The Bear Café — Restaurant in Town of Woodstock

Having dined many times over the years at the original Bear Cafe when owned and run by Peter Cantine and chef Eric Mann, we were eager to find out if its namesake lived up to the high standards of its original incarnation. Its new setting in the remodeled Little Bear with a patio overlooking the Sawkill made an excellent first impression, although there were surprisingly many empty tables for a Saturday night. Promptly seated and our orders taken, we were enjoying our wine, when I noticed a nearby couple seated after us who were being served appetizers, which we had declined, and bread. In response to my request for some bread too, our personable but clearly inexperienced young server replied, “they’re working on it,” which I took to mean that he had intended to bring it all along. It only arrived at the same time as the entrées, but it was not until I got home that I discovered we had been charged $10 for what was, admittedly, listed on the menu as an appetizer: rosemary foccacia with smoked tomato butter. Since many restaurants serve such offerings for free, I was taken aback. After our food came it took several minutes to regain our server’s attention, at which point I explained that it was customary to ask guests whether they required anything else, such as pepper. That was duly brought, however when I also pointed out that a filet mignon that we had ordered medium rare was overcooked—in fact, it barely qualified as medium—we were given neither a word of explanation nor an apology. And, although we did not complain, the pan-seared steelhead trout was accompanied with barley and lima beans instead of the butternut squash veloute, black rice, sugar peas and aleppo chili as described on the website. Farm-raised in the Hudson River, the trout was also decidedly less tasty than the ocean-bred variety. For that matter, the steak was bland even by filet standards, and the “port wine reduction,” of watery consistency. As for desserts, a cheesecake came with a cloyingly sweet blueberry sauce and a crust so hard that it defied normal cutlery—a jackhammer might have succeeded. The affogato was served with a large biscotti and a truly generous amount of vanilla ice cream, which while enjoyable rather overwhelmed the espresso. Sadly, it must be said that any resemblance of this dining establishment to the old Bear Cafe is...

For one of our few ventures out during this COVID life, we decided to try the new Burger night at the Bear Cafe. It turned out to be a snowy evening in Woodstock and that seemed to keep away most of the clientele, to our isolationist delight. Our host/server Aidan was pleasant and efficient. Obviously, we ordered the Burgers which were delivered, cooked to our requested doneness. They are made from Kilcoyne Farms beef and were good but considering the toppings of caramelized onions, garlic aioli, and gruyere, were a little bland. They also come with fries, not mentioned in the menu. Burger Night includes a glass of beer as well as the burger! The steelhead trout tartare appetizer was well received, and the gluten free cranberry tart, and affogatto rounded off the meal very nicely. It is a beautiful setting, located in the renovated former Little Bear building. A stones throw from their former location which is now the Bear Cantina. I am so pleased that the restoration of this wonderful complex, hosting several dining choices and an amazing performance venue, The Bearsville Theatre (of course), seems...

based on more recent visits i'm adjusting the review to 5* as we've been back twice more and everything has been excellent.

probably our 3-4th time here, today we came in for an early dinner and sat at the bar. Jenny had the tofu and i ordered the eggplant, and we split the brussels. eggplant was fantastic, full of subtle smoky flavors and the brussels were great. tofu was a little bland. service at the bar (Jonathan?) was great! this place really seems like it's coming together - we'll...