Sparrow Bar + Restaurant — Restaurant in New Milford

Sparrow offers a promising dining experience with a creative menu (some asian inspired) and a thoughtfully designed space. While there are strengths, some inconsistencies in pricing and execution hold it back from reaching greater potential.

Ambiance and Atmosphere

Sparrow has created a welcoming and aesthetically pleasing space with a minimal yet warm design. The skateboards on the wall add a unique urban edge, and the spacious table arrangements ensure a comfortable dining experience without feeling cramped. The music is kept at a pleasant volume, allowing for easy conversation.

Positives

Ambiance: The decor strikes a nice balance between minimalism and warmth. Great natural sunlight.

Service: The staff is friendly and accommodating.

Menu Highlights: The menu offers some creative dishes, with the pickles standing out as a hit.

Areas for Improvement

Pricing and Value

The pricing at Sparrow feels misaligned with the overall experience. Specifically:

Drinks: A $13 tap beer is excessive given the lack of premium ambiance, live music, or a notable view. A price of $9 would be more reasonable given all factors, and the high cost simply deterred additional orders. The Japanese-inspired cocktail, while drinkable, lacked depth and character for its Manhattan-level price.

Food: The menu items are priced ambitiously, but the quality and execution don’t consistently match. More reasonable pricing could make minor flaws more forgivable.

Food Quality and Presentation

While some dishes showed promise, the food lacked consistency and finesse:

Chimichurri Steak: Under seasoned and paired with soft fries, despite a premium price.

Mushroom Potstickers: Delicious but overly salty.

Bao Buns: Tasty but soggy on the bottom and the sauce application clashed with overall presentation.

Presentation: The plating felt heavy-handed and didn’t align with the menu’s pricing or the restaurant’s aesthetic.

Recommendations

Sparrow has strong potential to attract diners with disposable income, but a few adjustments could elevate the experience:

Adjust Pricing: Align drink and food prices with the quality and ambiance to ensure better value. You're simply punching above your weigh here.

Refine Food Execution: Focus on seasoning, texture, and presentation to match the menu’s ambition.

Enhance Drink Offerings: Improve cocktail recipes to deliver depth and character that justify their price. The bar has a fun feel, but your drinks should taste professional made.

Final Thoughts

Sparrow has a solid foundation with its inviting space, friendly service, and creative menu. However, addressing the pricing and food execution issues is crucial to delivering a cohesive and return worthy experience. With these tweaks, Sparrow could become a go-to spot for diners seeking quality and value and those who want to simply have a fun "splurgy" not out. I’m rooting for you and hope to return once...

My family and I were exploring the area and searched on Google and Yelp for a spot for lunch. The criteria was, it has to be kid-friendly and patio dining, since the weather was gorgeous and the first warm day of the year. This restaurant popped up many times and I read that they had a global menu and great cocktails, I was sold. There was Korean, Vietnamese, and South American inspired foods on the menu.

It's right in historic downtown New Milford and the building was awesome. I loved the interior, exposed brick, classy bar, and overall ambiance. The service was quick and friendly.

I started off with a London drink which has nolet's gin, earl grey, creme de violette, red wine, velvet falernum, and egg white. I couldn't turn down a drink with egg white and I was not disappointed. I also had the Tokyo which has lemongrass vodka, apricot jam, green tea kombucha, and midori; it was good but I liked the London way better. The drinks were on the expensive side, about $16 each; it was well crafted though.

We ordered the Korean Fried Chicken Bao Buns which has fried chicken, gochujang bbq sauce, napa cabbage, pickles, kewpie mayo, scallion, and sesame seeds. We were a fan of it! My kids had chicken tenders and fries; they enjoyed it. My husband really liked his double smashburger.

My main entree was the duck bulgogi. I am a fan of bulgogi but never had it with duck, so I was intrigued. For $28, it came with smoked duck breast, duck confit, kimchi, sunny egg, rice, cucumber salad, pickled chiles, sesame oil, soy sauce, scallion, and furikake. I thought the flavor was good, my only qualm was, it was $28.

Overall, the location and ambiance was great. The service was prompt and friendly. The food and drinks were good. It's a little pricey but it is a great spot for...

Food quality / price (value) rating 8.5. The atmosphere is a beautifully restored Victorian storefront with exposed brick and plenty of very high quality woodwork throughout the dining area. A "shotgun" style, open dining room with several very large windows brings light and a sense of openness to the space. The owners, John & Stephanie at Sparrow, informed us that this is where Deed's Pizza - Adam Sandler's silly RomCom was filmed. The restrooms were newly remodeled, and fresh and clean, and adorned with more nice artwork. High quality artwork, some of which is for sale, is displayed on the walls The menu is limited, and changes frequently. I had the Bucatini Bolognese, a pork and beef tomato sauce over Bucatini pasta (thin tube-like pasta) that was cooked perfectly and served hot. There was no bread or salad served. The wife had the Mushroom Pot Stickers appetizer which was very unusual, and presented beautifully. We had a couple drinks and an incredible Panna Cotta with lemon brittle and an incredible rhubarb / strawberry compote. The smooth texture and density of the custard was unmatched with any I've ever eaten. We had a great conversation with the owner, John, a veteran restauranteur, and our server Stephanie was fantastic! They have a nice, large outdoor seating area. The restaurant is located on New Milford's Bank Street Theater District, and is a walk down memory lane bringing one back in time to the Victorian era that was once...