Bantam Bistro

The service here tonight was laughable! We waited forever for everything and customers routinely got up to get their own menus and try to find a server. Inside it was quiet but we heard there was a wedding party outside which I guess might have thrown it off. But either way it was pathetic. I wouldn’t recommend coming here unless you have about 3 hours to kill… that being said the food was pretty good.

This review is based solely on their customer service. I have never eaten in this establishment and I will certainly make a point never to. I have been attempting contact with this restaurant for over a month now via email, web form, and telephone, regarding how I might purchase a gift card. My parents wanted to try this place so I thought it would be a nice birthday gift. Well… their birthdays have long since passed and I ended up giving them an IOU, saying «it can’t possibly be much longer until i hear back». Wrong. I have still not heard back. The website says they have gift cards. Just simply call the restaurant. I have twice. Once to be put on hold for 8 minutes before I hung up and another I was told someone would call me back. No call back. No response to the 3 emails and 1 web form I’ve sent either.
I never thought it would be so difficult to try to give a business money.

I’ve only ever been here for the happy hour, which is amazing. Delicious drinks and food at half-​price, it’s almost too good to be true! The food is really good (I love their pizza-​things and the chicken wings, and I’ve never heard a complaint from any of my friends about their meals) and the drinks are solid — quality amaretto sours.
The bistro has a nice ambience and décor and it’s never too crowded. Sometimes they have live music.
One warning — If you’re looking to meet people, you’ll be disappointed. Maybe it picks up later in the night, but at happy hour, most of the patrons seem to be in their 40s and up. So come with friends and enjoy the crazy-​cheap-​for-​their-​quality food & drink.

The food is OK but it isn’t anything special; I would expect better for the cost.
We took a group of eight here for dinner the Spring of 2013. It required over an hour and a half to get the food and then we had to go track someone down to clear the tables and give us a check. The manager was unapologetic.
There are better places to eat in Litchfield and if you don’t mind the 10 minute drive, then better in Torrington as well.
The décor is nice.

Food was good, we had the swordfish with English pea risotto, and the sea scallops. The St Germain cocktail was delish!

Best location for travelers — and a semi– local hang out– growing everyday — happy hour is full of all food and drink that the ‘average’ connoisseur (pun) would enjoy… it’s high end and worth the happy hour!

came here with my wife on a whim. we haven’t been back here since we got married… we got married at the litchfield inn a couple yrs ago. the bantom bistro is located inside this establishment. saw that the menu and staff has changed since. they were offering a 3 course dinner special for $ 40… when we saw what they were offering we figured we’d do it. well let me tell you, that was a great idea… the food was delicious. i couldn’t believe the portion and quality of food my wife and i received. i had the ribeye steak, and my wife had the some kind of chorizo chicken. we chose the bantom house salad which comes with a balsamic dressing. it was very fresh. and our desserts were very good was well… i think the only thing i was ticked about was that i was being charged for every refill of my soft drink… but that was a small price to for a very good quality sunday afternoon dinner. service was very polite and attentive and not over bearing. i would definitely recommend this place for a quality dinner that really won’t hit you hard in the wallet if you look for the specials. they also have a happy hour at their bar which is pretty nice, updated and fully stocked. as for my review on my wedding… you’re going to have to look for that at the litchfield inn review page…

What a great Easter Brunch we experienced at the Bantam Bistro at the Litchfield Inn. It was delicious, creative, and comforting. We were greeted by the friendly staff and treated like we were the only customers there.
Where can I start on the quality of the cuisine. It was fantastic!!! My family has varied tastes and each member could not stop with the compliments on the food. What a great variety and presentation. We were even greeted with a friendly smile by Chef Will. He was very gracious to take time out of this busy event to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and that we were taken care of.
So impressed with the Litchfield Inn. We will definitely be returning. Can’t wait to see what’s on the menu next!

A beautiful hidden gem in Litchfield! Laid back vibe with great specials. Huge open space with warm welcoming staff. Definitely coming back for happy hour!

This place is the best kept happy hour secret in all of Connecticut. 7 Days a week from 4 – 6. $ 2 beers and half off apps. Friendly service and nice ambiance, Go now.

Basically, there are only two worthwhile bars in Litchfield and BB is one of them. It’s a beautiful place with no crowds whatsoever. They close early so be careful. Go for happy hour — $ 2 Guinness and very tasty and quite inexpensive appetizers.

