50 WEST

Very disappointing dining experience. Online reviews led us to expect better.

Fantastic. Friendly and classy. Fried Brussels sprouts and 50W salad with salmon. Completely satisfied. Visiting from PA and will be back here to eat when I am back here.

My BF and I went to dinner this past Saturday evening. We arrived at 7:45 and were surprised how empty it was. We sat at the bar and although it was pretty quiet, it took a bit before we were asked what we wanted to drink. Drinks were good. We ordered the meatball appetizer. 4 small meatballs. I ordered the hanger steak with mushroom risotto and my BF ordered the flounder piccata. Both were excellent but really small portions. We were still hungry so we ordered and shared the mushroom ravioli. We were never asked if we wanted dessert. We were the only ones left in the restaurant at this point and it was only 9:15. Finally since we never saw the dessert menu, we ordered coffee.
Overall, very good food but so expensive for such small portions! I would go back if money was no object.

There’s just something about the ambience, service and menu here that has always been such a big attraction for me. As my first time trying is as a guest… I was not disappointed.
Thinking back now, I’m very glad I came in around 430pm as I know this place can get busy. I’ve seen the patio crowd during the summer and its always bustling.
Stepping in I immediately felt warm and welcomed. The ambience and décor can be described as clean, beautiful and very tasteful. I was greeted nicely by not only Jamie at the door, but Dan behind the bar and Megan who was actually on her way to a table. I was beginning to think that being known and acknowledged by many members of a team, rather than just my server, was a lost art in restaurants. Glad it still exists.
First drink was a very delicious sazerac, Absinthe washed and nicely blended against the bitters. Perfect. Dinner was a Salsa verde rubbed swordfish with mussels and barley. Very light, seasoned perfectly, cooked correctly and served brothy «a la nage» style just the way I like it. If it wasn’t a faux paus to drink from a wide rimmed bowl I would’ve. Next time I just might, mom.
To balance the dish I was delightfully given a sample of a pinot noir by Patrick, the owner. A great hospitalitarian and an even better person. To my awesome surprise, I even had the liberty of being greeted bar-​side by the very nice and oddly clean chef Niels. Just another perk of arriving early I guess. As a chef myself, I had to pick his brain a little and have some industry talk… asking him about how hard it is to find quality product out here anymore. His reply mirrors my own thoughts… it’s not great, but we always make it happen.
All in all, 50 West is an underrated diamond in the red-​zone rough. Amazingly priced menu not any different from J Timothy’s, even at lunch, but clearly higher in quality and attention in my opinion. I enjoy J Tims but this place is well worth going the extra mile.

We (my husband and I) have been to 50 West several times this year. Sitting at the bar, inside, and outside. The food has always been wonderful, never a complaint. The drink selection, great. The service, exceptional.
Looking at the other reviews, please know I’ve only been there before 6pm (happy hour). I would guess it gets rather busy. Again, never been disappointed.

My husband and I were here for dinner on a Friday night. We didn’t have a reservation, but were able to be seated at the bar. We had a few drinks — the 50 Signature Drink was great, the espresso martini also good, the spiced dark and stormy was our least favorite.
We started with fried ravioli for an appetizer. My husband really liked it, noting that you could taste how clean their fryer oil was. I thought it was fine. It was only made special by the accompanying apricot soy sauce.
My husband ordered a rack of lamb special. The spice rub on the lamb was enjoyable and it was well cooked. There was a pumpkin purée with the dish that was also delicious. However, for $ 32, it really wasn’t anything to write home about. It was good. Nothing more.
Even less can be said for my swordfish special. The swordfish piece was thick and slightly inconsistently cooked. It was lightly seasoned, but with nothing memorable. The biggest issue with this dish were the accompanying mussels. There were at least 3 that hadn’t opened during cooking, but still made it to my plate. This is not only lazy, but incredibly dangerous.
For dessert we had the cider donuts and the black and tan cheesecake. The donuts were tasty, but oddly not tossed in cinnamon sugar — it was dumped over them. It really does make a difference in the overall coating. The cheesecake was, well, lacking cheese. The graham cracker crust and chocolate ganache layers were so thick that you truly couldn’t taste the cheesecake at all. Definitely a disappointment.
Overall, the food isn’t bad. It just doesn’t live up to the expectations created by the menu descriptions and the prices.

