Hobson’s Choice

Has the best steaks in Williamstown. The cost can appear pricey but Williamstown frankly has a dearth of cheap good restaurants. Pretty much every restaurant is overpriced to match its property prices. Hobson’s less than most. Its been around for years and consistently delivers good quality steaks, pasta and lobster. Service is friendly and efficient.

It’s rare that Unilocal lets me down. Tonight’s visit to Hobson’s was one of those rare times.
Enter a restaurant that looks EXTREMELY dated. There is no décor to speak of. Look through the menu and it seems schizophrenic. There’s a page of sandwiches that are reasonable, even cheaply, priced. And they were good. The burger was missing the obvious option of bacon though.
The rest of the menu was extremely over priced. $ 18 for a grilled chicken breast with teriyaki sauce? In a small town in Massachusetts? Two 4 oz lamb chops I think we’re $ 25. Too expensive for what you get. I did splurge on the full cut prime rib based on what I read. The piece was a good size, but it was served near room temperature and did not have a bone. I expect a full size prime rib at that price to be properly warmed and include a bone. The sides we’re garlic mashed potatoes that were okay and candied carrots that were actually pretty good and were spiced with ginger — a nice touch that I wish was carried throughout the meal.
The service was friendly and helpful.
I think that Hobson’s needs to take a step back and decide what it wants to be and where it is. Either step your food and décor up or rework your menu and drop the prices.

Hobson’s choice is a fine steakhouse. But it’s on the pricier end for a Restaurant in the middle of a college town.
With mostly only steak and a few seafood options, the menu is fairly simple, in both content and character.
The atmosphere is homey– with booths and tables whose decorations haven’t been updated since the early 90’s.
The meat itself was juicy and perfectly cooked– the potato and carrots on the side were as their names suggest, potatoes and carrots.
Given the limited dining selection in the area it’s of the better options.

Really good burgers, perfectly cooked lobster, scrumptous prime rib and tasty chicken. Friendly laid back service. Salad bar is somewhat pedestrian.

This was my first time here, and was not impressed. Aside from running out of one of the few beers on tap after we ordered it, they proceeded to bring the wrong type of beer after. The burger was perhaps the smallest I have ever had, with a bun that overlapped about 3 inches on any side. Finally, they refused to honor a certificate we purchased last year, putting a cherry on top of the terrible experience. It was funny that we were asked if we had a reservation, there were only 4 other people in the entire facility so not sure why anyone would need one. I live about 5 minutes away but will never come back, plenty of better places in the area.

Beware — the salad bar is NOT back, even tho their ad in this year’s Wmstwn Theatre Festival program says they have «local organic salad bar.»
It’s a big disappointment because it was a really good one but they dropped it last year and we stopped going. Seemed to us that they kept the kinda high prices (that were justified when they had the salad bar) and now you pay on top of the kinda high price to get a salad.
Unfortunately their misleading WTFestival program ad brought us back this week. We were seated before we realized it was missing. Decided to stay anyway.
Kudos to the young, eager to please wait staff. Efficient, obliging, smiling.
But the menu’s Large Salad was routine — nothing like what the bar offered — and the entrée veges were minimal portions and bland.
MahiMahi was good. Santa Fe Chicken okay. Neither was impressive enuf to bring us back.

Nice, quiet restaurant in the Berkshires. Service was attentive without being intrusive — perfection! ALERT: The restaurant no longer has a salad bar as previous reviews state, but the house salad is fresh and the sundried tomato vinegarette is to die for. Lobster Roll was packed with large pieces of fresh lobster meat, cold and tasty. Beef Kebabs were amazing — you always wonder if you’re going to end up with more veggies than meat, but here the meat was the star — well seasoned and cooked perfectly. Grilled squash side was wonderful as well. Looking forward to a return trip sooner than later.

Yummy mac and cheese. Staff was super friendly. My wife had the salmon which was great and unpretentious.

I came with friends on a blisteringly cold winter evening and was warmly welcomed by sweet waitstaff. It can be described by every adjective of «homey» and «welcome».
The bread to start was lovely! and the handchurned butter was creamy and lightly salty. I had a blackened burger, however I can’t say that the blackening made much of an impression. There was a confusion and the mushrooms that I ordered with the burger didn’t make it to the plate and one of my friend’s burgers was missing the blue cheese that he asked for too, but it was generally a moderately good meal. The meat wasn’t seasoned as heavily as I prefer and as I thought ‘blackened might mean, but the rest of the party who had ordered different variations of «pasta» really enjoyed the food!
I probably wouldn’t return because the food was ok, but the staff is wonderful and the décor is charming!

A nice, homey restaurant located a little bit seats from Wyndham Resort at Jiminy Peak, about a 20 min drive.
They give you a fresh loaf of French bread to start. Ask about their specials, as three members in our party of six chose a dish off their specials. I got the salmon sandwich (~$ 9), which comes with the option of being grilled or blackened. Blackened is an option offered on most of their dishes involving meat; it costs $ 1 and seems to mean they char the meat a little bit. I chose the blackened option but I don’t know if it made much of an impression on me. The sandwich comes with the salmon, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce, as well as your choice of a side (garlic mashed potatoes, baked potato, fries). The salmon was cooked well and the bun was crispy on the edges and yet still soft. The food was a little lukewarm but tasted very good.

