to do this.
Our entrees came out lickety split with out a second to spare. We had not even finished our cocktail laden appetizer round. They were tepid, the order had obviously been placed way too early.
We finished our entrees and decided we would order dessert but made sure we instructed IW that we would like to finish the ¾ of the bottle of wine we didn’t get a chance to drink with our meal. (yes of course we said it much nicer than that…“we would like our dessert after we finish our wine”).
AHAH!!! It is here that we found the missing time that IW should have interspersed between our cocktail, apps and entrees. We had to wait to pay. I’m not talking about ok 5 minutes… Hubby had is card out when IW finally approached. IW asked if we were ready for the check…“yes thank you we answered” IW brought the check over and then COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED. We waited…5 minutes, 10 minutes, everyone else was leaving… two other parties in the entire restaurant…15 minutes… Maybe IW had gone home? Hubby got up to look for her… no IW anywhere. Did anyone else notice the guy in the sports coat walking around with a check folder in his hand??? Bet you can guess the answer… nope.
We tipped 15%. We are 25% tippers, so I consider what we left a stiff. IW got exactly what she deserved and not a penny more. The only reason we even left 15% was because IW needed to tip the bar and the bus.
I hope JA reads this and has a sit-​down with the staff, but maybe taking the time to train the staff on professionalism isn’t on the menu anymore.

I absolutely love this place! The bar tender is amazing and very knowledgable and the food is simply fantastic, as a vegetarian is can be a challenge dining out but this place had great options. its become regular stop when we hike in the area!

I don’t know how I can rate this place any higher than 1 star. I wish that Unilocal could allow me to give it zero stars or a cloudy night with no stars showing. Good Lord this restaurant was awful. I had to rush back to my hotel to sit on the toilet for 20 minutes. What did they just serve me? I ordered a pork chop medium and they served me a raw piece of meat. That’s what must have had my stomach in knots. It was either that or the mussels. The mussels tasted good but something I ate here did not agree with my stomach.
They sat us in a high traffic area and at a 4 top table for 2 people. There was a 2 top table right across the room from us that sat empty the entire time we were there. Our waitress was very aloof. She took our order and brought us our check. The busers worked very hard and provided us with our meals, water, drinks etc. I didn’t feel comfortable giving our waitress a full tip because frankly I didn’t think she deserved it. The busers did but who’s ever heard of leaving seperate tips? That was strange.
The good news is they took the raw slab of pork they served me off of the bill. That’s the only redeeming quality about this establishment. Don’t go here. It’s over priced, under cooked, and will leave you with a stomach ache and a bad case of the runs. Nasty!

Ate here last night for an early Easter celebration with the grandparents and our two young children. Everything was perfect from start to finish.
My 3 year old daughter discovered she loves foie gras and ate more than half of mine! Steak was cooked perfectly. Everyone loved everything they ordered. Fabulous meal. Fabulous service and lovely décor.
I know some reviewers mentioned it’s not a kid friendly place but I didn’t find that to be true. Granted our children were dressed up, love food (they are not chicken finger kids) and know how to behave when dining out, but never once did we feel their presence was not welcome with the staff. They did offer them a childrens menu but they ordered off the regular menu. When we left our kids hopped the car asking when we could go back again and I enthusiastically told them the next chance we get!
Love this restaurant. Great wine list too!

Excellent food and drink for a small place.
No beer on tap and a bit pricy but overall a wonderful dining experience.

I’m not sure where to start… Six of us dined here last night and brought along two children… No children’s menu for starters… I mean really? Def not kid friendly at all… There is a separate «Bar Menu» that you are forbidden to order from unless its for the kids… I attempted to order a burger off the bar menu was told «NO» by the chef/​owner… I kindly pointed out that this was our first time dining here and you think they would have made an exception?! Pretty obnoxious if you ask me… When I asked why they couldn’t make an exception, I was told that they only prepare so many burgers a night… What a F’n lame excuse… So I proceeded to order a burger for my daughter knowing she would only have a few bites… I ordered only an appetizer and skipped the entrée… This obviously cost the restaurant some money as I purposely ordered the burger for me…
The food was ok, but by no means was I blown away… Over-​priced, glorified, octogenarian, so-​called farm-​to-​table where they do not go out of their way to accommodate you the customer. Might I add there are only five seats at the bar, And for the two hours we were there, NOBODY ordered ONE-​SINGLE BURGER?! Total BS!
Come on guys… Get off your high-​horse, and go out of your way to accommodate the customer next time… Especially potential regulars. As for this establishment, my first and last time here for sure… if I can only give it zero stars, I def would…