An absolute treasure!
This is the restaurant at the Litchfield Inn. The Bistro is drop dead gorgeous inside– dark wood trim, copper panelling and copper light fixtures, and a nice stone fireplace.
Today’s lunch started with the very best cup of lobster bisque I have ever had. The very best I had anywhere. My very best of all-​time. Silky and decadently smooth like liquid velvet. Super tender morsels of lobster, not the stringy beef jerky-​like texture you get so often, but moist, tender, melt-​in-​your mouth wonderful. No hyperbole here, it was the best I ever had. $ 5 a cup and worth every penny.
For lunch we ordered a Roast Turkey Panini ($ 9) with a choice of fruit, fries or salad, and a Southwestern salad (roast chicken with corn and black beans over a big salad served with BBQ sauce ($ 12).
I loved my salad! Great flavor from the trio of corn, beans and BBQ sauce (I skipped the tortilla strips and ranch dressing it was advertised with). Huge portion, I took home about ¹⁄₃ of it. The chicken breast was nicely cooked and tender, no extra tough overcooked stringiness here.
We finished off with 2 perfect cappuccinos at $ 4 each.
Our server Sarah was fabulous. She was the only one servicing the tables and the bar, and she had to hustle her buns off. But she was gracious and friendly and nice as can be.
We made a vow to come back some day for Sunday Brunch because so many Unilocalers raved about it.
No kidding– this place is fabulous and well worth the trip!

My wife and i stayed there while our house was being worked on. The Inn was wonderful.
The Bistro was disappointing. We got better service because .knew we were there for the week. They knew us so we were welcomed.
We went to the Bistro another time and found the service different. Maybe, because we were not guests. This time we had to stand up to get attention.
The food was good, but the desserts were stale, not fresh. Had to return them.
We would like this restaurant to be successful. Maybe it needs full time management.

Looking for a place for brunch and decided to check out the Bantam Bistro. We were told that the brunch was usually buffet style but that this Sunday we would order from a prix fix menu.
— The atmospherewas lovely. Roomy and private booths and a dark cozy ambiance. I was a bit surprised to note that there was quite a bit of dust on the booth tops.
–The hostess was warm and friendly. We were seated right away as the restaurant only had a few occupied tables.
— The service was disorganized and slow.
–The food, took a millennium to come out. Our first course was great. Smoked salmon bagels with arugula and yogurt with fresh berries and granola. The fruit was beautiful, salmon was great, and the greens were perfectly dressed. However, our waitress forgot to give me a spoon for the yogurt and never provided us with the condiments we asked for. We waited even longer for the main course. We both ordered Omlettes with potatoes and bacon. The Omlettes were huge, but greasy and unappetizing in appearance. My bacon was not cooked well and our toast never arrived. I inquired about the toast and still 20 minutes later it never arrived. We were offered mimosas for the wait, which we took– and just decided to forget about the toast. I don’t know if it was the service or if the kitchen was backed up (there were only a handful of tables). Things continued to go down hill once our meal arrived. Our meal was to come with fresh fruit which we never saw. We decided since we had been there nearly 2 hours we would just get the dessert and the check. The dessert looked beautiful a chocolate decadent cake (it was dry however) and a vanilla bean cheesecake with raspberry sauce (both the the cake and the sauce had NO flavor). Honestly-​the menu looks great and I think I’d try the food again if the service was better. Maybe if they go back to buffet style I’ll give them another try.

