The Cottage — Restaurant in Westport

I should have expected a mediocre meal when the restaurant called me and asked me to move my 8:30 reservation, an hour earlier.

Showing up an hour earlier didn’t help much given they only focused on the larger group who was seated after us. We ordered at 8 and got our first drink at 8:15.

My wife’s cocktail, the passionista, was WAY too sweet. When I tried it my only thought was “this is awful”. The beer I wanted was tapped, so I got a bottle of whatever else they had.

We ordered their bao buns (as recommended), the lamb ribeye, and pasta with duck confit.

The brisket bao buns were great. Super moist and reminded me of Katz pastrami in nyc.

The waitress made a big deal of the lamb ribeye being cooked medium rare, which didn’t seem to be an issue because they served medium well anyways. It’s fine to overcook the lamb by accident, but not after specifically saying the chef recommends medium rare. The lamb portion was really small, maybe 2-3 oz, which for a $55 entree was surprising. Further, a major piece of gristle was on the meat - I couldn’t even cut through it. Given the piece was so small, they could have at least trimmed it.

The polenta with the lamb was terrible. The polenta definitely wasn’t made well, and was super chunky. It was also way too buttery.

The pasta was VERY rich and buttery, but tasty. I liked it, bud had trouble eating the whole dish without being overwhelmed by how rich it was.

Overall disappointed. For a “James beard nominee” restaurant, it didn’t hold up the many Michelin restaurants I’ve tried in nyc - even if comparable in price.

I...

It pains me to write this because I really like this place. I go to both locations and I like the Westport locations vibe and service far better than the Greenwich location. But the food is far more consistent at the Greenwich location.

Today was my third time here and second dinner meal. They always accommodate me and I appreciate. I come for the burger because it's infamous, but the chef at the Westport location absolutely does not know how to cook beef. It's beyond ridiculous.

When it comes to ground beef, it's only well done for me. Steaks? Different story, but a hamburger? Needs to be well done. The first time the burger was burnt, mind you, the Greenwich location has no problems making a burger done without charring it. I figured this was a fluke and I even talked to the owner about it. He apologized, I still ate it and paid for it. I gave it a second chance months later and same thing, a burnt burger. It's ridiculous. But this time I'm not going to pay upwards of $30 for something not good. They remade it to go for me because I had agreed to be done by 6;30 so I waited until I got home. The burger had pink. Pink! On a well done burger. Now either this location has a chef that does not know how to cook beef or he was being passive aggressive over having to make it again. Either way, the photo is the second version of well done. And of course, I couldn't eat that either.

Again, I like this place because of the service but the cost does not justify not getting what I ordered. I'll stick to Greenwich...

The Cottage has quickly become one of our new favorite restaurants in Fairfield county! We had a cozy date night here enjoying our seasonal dishes! We loved the green goddess dressing and brioche croutons on our “Cottage Salad”. The wagyu brisket bao buns were also a highlight, and it was our first time trying squid ink aioli, which really exceeded our expectations! My fiancé ordered the Berkshire pork tenderloin, which was cooked perfectly and even came with a knödel (similar to matzo balls), which we thought was a great pairing! Their hand-cut tagliatelle was exceptional with lamb, labne, and a touch of mint. Desserts were equally as amazing as the rest of the meal! The broken meyer lemon tart was topped with a thick layer of meringue, and the devil’s food cake was topped with a bourbon caramel and paired with espresso mascarpone. The cocktails hit the mark as well, and I appreciated that they had a section for low/no alcohol drinks! Our experience at The Cottage was definitely memorable, and we highly recommend adding them to your list of restaurants to try in...