Been here three times in the last two months. I’m sure that says I like it. Great food choices. Wine choices are excellent too. And ½ price bottles on a Tuesday!
I’ve tried several dishes from the meatballs to the Brussels sprouts and pastas. All excellent well seasoned and decent portions. Waist staff is great, kept my water full and attentive. Definitely check 50 West out for a nice date night or a bite to eat during the week night.

Close to home, excellent food and friendly service.

Inventive menu, great service, fantastic wine list, and a lovely atmosphere. Great spot for a romantic dinner. Love the focus on locally sourced ingredients. Truly a standout!

My first time here! Sat out on the patio. Food was fantastic! The patio ambiance was marred by biting flies, but otherwise pleasant. Had the diver scallops and they were cooked to perfection. Our sever Ashley
was attentive and very sweet. This definitely will be my go to place since I live in the neighborhood!

Is there such a thing as a F-​? Here’s how it went down. We walked in with no reservation. We decided to sit at the bar and have a drink to wait for a table on the patio. This is where it begins. .. The stress. .. The chaos. .. It was a Friday night. The patio was packed the bartender was stressed and everyone felt it. We didn’t get acknowledged for 15 minutes and when we did he said he was busy so we should just «shout out your order». Let me say that one of the girls was so embarrassed and was very, very nice. This couldn’t make up for what we were in store for. We were eventually seated on the patio and the lovely Ashley was our waitress. She was an absolute doll that have the misfortune of serving us the following:
Cold meatball appetizer with horrible bbq sauce «thrown» over it.
Pappardelle with sausage and broccoli rabe (sounds good huh?) which was literally swimming in broth, overlooked and tasteless.
Kale salad with grilled chicken salad.. . The chicken was good.
So very disappointed in this restaurant but I think it can make it. .. With a new bartender and chef!

Food was ok. Entrée tasted a bit too much of flavored oils that masked the food itself. Dessert was good.

Super yummy happy hour and the deck on a sunshiny day is divine. We had Barley Risotto which was complex and filling. The Cod Sliders were tender and cooked perfectly.
Starting ⁵⁄₁₄ on Thursdays is a $ 1 an oyster on the patio. I will definitely be back for that!

Stopped by after dinner with a girlfriend on a Friday night for drinks and dessert. It was the first time for both of us. I had heard a few things about this place but had never been until this night. We are glad we came.
Just about everything on the cocktail list looked great, but the 50 West Signature Cocktail caught my eye because it was made with a few of my favorite things: St. Germain, Prosecco, and sparkling blood orange juice. It was so good and went down too easily. My friend had a few glasses of the red wine special of the day which the bartender let her try first.
We got two desserts to share — a bread pudding that was forgettable (maybe there was Maker’s Mark in it? Even that couldn’t save it.) and a wonderful lemon crème brûlée. After dinner and drinks we were so full it was probably unwise for us to order dessert at all, but that crème brûlée was so good I unbuttoned my pants to consume as much as I could handle.

Have heard good things about this place, particularly about their burgers. I was warned that they were pricey, but that didn’t bother me. The insides are pretty nice, defiantly fancy. Staff was very attentive and never went too long without some checking in.
I ordered a Bleu Bistro burger, sounded tasty. They brought over bread and when they ran out they gave us some house corn bread… let me tell you, it’s like a drug. And to top it off they served it with maple butter… it was like eating s pancake, delicious.
Got my burger and it was massive, a little too tall to take, but the bread was crispy and very tasty. The rest of the burger was underwhelming… not much taste, the meat was perfectly cooked burger, but no flavor. Everything else was bland as well, there might as well have been nothing else on it. Not worth the high price point for a forgettable burger. Fries were average, nothing to write home about.
I will be trying this place again to try a different burger, but so far they haven’t impressed me.