Bantam Bistro is located within the historic Litchfield Inn. We went to check it out a few weekends ago and, while the scenic views and gorgeous interior are beautiful, they can’t quite distract you enough from a disappointing dining experience.
Atmosphere
Bantam Bistro is located right off the main lobby of the Litchfield Inn through a set of wide French doors. The restaurant is modest in size, with dark woods, dark khaki colored walls and touches of modern lighting. A row of booths sits along the far wall tucked individually behind arches. We were seated in one of these booths and they have a very private and segmented feel — a nice touch.
Food
We had our fill on this menu, ordering:
House made Gnocchi: local zucchini, peas, arugula pesto and truffled pecorino
Crisp Calamari: pesto pomodoro, asiago aioli, tossed with chili and garlic
Grilled Pork Flat Iron: fennel sausage and broccoli rabe, creamy polenta and a smokey demi
Pan Seared Scallops: cauliflower-​potato purée, cippolini and mushroom ragout
Grilled Steelhead Trout: shallots and haricot vert, almond basmati and a crab and chive buerre blanc
It took FOREVER to get our food. However, when it did arrive, everything tasted great. The house made gnocchi was delicious, coated in lots of melted pecorino cheese and tender vegetables. The gnocchi was very plump and absorbed a lot of the oil from the melted cheese. The result was a very flavorful dish.
The grilled pork flat iron came out as grilled pork sliced and placed over polenta, sausage and broccoli rabe. That’s right — two types of meat in one dish — I was in heaven. The pork was very heavily peppered and the fennel sausage gave this entrée a little kick to it. This was a big dish and even I was full after finishing it.
All of us thoroughly enjoyed our food, although the overarching comment was that everything was very heavily seasoned.
Service
The service is where this meal went south. We had a reservation and requested a booth. When we arrived, the restaurant was fairly empty, with only a few occupied tables. However, all the occupied tables were booths, leaving no empty spaces for us. We were told it would be a five minute wait. Ok — no big deal at all. We gladly said we’d wait a little bit for a booth and the hostess told us we could sit in the room next door while we waited. Nearly 20 minutes later, we were curious what was going on. We discovered the table had been cleaned and ready for us for 15 minutes. The hostess completely forgot to let us know.
Our waitress wasn’t much better. The service was unprofessional, sloppy and slow. The waitress had poured nearly a full glass of wine before remembering she had to offer us a taste first. We had to proactively ask for water refills numerous times and at the end of the meal we were never asked if we wanted dessert. Instead, the check came and we got the impression it was time to leave. Our food also took an eternity to arrive at the table. I don’t know what the kitchen was doing since the restaurant was practically empty, but they need to get their act together.
Value
The prices range from $ 10-​$ 14 for appetizers and average in the low $ 20 range for entrees. If you put the prices up against the quality of food, the value at Bantam Bistro is great. However, add in the low quality service and I’m not happy to be paying these prices.
The Verdict
Bantam Bistro serves up some great food with terrible service. The entire meal, while delicious, was underscored by continuously shoddy service that detracted from the overall experience. Bantam Bistro needs to get its act together. If this is how things are when the place is practically empty, I’d hate to see what it’s like on a busy night. If you’re around the Litchfield Inn and hungry, keep going. I don’t recommend Bantam Bistro and will not be going back.

The Bantam Bistro was the celebration location for my 27^th birthday this past Monday night. The staff accommodated our larger party with a million different dietary needs very well.
The drive to Litchfield seems a little far from just about everywhere. Coming from Vernon, we left early to avoid traffic through Hartford and Farmington, and made it there in just about an hour. While the ride is long, there is some very nice scenery along the way.
The Bistro is a part of the Litchfield Inn, a very fancy and very pretty. Jeff and I started at the bar while we waited for the rest of our group. The bartender was very friendly, and worked with us to make whatever drinks we wanted, even modifying the ones on their list so they would be to our taste. Very nice touch. He also told us about the happy hour that was available, drink and appetizer specials at a really good price.
Once everyone arrived, we order a little of everything!
Very nice wine list, we ordered a couple bottles of a nice dry Spanish white wine which was chilled to the perfect temperature. Steamed mussels, heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil, and a charcuterie plate were the starters, and we had enough to share between 8 people.
Jeff and I shared the Watermelon Salad, which was very good, but the blue cheese crumbles were unbelievably strong. We also shared a special Gazpacho for the soup. It was very full of flavor, but very brothy.
My entrée was seared diver scallops with a sweet corn polenta cake, kale, and grilled peaches. It was so fresh and delicious! Jeff enjoyed a beautiful lobster fettucini, and my brother was very happy with his Vegan option, fresh veggie ratatouille.
I was the only one who optioned for dessert, being the birthday girl, and I chose the strawberry shortcake. A lot of shortcake, not enough strawberries.
All in all, we had a lovely time. We were one of the only tables in the place, so we laughed loudly and drank plenty. The staff was friendly and accommodating. If you are already in the Litchfield area, this is a very nice spot to stop into!

