Maple Tree Cafe

This is the type of dinner where you want to bring the owner over to see how you could mess up an otherwise lovely dinner.
Case in point: We arrived at the end of the dinner rush on a Sunday evening and got seated outside. No problems yet. Except no menus. Waitress MIA. We flag the waitress; she gives us attitude like «I’ll be a minute». Well, it’s already been nearly 10 minutes for us.
Finally get the menus from waitress. I’m not sure she cares that we are there. No smile. No chit chat. No nothing. Does the server care that this is our first impression of the place? Is she trying to lose business for the restaurant.
We get our drinks and she takes our order. By memory. Oh, lovely. (Note: Serving at a restaurant is not a game show. Get the order right every time.)
After a wait, we get our dinner salads and bread. They’re good and nice hot bread. Maybe we’ll make it through after all.
And then the wait. And wait. We wait well nearly an hour after we ordered for our dinner. There were very few people waiting at that point so assume it’s the kitchen. Then they bring out a wrong dish. Finally, after a few minutes more, the rest of the meals come out. (My guess is that the kitchen made the wrong dish and held everything until it could make the right dish.) Kids burger and fries is fine — except there is a pool of pickle juice on the plate where a pickle perhaps was (and then removed.). Not good for the kid.
And here’s the thing: The food is really good. Loved the sausage and chicken (plenty for leftovers the next day); the scallops with risotto is a hit too. The ciopinno and the shrimp scampi were all devoured.
Sitting outside the deck, it’s one of the best outdoor experiences we’ve had. Really enjoyable.
But I really wonder if we’ll come back anytime soon. The service needs work; the waitstaff need to be retrained and the kitchen needs to get its act in order on food.
Which is a shame, because if you want good food and drink, I’d probably have recommended this for you. But now I’m not positive. Sigh.

Excellent smoked salmon eggs Benedict with great tasty home fries!
Great, enjoyable patio experience on a nice summer day for brunch!
Definitely recommend!

Great patio singing with a mimosa or bloody for Brunch. Eggs Benedict with Lox were delish and their home fries could be croutons on my yummy Cobb salad. So good!

Three stars because the poor service unfortunately overshadowed the great tasting food. We went on a normal Saturday night, and was instructed to seat ourselves at one of three dirty unset tables on the patio. We weren’t given a drink menu, and the server took about ten minutes to greet us. Despite the continually slow service, the food was very good. We ordered calamari which was cooked perfectly. Just the right amount of crisp without turning the squid into rubber. The bread was warm and very delicious. Even the olive oil tasted great. I got mussels in white wine sauce and was very impressed by the broth. Everyone else got pasta and seemed to be very satisfied. I think if the front of the house met the kitchen half way, this could easily be a four or five star review.

Awful experience. Wife and I went last night with another couple. Myself and friend both ordered steaks medium rare and they both came out medium well at best. Told waitress who brought them back. She then returned with same steaks saying owner/​chef said they were fine. Unreal. Not even remotely medium. Appalling.

I am sitting here waiting for my impending foodborne illness. From the rotten carrots and celery served with the wings to the chicken in my salad that tasted at least a week past expiration-​I am really shocked that the affluent town of Simsbury would frequent such a dive. Perhaps there is some specialty or the «live entertainment» that attracts enough people to keep the doors open but what I know is that the basic staples the restaurant were, at best, substandard.

Solid place. Smelled very weird like cleaning products and had tons of butts and a beer outside at 12 on a Saturday. I thought it was going to be terrible because there was only one other person there. I think it more of a night place but lunch specials were huge and really good. I had a great pasta with butternut squash dish. They all came with salad and divine fresh bread. Good craft beer selection.

My fiancé and I stopped into the Maple Tree for dinner last night and had a great meal. The décor and ambiance were good– the place seemed very clean and you can tell the locals must love it there.
We got the fried asparagus appetizer which were delicious. Very crisp and had a flavorful dipping sauce. Our salads were very fresh. My fiancé got the scallops for the main course which she said were cooked perfectly. I got the chicken Sinatra that was tasty and a great portion for the price.
One of the owners came by to ask how our meal was and he was very friendly.
I highly recommend this place!

I have been eating here for years, through multiple owners. I have been ordering salmon on my salads for most of this time and under the current management the portion allotted for salads has shrunk from a size piece of meat to a strip of salmon this size of a piece of biscotti.

