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Reviews — 8
We went to Little Barn. Absolutely beautiful location. Loved the pork belly appetizer.
This may be the best dining experience we’ve ever had; none of the Michelin starred restaurants we’ve experience were this good.
The interior gives the impression of a small barn complete with a hayloft (sans hay). There is small bar area at the front of the restaurant with a piano on which standards were played during the course of the meal. There were bar patrons seated at the piano enjoying their cocktails.
Watching the wait staff perform was like watching ballet. As every course was served, members of the wait staff would serve each guest at a given table simultaneously with an easy grace. It was wonderfully choreographed.
The food was spectacular. While there is a menu, the tasting menu is the emphasis and the way to go. There were two menus that was offered to us, The Lobster Tasting Menu and the Chef’s Eight Course Blind Tasting. We both chose the blind tasting.
All 8 course were perfectly done. For brevity, I’ll only review 3. First out was the Tomato Tartare. Easily our favorite course of the evening. Served with a dollop of barrata ice cream, flavor was bright, but crunchy bits of Parmesan and toasted sour dough crumbles made for a wonderful experience. The fish course was a butter poached halibut served with guava beans in a white sauce. The beef course was Wagyu beef and was spectacular. Pictures of each are included.
Our servers were Nathan and Ryan, and they exceptional.
The interior gives the impression of a small barn complete with a hayloft (sans hay). There is small bar area at the front of the restaurant with a piano on which standards were played during the course of the meal. There were bar patrons seated at the piano enjoying their cocktails.
Watching the wait staff perform was like watching ballet. As every course was served, members of the wait staff would serve each guest at a given table simultaneously with an easy grace. It was wonderfully choreographed.
The food was spectacular. While there is a menu, the tasting menu is the emphasis and the way to go. There were two menus that was offered to us, The Lobster Tasting Menu and the Chef’s Eight Course Blind Tasting. We both chose the blind tasting.
All 8 course were perfectly done. For brevity, I’ll only review 3. First out was the Tomato Tartare. Easily our favorite course of the evening. Served with a dollop of barrata ice cream, flavor was bright, but crunchy bits of Parmesan and toasted sour dough crumbles made for a wonderful experience. The fish course was a butter poached halibut served with guava beans in a white sauce. The beef course was Wagyu beef and was spectacular. Pictures of each are included.
Our servers were Nathan and Ryan, and they exceptional.
I don’t think I’ve ever given a restaurant three stars but in this case, I have to be honest, I’ll preface this with perhaps it was because it was a Monday and we came in around 130 for lunch which I believe they close for lunch perhaps at two because we felt a little rushed to leave. It’s not that the food was bad, it just was a little unpolished, and not representative of what was advertised on the menu. For example, the Caesar salad was to be made with kale and little gems but what I received was kale and Romain lettuce. The Caesar dressing was delicious I have to say, but I was expecting little gems. The sautéed mushrooms on the mushroom tart were very tasty but the pastry was soggy and flat. The lobster roll was very good, but overwhelmed with an enormous amount of french fries that were mediocre at best and actually made the lobster. Roll look petite in comparison to the amount of fries . The service and dining environment was perfect. These things happen . Oh, when we left valet was nowhere to be found so we had to take our keys from the box and look for our car in the parking lot. Kinda funny really .
Service was fantastic. Food was delicious. They were able to accommodate a vegetarian diet with a special menu, which I always appreciate. Don’t skip the cucumber sorbet - my husband didn’t expect much from it but was blown away by the flavor. We really enjoyed our meal!
We went at the Little Barn at the White Barn Inn for the lunch. You can choose “à la carte”or take the two courses menu for $28.
The two courses are one first and one main or one main and one dessert. I went for the later with a tempura paddock and dessert, while my wife took the lobster roll à la carte for $32.
We share the dessert, a lava cake, with some caramel ice cream. Truly the dessert was our first in the Maine as something really well made and absolutely amazing.
The service was spectacular from start to finish.
The lunch is served in the second room or outside and not in the main barn itself, which only the diner is served.
The two courses are one first and one main or one main and one dessert. I went for the later with a tempura paddock and dessert, while my wife took the lobster roll à la carte for $32.
We share the dessert, a lava cake, with some caramel ice cream. Truly the dessert was our first in the Maine as something really well made and absolutely amazing.
The service was spectacular from start to finish.
The lunch is served in the second room or outside and not in the main barn itself, which only the diner is served.
I will preface this by saying I have never eaten at this caliber restaurant before in my life, so I was not sure what to expect.
The service was by far and away the best I have ever had at any restaurant in my life. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Everyone already knew our name and occasion. It felt like a very personal experience despite the other tables being served at the same time.
