Tuscany at the Towpath House

We found this place by walking down Main Street and we could see the blazing fireplace through the windows and like moths to a flame we found this quaint place. We were greeted very warmly at the door and made to feel welcome right away. There were only two other diners in the house and that made us a bit wary but the seat we had next to the amazing fireplace won us over. We started with our servers suggestion of Chanti and he provided us with fresh, warm, crusy Italian bread with a flavorful olive oil dipping bowl. Great beginnings! We were told that we could share our selections (which we always prefer) and ordered up the fried calamari to start then the arugula, fennel orange salad and for the main course we selected the fusili pasta with house sauce, broccoli rabe and sausage. All were superb and brought out in the time frame they should have been. We ordered fresh made cannoli to go. All the food was excellent. Our waiter was attentive but did not hover. We would love to visit this restaurant again in the summer as they have outside seating. Mangia!

Had a great meal with great service (if you’re used to actually eating in Tuscany). I read another reviewer that said he had a problem with it but to me, it was very much like eating in a little, family-​run restaurant off the tourist path somewhere in Tuscany. It’s not about getting in and out. It’s about slowing down. It was kind of empty when we walked in at 8:00 but was almost full within an hour (it was Fireworks Friday so New Hope and every restaurant in it were packed).

Okay, I never complain about service because I know how hard it is for local businesses to thrive and grow, but this is a restaurant that needs to shut down.
I’ve never had a worse dining experience in my life… and I eat out a lot. When we arrived, no one greeted us. We stood at the entrance to the restaurant/​bar
area and watched as several of the waiters chatted with the bartender and ignored us. We felt like we were crashing a private party. When they finally acknowledged
our presence, they took us to an outdoor patio that had several dirty tables. They told us we could sit wherever we liked, actually pointing out some tables that hadn’t
even been cleared yet. We were given menus and left alone (no water offered) while our waiter went back to cavort with his buddies at the bar (this went on all night).
He would come over and give us bread or our drinks etc. and then disappear back to the bar for long periods. It was late — 8:30 pm and only about 3 – 4 tables were occupied.
When the waiter came to take our drink order, we asked if there was a wine list. He hesitated then said, «well, we had a wedding here last weekend and we’re out of most of our wine».
Um, what? You don’t purchase more wine to serve your guests after a wedding A WEEK AGO? Okay, fine… let’s try to enjoy our evening anyway even though it’s becoming
a farce. «Well, what red wines DO you have?» we say. Waiter says, «we have a Woodbridge cab or a nice table wine.» We say, «okay, bring us a bottle of the cab.»
Then the waiter hesitates and says they don’t have bottles, just carafes (huh?). We agree to the carafe. Waiter comes back to the table with a glass of cab saying he’s so
sorry but this is all they have left and if one of us would like it, it’s on the house. OMG! At this point I asked my husband if he wants to just leave before we’re
trapped in this hellhole all night. We had a chance to look at the menu and it was a joke. Husband says, «no, let’s make the best of it. It’ll be fun to laugh about it later.»
Back to the goofy menu. It wasn’t organized properly so it was hard to read and there was very limited selection. The entre section had several pasta dishes (written
in Italian with no translation), then there was a separate «pasta» section as well. There were a few different seafood medleys all served over pasta, a pork dish, a chicken dish,
veggie lasagna, pasta bolognes and some salads… that’s it. We were left to contemplate the menu, without being told about any specials. When the waiter came back to take
our order we asked if there were any specials, he says…“oh yeah, stuffed meatballs.” Ugh! We ordered from the menu. My husband’s seafood medley included scallops that he said
tasted like bait you might put on a hook to go fishing… downright foul. He was afraid it might make him sick. My shrimp (over pasta) wasn’t as bad, but it was overcooked and rubbery.
We ordered some broccoli rabe to share that was inedible. It tasted like burnt gasoline. We could not get out of there fast enough, but unfortunately our waiter was
MIA so it took forever to get his attention (from where he was hanging out at the bar) to get our check and leave. To top off this wonderful evening, the ink on our check was so faint
we could hardly read it (the only light being candles on the patio). We had to take the bill inside and hold it under a lamp. I don’t have one good thing to say about this place.
Terrible food, terrible service. Unless they do a 180 degree turn in service and food quality, they will not remain open for long.

One of the worst dinners I have ever had in my life. We arrived around 8:15 PM. My friend is pregnant, so the hostess seemed helpful at first, seating us at a temporary table until a table outdoors opened up. We sat in a dark corner for about a half hour, without even an offer of a glass of water. After sitting there for a half hour, the hostess informed us no tables would be opening up outside, and we could be seated in the dining room (which we thought was closed, or else we would have sat there to begin with). After being seated in the dining room, we sat alone for about 10 minutes before a waiter even came to our table. Then we were brought bread and a tiny jar of marinara, and still had to wait for water. Meanwhile, a table that was seated 5 minutes after us was given wine and water immediately after sitting, and were served their entrees a mere 10 minutes later. We ordered a Tuscan salad to split, and an antipasto platter as an appetizer. I had the veggie lasagna and my friend ordered the cheese purses w/​alfredo. The salad was the only good part of the meal. The antipasto platter was a $ 12 JOKE. A wet plate of cheap jarred red peppers, a hard boiled egg and a few pieces of pepperoni. The lasagna was covered in cheap marinara you’d dip mozzarella sticks in, and the cheese purses were akin to Kraft Mac N’ Cheese. These «entrees» were $ 18 a pop. Also, during you’re entire dinner, if you’re lucky enough to be seated in the dining room, you have the pleasure of enduring a beastly lounge singing post-​menopausal woman, who chooses to switch back and forth between Elton John medlys and Bonnie Raitt. When we finally got out of this hell-​hole, it was around 10:30 PM, we’d dropped $ 65 on some food we could’ve bought from our local frozen food section, and we’d vowed to get pizza on our next trip to New Hope.