Not sure where I am going with this one. I have been coming here through the years way back from when it was a dive bar in the early 70’s, thorough Dino’s incarnations, his successors and now Attilo’s. I do like the pizza much better than before. The service in Atillo’s is friendly, efficient and good for a family restaurant. No complaints there. Indeed a compliment… a glass of wine is served quickly at the beginning of my meal.
The transition to Atillo’s seems to be largely complete. The menu has lost most of the hangovers from the prior incarnations.
The salad was a fresh mixed greens with off season tomatoes, cucumber. With the exception of the tomatoes, very good. Why is it in restaurant world we have dumbed salad dressing down to inexpensive balsamic vinaigrette. Balsamic vinegar worthy of a salad dressing is very expensive and not readily available in large quantities. The cheap stuff is just that vinegar. Ditch the toss away balsamic Get original and develop a house dressing worthy of the quality greens you serve.
My wife had the scallops with risotto. The scallops were great but the risotto was not properly done, but overdone (not that just barely al dente with the wonderful natural creaminess). Also way too much cheese. The creaminess should be from the rice starch not the cheese. Flavorful dish saved by the excellent scallops.
I had the chicken breast special. Next time I order the chicken special in any restaurant (not just this one) unless it’s squab or other small bird quickly grilled with a little bit of sauce, take me out back and knock some sense into me. Really. The chicken special rarely turns out good. This one sound intriguing, a chicken breast stuffed with spinach and chorizo served in manchego cheese sauce. Chorizo and manchego cheese two of my favorite things. I ordered. A large (too large) roll of a chicken breast wrapped around the filling and Sautéed/​baked/​broiled. I am not sure which method was used but the end effect was that by the time the filling was hot, the outside was overly browned and the chicken over done. The sauce was excellent and the squash purée along side was superb. Perhaps pounding the chicken breasts much thinner and making smaller rolls, more quickly cooked would have been a better presentation. Once again flavorful, good idea, just not sure of the execution.

Not that the old Maple Tree was 5 Star but it’s now worse. Get there well before 9pm as that’s when the kitchen closes. How can a bar close their kitchen at 9? It makes it easy to just leave and walk across the street to 3 other establishments for drink and food. Frankly just as good or better. Don’t waste your time even stopping by.
Follow up. Even though they own Atilos (old Apollo pizza) next door you can no longer get pizzaI now We want the old owners of maple tree and Apollo back.

I have been here for dinner twice. And thought this restaurant was excellent. I have lived in Tokyo and currently live in NYC, travelled all over Europe, Hong Kong, Seoul, etc and can tell you the quality here is excellent for the price. As expected since the head chef is a Michelin 2-​star chef. Having been a CT resident in the past, still traveling to the area on business, I can safely say that any poor ratings must be based on the prior ownership or that your palate must be accustomed to bad american chain restaurants and pizza made with sauce from a jar. Sigh. I actually know the owners as well and they have very high expectations of both the food quality and their staff.
The first time I was here we had the artichoke appetizer, mushroom pizza, filet mignon, and carrot cake. Everything was really delicious! I loved the mushroom pizza and carrot cake especially, which are both menu items I wouldn’t normally order. The second time I was here was just for a quick early dinner — Margarita pizza! Haha still great! So glad I have a good go-​to restaurant now when I’m in the area for work.
Highly reccomend this restaurant!

I used to hang out here many years ago, when it was, quite literally, a hang-out…dark dusty room, stained bar, juke box and dart board. WOW how things have changed!
It was the perfect night for eating out on the patio, so we joined some friends for the evening. Our server was knowledgeable and accurate. The menu boasted of traditional café items such as wings, sandwiches, burgers and grilled items… but also had a large variety of salads, sauteed dishes and Italian cuisine. There was, quite literally, something for everyone.
We shared fried calamari for starters — very passable, crisp little bits. My wife enjoyed a burger, while I feasted on a grilled ruben, which was made with plenty of tender, thin-​sliced corned beef on thick rye bread, with Swiss cheese, and what I would describe as a «gourmet» Russian dressing… dark in color, and bold in flavor. All together, the sandwich was very tasty, and very satisfying.
One of our friends had a salad with grilled steak, and other with grilled shrimp. They did forget to put the shrimp on his salad, but were there within 2 minutes with a plate of freshly sauteed shrimp, and placed it respectfully on top of his greens.
We didn’t have room for dessert, but after a meal like this, I wouldn’t want to spoil the afterglow anyway. That, the friends, and the IPAs made for a wonderful night out.

Great place! The new owners are awesome. The food is delicious. Thursdays for karaōke is a blast. I recommend the pizza as well. Keep up the great work!

My wife and I returned to the maple tree after a long hiatus hearing it was now under new ownership. Cosmetically the place is more or less the same they did replace the old green carpet with nice wood floors which is a great improvement.
The food is a huge improvement over the previous owners. I had the sirloin which came with a side salad. Was cooked perfectly and had a great portion size. My wife had the orange walnut salad which was huge and beautifully presented. Desert was the best taramisu I have ever had.
We will def be back, next time I will def remember to make a reservation first.

Food is good for a bar. Friday nights are fun to do date night as they draw some good local bands.

