51 Park Restaurant & Tavern — Restaurant in Lee

Buckle up folks, you’re in for a ride on this one. My girlfriend and I made the trek from Medford out to Lee to spend the week hiking in the Berkshires. Having made the long drive across the state without having breakfast, we were famished. We had researched dining in the area and this was our top pick so we didn’t waste any time trying it out as soon as we got into town. The experience started off very positive, the bartender (unfortunately did not get his name) was attentive, personable, and most importantly, made great cocktails. This is where the positive experience ended.

We ordered French onion soup, honey sriracha wings, and the onion jam burger to split. The French onion soup looked great, I don’t know how it tasted because there was a large hair right on top. Sent it back and was told a fresh one would be out shortly. A few minutes later it arrived, it was the same soup, they just took the hair off. You could see the exact spot my girlfriend stuck her spoon in when she first noticed the hair… I informed the bartender and said I did not want a replacement. It was subsequently removed from the bill.

The wings and burger came next. I cut the burger in half to split it with my girlfriend, noticed it was not the burger that was ordered (ordered a burger with bacon jam, caramelized onions, arugula, and cheddar cheese… got a plain hamburger with onion and tomatoes) and it was cooked well done plus despite asking for medium rare. Informed the bartender and he went to rectify the situation. A few minutes later, a new burger came. Had the proper toppings but was the same over cooked patty that I had already cut in half when the first burger arrived.

Instead of coming over to discuss the issues we were having, the manager mouthed off to us about how the patty wasn’t the problem and that’s why they didn’t switch it out… again, it was very very over cooked. He then told me to “go back to New York”. Complete lack of professionalism and class, I am a Massachusetts resident (not that that should even matter) but was wearing a Syracuse hat that was recently gifted to me. Completely unacceptable behavior, all I wanted was the food I ordered. The wings were hot, had nice crisp to them, but the flavor was pretty bland. Hands down easily one of the worst guest experiences I have ever had. I totally understand that mistakes happen but being treated that way by the manager of the establishment was...

Mediocre food and service with questionable billing practices. Not worth it, here’s why. Stopped by here June 27, 2023, on a rainy Tuesday afternoon for lunch. My wife and I were seated right away. Servers don’t smile here. Our server never introduced herself but brought our drinks quickly, no straws though. The venue is an old Victorian that is in desperate need of updating. Some might say it’s quaint and charming though. We had the crabcakes for starters, they had crabmeat, but we thought they tasted like tuna and were very brown outside with a weird texture inside. That seemed to be the trend here, the food had no pop or brightness to it. All the food was at room temperature. The Cider was good though. My wife ordered the Hot Honey Chicken sandwich. It was cold with a hockey puck sized piece of chicken and lots of batter. The pickles in her sandwich were ends with the stems on. I had Seared Salmon with Risotto. The salmon was cooked well but was under seasoned, the server suggested I add salt and pepper when she dropped it off. The risotto was raw in the middle and had a crunch to it. We skipped dessert. The bill came up to $100, cider-8, coke-3.5, crabcakes-15, chicken sandwich-15, salmon-28. The total was $75 with tax, we paid and asked the server to make change for a $20 so we could tip her $15 cash. She came back with the manager and an updated bill saying we owed $25. This new bill included a tip for 11 and the manager explained that Massachusetts has a special tax for alcoholic beverages. We were the only non-white people in the restaurant, and we got the impression the ‘special tax’ was for the privilege of eating at their establishment. Despite the very high rating, the experience and food here was very disappointing and we will not...

This was our first time visiting, but it won't be our last! Lee is a halfway point for many of our road trips - or even a destination if we are headed to the outlets - and we have struggled to find a good place to stop for food.

I loved the cozy New England vibe this restaurant had, as it was inside an older home. Lots of small spaces instead of sitting in the middle of a large dining area is always welcome.

The hostess seated us promptly upon arrival, and our waitress was friendly and helpful in answering all of our questions.

Now, for the food. Dining out is not an inexpensive hobby these days. I appreciate great food in a decent quantity to make me feel like the experience is both worth it and repeatable. This restaurant was spot on.

Cheese fries were cooked perfectly with enough beer cheese to coat but not drown them. A decent amount of sour cream on top for dipping also. We split the Bacon Jam burger and Crispy Chicken sandwich. The burger was outrageously good; cooked at the medium-well requested, and had a great blend of flavors. Homemade chips on the side are also very good (hubby finished all of his!). The chicken sandwich was very tasty - "real" chicken, not a frozen product and thinner, which I prefer. I wasn't sure about the sauce going in and requested it on the side. It's hard to describe why I didn't enjoy the taste of it, but it's no big deal as I just asked for a side of ranch instead.

Overall, great service in a place that was enjoyable to spend an hour of our day and really good food....