Hugo's Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Montpelier

Made a reservation through reservy for New Years eve about 4 days before the event. The only available seating was for 6:15pm. We were excited for the regular menu as on the website I did not notice a special menu for NYE. We arrived and were very excited as after our climb up the stairs, we were greeted with a lovely bar and a very pleasant hostess. Atmosphere was great but we were disappointed it was a prefix menu and we were not offered a menu while we were waiting for our table. We started on cocktails ordered from the bar. Our seating was over 1/2 hour past our reservation time- not Hugo's fault and we were very understanding as it was NYE. We were finally seated and began to be excited for the NYE menu. At 95$ we thought a bit pricy for Montpelier but for a special occasion we were very willing to splurge. Wish Hugo's had stayed with their regular menu. As each course was served we tried to make excuses. Starters; we were a part of 3. 2 of us ordered the warm brie, one the oysters. Serve came with 3 brie's and apologized and said they would be right back with the oysters. Meanwhile, only one of the brie cheese appetizers was "warm" the other was stone cold and there was only the tiniest wedge of a cold bread that felt stale and salt less. The appetizer arrived with a selection of mixed olives. Olives had no preparation other than being drained from jars, no removing the saltiness, no oil, no herbs. We noticed other customers had received their included flutes of proseco, but we figured we still had our bar cocktails when we were seated so maybe wait staff would bring later. Oysters did not arrive and we had to flag downwait staff to get the oysters that were delivered to table as other 1st course plates were removed. No chance to comment on the cold starter brie. As one of our dinners was still trying to enjoy their oysters- with out glass of proseco or fresh cocktail (our 1st drinks were long finished) the second course arrived. 2 butternut soups and a fenel-apple salad. Looking forward to the soup but still trying to finish oysters, a soup was passed to a companion dinerto taste while still 'hot'. Opps, not hot! Too thick. More like a room temperature butternut pudding. By this time we were hungry so we continued to make excuses, scraped our butternut puddings and shared and waited for wait staff. We saw the wait staff were trying and were young, unable to get us drinks from the bar. Main dishes; only risotto arrived hot. The steak was undercooked and rest of plate COLD. The scallops could have used 2 more minutes to cook and were plated on COLD accompaniments. The green beans were raw and crunch not cooked but still crisp the three of us were trying not to ruin a festive evening by complaining. Eventually received prosecco- in large wine glasses. We hoped for best with dessert to have with our prosecco. The mousse was too cold and the chocolate layer was hard and impossible to eat. We asked to take home and were given boxes to dump our desserts into. Must say, later at home, once thawed- was most delicious thing we ate. Wish Hugo's would have stuck to regular menu. We would/will come again for the bar atmosphere- but on NYE- special menu was too ambitious...

We made a reservation on a Tuesday evening. The decor is wonderful. We were sat at a perfect table for 2. We ordered a bottle of wine and our food. Our wine came with an additional member of staff as our server had not done a wine service. There was no tasting as we both were poured an ounce of wine. Our appetizers showed up. My wife's soup was a special, duck soup. It missed the mark, the unrendered duck skin was included and the broth was a bit over salted. The Han Shan dumplings were delicious. We ordered the trio of pickles; I should have asked for clarification on this dish. The dish is three pickled vegetables none of them a cucumber- that's on me, but my wife enjoyed it. 3 minutes after our appetizers arrived, our entrees arrived. Our perfect table for two had 3 appetizers, 2 mains, share plates, a bottle of wine, wine and water glasses and no room for the candle or flowers. We resigned ourselves that we would be eating something cold. We ate the meal with dirty dishes that remained uncleared. While navigating hot and cold foods a server sat a single diner at a table for 4, perhaps seeing the kitchen makes all your food at once. We wanted a romantic evening, celebrating our anniversary. It was what it was, but not romantic. If you dine here, I highly recommend just ordering appetizers and then order main courses after you eat, unless cold food is what you're...

I really want to like this place more than I do. It seems full of compromises. So pick your poison. The space is great, a nice bar and a sweet loft space with bands. They do not skimp on the drinks and entertainment factor here. And an interesting artist list. The tables and chairs are cheap and the bar stools are literally on their last legs. Silverware is bargain basement thin and cheap. Not good. Food is a spectrum. Caesar salad was too big and had powdered (!!!?) cheese on it and stale croutons. Steak frites is just a cheap hangar with Costco fries. So the fries are good, and the chimichurri butter is excellent. But the steak is not worth $28. Oysters are great, cake was great, burger was excellent, Korean fried chicken was fried too hot (too dark) and lacked appropriate sides (this happened 2x). Table Service ona busy night was mediocre - they seemed a bit overwhelmed, but super friendly. Bar service was friendly and engaged. I hope this place grows up and gets amazing. There...