The Schoolhouse at CannondaleHave been many times now.Have been many times now. It's always great but thus night was subpar. Service was uncommonly inattentive. Yes it was crowded but it is often crowded on Thursday nights. Everything seemed slow. Drinks took a long time. Waiter did not know if the soup was hot or cold (he guessed wrong). Dessert was delivered before we were even asked about coffee. My friend said yes to coffee but we ended up canceling it when we were finished with dessert and it hadn't shown up yet. Food was great as usual. That soup mentioned earlier was delicious!6/13/2013 12:00:00 AMNice meal, attentive service.Nice meal, attentive service. Pricey for what you get!6/8/2013 12:00:00 AMAlways Top-NotchWilton's Best Restaurant-never disappoints! The service, the food, the ambiance, the attention to detail-Fantastic! Try it for brunch. The outdoor patio overlooking the waterfall and river is just gorgeous. On a beautiful Sunday morning, nothing could be better.6/8/2013 12:00:00 AMWonderful foodExcellent and technically impressive delights at Schoolhouse at Cannondale.
My girlfriend and I ordered the chicken liver pate and seared foie gras for our first courses. These really stood out. The foie gras was seared to PERFECTION and served over beignets (a sort of lightly sweetened fried doughnut) with sweet jam and granola. The pate was spread over toast with cornichons on the side - close your eyes and a bite of this could transport you to the French countryside.
Our main courses were well prepared but didn't stand out as much. The dessert (a chocolate souffle for two) was outstanding.
I didn't fine their wine list to be particularly impressive and we used the BYOW option ($20.00 corking). Service was very good.6/7/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent FoodThe menu was small, but each dish is special. Beautiful flavors and fresh/local ingredients. This would have been a 5 star experience but we were really disappointed with the service. It's a very small space and felt there was no excuse for negligence. It took forever for the server to come to take a drink order, then later in the meal never asked if we'd like another when our glasses were empty. We had to flag down the waiter to get our check after sitting in front of our finished desert plate for 15 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I like to take my time eating and enjoying the experience, but this just felt like we weren't being taken care of. All said, I'd still go back and recommend this restaurant to anyone because of the excellent food.6/7/2013 12:00:00 AMSuperb FoodThe chef at The Schoolhouse is a true master. Each morsel is sensitively and delicately prepared and presented to make your meal truly special. The service is so lovely and the ambience so pleasant, you will want to stay for hours!5/29/2013 12:00:00 AMFood was fabulous! However,Food was fabulous! However, the service does not "fit" the quality of the restaurant! If they are going to charge those prices they need to hire professionals to work in the dining room and bar and that is NOT the case!5/25/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent diningCharming dining in a classic New England school house.
Very friendly, comfortable atmosphere.
Simply delicious from salad to dessert.5/24/2013 12:00:00 AMLove this placeWe go here for all of our special occasions - birthdays, anniversaries. Tim LaBant is a masterful chef - the dishes are simple, yet the flavors are so intense and delicious. Food is gorgeously presented, and the staff is always smiling, helpful, and responsive. We love it so much that we got married here last year!5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMYUMThis restaurant was amazing! The food was fresh, local, and delicious! We had an incredible anniversary and it was made special by the schoolhouse!5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMLove this place!The food is amazing and the overall experience completely wonderful. We can't wait to come again!5/9/2013 12:00:00 AMBest restaurant for miles around!Schoolhouse consistently delivers an incredibly fresh, imaginative and delicious meal with friendly, efficient service and comfortable atmosphere...every time. We met friends who are serious foodies and had just returned from Paris, where they thought the food was not as good as they remembered it being!! They loved Schoolhouse. Two of us had the Foie Gras, which was divine and 'better than Paris" and the other two had a ravioli that was not squares, but a single sheet of homeade pasta with topping, and divine. Bronzini and strip steak for main course--both fantastic. Menu is not extensive, but creative and EVERYTHING is incredibly fresh. Nice touch: Every menu is custom printed for the party who made the reservation, with your name!5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMThursday night is a great valueWe had the four course with wine pairing on Thursday night and were very impressed with the food and found the wine to be an excellent pairing. Highly recommend Thursday nights pre fixe for the quality and value!5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMHave been there before ...Have been there before ... but not in a while. Really enjoyed it and will be back sooner than in the past.