Went for Sunday brunch because we had a Groupon. Everything was really good. There was an omelet station with all the fillings I could hope for (including goat cheese!), a carving station with a very tender and juicy roast beef, and all your usual breakfast/​brunch fare like eggs, bacon, homefries, pasta, fruit, and assorted baked goods. I started off with an omelet then dabbled in what the buffet had to offer. The salad was really different — mixed greens with only interesting lettuce leaves and peas — and there was a nice citrusy vinaigrette on the side. Next to the salad was some shrimp cocktail and smoked salmon. The smoked salmon was fantastic — extremely fresh, just enough smoky flavor, rolled around capers, and nothing at all like the packaged stuff you find in the grocery store. My last stop was the pancake station, where the attendant made me two fluffy, yet crispy on the outside, pancakes with chocolate chips and raspberries, and I topped them off with real maple syrup. My boyfriend and I both decided to get beers because they had a good number of Thomas Hooker beers on tap, including Munich, which is one of our favorites. For the big 20 oz. glasses, we only paid $ 6 each.
We got there around noon, and brunch started at 11. As with any buffet, the food did start to dry out a little after a while. Also, some things weren’t getting replaced, like the smoked salmon, for example. My boyfriend and I were glad we caught some, but if we got there any later, we wouldn’t have. I think it’s best to get to this brunch buffet early to avoid getting dried out food/​not getting some of the great stuff they put out earlier.
$ 30 a person for brunch without any discounts might be a little much, but that’s pretty standard for Sunday brunch buffets, and everything was really good, so I guess it wouldn’t be bad every once in a while. It was’t the best Sunday brunch buffet I’ve been to, but it’s up there. We left very full and satisfied, and it was a lovely start to our Sunday.

We’ve been to the new Bistro three times now and have had consistently good experiences on each occasion.
Yesterday for Happy Hour — new bartender Nick was awesome! So much energy and really fun, he handled the Friday crowd like a pro. Great prices on drinks and tapas plates (husband loved the roast beef slider) from 4:00 — 6:00, not just your usual wings and pizza. I had a Smoking Loon Sauvignon Blanc for $ 4! He also made a well version of the lemon basil cosmo for me — I’ve got to get that recipe. Apparently this happy hour runs Mon– Fri all week, definitely hit if you are in the area.
Catering for my Christmas Brunch Party– I worked with Chef Jonathon to come up with four unique hor d’oevres for my party. My guests could not stop talking about how fabulous the food was. We did a jumbo shrimp bloody Mary shooter, a ham and gruyère slider with rosemary skewer, a goat cheese and truffle mushroom quiche and fresh mozzarella pinwheel with sundried tomato and basil. The presentation was outstanding and the prep for me the next day was ridiculously easy. It’s officially a tradition from here on out.
Dinner with a group of eight — last fall we visited on a Saturday night with three other couples the week of the big power outage. What a fantastic job the place did for us. I wish I had electricity that week to Unilocal the individual meals (don’t remember now) but I do recall that everyone — and there were eight of us– enjoyed everything we had, from drinks to apps to dinner and desert.
Breakfast on a Sunday — we arrived a bit too early for the brunch so decided to just try the breakfast menu. Husband had an egg sandwich I had yogurt/​granola/​fruit. It was fine but a bit pricey for the portions. Everything was fresh and local though.

Not bad. We came here for a Sunday morning brunch and had a decent meal. Nothing out of this world but left full and satisfied. The décor is pretty nice; part quaint country and part trendy and modern (depending on which end of the room you sat in). There was a decent selection of food and the make-​your-​own mimosa bar was an interesting touch (at a charge of course). The food itself though is typical buffet, both in choices and also in the fact that it would get cold and dry out from sitting out for so long. The food was a bit greasy, but not terrible. The biggest drawback was that they were constantly out of coffee at the serve-​yourself station (which is an important part of any brunch). Otherwise it was overall not a bad choice, although it might not have been worth all that much money, but a good thought for a special occassion.

We stayed at the Inn a couple of years ago but never ate at the restaurant. Well, it seems that they’ve renovated and the space looks GREAT. The bar is rather large and very inviting. We had brunch there a week ago and sat at a very sexy booth with lots of natural light via the skylight.
Great staff, super friendly but not overly so. We had their brunch buffet and everything we’ve tried was fantastic. Their house made granola is delicious and they offer Arethusa’s yogurt to go along with it — huge plus. The omelette I asked for was very tasty, everything in the buffet part was awesome: the ham, the quiche, potatoes, bacon/​sausage station, etc.
I had seconds of fresh fruit and a small butter croissant — perfect. Very affordable and highly recommended.