Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train & Depot — Restaurant in Woodstock

Making a reservation for two aboard the CAFE LAFAYETTE DINNER TRAIN was a pretty big decision for me. I had never spent that kind of money on a “dinner experience” and I wanted to do something special to celebrate our second year anniversary. Being a huge “Foodie” I was definitely lulled by the exquisite menu that “CAFE LAFAYETTE” seemed to offer.

Of course, I don’t like the idea of writing this review but after speaking with someone who claimed to be the owner/operator, I have decided to share my story. You know, in case there is anyone else out there who may be considering this experience to be a “pretty big decision” also!

Let me try to have a sense of humor about this like my husband and I had during our dining experience in order to make the best of it. We drove 2 hours North and arrived early. Checking in was quite easy but I would blame that on the Covid regulations. We received our assigned seat, purchased some memorabilia from the gift shop (and excitedly) boarded the train. We had NEVER done anything like this before!

So I guess, if you wanna spend 100 bucks (per person) to take 50/50 chance that you may (or may not) get one of the lucky seats (with a view) than by all means - Roll baby, roll! If, like us, you’re stuck on the not-so-lucky-side (that we were on) then you’ll be forced to peer past someone else’s romantic dinner date (like a creep) by trying to get a peak of the view.

Chug Chug!

“Look! It’s the the Hood of New Hampshire”, declares one guest as we rolled past numerous STORAGE UNITS and PRIMITIVE campsites! Wow! I have never paid this much money to see something like THIS before!

After counting - One, two, maybe three spots of land (that showed us an interesting perspective for glancing at storage units) I have to encourage you...hold on.

The view you’ve been waiting for upon the Cafe Lafayette... Farmland! Farmland that’s naturally littered with cow-dung including (the added touch) of abandoned vehicles (for necessary animal shelter). In that past, I have paid less than ten bucks to get the same sort of view from a commuter rail riding East from Fitchburg to Boston. So if you enjoy this sort of view, check it out!

As if the views (and the predicament) aren’t terrible enough - The dinner is even worse.

They stretch your meal over the entire trip - serving one plate every (I don’t know?) 20 Minutes or so? Each plate being the smallest of portions. One (piece) of an appetizer, Three bites of salad (smaller than a regular side salad) and the biggest dinner roll you’ve ever seen, so enjoy it!

Now, what about the entree, you ask? THE BIG REVEAL, THE MOMENT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR?

ONE chicken thigh covered in a sauce that appears as vomit, soggy mashed potatoes slid right up against that with cubed butternut squash slid right up against that. Parsley sprinkled about.

Hungry, who could resist?

I may be a critic by now but the FLAT IRON WHISKEY CREAM (as stated on the menu) was actually a brown gravy with blue cheese globes on top. And, the only thing worse than serving flat iron steak as a main course is serving less than an OUNCE of flat iron steak as a main course. I mean, I have seen more steak (added as an extra) on a salad before.

All in all - They can’t say that they’re outrageous price is because of the views because the views aren’t worth paying for (especially when the Kancamagus Highway is basically the same street), And they can’t say they charge an arm-and-a-leg because their food is “top notch” when their serving you the lowest meat on the meat-pole and in the smallest portions possible while choosing to skimp-out on the salad and apps...

Their website promises “something totally different” that also promises their guests “will enjoy a dining experience of a lifetime” (quotes taken right from their website, September 27th, 2020) I guess that’s true for all the worst of reasons.

To the diner, Save your money. To Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train, Stop...

