Nudel

Fantastic meal I had the shrimp/​pork belly grits. I was expecting more of a shrimp and «wet» grits setup, but the grits were served firm/​formed. It was great. The highlight of the meal was the yams, which seemed to have some hot sauce mixed in. The seats at the bar were a great way to watch these guys cook. They are the real deal.

Our first visit. We never go to that end of Church St. but what a surprise. It is intimate and a tad loud, but everything was excellent. I don’t use that word casually. The last time was «Just Dinner» in Houston. Make it a point to go, but make a reservation.

In doing research before my trip to the Berkshires Nudel was a standout spot that I kept coming back to. The ever changing menu offered unique, seasonal dishes that were beautifully presented, and I knew I wanted to have dinner there at least once during my visit.
Unfortunately the risk with an ever changing menu is that you may not like what’s offered on the night you visit. This particular weekend featured a menu focused around diner dishes and junk food (think Frito pie, loaded potato dip, and sandwiches on store bought white bread). If I were a local, I would have loved this concept. But since it was our one and only time to visit, I was a little disappointed at the choices.
We ended up ordering the poutine and a pork belly «snackwich» to start. I liked the poutine but wasn’t overly impressed. The pork belly sandwich was quite delicious and probably my favorite of the night — white bread and all.
For my meal I was looking forward to the stuffed shells, but disappointingly they had run out. I opted for the broccoli mac n’ cheese with bacon instead, which was heavy on the broccoli and light on the bacon. The dish was good for sure, but felt like something I might be able to make at home. I also tried a bite of the pepperoni and sausage grinder, which had fantastic flavor and nice texture in the sausage.
I hope to come back to Nudel next time I’m in the Berkshires. The concept of the restaurant is fun and inventive, and if I were local I imagine I’d be having dinner at Nudel time and time again.

Brilliant inventive cuisine featuring local and seasonal ingredients. For a consciousness expanding experience, order a menu item you don’t expect to like.

The flavors are only okay, but it’s not worth going for a second time.
Overall, let’s just say, the flavors are fresh, but the dining experience gives off a very cheap vibe. Despite all the high ratings for this restaurant, I must point out that the experience really is only superficial.

Seating is a little tight, otherwise they’d get 5 stars. Everything about our visit was great: service, quality of food, atmosphere. Somewhat on the pricey side, but imho well worth it. I’m going back next time I visit the Berkshires.

Quaint place for a nice dinner for two. Located in a very eclectic area of town. Food is expensive for the portions, but still feels hearty to the stomach. Good wait staff. The duck confit was good, but a bit salty.

Great farm to table food!!! I had such a great meal here. The portions for the «small» were just the right size. The prices were very reasonable. I would def come back here again if I was in the area on vacation

The early bird definitey gets the worm here! From our past experiences here we’d been primed so we showed up right at 5:30 to secure a table without having to wait. The place is tiny and only has about 8 tables and a counter facing the kitchen which is why it’s tricky to get a table without waiting.
Sure I could knock off a star off for the wait, or how small it is, or the price. But really, I don’t mind any of that. The food never disappoints and it is very hipster millenial, fresh-​off-​the-​farm-​style so maybe that’s why. We’ve been here multiple times and each time the dishes are seasonal, fresh, creative and delicious. It may be in the middle of nowhere according to some, but we love the Berkshires so a 45 min day trip for us is definitely worth it.
On our most recent visit we had the potato and duck heart hash to start and wow– the egg was perfectly poached which complimented the hash flavor. I ordered the confit of duck leg and loved it! I’m a sucker for duck so it was no surprise that I’d go for it. But it’s tricky to make truly good duck and this confit was delicious and perfectly paired duck fat lentils, plum jam and greens. My husband opted for the veal and porcini meatballs and loved them! I was a fan of the accessories which included polenta, black truffle and braised kale.
This is a sporadic indulgence for us given the distance and the high likelihood of a long wait but it’s worth it every time.
Insider tip: if you have to wait, the wine bar across the street is a great option or there’s one around the corner in the bookstore that’s very quaint.

