Pietra At The Stone House 1854

Came for dinner while in town to visit my husband’s uncle at his beach house in Westport, MA. Uncle Carl knows all the cool spots and when he said he’d made reservations for dinner, I didn’t need to ask questions because I knew wherever it was would would be excellent.
The Stone House and the grounds are beautiful, and because of this I didn’t expect the restaurant to be so dark and cozy based on the surroundings. Before walking into the Tap Room, you must first walk down a steep, narrow staircase, which would be very difficult for older guests or anyone requiring handicap access. They may have an elevator hidden somewhere, but I didn’t inquire. Once we made our way into the restaurant it was so dark that it took a minute for my eyes to adjust, but when they did I was really impressed. The atmosphere was so intimate and the décor was elegant but understated. Nearly all of the tables were full, but the restaurant was still very quiet, and it looked as if everyone was enjoying their meal and intimate conversation.
Our waitress was young and clumsy and she didn’t have many recommendations for the menu, but she knew a surprising amount about the alcohol. I’m normally a red wine girl all the way, but since we had already uncorked a couple bottles back at the house in anticipation of our reservation, I opted for a dirty vodka martini (or three). It was fantastic! Just the right amount of olive juice and not too salty, and served with three olives for garnish. My husband and uncle had beer as they enjoy sampling the local drafts when available.
The service was very slow, and our meal took about 2.5 hours, but since we were on vacation we didn’t mind. Our appetizers were good, though I can’t remember now what we had, and I enjoyed my entrée (hangar steak with mashed potatoes and haricot verts) though I thought the entire dish lacked seasoning. A couple dashes of salt was able to cure it for the most part. The steak was served with a sweet sauce similar in taste and texture to applesauce, and I didn’t care for it very much with the meat, but it had good flavor on its own.
Although the price was on the high side and none of us were wowed by the food, I do plan on coming back here again this summer. The cool speakeasy vibe and relaxed setting were just too enjoyable not to give the Tap Room another chance.

Plenty of parking in the lot.
The place usually is not very busy.
The atmosphere is nice and different. Its a basement turned into a pub like restaurant. However its not very suited if you need to bring a stroller or baby carrier — narrow stairs.
The pita chips and hummus are really good.
I have had the chef special risotto on two occasions. I really like their risotto. My husband ordered a burger and said it was average.
Desert is okay. They could be better for the price.
Price wise the place is expensive, but the food is average.
I will say however that the staff has always been very accommodating with my requests.
Service however has been hit and miss. One time when I got up to use the bathroom the waitress asked if I knew where it was and I said I did and then she said «okay» and rolled her eyes at me. Maybe she was having a rough night. Another time the waitress seemed preoccupied and got our entrees and desserts wrong. The last time we went there the waitress was very nice and friendly.

I’m delighted that 1854 seems to have finally gotten its act together. I’ve gone a few times since it was redone from the «Stone House Club» days, each time hoping that we’d finally have a good restaurant in Little Compton. And tonight’s dinner suggests that they’ve figured things out. Excellent, friendly, fast service. A superb spinach salad. Delicious pasta w/​fresh peas. OK risotto. All around, a very pleasant local dining experience. And very reasonably priced, too.

Waitress was horrible. She didnt know the menu and couldnt even recommend a popular entrée. She delivered the wine glass with her hand around the top of the glass. Gross! and I watched her leave the bar several more times carrying peoples drinks in the same manner. Other staff should have noticed. The burger was good as well as the lobster sliders.
The meal took almost an hour to bring the first salad out and there were only about two or three tables seated when we were there.
This place is going to have problems if they dont get on the ball.

