Willa — Restaurant in Town of North East

This is an absolute gem nestled away in the beautiful town of Millerton. It is worth the short train ride from the city just to experience this cleverly crafted and absolutely amazing food, The amazing service, the finely crafted cocktails and just the ambiance in general. From the moment you arrived you spot exposed brick accentuated with the greens of the forest and mountains around you and twinkling lights. From the moment I walked in you feel at home in this beautiful warm space accentuated by the open kitchen and the lovely bar. The staff does everything possible to ensure you feel at home and understand the mission. Let me start with the food. It was absolutely incredible the chef is so particular about ensuring his use of local farms and ingredients that you can taste the freshness on each delicately crafted plate. You can taste the mountains in the air around you within the food. Fresh, crisp, delicious, and adventurous all at once. I recommend trusting the recommendations of the staff, and ensuring you pair your meal with the expertly crafted cocktails. The mixologist is absolutely genius and I experienced flavors that I never knew went together. Do yourself a favor and visit before this hidden gem...

52 Main, Willa's last incarnation, was a great tapas bar with sports on the TVs and a super-friendly staff. It was our corner bar. But tapas, as inventive as they might be, are still tapas. Willa has the same super-friendly staff, but everything else has changed. Gone are the sports on TV. (Gone are the TVs). The new owners have focused on the food, the food and the food, and what they've pulled off is a fabulous restaurant that lives up to, and goes beyond, anything in the area. Litchfield County, across the state line, has ruled the restaurant scene...until now. Just watching the kitchen -- semi-open -- at work says it all. This is a serious team of cookers, and the flavors they produce are serious, subtle, and world-class. Jim and Allana (Willa is her pet pig) are aiming at true foodies, and they've hit the mark. From a mysterious-sounding but revelatory cranberry bean salad (the beans are nestled in thinly-sliced turnip cups, and it all works) to the supple (large!) smashburger with fries that are just, thankfully, pure-and-simple french fries, the menu is going to lure a whole lot of diners from over the Ct. state line and down Millbrook way to the restaurant we locals have been hoping to have for...

One of the best Valentine’s Day dinners we’ve had, ever. We go to Willa frequently, and they always are great. This was above and beyond. Service is attentive, friendly and engaging. The food is inventive, and their special Valentine’s Day meal featured great twists on lobster (Maine Lobster in a delicious Yuzu Cornet) , lamb (Tartare of local lamb, with Koji cured egg yolk and this amazing hay smoked butter), a beautiful preparation of Maine Uni with Chitarra, duck breast perfectly done, and two (!!) desserts (a Koji salted chocolate mousse and poached pear with cherry pit ice cream).

This was a farm-to-table wowza epicurean dream. Oh, and by the way, as wine collectors, we love their selection of wines by the glass—perfectly matched with their food, and very inventive/ unique. Never to miss anything, we also love their inventive, delicious cocktails (my wife had the “kiss me like you mean it,” which was a new twist on their inventive approach, using bourbon/ blood orange/ lemon/...