Brulees Restaurant

I had a dish, coq au vin, that tasted of spoiled meat — quite inedible. One of my tablemates was served underdone duckling. Go for the desserts, just the crème brûlée.

This place was so awful. The service and food were slow and just about completely non-​attentive. We were there for a show, and due to the lagging in the waiter talking to us we couldn’t order real entrees. And even the appetizers took absolutely forever to come out. Furthermore the food was actually really disgusting. The crab cakes were good, but the buffalo chicken wings tasted straight out of some gross can or frozen food, my slider burger had the weirdest taste – like bad tap water, not at all like burgers. And the burgers were served with what must be days old ciabatta bread that was extremely hard to bite into.
We really wish we had been elsewhere.

My husband and I were traveling last weekend and had dinner here last Saturday evening. We walked in the door just before 6 p.m. and observed a few couples in the large open bar but the place wasn’t busy. No fewer than 5 employees walked by us or looked past us in the next few minutes; I have rarely felt so unwelcome entering a place of business. We were about to turn and walk out when we were brusquely greeted by a hostess, and then seated in a dim section of the restaurant uncomfortably close to several other dining groups. It took quite a while for our server to come, and then quite a while for our food to arrive. My coquilles st jacques was drowned in cream sauce and nuclear reactor hot, and thus very difficult to eat. The broccoli rabe side dish was so overly garlicky that neither my husband nor I could touch it. Even so, it was the atmosphere rather than the food that was so off-​putting. Our individual waitress was cheery, but clearly in a situation she could do nothing about. To add to the lack of friendliness, when we left, the hostess did not acknowledge us.

In an attempt for a quick dinner, I gave Brulees a try, wanting two things I would expect to be safe in any good restaurant: a dry, cold martini and tasty fried calamari. In both cases, Brulees burned me.
The bar, which is big in size was small in choices for gin. Apparently, they had been ‘slammed’ according to the bartender the night before, leaving nothing but Beefeater and well gin. Well… there’s a concept called ‘restocking the bar’ that often happens prior to opening the next day. Just a thought for the future.
As for the calamari, the primary ingredient in Brulees’s version was grease. The calamari arrived brown from swimming in what my Mother (who used to own restaurants and is a wonderful chef) would call ‘dirty oil’.
The décor reminded me of a USAirways Lounge circa 1993. Lots of blonde wood. Lackluster at best. All that was missing for me is the announcement of departing flights. I actually felt a bit depressed by it, as I was projected into an all-​too-​familiar business travel mode. Frankly, with all that glass facing the street, it would behoove Brulees to bring up the level of décor, or play out the airport lounge feel more directly, going full-​throttle for the theme by having the servers dress as flight attendants, and serving the food on individual trays preceded by a warm towel.
I swilled back the martini, ate what I could of the calamari, and left unsatisfied. Looking at the diners around me, I saw that I was not alone. As I was sitting, it occurred to me that Brulees would be a perfect candidate for Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ restaurant makeover show. My advice, head that intervention off, Brulees. You don’t want him coming for a visit. If you think I and this review are tough on you, he’ll only make it worse… and do so on television.

Food is okay but service is very slow. Be prepared to spend a lot of time waiting for your meal. Cheese fondue is very good.

My husband and I were on our way to try out Brix Wine Bar, when we came across Brulees Restaurant around the corner. We reviewed both menus and decided Brulees was a better choice when comparing the price and the ambiance. We were happy with our choice.
The restaurant is really spacious with large windows, a large bar in front, a lounge toward the back, and a large room in the back for private parties (accommodating approx. 75 guests). I was told on some nights they have live entertainment in the lounge area.
I had the flat bread pizza special that evening, which was topped with figs, sliced rib-​eye steak, and blue cheese. The pizza was really tasty, but maybe too much sweetness from the figs. Their portions were very generous, because my husband’s order of spaghetti and meatballs could easily have served two people.
And for the dessert…
Mmmmm mmm mmmm! Of course we ordered the trio of crème brulees. The flavors for the night were Baileys Irish Crème with Kahlua, coconut with Malibu rum, and white chocolate with Godiva chocolate liquor. Excellent! We also ordered the trio of gelato — pistachio, vanilla bean, and Godiva chocolate. They were also very tasty.
This was our first time in the Berkshires, and if we return we will definitely check out Brulees Restaurant for a second round.