JRego's Gathering Place — Restaurant in Ellington

Decent restaurant! Decided to stop for lunch. Modern decor and coloring scheme. Music, imo, was too loud to have good conversation. Liked the fact that it seems to be locally sourced when possible. Simple menu selection but I find that better because less on menu usually fresher and able to perfect what is on menu. Server was very outgoing and friendly and walked us through the menu, which wasn't exactly nessicary but welcomed. Ordered caprese salad for the table, like the addition of the peaches but will say was sadly disappointed that in late summer they used hot house tomatoes or not garden fresh... Which completely is essential for that expected summer flavor. Infact, we actually ordered because our sever recommended it ; stating that she believes the tomatoes came from her garden... Anyway... The rest of meals were pretty good. My mom ordered the calamari which could have come out a smidge sooner in the fry was hint ever so overdone and slightly cool to touch. The sauces that accompanied the calamari were tasty. The burgers ( mine and daughter's) were decent size and both cooked perfectly, could used a bit of salt or seasoning but honestly , I'd rather have to apply salt then receive meat/ dish overly salted which most places do and are not fresh pressed burger meat. Pleased beef comes from farm across the street, supporting local. Onion rings were kinda hard so my mom couldn't eat them but I thought they were crispy and tasty. My other daughter got the mussels which were perfectly delicate and sauced beautifully. Definitely would try again maybe for dinner to try a different assortment of dishes... especially since the mussels and beef were...

Dinner for 4 Saturday 515 PM, we were seated before 6PM. No reservations taken, a two bench waiting area. The vibrant crowd shows how badly this town needs a fresh new choice. I've heard good vibe that is true. It looked like there were some turnarounds at the door if so this needs to be watched by owners. Even tho opening and operating restaurants is very challenging Q1-22, J Rego is off to an excellent start. One Co owner was up front, she's the floor quarterback calling plays but making sure her young team is covering and serving guests. We had two apps, a Mediterranean humus dish with pita, excellent and Calamari which was good. A richer marinara sauce and slightly crispier calamari is needed to get on the humus app's excellent level. I had blackened salmon on the citrus salad, delicious and done just right. One of our friends had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken which came with huge leafs and smaller chicken portions which could maybe be slightly the other way. Another was Pan fried salmon sitting on a bed of gnocchi delicious per our friend.

As claimed they do have deeper bench on the wine list both by the glass and bottle. Draft beer line-up is solid. An excellent Double IPA and a Stout might get Millennials in. A future vist by the writer planned is to scout out brown fluids and Wi Fi, no intel on that yet. Chatting with guests in the bar area all felt their meals were delicious and service stellar.FYI - Entrees are priced attractively about 1/2 of what they are at an established chain restaurant at Evergreen Walk for example. I give 5 Stars because of what they are delivering this early...

We tried a couple of appetizers plus a Flatbread and a burger. The muscles were tiny but flavorful. Roasted brussels caused a heated debate between my husband and me. I was excited to see them on the menu since I adore veggies in all manner of prep. Hubby also enjoys them but this is is where our opinions (and that is all they are) deviate. He adored them! I enjoyed the flavors but was definitely missing the 'roasted' texture, you know those crispy leaf edges. The Smokin Betty Flatbread was my hands down favorite. The flavors and textures were very enjoyable and would definitely order again. My husband got a plain burger with fries (which were uncoated and a very generous portion, enough to share and then some). It was cooked to his doness preference and quite juicy. We capped off with a stuffed Nutella crepe (to go) which was enjoyed at home a couple of hours later because we were quite full from the meal. At the end there was a humorous situation involving a $100 bill from 1981 which the young server didn't know how to verify leaving us and a few others in stitches. Overall, a nice experience, kudos on the music...