Absolutely stellar and if you disagree I will lobby for a constitutional amendment restricting your free expression.
I’m serious. It’s really good. We’ve eaten here thrice. Tried multiple dishes. Stellar every time. Stellar stellar stellar.
«Can I substitute bacon for the crème fraîche?»
No. No substitutions. Says so on the menu.
«I have a trendy pretend allergy. Can you accommodate me?»
Nope. Says so on the menu.
«We had to wait to sit down!»
Yes. Yes you did. Excellent restaurants have lots of people who want to eat there. Scientists are still working out why that happens.
Stellar.

Absolutely love this little gem right in the heart of beautiful Lenox!
Went to dinner here after a great day of hiking. we sat at the bar, the food was delicious, great presentation, perfect portions, nice wine selections and the staff was truly amazing!!!
Went back again a couple weeks later and had the same fantastic experience and I’d like to add we’re both vegetarians and we had more than enough menu options!

There was nothing NOT to love about this place! I went with a group of 6 People, don’t go with more, they can only sit a max party of 6. I loved that though, makes for a more intimate experience. My best recommendation is to share as much as you can. Everything on this menu is expertly made, the menu also changes daily so you don’t want to miss anything. They only use fresh, local produce. I’ve never been more in love with a duck entrée than the one I had tonight. I traveled from Saratoga just to eat here and I would have traveled farther. Go, go now.

This place is almost impossible to get into– especially with a medium/​large group. Our group of 4 had issues getting seated at 9pm on a Wednesday night. I highly suggest coming here as a party of 2 only.
Since they don’t take reservations, be prepared to wait. If you want to try to hit Nudel when it opens, be there waiting at least 20 minutes before they say they open. Or try to get one of the last tables of the night.
Anyway– I’ll make it a point to say the service here is not that nice. You get the feeling from the girls working that their food is too good for you. They’re kind of snobby and unaccommodating. This is not the place you go if you want to be taken care of– this is a place you go to appreciate the craft of the cuisine.
Do not come here if you are picky, need to make tons of substitutions, etc.
However, they were able to accommodate a gluten allergy by marking the items that were gluten free.
The price fix menu is kind of a lot of money. The three plate $ 45 option seems okay at first (you can pick any 3 items, so if you wanted 3 meat dishes or 3 desserts you could do that). The dishes were small.
I had the Milk Poached Grits with an egg, hot sauce, rock shrimp and corn salad. It was good. I enjoyed it. Nothing wrong with it.
I also had the Sweet Corn Risotto with chives, cultured Vermont butter and tomato jam. Again, it was really good and the sweetness/​tartness of the tomato jam was an excellent complement to the salty creaminess of the risotto.
Lastly I had the Sauteed Veal Flank with duck fat lentils, mustard, lemon and lettuces. This dish fell flat for me. The veal was pretty bland and a tad dry. It’s also tiny– like 3 or 4 small pieces of veal.
For dessert I had the Warm Crumbled Cornbread with blueberries, lime cream and mascarpone. This was fine. A little tart.
I like that the menu is always changing according to whats in season. But I just don’t like the tapas/​tasting menu style plates. I feel like you really don’t get a lot for your money (except for attitude!).

Dear Nudel,
Great food does not equal a license to give substandard customer service. I really would expect you to know that by now.
Here’s what happened: According to their website, Nudel opens for dinner at 5:30 PM and doesn’t take reservations. My family shows up at 5:15 and gets in line. Oddly the restaurant is ¾ filled already even though they aren’t open yet. At 5:30 they seat 3 of the parties in line ahead of us then inform everyone else in line it will be an hour and 45 minutes before they can seat anyone else.
Everyone in line is angry. Why is the restaurant ¾ full if they aren’t even open yet? Well it turns out when Nudel is ready to open they just fling open the doors and whomever is in line gets seated first. In this case, they decided they were ready at 5 and opened 30 minutes earlier than advertised.
This is apparently what they mean by «first come, first served.» If you have all afternoon to wait out front until they decide to open, you get seated. If you take them at their word that they open when they say they do, too bad.
Nudel, this is called moving the goalposts. It’s punishing your customers for following the rules that YOU set forth for them. You don’t want to take reservations, that’s your right. But then make some rules for getting a table and stick to them. It’s arrogant and rude to respect only your own time and not those of your diners.
Nudel gets away with this b/​c they have great food and little competition. This sort of nonsense in a major city would have them closing their doors within 6 months.
The angry diners btw were met with a condescending smile by the hostess and the phrase «I understand the frustration» which is code for «but I plan to do nothing about it.»
Nudel, you lost me for good.