We had dinner here during our long weekend in the Berkshires and thoroughly enjoyed it. Service was great, the atmosphere was relaxed, the wine list had some great choices at reasonable prices, and the food was market-​driven and fantastic.
In general, the menu items we had were quite rich and came in generous portions. The sweetbreads had a nice texture and paired well with the greens, sweet shallots, and salty prosciutto bread. The goat cheese-​stuffed fried squash blossoms had a light crispy batter and a refreshing flavor.
For our entrees, we had the scallop with «risotto» of cauliflower, leeks and pancetta and the duck, which included seared duck breast, duck leg confit, figs, spiced lentils, kale, and hazelnuts. The scallop plate included 6 plump morsels with a delightfully smoky flavor surrounding a little heap of creamy «risotto». Definitely needed a nice acidic wine to cut through everything but it was absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked. The duck was also wonderfully prepared, tender, and extremely rich and flavorful. It would make a wonderful winter dish and may have been a little heavy for this time of year but was still very enjoyable.
For dessert, we had a smooth, tart panna cotta with fresh raspberries and a crunchy pistachio biscotti that was a nice complement to the the panna cotta. This was actually quite light.
I would definitely return here on my next visit to the Berkshires. Highly recommended.

The last (and only) time I visited John Andrews was about 4 years ago. I remember it being good… very good, in fact. Great ambiance and great food. Based upon this memory, I really wanted to love my experience this evening. However, based upon the subpar service and the just ok food, I didn’t love it. It was just ok. With several other top notch restaurants in the area (Bell and Anchor, Rouge), I don’t know that I’ll be back to John Andrews any time soon.
I have to start by pointing something that just irked me. You’re a high end restaurant (or purport to be). Have your wine/​cocktail list properly bound. Don’t give patrons sheets of paper clipped together with an office binder clip. It’s just cheap and chintzy looking and feeling.
Drinks — only two of us drank. A gin and tonic and a Maker’s on the rocks. Both were served promptly and were well made. I especially liked the thick and sturdy rocks glass in which the bourbon was served.
Bread — the onion focaccia was very good. What wasn’t so good was that when we asked the young woman that was serving the bread if we could have some, she looked at us and said, «um, just wait a second.» and she disappeared into the back. Considering the bread basket she was holding was pretty full, her comment was a bit strange. She returned a few moments later with olive oil for the table and the offered us bread. Not a major deal, but couldn’t she have just said that she would be right back and was going to get some oil with which she would serve the bread?
Service — it was average at best. We were served by several different people throughout the meal. One person told us about the menu and specials, another took our order and several others served throughout the meal. It would have been nice just to know who our main server was. Pacing of the meal was good overall.
Appetizers
Foie Gras — a good seared preparation served with grilled pear. I love foie gras, and usually order it if I see it (seared, not terrine) on the menu. This was not the best foie gras I’ve ever had, but it was good. One comment to the restaurant is that they should consider adding a sauterne or similar sweet dessert-​like wine by the glass to the wine list. I would definitely have ordered a glass to pair with my foie gras.
Mussels — overall good, especially the garlic toast that it was served with.
Squash Blossoms/​Zucchini — we had to send this back as it was pretty greasy and was barely seasoned. In its place, we had the beet salad, which was very good.
Heirloom tomato salad — good
Entrees
Diver Scallops — there was really nothing to complain about. The scallops were well seasoned and cooked perfectly. It was a perfectly good dish, just not exceptional.
Fettuccine with Duck Confit — this seemed to be the winning entrée at our table. The confit was especially tasty.
Chicken — this was very good. Not as good as the lemon chicken at Rouge, but a tender piece of chicken. It was served with a corn, potato, and bacon hash. This looked divine when described on the menu. The actual preparation (we were hoping for a pureed corn in a hash brown consistency) was quite ordinary, if not overly greasy.
Veal Scaloppine — This was a special. The veal was very tasty and well cooked. It was served with the same hash served with the chicken.
We opted against dessert (went to Soco for ice cream). The bill for 4, without tip, was around $ 200. I realize that we’re paying «Berkshire Prices» wherever we go, but didn’t feel that we got value for our money.
I really did want to love this meal, but I guess they can’t all be wonderful and exquisite dining experiences…