Ate here last night for dinner. Overall good experience. Did not have reservations on a Saturday night and was able to call ahead and get a table only 30 minutes in advance– much better than all the places in West Hartford Center that go for the same clientele.
The menu had a good variety. I ordered the veggie burger and while it was delicious it came out lukewarm. Didnt ruin it for me but I was a little confused as to if it is supposed to be served hot– I would have preferred it hot.
The rest of my party liked their food– steak dish and salad.
The jalapeño margarita was very good better than I have had at other restaurants.
I would come again to try the brunch menu which was pretty extensive. I also would be interested in the beer flight taster– good price at only $ 7.

I was so impressed with 50 west, and also surprised by some of the not so nice reviews. We came in with a group of 6, and had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. For brunch on a Sunday I felt a small wait was perfectly acceptable.
The food was delicious. I decided on the eggs Benedict trio, which comes with 3 different proteins… Smoked salmon, short rib, and ham. I’m not usually so adventurous with meat, but I was very happy I have it a shot. The bottomless home fries are great, and come as a side to every brunch entrée.
We finished off with French toast as «dessert» for the table, thick bread, orange zest and served with a side of gelato.
We also tried their jalepeno Bloody Mary. The waitress informed us everything was house made, so I was excited to test it and it was pretty spicy but REALLY good. All in all a very good experience and I will be back.

Was out with friends Fri nite and we wanted to try somewhere new for dinner. we looked online for restaurants and found 50 West… we’d never heard of it, but it looked great.
We weren’t disappointed :-) The hostess and waitstaff were wonderful! The menu is seasonal, all made fresh on premise. everything about the meal was delicious! The dinner salad had a unique spin, with some pickled veggies and seeds (pepitas?), with a bright, tangy dressing. had a parsnip soup – thick consistency, like cream, but no cream! Healthy and yummy! And the salmon entrée was delicious! Ended with an amazing chocolate mouse – one of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time – served with 2 slices of crystallized orange. perfect together!
Our waiter always checked on us. we never felt ignored. was such a fun girls nite out!
Will definitely go back!

I have only been to 50 West for brunch. This establishment is relatively new and quite a nice addition to the Plainville area. With its contemporary menu and modern aesthetic, it almost seems a bit out of place. The brunch menu is quite extensive with options like the 50 West Brunch Burger and 3 different Eggs Benedict options. The brunch entrees are served with bottomless breakfast potatoes, tea and coffee. I also had a good Bellini with my meal. My husband had one of their pancake options. 50 West is a wonderful and unexpected local treat!

I’ve been here twice and unfortunately neither time was I able to try their food. The first time I tried to dine here was valentines day and understandably they were booked with reservations for the night.
Fast forward to a random night in November and I thought «hey let’s try 50 west again.» I walked in and was greeted by a hostess and saw the place was bustling. She asked if me and my guest had a reservation and I replied no. She walked away and was looking around to see if there was a table.
She came back and said «the wait is 40 minutes but I did have a 6:30 reservation and they’re late. I will give them ten more minutes and if they don’t show the table is yours.» (It was 6:45 at this point). So you mean to tell me that you’d rather reserve a table for someone who is already 15 minutes late and clearly doesn’t respect your business and/​or time AND not to mention you expect me to waste my time for someone who is wasting yours?
You honor someone’s reservation after they are 15 to 25 minutes late when customers are standing in front of you? To ask me to wait ten minutes for someone who is late is not only a waste of my time but also incredibly insulting.
I will NEVER understand why businesses turn away money. But, another restaurant got our business and I doubt we will attempt to eat at 50 west again. However, if you do want to eat here– make a reservation. And don’t worry if you’re late because they’ll honor it.
Another thing is I never understood the need for a reservation for parties of less than 4 people. I can see making a reservation for large parties but why two people?