From the moment I was greeted by somebody at the reception desk they were very unfriendly. She gave me instructions as if I was a second grader and when I didn’t understand them, she got angry at me and repeated them with a stern voice. I walked away and joined my family. As I was explaining my encounter with the woman who greeted me, other guests around me agreed and said they felt the exact same way. It's advertised as a five-course gourmet meal but is nothing better than ordinary. A few sprinkles of parsley and an edible flower does not make it gourmet. Bread was the first course. Bread!?!?!? Bread is not considered a course. They gave us bread for four people with one pad of butter. When I asked for more, they gave us one more pad to split among 4 people. Salad was the second course. The salad was just an ordinary salad of greens with a couple of pepitas and cranberries thrown in. It was not gourmet (see picture). A small scoop of sorbet was considered course #3. The sorbet was good, but sorbet is not a course. In Michelin and James Beard gourmet restaurants I have eaten in, the sorbet is served between the courses as a palette cleanser to prepare for the next course. I had the short ribs for the main course, and they were dry and not warm (see picture). Another person in our party had the vegetable bowl and it was Ramen noodles with some vegetables. In fact, some of the noodles were not even cooked all the way and still stuck together like they are when they are dry (see picture). The dessert also was not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination. The ONLY choice was chocolate whipped cream. Poor selection of one choice since some people don’t like chocolate or whipped cream. The alternatives they had was a dish with about six slices of frozen strawberries. Again, I’m not sure how you call that gourmet. Most important, your staff didn’t even acknowledge my daughter’s birthday which was the whole premise we took this experience for. I reminded them 2 times about this. When the waitress brought the check, she gave to our youngest son instead of me. What wait staff would do that? Did she really think he was paying $1400 for the party? They generously added a 20% tip for themselves because we had a party of 8. I can understand that in a real restaurant when they must manage 8 different orders. But here it was cafeteria style where everyone on the train got the same bread, the same salad, the same sorbet, and the same dessert. They only difference with the main course. So having a party of 2 or 30 is not a strain on the kitchen or the wait staff managing timing of different orders to the party. And with the very poor service they certainly did not warrant 20%.

I will agree with other reviews I have read that the scenery is nice at times and other times looking run down.

When management finally responded to my email after a few days, she was not very nice or truly concerned for my feedback as a paying customer. Then she replied with 3 lies on my Trip Advisor review. They did not put a candle in my daughter’s desert, She did not respond within 24 hours We did take the substitute desert which was 2 frozen strawberries sliced

I would avoid this attraction!! Save yourself the $125. There are better places to spend your money...

Don't waste your money! I would like to say this is the first review I have ever written. The experience was just so poor that I had to say something. They claim this is a fine dining experience and charge like it is. The food was not what they make it out to be. They make you sit there for 40 minutes before serving anything and once they do you are rushed. Being rushed really wasn't that big of a deal because the portion sizes are sample sizes.

The appetizers - My husband got the scallops wrapped in bacon. There were 2 very small scallops. I asked for the caprese salad, I got one very thin slice of tomato cut into 4, a thin slice of mozzarella cut into 4, a few shards of very wilted basil and a drizzle of very cheap balsamic vinegar.

The salad - was about a quarter of the size of a normal side salad.

Sorbet - the best part of the entire meal was basically a melon ball scoop size.

The entrees- The pork was bland and the salmon was nothing great. The mashed potatoes were watery. Portions were once again extremely small. All food was room temperature.

Dessert was what they claimed to be chocolate mousse. It consisted of 2 spoonful's and was nothing like real chocolate mousse. We both didn't care to eat it. The shot of coffee they give was the best part of dessert.

Drinks - I can't say how the mixed drinks were but they charged $30 for an $8 bottle of wine.

The train ride itself was a joke. You travel one way for an hour with views of homes, a camp, a storage unit and some trees. The second half, is the exact same views. They stop the train after an hour and head they way you came.

I will say the servers were nice except for one. She seemed to get annoyed when I had a question about the menu. This could be avoided if they just put a menu on the table instead of expecting people to memorize it.

The entire experience cost us nearly $300.00 for 2 people. $300 for bland cold food and a train ride that was equal to riding through town on a normal day. We went back to our room and ate what we had there for snacks. There are much better places to eat in the area that don't cost nearly as much. Oh and the train smells...