I feel the need to explain…
I feel Sunday’s r a tough time for dinner plans in CT. Hot Tomato= closed. Peppercorns=closed…
So we changed direction completely and went for more pub dinners.
We get there and before being seated we are made aware that they r closing the kitchen at 8pm that night. It’s 7:47… Do the math. As we plan to leave, the waiter asks us to wait, runs to kitchen and then tells us it wont be a problem… Take my advice, leave when that is the case!
I will say the best thing we had was the wine. Sorry to be like that.
Oh wait, the side salad was excellent.
Calimari was under cooked. It had great potential but think it was rushed.
It needed a little more cook time. Also, for 10 $ the portion size was very weak.
Scallops and rusoto was ordered but had very little taste requiring a fair amount of salt and was a very luke to low warm.
I had the chicken Milanese. Two pan seared pieces of chicken in a sauce that also required salt (which I never use) and some spaghetti.
Potions were very weak for the price. $ 16.00 and received no love.
I will return because I have had much better food experiences in the past. The tavern menus is the way to go. I just really wish we left right from hearing the kitchen was closing early. Our bad.

Know first that Maple tree has all sorts of coupons available.
, LivingSocial, and I believe even the Hartford Courant all have Maple Tree on their list. You’d almost be silly to go here for full price these days.
That said, despite our $ 25 discount, our meal was worthy of the original price. We started with a fun appetizer of homemade meatballs, topped with homemade tomato sauce and ricotta cheese. With a side of cheesy garlic bread, it was a great starter.
Then we dug into our sandwiches. My «Route 10» Pulled pork sandwich was nothing short of excellent. Served with carmelized onions and melted cheese, this pulled pork was so good on its own, it didn’t need to be slathered in barbecue sauce. That’s the mark of a good pulled pork. My girlfriend enjoyed her portabella sandwich.
Clearly, Maple Tree has some Italian lineage in addition to their traditional pub fare. Further to the aforementioned meatballs, the menu features a host of veal and chicken dishes, and classic italian pasta dishes.
Nice venue too. Outdoor seating, large indoor bar, a small stage for live music, and a fun vibe for this part of the world. Ch-​ch-​check it out y’all.

Had a nice lunch there today. The restaurant was pretty empty but the bar was very crowded with regulars on their barstools, ringing the bar like a picture frame. Its a pretty ambitious menu with nearly 20 appetizers ranging from inexpensive (garlic bread for $ 2) to wings (15 pcs for $ 13) and from the ordinary (fried mozzarella) to the unexpected (crab cakes). We had a Cobb Salad ($ 11) and a Chicken Quesadilla ($ 10). The salad was good, but in an average-​good way. The Quesadilla was advertised as being served with sour cream, guacamole and salsa, but when it came out of the kitchen, the guac was missing. We asked the server about it, and she said that not everyone likes guac, so she doesn’t bring it out unless it is specifically asked for. Thats a minus one point. The salsa was fantastic, and when I mentioned to her that I liked it, she chimed in that it was home-​made — so they get that deducted point back. We asked for the leftover quesadillas to be boxed up, and when she brought them back from the kitchen, she said she added some extra guac for us. That’s a bonus point.
I checked out the dinner menu and saw a lot of chickens and veals and pastas and chops and seafood in the $ 13 — $ 20 range. Not cheap, but not out of this world high either.
I might have to stop back on the way home from work on Thursday– in honor of the start of the baseball season, they have an Opening Day special– $ 2 beers and you keep your Yankee or Red Sox glass. Now that’s what I call Customer Service !!

Notice most of the past reviews are all based on outdoor seating. I just finished a meal with my wife just after New Years. Outdoor seating at 17 degrees isn’t practable. We had a $ 25.00 Restau​rant​.Com certificate, which was the reason we decided to try the café.
Walking into the bar, the atmosphere isn’t the best. It’s a bar with a stage for open mic on some nights and maybe weekend bands. Not sure. But it’s not a place to go for a romantic night out. The meal was marginal at best. I ordered two appitizers. One was the crab cake which were perfect. The other was coconut shrimp. Out of 6, one shrimp was so over fried, it self destructed on my plate. Each appitizer was $ 9. Neither worth it’s price.
The main meals were a lamb gyro with a salad and the other was a small steak with mashed potatoes and a mushroom gravy. The Gryo wasn’t close to par. My wife loves Greek gryos, this wasn’t a good sandwich. The steak I ordered was cooked as ordered but was very small about the size of a hockey puck and just slightly more tender. The mashed potatos were old and dry. I couldn’t believe they were freshly made.
The meal was not something I’d come back to. The wait staff were perfect, however. The beer was cold. I had a Guinness that was perfect…
So… my idea, since everyone seems to think outside seating is the way to go here… would be to come back in the warmer weather and just go for the appitizers and cocktails while absorbing the warm afternoon Simsbury sunshine out on the decks.
This meal cost $ 70.00 … I don’t believe it was worth half that price even with the $ 25 discount.