Sixthirtynine — Restaurant in Woodstock

Sixthirtynine was such a delightful surprise. My partner and I made a reservation here for dinner because we planned to stay the night in Woodstock on our way from Detroit to Toronto. We'd never been to Woodstock, and the exterior of the restaurant and first impressions of the dining room are unassuming -- I was expecting a fairly yummy dinner and a couple of drinks. Instead, what I was met with was an all-time best dining experience.

We opted for the tasting menu at the chef's table, and I'm so glad that we did. Each course was imaginative, unique, and absolutely delicious. The food is local and seasonal. It's meant to be a celebration of Ontario, and a lot of love for the place shines through in each bite. I have drafted things to say about the dishes, but words do a silly job of explaining them. For example, custard and caviar in an eggshell sounds....weird. But it was stunning, savory, and a perfect amuse bouche. A potato leek soup sounds basic, but my partner and I agreed that it was actually -- not an exaggeration -- the best soup ever made.

I also opted for the wine pairing, which I would do again in an instant: each course's wine was expertly selected to complement the food.

The chef's table is a very special experience. The kitchen staff is sweet as can be, and we had fun and interesting conversations with the whole team as we enjoyed watching them run the restaurant and prepare our dinner.

As soon we as left Sixthirtynine, we missed everyone that we met. After a night at the Holiday Inn Express, we were off to Toronto. Toronto is a food lover's dream city, so I've always heard, and we had a lot of good meals there! But nothing compared to our experience at Sixthirtynine, which set such an incredibly high bar for... probably the rest of my meals until I die. When this place is on Netflix and has a Michelin star and reservations made 6 months in advance, I'll be glad to say I went there...

My husband and I had seen high reviews about this restaurant and decided to try it for our 28th wedding anniversary (July 5). It was beyond what we expected. The absolute epitome of Fine Dining. From the atmosphere, the music, the service, and most importantly - the food. Everything was done to perfection! When we first sat down we were given a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, followed be an amuse-bouche of Pickeral belly with pea shoots and wild leek. Then we were served some focaccia with rosemary and old bay and a whipped butter. Our appetizers were the cauliflower and truffle soup, and the organic greens with almonds, cherry tomatoes with a rhubarb tarragon dressing. What made the salad extra special was the lovely almond butter the salad was set on. Next came a palette cleanser - a small spoon of a sorbet that tasted like apple pie! For dinner I had the roasted lamb with sweet pea puree, pickled onions and mint jus, with braised lamb tortellini. It was incredible! The lamb was done to absolute perfection and the tortellini....well, I could have eaten a bowl of that tortellini itself only and been perfectly happy. My husband had the drie aged beef striploin with potato puree, grilled miatake mushrooms, asparagus and a brandied green peppercorn sauce. Again, the beef was done perfectly. For dessert we had the mille-feuille (shared). It was absolutely delicious! The experience was made all the more special by the wonderful service provided by our server, Jenn. She was an absolute delight and described every single course in detail. Thank you to the wonderful staff, and the amazing chef's. ...

As part of my planning for a sisters’ theater weekend, I was exploring our dining options. I was intrigued to find this farm to table restaurant in the town of our lodging. We booked the chef’s table, which gave us front row seats to the kitchen and the ability to speak with Eric (the owner) and Josh (his sous chef). The kitchen vibe was mellow albeit in constant motion (unlike what you might see on The Bear!) Our meal was started with a delicious amuse bouche- fried wing leg to start the juices flowing. Our first course selections were beautifully plated and very flavorful (I chose the tomato tartine and my sister had the truffle mushroom soup), house made warmed rosemary focaccia with warm butter as well. We were brought a palate cleanser on a frozen ceramic spoon of apple cider rum maple sorbet. Our main course selections also were beautifully plated and delicious ( I had the pastrami duck on sweet corn cream with roasted corn kernels and cauliflower and my sister went with the pork loin, croquette, and broccoli ). Like everything in this culinary gem- they make their own strawberry ice cream - so while very full I chose the strawberry shortcake to finish off an amazing culinary experience. Hopefully we will return next year for both more theater in Stratford and another...