Ironwood Hingham — Restaurant in Hingham

UPDATE 4/17/25: Just an FYI no response from management which I find extremely unprofessional. Will not return to this restaurant that we have been going to every Friday night for the past 3-4 years. We miss Raffael’s and the owners Frank and Elio who were amazing. We followed them from North Quincy to Hull to Hingham!!

Also note most of the 5 star reviews are written by people that only have 1 review (that means they were asked by the restaurant to write them to off set bad reviews). True reviews are written by people that have multiple reviews! ORIGINAL REVIEW 4/11/45: My hubby bowls at South Shore Country Club on Friday nights so we typically have dinner before bowling. We absolutely loved Raffael’s so were bummed when they closed. When Ironwood opened we decided to try it as we found out the bartenders from Raffael’s still worked there and we LOVE them!!

Our first visit I had Chef Tina’s eggplant special which was amazing, my hubby had the chicken sandwich which was pretty good he said nothing special and we had the bread pudding desert which was amazing as well. The restaurant itself looked nice as it was recently renovated. Wasn’t impressed with some of the new servers. They had a terrible personality and did not seem to know what they were doing.

The next time we went we started with the bread which was focaccia, olives and something that I assumed was hummus. The focaccia and oil were delicious. We both had the chicken sandwich which was not bad. We also got the bread pudding which was different than it was the first time and definitely not as good. We saw Chef Tina and she was very condescending toward staff. Didn’t like the unprofessionalism!

Tonight was the third time we’ve been there. We started with the bread again. This time it was supposed to be sourdough bread that was infused with garlic and oil. We got it and it looked like raisin bread. We asked the bartender if it was the sourdough bread and she said yes. It actually had olives in it. We don’t eat olives so did not like it as all. I ordered a chicken Caesar salad and my hubby ordered the Cobb salad with no avocado. We got our salads and he had avocado even though he asked for no avocado and the chicken on both of our salads was so lemony it was terrible. The bartender asked how everything was and we said the was way too lemony. I mentioned that it wasn’t even listed as lemon chicken on the menu. I don’t eat lemon chicken so never would have ordered it. On the menu just said grilled chicken. She was overly apologetic. A little while later Chef Tina came out to question us about it. We explained it was way too lemony and that it should really be listed as lemon chicken on the menu. She explained the chicken just came in and was just marinated and the other chef must have added too much lemon zest. Never took accountability, never apologized, never offered to do anything, basically just came out to make her point and blame someone else. She did thank us for bringing it to her attention though. After Chef Tina left another women said “that’s funny I got a salad with chicken on it for takeout the other night and I thought the exact same thing”.

Some of the other bowlers have had issues. Seems every time someone orders some thing that they’ve had before it’s different. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency. Not sure if it’s different chefs or if they just change recipes. It’s frustrating when you order something because you loved it and you order it again and it’s different.

One thing that really bothers me and completely turns me off from this restaurant is the way the new staff speaks to their co-workers. They are condescending and unprofessional which to me is absolutely unacceptable at any time but even more so in front of customers.

All in all very disappointing!!

All that being said, I will say is ingredients are definitely fresh and the bartenders...

The Ironwood has become my new favorite weekly spot! (Honestly, I’ve gone every weekend since their grand opening back in January).

The restaurant is so cozy and the seats at the bar are plush and comfy. A wall of large windows along one wall showcase the beautiful golf course outside, giving the restaurant a bright and spacious feel as well as a providing patrons with the ability to enjoy the outdoors no matter what the weather. It truly is a lovely little place.

Even better than atmosphere is the food! I have been slowly working my way through the menu. I love the variety of options from upscaled comfort foods to the new (to me anyway) more bold flavor combinations.

I thoroughly enjoy the tuna tostada, which is wild to me since I am not a sushi persona at all, but it doesn’t feel like raw fish. It’s a more firm-ish texture, very visually appealing, and with a wonderful combination of bright, summer feeling, flavors.

I also love the steak and cheese egg rolls with the horseradish scallion mayo. They’re like the chef’s kiss of comfort foods.

The French onion soup is so thick with onions along with an aged cheddar crouton that it eats more like a stew, and it’s one of the most intoxicatingly savory things I have ever eaten. I also really love the tomato soups when it shows up as the soup of the day.

I love the Caesar salad with grilled chicken. The chicken has just the right slightly lemony kick to it to balance to creaminess of the Cesar dressing.

Tina’s sausage and rigatoni, and the truffle Mac and cheese (both available in half sizes and full sizes) are my main go-to’s when I can’t otherwise decide. The truffle mac and cheese is one of the most decadent things I have ever eaten. The bread crumbs are made on site and are part of why I enjoy it so much (I always ask for extra to go if I have any extra to take home). The rigatoni includes the most satisfying home made ricotta ever (I now add ricotta to my pasta at home- highly recommend, though I admit Tina’s is better).

I always ask about the specials before I ask for a menu. Last week I had Korean short rib tacos with kimchi. Phenomenal!!

The service here is always amazing as well. The staff are all very attentive and gracious. I enjoy when Chef Tina comes out to speak with diners. You can see how much she loves her work and how much it matters to her that her customers are happy and satisfied. It’s always an overall wonderful experience, which is why I’ve been coming here week after week since they opened. I can’t recommend this place enough. Come check them out! I promise you will not be disappointed!

(I hear they also have an attached event space and can hold events. I have never held an event here but since it’s an additional feature of this restaurant I thought I should include it...

My boyfriend and I went for lunch on a Saturday and everything was amazing! Lori was our waitress, who was very attentive, had a great knowledge of the menu, and was very kind. We started with the short rib arancini, which were phenomenal with great flavor. I had the fried chicken sandwich with homemade ranch, which was crispy and tasted awesome! My boyfriend had a chicken caprese sandwich, which he enjoyed very much and said was delicious. For dessert we got the sticky toffee pudding, which was one of the best desserts we have ever had! The drinks were also fantastic, with the mirage and ironwood fusion being our favorites. Overall, a very great experience and would...