Avellino — Restaurant in Sturbridge

Avellino- Sturbridge, Massachusetts- 9/21/2017

As you drive up, a stately white building faces the road with tall white columns, ornate trim and an inviting driveway. That’s the front of the restaurant. Drive around back to enter. You’ll walk thru the downstairs bar to get to the main Dining Room up front.

Once inside, dark brown wooden tables and chairs with brown paper place settings. A farm table work station sits center room housing glasses, water, pepper grinders and the like… All this sits on wood plank tile. Mural style wallpaper covers two walls and lots of old wood trim. Dimly lit lighting adds to the ambiance.. The restaurant has a very warm feel to it.

Would you believe they actually bake their own bread daily? Most, if not close to all other restaurants bring it in par-baked from commercial bakeries. Served room temperature with herb’d EVOO... Not bad. The photograph really doesn’t do it justice.

Tonight starts off with the Shrimp Scampi Bruschetta… Fresh Mozzarella, Prosciutto,, Rustic Sourdough, EVVO with a Balsamic Glaze… Flavorful and light. Just the perfect starter.

As I contemplated my next course my eyes land on the Slow Roasted Pork Shank served with Root Vegetables of Acorn Squash, Potatoes and Jicama, Tomato, Mushrooms, Demi-glacé, Creamy Polenta, Braised locally sourced Spinach all in a Tomato base rich Brown Sauce… This is a large dish so don’t fill up on bread prior. It was delicious!

Although thee were many wonderful dessert choices, I opted to be good and just have my signature Cappuccino with a single piece of Biscotti…

I had a great time and my guess is…, you will too. And when you come here, don’t forget to tell them Paul sent...

We held our rehearsal dinner at Avellino and are so glad we did! During the planning process, the staff was extremely helpful. They were so easy to work with and were very responsive answering all our questions. They were also flexible, as we did not know the exact time we would arrive from our rehearsal.

On the night of the rehearsal dinner the staff was incredible! They made sure everyone's need were taken care of. They were so personable, introducing themselves to us and ensuring us that if we needed anything, we just needed to ask! We decided to give a speech to our family, friends and bridal parties and they were extremely flexible. We were able to work with them on the fly to determine when the timing would be best for this. During our speech, the waitstaff closed the doors to ensure the sound coming from the restaurant would not interfere with our moment. They also respected this moment and did not try to serve or clear during this time. Something we so greatly appreciated.

Not only was the waitstaff amazing, but the food was INCREDIBLE! Our guests could not stop raving about the food, from the apps to the entrees to the desserts.

It was the perfect setting to kick off our wedding celebrations and the staff was great to work with. If you are planning small event and looking for a place to do it - we highly...

This restaurant used to be The Whistling Swan; with high end food, classy and upscale dining. At the very least; the patrons would have pants, shoes, and a collared shirt on. Well, I guess that was then, and now is now. I took my wife there for our anniversary last Saturday; and to make a long story short, everything was terrible, from the service down to the entree. My wife had ordered chicken piccata and ended up with chicken saltimbocca. Again, let me restate that this is supposed to be fine dining from The Table Three Group. With no dress code; sitting across from me was a large man with tee shirt, gym shorts, and beach sandals. Oh yes, and a baby in tow. Across from my wife was a similar shot of another bad looking tee shirt. Anyway, we chose to ask for our check and leave. I left the waitress a descent tip, as she did the right thing without being asked and comped our meals. Happy Anniversary!!

Michael...