Most definitely a hidden gem in the Berkshires! Our dinner this evening was phenomenal. Your meal begins with fresh baked French bread that arrives promptly when you sit down. I had a small house salad with their homemade dressing (I recommend trying the roasted tomato vinegrette). I had the Santa Fe Chicken that had just the right amount of spice, the garlic mashed potatoes had a hint of garlic (usually resturants overpower) and a side of maple glazed carrots. Everything was wonderful! My Mom had the Filet Mignon and it was so tender it almost melted in your mouth. My boyfriend had a seafood pasta special and they were very generous with the seafood. Service was speedy and friendly. The atmosphere is warm and homey. It is a little pricey as far as the Berkshires go but it was well worth the price. Definitely adding this to my list of favorites in Northern Berkshire :)

A co-​worker suggested this little place and I am happy she did. When you walk in there are these great funky teal booths and, I will admit, the décor is a bit outdated, but the menu is right on. Simple, local well prepared food. The tuna we had was excellent quality and the sandwiches are well priced and delicious. They have good beer on tap. And to be honest, I kinda like the old school charm this place offers.

The food here is always great, as is the service. My biggest issue is the décor — it needs serious updating. I don’t really like going here because it feels so dated and old. Nothing is obviously dirty, but it doesn’t feel like the sort of place you want to spend a lot of time. That said, I’ve never had a bad meal here. The food is simple but delicious, I especially like their blackened chicken.

Dan, the Chef (and Owner), prepares every meal fresh to order. We had three in our party on a Saturday night, each of us starting with a mixed green salad (no salad bar thankfully), I had the Tuscan Pasta special for $ 23, each piece of seafood was expertly cooked and tender, the red sauce was light and tasty. My husband had the Mahi-​Mahi with pineapple chutney, which he said was great, and our dinner companion enjoyed her meal as well. There were numerous items on the menu that looked good, I had a hard time choosing. The drinks were good as well, our companion ordered a Gibson, and it was perfect down to the onion garnish. The House Cabernet is Avalon, which we drink at home. The waitress was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. The restaurant interior is comfortable.

Conveniently close to the Williams College campus, Hobson’s Choice is a comfortable restaurant with good service and food at a reasonable price.

We came here two nights in a row while in the area for skiing, stopping here on our way back from the slopes. It’s a casual, homey kind of restaurant with a varied menu of steak and seafood, equally good for families, couples or friends. The prime rib was delicious but our friends said their seafood dishes were also very good. They have a small but very fresh salad bar that’s include with the main courses. Service was always prompt and friendly, and you can chat with the chef while he works in the open kitchen. You can go higher or lower end in Williamstown, but I don’t think you can find better food in a friendly atmosphere. Our go-​to place when we’re in town.

We’ve been coming to Hobson’s Choice since it opened maybe 20 years ago. We went back twice this summer, so clearly we are fans. Chef Dan focuses on what he does well. That includes great steaks (including the grass-​fed kind) and fish and seafood. The salad bar is small, but the greens, veggies, and especially tomatoes are fresh and tasty, and the dressings interesting.
My son really liked the lobster bisque and his grass-​fed steak. I’ve been been living on his blackened fish for years, and the mahi-​mahi was thick and juicy. But after I tasted my son’s steak, I ordered it the next time I came. My wife and daughter went for one of Dan’s seafood pasta’s, always a good choice because the seafood is fresh and the scallops and shrimp large. The next night we returned, my wife had an excellent lobster (which is hard to ruin if it is fresh). Our friends tried the Santa Fe Chicken, also a past favorite.
The desserts manage to be incredibly rich and yet not overly sweet. They are also huge, so consider sharing.
Two things you should know. First, if make reservations and reserve your prime rib if you want it. It’s the most popular item on the menu, and they ran out both times I was there.
Second, Hobson’s had a good and reasonably priced wine list.
Back when the Williamstown Theater Festival drew top actors, Hobson’s Choice was a great place to watch them. I remember seeing several Tony and Oscar winners there, including one acting very badly towards her father and boyfriend. The theater doesn’t draw them in like it used to, but the restaurant is still a popular hangout. It doesn’t try to be trendy, just solid. I’ve never left feeling less than satisfied.

First place we ate at upon getting into town.
The set up is ok, the tables clean, but no real «punch.». The salad bar is plain.
The food better, I had the Mahdi Mahi, my wife the pasta.
I imagine it’s jamming during college days, but Hobson’s did not have that crackle I look for in a restaurant.

I spent two glorious summers in High School as a bus girl in this establishment, and I must tell you — I still love the food! I’ve since moved from Williamstown, but this was always a favorite place for my family to go.
Yes, I hear you — a salad bar is a little weird in this day and age, as they are normally accompanied with senior discounts — but this is a VERY fresh salad bar. Not only is it yummy, but It allows you to say hello to the head Chef Dan, and watch him prepare your meals in the open face kitchen. Well, I suppose this is all only true if it’s the same as it was back in the day :).
I LOVE the Chicken Santa Fe — YES! It’s a creamy delight of spicy veggies and chicken. They work hard to make sure that your food is cooked perfectly, and pay attention to every detail. Whether it’s seafood, meats, or pasta — you’ll find something fresh and delicious here.
Great for date nights!

Problem one with visiting a town like Williamstown and really relying on Unilocal for help is every place has 3, 4 or 5 reviews and I just can’t be … well, I just can’t read into them like I do on others that have a well reviewed town or location. I want to help Williamstown and in doing so I want to recommend Hobson’s Choice. What a great place, a great find and Williamstown, albeit a small cute town, is well served by having a place like this for dining.
Hobson’s choice was casual, lovely salad bar, attentive wait staff and a cool open kitchen where the chef say’s hi as you’re getting your salad. I loved the food, great shish kabob, my son had seafood pasta special and the half petite filet and my daughter had the chicken. ALL was great.
We are so glad we chose this place and hope my review helps take the guess work out of Williamstown eateries.