Tuna Tatare
Crispy Polenta
Pork chops
Free range roasted chicken breast
Tank 7 Beer
Peach Martini
Delicious food, served actually pretty promptly, although maybe a bit slow which I chalked up to letting diners enjoy their evening. Unbelievably delicious bread. All served up a very homey, comfortable environment.
My whole check was about $ 125 for apps, main course, desserts and a few drinks with a couple being pretty fancy. Not bad for the quality of food we received.

Since there was nothing to complain about, this will be short and sweet.
We were guests over the weekend of some friends nearby and we invited another couple of friends who also live nearby. So, six, the best number for dining out, IMHO. We had reservations and were escorted to a quiet corner table in the back room. Our waitress was attentive and patient, as we ruminated over the selections. Among the dishes ordered: sweet potato soup — excellent with a little white peppery edge, fabulous scallops — the best I have ever had — a boned chicken breast what was superb, someone ordered a poke chop (looked very good), and pasta with cauliflower and other misc stuff. And lots of ramps and scapes — culled from the local cow fields.
Two excellent bottles of wine, great conversation, super food. It was really a pleasure!

This place is honestly *as good as it gets.*
I brought my mom to JA after hearing nothing but amazing things about this little gem. We arrived a bit early so we sat at the bar to kill time before our reservation. The place itself is so cozy. It’s an old house, creaky floors, fireplace, intimate tables and cool deco. Bar is STOCKED with quality stuff, not to mention Eric, a great knowledgeable barkeep. Every last detail of the place is fantastic, I kid you not.
Our pre-​dinner drinks — both really carefully crafted and special. I had an Old Fashioned with some Berkshire Distillery bourbon and my mom had something I can’t remember, but we were both extremely pleased.
The staff was all so friendly, hostess Laurie was great and attentive, and chef Dan even came out for a quick chat!
Ahh the menu, what a beautiful thing. They offer a farm menu with dishes that only incorporate food items from local farms. When we were there it was all pork dishes — sausages, bacon, etc. Pigs 6 miles from the restaurant! They also have a bar menu and a regular dinner menu, holy decisions!
My mom and I ordered the famed foie gras appetizer — GAAAAH words do not describe this masterpiece. Just amazing.
We also enjoyed the bread offerings, both options hand made by Dan. I mean, really.
We shared the fried mussels salad, which was so tasty, perfect portion size too.
The scallops and one of the pork specials were both perfect dinner choices — the cauliflower accompaniment to the scallops seriously changed my life. Apparently he does something similar with Brussels sprouts so look for that one too…
Everything we ate was prepared spiced and cooked wonderfully, and I’ll admit I even brought home some bread scraps in my doggy bag. Nothing was to be wasted from that meal!
A+, one of the best meals I’ve ever had!

This place is expensive, but the chef prepares complex dishes with care. Dinner is hushed and formal in a residential farmhouse setting. My beet salad was unbelievably good — one of the best combinations I’ve ever had in a salad. But the grilled fish was only so-​so. I’ve had better in no-​name restaurants on the Adriatic Coast.
The chocolate cake for dessert was also exceptional. So I’m giving John Andrews a decidedly mixed review. Do not come here if price is an issue. On the other hand if you like finely prepared meals in a quiet setting and price is no object, give it a try.