After a month of many restaurant meals I am happy to say that the last was by far the best .
This was our second time at Nudel and everything was delicious
The dessert, cheesecake, was outstanding, the addition of candied fennel seeds was killer. It was not your typical cheesecake, not by a long shot.
The trout was cooked to perfection, with very fresh and beautiful beans and peas.
The wait staff was very attentive and were helpful with my dietary issues

One more place that was on our bucket list can now be checked off. We walked away somewhat disappointed.
We’d been reading great reviews for some time, and even were ready to have to wait to be seated. But apparently, eating mid-​week in April while parents are trying to keep their children otherwise occupied on Spring Break is the perfect time to dine here. Or is it?
As others have pointed out, the place is small. Maybe six or eight seats at the counter where you can watch the kitchen staff work their magic, or 18 – 20 seats on either the long wooden bench against the wall or the padded and comfortable chairs. We had our choice of tables, as I recall, since there was only one other table for two occupied when we arrived at 5:40. We were warmly greeted and provided with a carafe of water while we studied the double sided menu page. Food on one side, wine and beer on the other.
Four categories of food include: Leaves and Vegetables ($ 12); Small Plates ($ 10); Pasta ($ ¹⁵⁄₂₂); and Large Plates ($ 26). We chose to skip over the Large Plates and sample five of the other dishes. We asked our server to choose how best to bring them to us so that we did not overcrowd our small table and got to enjoy them at their proper temperature. She happily suggested a three-​course meal and that we start with the Swedish Turnip Latke and the Braised Rock Shrimp. In the mean time, we would share a 22 oz. bottle of Rogue Chipotle Ale ($ 12).
The presentation of every dish here was very artistic and enjoyable to the eye. The Latke came with what had to be a house-​made mustard, shredded apple, sour cream, and walnuts. The two Latke were thick, rectangular logs that were perfectly browned and crisply fried on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Other than the deliciously light flavor of the mustard, it seemed like the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of the walnuts, needed to be more robust in flavor.
The Rock Shrimp were a step up in flavor with their bacon and tomato jam, horseradish mousse, herb greens, and celery. This was one of those dishes where if you try just one thing at a time, you’re likely to say that each taste was ok, but nothing to write home about. But balance a bit of everything on your fork all at once and you’ve got a really nice treat in your mouth.
The bottle of Rogue was warming up as our Salsa Braised Pork Tacos arrived, and our server was alert enough to divide the order so that we each had one. These Tacos were actually the highlight of the entire meal. «Bodega jalapeño and slaw» on the menu cannot adequately describe the mountain of flavor that was in each bite. Really soft and flavorful, corn tortillas were a perfect wrapper for the pork, cheese, salsa and cilantro that garnered oohs and aahs with each bite. The tacos were even a perfect match for the Chipotle Ale.
As we got ready for our final course of two dishes, we agreed upon a 24.5 oz. bottle of Uinta Brewing Cahoots Saison ($ 18). Our final course consisted of Pizzichi di Farro (small portion) and Button Mushroom and Berle Crowdie «Blintz.»
The little nips (pizzichi) of lasagna-​shaped pasta were served with poached haddock, smoked caper, mustard, and corn. The fish likely was finely shredded throughout the dish as it was not noticeable visually or in flavor. Overall, it was a rather bland combination. The cheese filled blintz with «burnt vegetable jus,» parsley salsa verde and pistachio was still one more artistically presented and creative combination that again lacked that something that would make it really «pop.»
Unfortunately, the two desserts that were being offered both had ingredients that I am supposed to be avoiding. Both sounded delicious and it would have been nice to see if they helped to further redeem our experience here. While service, atmosphere, creativity, freshness, and quality of ingredients were of the highest caliber (for which I’ve added a star), for our tastes, except for those Tacos, we were disappointed.

