Root & Bone — Restaurant in Pelham

A $400 dinner warrants better service/hospitality than what we received on our wedding anniversary with Root & Bone. And please do let me say that I pride myself on being an easy-going, undemanding guest when dining out.

My wife and I made a reservation for 2 well in advance on our 4-year anniversary, which is the occasion we chose to celebrate with Root & Bone - it came recommended by a friend.

When we arrived this past Saturday evening for our 7:45pm reservation, we were waiting, un-greeted at the entrance for maybe just shy of 5 minutes. It was a busy night, sure, and having worked in hospitality myself over the years, there's a certain amount of grace I can give for busy nights. When we spotted a FOH member emerge from the back of the restaurant, I expected they were on their way to welcome us at the door, but instead we received a quick glance and we then watched as this FOH member decided to do a quick sweep of the bar area to clean up some loose and used linens. My qualm here was that especially at a restaurant with a price tag and reputation like this, guests should be welcomed promptly and warmly, as they're likely to be dropping some $$$ at the establishment - instead we were met hurriedly after having been made to wait some time without any greeting.

Once we were sat down by this person, we were asked our preference of water and asked if we'd like complimentary sparking wine to toast our celebration. While we were chatting with her (I want to say that her name is Vanessa, if I remember correctly), she seems quite preoccupied with whatever else was happening in the restaurant. We received very little eye contact and attention in this interaction with her.

A different server wheeled around shortly after and asked if the previous server had gone through the evening's specials - she hadn't.

Vanessa, that first FOH/server came back around to take our prix-fixe order, taking it all in without writing anything down (and hey - sometimes servers can do this well) and just before she left she confirmed my wife's cook preference on her steak, "Medium?" "It was medium-rare" my wife said.

Cut to the meal. The food was thoughtful and tasty, though the portions smaller than I expected for the price tag. Our first and second courses went ok (I had the diminutive scallops for my first and I opted for the octopus for my second, which has a surcharge that I was aware of). Then the main course (my wife's steak and my meal) arrived. The plates were put in front of us and the server began to walk away. My wife beckoned her back because she realized that what was put in front of me was not actually what I ordered at all. I ordered the lamb and received a steak. There was a mix-up and my dish was taken back to the kitchen. It's an open concept restaurant, so we watched the whole interaction - there was some deliberation as to what went wrong with my order. I don't know whose wires got crossed, our server's or the kitchen's. That said, they fired a new lamb and I urged my wife to begin eating as I didn't want her food to get cold. A support staff member came by the table to apologize for the mix-up and I thanked the gent for his communication because I felt like that was the first time that evening that the communication was decent. My lamb finally arrived. It was actually the highlight of the night, foodwise. It was very tasty with a pea risotto underneath. Then we got desert. That was good too.

When you dine out at a new-to-you establishment, it's a roll of the dice - you win some and you lose some. Frankly, given the reputation and recommendation of Root & Bone, we were expecting a big win that night. When my wife and I go out on a date night, we go for it, monetarily speaking - we're there to be taken care of. That's what we believe a nice restaurant should do - provide excellent hospitality and great food. But we didn't feel we were especially taken care of here. We definitely lost that dice roll. Unfortunately I shan't be returning to or recommending Root &...

My husband and I went to Root and Bone for a date night (a certain rarity with our 9 month old -- thank goodness for grandma!) a few weeks ago. We found the restaurant by a Google search of places close to my parents and were so impressed by the rave reviews that we decided to give it a try. When we got to the restaurant, we advised the server who greeted us that we had a reservation, though it didn't seem very busy yet (7pm on a Thursday night) and we were able to choose a table. After being seated, we were told that the chef had gone to the Pelham market (right behind the restaurant) to pick up some items for dinner, which emphasized the farm to table experience that we were anticipating. Our server was quite charming and attentive throughout the night and guided us seamlessly through the menu and daily features (I can confirm, as another reviewer has already stated, that it did in fact seem that he had memorized a hundred exciting and complex daily features). Each of us started with a salad option -- I had the Earth salad and my husband had the Root salad. Both were beautifully plated, delicious and bright. For an entree, I chose the sea bass feature and my husband selected the lamb loin entree. When the plates arrived, we were impressed by a couple of things. First, the portions were very generous. Some high end dining experiences are aesthetically pleasing but ultimately leave the client hungry, which seems so silly to me. This was not the case here. Second, the plates were delightfully intentional. From beet garnish to slices of perfectly cooked lamb loin, each item did nothing but add to and complete the stunning presentation. When we finally stopped admiring our food and began eating it, we were elated to find that taste met and even exceeded expectations set by aesthetics. The elegant and deliberate combinations of flavour and texture on our plates created such inspiring bites that it gave me butterflies! Rather than simply being fed, we left after two hours with the feeling that someone had created something for us to participate in and enjoy. Further, for all of the magnificence, the atmosphere was completely unpretentious and relaxed, creating an absolutely perfect date night environment. I look forward with great anticipation to the next time that we are able to steal away to...

This will be a long written review, which I have never done in any previous reviews. My wife and I dined on Oct 18 celebrating our 22nd anniversary. No gifts this year but decided to go all out for our dinner as our gift to each other. I was in charge of finding somewhere. I’ve followed reviews over the last few months and decided Root and Bone is the place. Both my wife and I have a very open minded pallet and we owned our own restaurant. So we have some street credit 😉 Online Reservation- easy to book and received text before hand (which I had to hide from the wife ) Atmosphere - it is a smaller venue but even during a busy Saturday night did not feel cramped up. Everything was spotless clean and I mean clean. It’s the first thing I noticed. Food- this was the absolute star. I spoke to someone and said it was the first time I felt like I wasn’t going out for dinner but having an actual experience with food. I cannot stress the level of skills required to pull off mine and my wife’s meal. Honestly this is Michelin rated food. From pork belly to lamb loin and everything else we ate was made with love and a level of cooking that will have me talking about this experience for years. Service- Emilia our guide to the evening of joyous proportion was awesome. Great smile and gave us a few pointers as this was our first experience. By the way. Say yes to her espresso martini. In my wife’s words. “Oh my god where has this been all my life “ yep that good. Also the mice en place, dishwashers (every plate, utensil and glass was spotless) and everyone that made the dining experience so memorable deserves a shout out. Price - We did a fixed menu. Lots to choose from. I can’t stress enough that you are not going out to dinner here. You are having a culinary experience like no other. So close your eyes to the bill and enjoy!

Thanks again Root and...