Acqua al 2 — Restaurant in West Stockbridge

We have a place in the Berkshires but it’s closed for the winter so we stayed at an Inn in West Stockbridge. Someone told us that the old Rouge had been replaced with an Italian restaurant that was a branch of one in Florence so we decided to try it. Although repainted, the owners luckily kept the cozy ambiance of the old restaurant. It was beautifully decorated for the holidays and the vibe was great. Since I’m allergic to wine, I am grateful that they have a full bar. My husband didn’t love his Pinot Grigio though. That may be because he’s mostly a Chardonnay drinker but that don’t have Chardonnay by the glass.

We ordered the salad sampler because none of the starters grabbed us. I should have thought more carefully when the lovely server told us that two of the three salads were coarser and a Greek salad. Of course those both involve tomatoes and tomatoes are out of season. So while I loved the cheese in both, I didn’t love the cherry tomatoes that dominated the salads. We did though live the third salad - a special with pears.

For our mains we had pasta because we are pescatarians and all of the other entrees are meat. My husband had the pasta with spinach and pine nuts which was divine. I had the five pasta sampler and was really glad I did. They accommodated my dietary restrictions and while the portions were small they were not tiny. More importantly, the past that I thought I’d like the least - the pumpkin pasta - was my favorite; I thought it would be too sweet but it was not and I learned that through the samplers. All of the pastas were great.

We will be back. I do hope though that they will expand the appetizers and maybe offer some...

I was very excited to visit this restaurant when I heard that they were opening in West Stockbridge. I had a friend visiting town over the summer and we decided we would dine here. From the moment we walked in we were not greeted and awkwardly waited at the entrance. It took over 5 minutes of standing there, including the bartender making eye contact with us and multiple servers walking by, before I asked where we were supposed to check in for our reservation.

We ended up ordering a melon salad to share and one of their pasta samplers to start. The melon salad had no flavor and the melon was not ripe.

Then we were served 5 different pasta samples all of which were overcooked. One of the pasta dishes was a vodka sauce, and we could literally taste vodka on the sauce which I assume means it was not heated when they added the vodka and never burned off. We did not finish a single dish that was given to us.

Then on our way out we saw that our salad that we ordered was in a display case just sitting there all night, along with other salads that are on the menu. They are not made to order- and for the price you’d think they would make each salad fresh. I assume that the pastas dishes are not made to order either.

I will say our server was very kind and that was the only positive experience we had at this restaurant. On our way out the bartender stared at us again as we exited and did not give us a thank you or...

Good friends recommended this place and they were not wrong. I am Italian (Piemontese) on my mother's side and it was a welcome surprise to find a restaurant close to home here in the Berkshires that gets the food and the vibe of dining out in Italia. I like places that feel like you are both with lots of energy and also tucked away and hidden all at once. I appreciated the focus on sharing plates. We got to enjoy many dishes (do the sharing menu/option for sure) and it also just felt like how we eat at home - in a more elevated way of course. Everything came out at just the right time and in just the right way. I love risotto and the porcini mushroom risotto was one of the best things I have eaten in a while. I don't drink alcohol much but the wine list was great and my mom and aunt loved their pre-drink cocktails. I also don't have much of a sweet tooth so I appreciated the tasting menu of dessert so I could have a bites of everything and not be whelmed with one flavor. Last but not least, the staff was so generous and kind and it was fun just chatting with them. I loved going there with my family, and we will be back again soon. The layout is great and I am excited about going back for a low key date night with myself in one of the small tables in the corner. Can't...