Smithsonian Cafe and Chowderhouse — Restaurant in Hatfield

We went with Smithsonian Catering for our wedding reception buffet-style dinner and Peter and his staff were an ABSOLUTE pleasure to work with.

Everything that Peter suggested for a menu (that we subsequently tried) was delicious and we only became more and more sure of our decision to work with them as time went on. He also kindly gave us seafood chowder whenever we went and OMG that stuff is DELICIOUS.

Peter and team made us a fruit + cheese table for appetizers, chicken marsala medallions, baked haddock with seafood stuffing, grilled vegetables, caesar salad, tomato mozz salad, and even helped us pull off our custom desserts! We got cupcakes in the following flavors : Andes mint chocolate, earl grey and chocolate, and apple cider vanilla, IN ADDITION to a tiramisu cutting cake. And EVERYTHING was delicious!

Every tasting we went to was fantastic and everyone at the reception really enjoyed the food. Thank you, Peter, for being down to earth, transparent about costs and any changes that needed to be made, and for just being absolutely fantastic to work with. We're definitely recommending you to every event/friend we can! You guys were amazing, Smithsonian Catering team.

Thank you for helping us with our wedding!

P.s. Peter is also willing to take on custom menu items and has experience with interracial wedding menus (where someone's grandma's recipe can be used). We didn't end up going with this option, but as an interracial couple, just knowing that he was considerate of those potential dynamics spoke...

Unfortunately our lunch visit today was sub par on many levels. When we walked in the door the restaurant was filled with smoke. That should have been our cue to leave but I was craving a delicious popover like I’ve gotten in the past. I ordered a chicken pot pie popover and it was just off today. Like everything was 3-5 days old. The pot pie filling was runny and sour tasting. The popover was tough and rubbery. Not like I remember them to be. My husband was happy with his sandwich, so I’m guessing my choice was just a poor one. Couple this with very unfriendly service by the young lady at the counter (never greeted us and asked if she could help us…just stood at the register with an unhappy glare ) …not pleasant and acted annoyed that she had to take our order…it made for a disappointing customer experience. We thought the smoke filled dining area would get better but it actually got worse over the course of our lunch. Surprised that the smoke detectors didn’t go off. Definitely not a pleasant or healthy lunch experience. Our clothes smell of smoke and several hours later, my eyes are still burning. Got to do better...

They had a promotion for the Clam Shack out back - all you can eat fish fry. You are encouraged to BYOB. My husband ordered the fish fry, I had the fried shrimp and our friend had the fried haddock. The bill came to $50.13. I had called ahead to make sure they had air-conditioning in the seating area, and was told they did. We arrived, ordered food at the back area, and headed into the 'dining room'. The temperature was about 85 degrees, and the back door was wide open. The table was very sticky, and all in all, the dining experience was primitive at best - they had not even taken the plastic seal off of the ketchup bottle. Worst for us, they had no fresh lemon - isn't that a basic with fried seafood? The coleslaw has a slight pink tinge (paprika?) and isn't truly edible. The fish, shrimp and french fries were quite good, but hard to eat when it's so hot inside. So BYOB, and BYOLemon, I guess. Clueless kids running the place...