I’m surprised by the low scoring reviews for this restaurant because me and my party found it to be great. We were a party of 4 there to celebrate a birthday with a nice meal. The ambiance was very nice, dimly lit but with a lot of charm. Our waitress Julie was down to earth with a touch of sarcasm, which some will not understand and take well, but she was nice, extremely friendly, cared about our dining experience, and was spot on with her recommendations.
We had the fritters and mussels for appetizers. The fritters were good, but the mussels were okay. The main courses rocked though and enhanced with a nice bottle of wine. RI and CT can’t seem to produce any good reds, so we opted for a California vintage. We had the scallops, cod loin, swordfish, and lamb chops. Everyone ate every bite and agreed the food was tasty and excellent, especially the scallops. The dessert we shared was a warm toffee coffee cake. Awesome! One thing they could improve on is have an espresso machine.
This is a great place to come for dinner. If you’re looking for an uptight place, this isn’t it. This place only offers fantastic tasting food within a relaxed and charming atmosphere with good service. I definitely will try and return again and introduce this place to others.
Bön appetite.

I love the atmosphere but the food was ok. I had the lobster over corn cakes. The lobster was very small and I didn’t see any corn the cakes. I had the salmon which was over salted and over cooked.

1854 is a great restaurant and worth driving to slightly-​out-​of-​the-​way Little Compton for. Situated in the cellar of the Stone House, a beautiful bed and breakfast situated in an old stone mansion, the entire experience is delightful. We made a reservation on a Fall Saturday evening (Stone House’s other restaurant, called Pietra, is closed in the fall/​winter), which turned out to be unnecessary, but better to play it safe.
The restaurant is dimly lit and very cozy with a fireplace and candlelight. The above-​table lighting is kind of obnoxious and we actually asked to move because of the glare, so ask for a table off to the side which is more pleasant. The menu offers a Continental assortment of salads and meat dishes, all of which are at which I consider to be a slightly high price point (especially this far out of the way), but I guess being in a luxury bed and breakfast is part of that. I had the Berkshire pork chop which came in a sweet glaze with red cabbage. It was pretty good and the servings were generous. Others I was with had the filet mignon and pasta dishes, and everyone seemed happy with what they ate. Dessert was really nice and we really enjoyed their version of a Baked Alaska.
We drank cocktails (I had a dry martini) and those were well prepared and they do have a pretty creative drink menu for those who are interested. The server was friendly and informative as well. This is a great experience to combine with a visit to nearby Sakonnet Vineyards and make an afternoon/​evening of it. If you’re nearby or looking for something a bit more offbeat (than the typical Newport scene), this is a great choice for a casual but refined meal.

When you’re in Little Compton, there isn’t a variety of choices when it comes to dining. Since we were staying at the Stone House, we opted to try their in house restaurant.
ATMOSPHERE — It’s pretty much a basement tavern. Heavy on the wood paneling and stone walls and lacking any windows or light. There is an original stone fireplace they opted to outfit with gas, so there’s no «crackling fire» as advertised on their website. I wish they maintained the authenticity of the fireplace. The large flat screen TV mounted at the bar made the place more pub than restaurant.
SERVICE — Perfectly fine.
FOOD — Mediocre at best. I think they’re essentially aiming for gastropub but the food was, overall, underseasoned and underwhelming for the price point. Their beer selection was also meager.
Dozen raw oysters — These were poorly shucked with all the jus missing and bits of shell throughout the meat. The oysters had decent flavour but definitely not the most crisp and tasty I’ve had.
Butternut squash soup with cinnamon cream — Underseasoned but well prepared. I think this soup needed an additional robust flavour to complement the squash. It really just ended up tasting like pulverized squash in a bowl.
Crab cakes with soy ginger sauce and slaw — The snow crab was shredded but the cake was low on filler, which was appreciated. The dish was oversalted from the soy sauce.
Nieman Ranch skirt steak with Great Hill Blue cheese, caramelized onions, and mashed potatoes — The steak was a medium rare as requested but overall, the flavours were somewhat bland.
Cheese plate for two — Lovely cheese choices and great dessert option.
The bill came to $ 50 per person not including tip. For a hotel restaurant, the food wasn’t bad and I suppose, you expect high prices. I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here though.