The food itself was mostly very delicious. My wife and I did the prix fixe menu. I was most impressed by the tomato tartare. That dish is like nothing I have ever had in my life and it was delicious. Perfect blend of sweet and savory. She started with the white asparagus dish. She was not the biggest fan, I didn't get to try it so I can't really comment.
The next dish I had was the cucumber sorbet. That was very refreshing, and although the portion was small, it was perfect to cleanse the pallet before the main dish. My wife has the pork cheek. We both tried that and I thought it was incredible. That was actually a pretty decent sized portion, very filling.
For our main dishes, I had the beef tenderloin and my wife had the lobster. My meat was perfectly cooked and very tasty. The potato side was good as well. One minor gripe, the "steak knife" I was given was pretty awful at cutting the steak. My wife's lobster dish was a bit of a mixed bag. The pasta under the lobster was really good, but she was not particularly impressed with the lobster. She said it was a bit tough.
We finished off with the baked Alaska and the apple tatin. My apple tatin was honestly underwhelming. I'm not sure what happened, but it almost tasted burnt. The ice cream side was really good though. She had no complaints about the baked Alaska, but it was a large portion.
In addition to all the above, we were served some other tiny portions. We had a small dish of guac, melon, fish, and rice. That was okay, not exactly my cup of tea. We also had a small creamy lobster puff. That was decent. Finally, after our dessert, we were served a box with some macaroons that were really delicious and a few other after dessert desserts. The rest were okay, but mostly chocolate based so I did not care for them.
The bread options were all good. The brioche was the favorite of my wife and I.
Finally, the drinks. We had 4 different drinks, all of which were very very good. The g&tea was a cool take on a gin drink in a teacup. I honestly can't remember the other drink names but they were all great.
Overall, this was a great experience for a special occasion. I wouldn't really consider this a good value for the money. For $165 each + $19/drink I honestly expected to be blown into another food dimension. I still maintain that the best steak I have ever had was at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney, and that was nowhere near the cost of this, yet at least double the size. It was a good experience and a chance to try a bunch of things I have never had in my life, however I can't shake the thought that I have had better food at a hole in the wall Thai place outside a military base in BF Virginia. The experience, however, was second to none.
Hope this was helpful for those who took the time to read.
The service was by far and away the best I have ever had at any restaurant in my life. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Everyone already knew our name and occasion. It felt like a very personal experience despite the other tables being served at the same time.
The food itself was mostly very delicious. My wife and I did the prix fixe menu. I was most impressed by the tomato tartare. That dish is like nothing I have ever had in my life and it was delicious. Perfect blend of sweet and savory. She started with the white asparagus dish. She was not the biggest fan, I didn't get to try it so I can't really comment.
The next dish I had was the cucumber sorbet. That was very refreshing, and although the portion was small, it was perfect to cleanse the pallet before the main dish. My wife has the pork cheek. We both tried that and I thought it was incredible. That was actually a pretty decent sized portion, very filling.
For our main dishes, I had the beef tenderloin and my wife had the lobster. My meat was perfectly cooked and very tasty. The potato side was good as well. One minor gripe, the "steak knife" I was given was pretty awful at cutting the steak. My wife's lobster dish was a bit of a mixed bag. The pasta under the lobster was really good, but she was not particularly impressed with the lobster. She said it was a bit tough.
We finished off with the baked Alaska and the apple tatin. My apple tatin was honestly underwhelming. I'm not sure what happened, but it almost tasted burnt. The ice cream side was really good though. She had no complaints about the baked Alaska, but it was a large portion.
In addition to all the above, we were served some other tiny portions. We had a small dish of guac, melon, fish, and rice. That was okay, not exactly my cup of tea. We also had a small creamy lobster puff. That was decent. Finally, after our dessert, we were served a box with some macaroons that were really delicious and a few other after dessert desserts. The rest were okay, but mostly chocolate based so I did not care for them.
The bread options were all good. The brioche was the favorite of my wife and I.
Finally, the drinks. We had 4 different drinks, all of which were very very good. The g&tea was a cool take on a gin drink in a teacup. I honestly can't remember the other drink names but they were all great.
Overall, this was a great experience for a special occasion. I wouldn't really consider this a good value for the money. For $165 each + $19/drink I honestly expected to be blown into another food dimension. I still maintain that the best steak I have ever had was at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney, and that was nowhere near the cost of this, yet at least double the size. It was a good experience and a chance to try a bunch of things I have never had in my life, however I can't shake the thought that I have had better food at a hole in the wall Thai place outside a military base in BF Virginia. The experience, however, was second to none.
Hope this was helpful for those who took the time to read.
We dined here twice during our stay. Lovely location, good food (not outstanding, but solid). We particularly enjoyed two things that really deserve 5 stars: the great cocktails, whiche were delicious, and the live piano played by an older, curly lady w glasses (not the guy the night before), as she made our evening truly enjoyable with her music.