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMJust Perfection!My husband and I spent our 22nd Anniversary here. The food was amazing, along with wonderful service! I would come here most definately again. If fact we made a reservation to come for brunch today. This is the restaurant we have been looking for in Fairfield County. Just perfection!4/26/2013 12:00:00 AMA favorite and food wasn'tA favorite and food wasn't as tasty this time. . .4/26/2013 12:00:00 AMAlways fabulous food withAlways fabulous food with unique presentation. One of my favorites4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMThe brunch was first rate.The brunch was first rate. My mushroom quiche was ethereally light and really flavorful. It came with a lovely green salad and a nice crispy wedge of hash browns. My husband has brioche french toast which was very good but a little sweet for my taste. Everything else we saw looked fabulous. The service was god overall, a bit laid back. We were not pushed to order cocktails as is often the case. We were also given our check before we had an opportunity to request dessert even though the room was not booked to capacity at that point. Toward the end of the meal, our server seemed MIA. These are minor quibbles though. We loved the menu and the chef executed on it beautifully.4/7/2013 12:00:00 AMAlways SpecialTim cooks great food and runs a excellent dinning room.4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMThe food at The SchoolhouseThe food at The Schoolhouse was absolutely delicious! You can tell that every dish was crafted with care. I loved the beet salad; the beet raviolis were also delicious but the portion size, at 3 ravioli, was a little small even for an appetizer. Our entrees, the char and the gnocchi with sausage, were fantastic and more generously portioned. The chocolate soufflé was a perfect ending to this excellent meal. The wait staff and Christine(?) at the front desk could not have been nicer; I had mentioned that it was my boyfriend's birthday and our menus were customized with birthday wishes printed up top for him! We also loved the charm of the building itself. Overall a great place to have a special occasion, or a delicious meal any time!4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMlongtime staff is always solongtime staff is always so welcoming and attentive. The menu is always varied and special, we love coming to eat here for a great meal or a special occasion.3/31/2013 12:00:00 AMSchoolhouse along with LeSchoolhouse along with Le Farm are consistently the best dining experiences in Fairfield County.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMThursday specialThey have a special Thursday evenings that is -- well -- special. Four courses for $40. With wine pairings it is $65. Each course is a little different with multiple tastes on the plate. Each plate had something extra - it was fun to anticipate what might come next. Trying different wines help make things interesting.
Connecticut country atmosphere - old house next to a stream. Try it!3/28/2013 12:00:00 AMEverything was great! SuchEverything was great! Such nice wait staff! Feels like you rented the place out to yourself.3/24/2013 12:00:00 AMSuperb brunch served in aSuperb brunch served in a cute room. Coffee is quite expensive at $4 per 6 oz.3/17/2013 12:00:00 AMWe had a delicious lunch hereWe had a delicious lunch here - interesting location, small but varied menu and the portions were perfect and beautifully presented. Good choice for non-meat eaters in our group. Service was friendly but unobtrusive and timely. We will definitely go back and highly recommend this restaurant.3/16/2013 12:00:00 AMEverything we ate was excellent,Everything we ate was excellent, although given all the hype, none of the food blew me away - still, everything was solid. Also, the schoolhouse setting is super cute, even if the tables are really (I mean REALLY) close together. My only problems were 1) The service was pretty slow considering the ratio of servers to tables, and 2) For the price, the lamb pasta dish my husband ordered was absurdly small! If he hadn't eaten half my pork tenderloin, probably would have left hungry.
Would likely return, but only if we were already in the neighborhood - otherwise would probably not justify the 45 minute drive from home.2/15/2013 12:00:00 AMgrest restauant with outstandinggrest restauant with outstanding food and serice in a unique setting........bit pricey but welll worth it in our table of 3 was celebrating a 101 birthday of friend's mom.....treated very well and made it speical...having name and occasion printed on menu was real nice touch......will return......personally surpried out limited selection of cocktails and brand,,,,,no Dewars' scotch......otherwise a great nite out,,,,,,,recommend and will return1/5/2013 12:00:00 AM