Upping my star rating to 5 stars after returning to Nudel last night. If you saw my last review, I said I would get the brussels sprouts dish again. The dish last night was a variation of the previous version and it was excellent. They change their menu every day I think. I also ordered a small portion pasta dish which was spätzle with some smoky, flavorful pork and creamy sauce). Awesome. I love to eat good and unique dishes and Nudel delivers it. Great atmosphere, great service and great food all at fair prices for the quality.
Oh and desert… a blintz with a cheesy and almondy filling, a fruit jam and a small scoop of ice cream (like a melon ball size). It really capped off the meal along with my black coffee.

This restaurant is truly a joy for your tastebuds — what an inventive, surprising, and flat out delicious Valentine’s meal!
The first surprise came when our waitress brought us a sampling of the grapefruit, orange and frisee salad as an appetizer. It was so nice to get a complimentary tasting and the greens were probably the most flavorful I’ve ever had. The golden beets in the salad were definitely the best beets I’ve ever had.
For dinner, I ordered the duck breast and it was cooked perfectly (medium rare with a flavorful, crispy edge). The cauliflower was nicely charred and my favorite part of the dish (well, after the duck!) was the sweet potato purée — it was to die for and fortunately there was tons of it. I tasted a hint of ginger in it too.
I also tried some of the lamb and it was equally delicious and perfectly cooked. I only wish there had been more of the eggplant confit, since it was a highlight.
Finally, we finished with dessert. The best description I can give of this dessert is that it was a «deconstructed» banana split. The bananas were fried in corn flakes with parsnip gelato, peanut butter sauce, and chocolate mousse. Surprisingly (or maybe not), the parsnip gelato was my favorite part; I could easily have eaten a whole bowl of it. The parsnips gave it a nice sweetness and it reminded me a lot of cinnamon ice cream.
Best of all, the food was fresh, seasonal and local, and the service was top-​notch. The candlelit tables provided the perfect ambiance on a cold winter’s night. We were so impressed and would love to go back to Nudel the next time we’re in the Berkshires.

We had to wait about 45 minutes on a Saturday night. This wouldn’t be so bad if there were anything to do in Lenox after 7 pm, but I digress.
Once we got seated, I really enjoyed our experience. We did a couple shared plates and an entrée each. We started with one of the salads that was Asian inspired. It had a poached egg on top and an amazing sauce. I really liked that the restaurant split all of the shared dishes equally, even poaching two eggs for this dish. We loved this salad. It tasted like pad thai (but healthy)! We also shared the Pork Carnitas tacos which were fine, but a little bland.
For my entrée, I got the Arctic Char which was perfectly cooked and served with potatoes and greens over a tomato-​ey sauce. I really loved this dish. My husband got the lamb pasta dish. I tried a bite and did not like it at all. It was overly spiced and not what I was expecting, although he enjoyed it.
Overall, great experience, relatively reasonably priced for the quality of food. I would definitely come back!

I love that there are places like Berkshire county where life runs at a much slower pace. I love that everyone is super friendly with a dash of polite and I don’t just mean the waitress. It’s everyone here. Nudel follows this trend perfectly.
Unless you’re here at opening, chances are you’ll probably have to wait for a table. There are probably bout under 20 seats in the place and wait times can vary (we were quoted about 90 mins).
While waiting, our host brought us a menu and asked if we would like anything to drink. My girl chose a rose wine and I went with a beer that was label watermelon wheat. Not a beer drinker but I actually enjoyed it as it did have nuances of watermelon flavor. The can that it came in reminded me of an arizona ice tea.
Not all the dishes we tried were a hit but there were a few.
The banh mi terrine was a creative rendition of the Vietnamese sandwich. Accompanied by a few cuts of toasted sesame baguette, the terrine was pâté-​like that was dressed with brined jalapeño, ginger aioli and pickled carrots. One of the better starters I’ve had in a while.
Pastas are sold in 2 sizes. Appetizer or the full entrée size. We decided to try the Orecchiette — spicy pork sausage, pepperoncini, black olives and Swiss chard. I like it that the pasta was hand made but the black olive flavor really overwhelmed the dish. I’d have to pass on this next time .
The star of the night was «Farm Raised Trout Almondine En Española». 5 perfect portions of trout cooked moist on the inside and crispy skin on the out. The brown butter sauce that came with was delicious. A favorite of ours.
For the most part, everything works and if you ever find yourself in the town of Lennox, stop by for dinner.