Prelude Restaurant

By far the best meal for the money in 30 miles. Tell your friends. New specials every day but there is nothing regular about the regular menu. These folks know what good food is.

So this is my first Unilocal review. Not sure exactly how detailed to get. We’ll see where this takes me… I live right around the corner from the restaurant and have been wanting to try the place for about a year or so now, but I’m a big review critic and some of the reviews have had me a little pretentious. Either way I had had one serious hell of a day at work and just wanted to enjoy something new, maybe some new food and a couple drinks somewhere close to home. A co-​worker I was dropping off mentioned Prelude and how close it was to home. So I dropped him off and headed to Prelude. Upon entering I was greeted by the owner, Tom and the bartender. It is a very small place, and I say that in a good way! There is something about walking into a restaurant and being greeted by the owner that definitely makes you feel welcome!
Anyway, I sat at the bar and was quite impressed with the options from mixed drinks to a quite extensive wine selection for such a small place. I ordered one of my personal favorites, a Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen. When the bartender brought it over knowing I had already had the beer before, she came with a free shot of Grand Marnier to spice things up a bit! Awesome! Really rounded out the grapefruit!
My first appetizer was the stuffed mushroom caps and one of the reasons I gave a 4 out of 5. They were quite good, but really nothing over the top or exceptional.
The 2^nd course was a seasonal special, pumpkin raviolis. They were amazing! I can’t remember exactly what the description was on the menu, but they were served in what tasted like a Cognac shallot cream sauce with diced dried figs and roasted pumpkin seeds! Absolutely delicious! The toasted pumpkin seeds added a crunch that was just the perfect touch to an already great app! I literally wanted to lick the plate clean. So I did something I very rarely do and dove into the fresh bread to sop up all the creamy goodness! I generally think of bread as just filler, and you know you only have so much stomach real estate. The bread was excellent and the perfect taxi to take the extra sauce directly to my dancing taste buds!
For the main course I again did something I generally don’t do at a restaurant for fear of it being terribly over or undercooked, I ordered the stuffed pork chop. Let me tell you, «pork chop» is a very big understatement! It was a giant almost 2 inch thick pork porterhouse served with mashed sweet potatoes, fries and brussel sprouts. One thing I noted as I ordered was that I was never asked what temperature I wanted it cooked. I decided to test the chef and see what happened. It came out to perfection in my opinion, just a hint of pink in the center and oozing with juices!!! The only downside to the main course, and the other reason for the 4 out of 5, was that the stuffing in the porterhouse was really only towards the center of the sirloin side, nothing at all on the filet side and the sprouts were really lacking in any serious flavor. Aside from that it was great!
At that point although I really wanted to try dessert, I just couldn’t fit any more in. I really enjoyed the night! Tom checked in with me numerous times to see how things were progressing. The only other side note I would mention is the language heard throughout the evening. If you are easily offended or have smaller children, you may have to pass on this one since it is so small and the bar talk can be heard throughout the restaurant. However there were no children all night while I was there, only adults at a «bar» having a grand old time with some great food, drinks, company and service! I will absolutely be back!
Thank you Tom!

I give this 5 stars for two specific reasons.
1– the selection at the bar is above and beyond the standard. If you ask for a Manhattan, they have BEAUTIFUL selections of bourbon, and will be quite happy to take the time to tell you about each of the Bourbons in stock.
2– the staples of the menu are SOLID! I’ve TWICE had the pork oso bucco, and boy can I tell you, I have been TRYING to recreate this at home. It’s so good, it’ll make you wanna slap ya mamma. Additionally, any app you order will exceed your expectations.

Spent the evening at Prelude’s for a corporate dinner, a colleague knew the owner so we dug in an explored the menu. Tommy introduced himself and the specials that sounded so great, it made choosing my meal difficult.
Firecracker Calamari — while I enjoyed the way the New Englanders said «Kale-​ah-​mary», I enjoyed the squid even more. I am a harsh critic of all things seafood because of my Jersey Shore (not the fake MTV Jersey Shore with a group of stereotyped Staten Islanders) and the squid was perfectly cooked and the oil was clean.
General Gau’s Riblets — these perfectly prepared pork tips with an Asian glaze that wasn’t too sweet paired well with the tender tips. So freaking good I would have ordered another plate for myself.
Surf & Turf for my main. The turf was just a bit cooked beyond medium but still great. The baked shrimp & scallops with a bit of lobster was off the hook. Absolutely perfectly prepared, light fresh. Excellent.
Staff was very friendly and attentive. Great meal.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for years, and for our wedding anniversary it seemed like a perfect time. Start to finish the food was amazing. The scallops were the best I’ve had anywhere — tender, melt in your mouth and full of flavor. There wasn’t a single thing I would change from our dinner. Daughter had pasta marinara and it was packed with flavor, one of the best sauces I’ve tried. Hubby had osso bucco that fell off the bone. Seafood casserole was incredible; every piece of seafood was delicate, moist, and perfect. Tommy came out briefly and was just so nice to us, making some divine food in this little gem in Methuen. A wonderful anniversary meal! Will definitely be back!