RESTAURANT: Abigail’s Grill and Wine Bar
LOCATION: 4 Hartford Rd, Simsbury, CT
DATE OF SERVICE: April 17th, 2010
The hubster and I couldn’t have been more excited this past weekend because we finally managed to sneak out for a night out on the town, just the two of us! I mean, we absolutely love chillin’ with our four year old, but it sure is nice to get out a few times a month to help us remember that we are in fact, a married couple, and that our dinners out don’t always have to involve sippy cups and crayons!
The weather wasn’t the greatest here in Connecticut over the weekend, so we decided to hop in the car and drive a little bit out of our way and try a new restaurant for our evening out. Abigail’s Grill and Wine Bar in Simsbury may be new, but the actual property that houses the restaurant has been around since 1780!
The building was originally the home of The Pettibone Tavern, which served as the first stagecoach stop outside of Hartford on the Boston to Albany Turnpike during the Revolutionary War. It has been rumored that both George Washington and John Adams even stayed there during their travels!
The Tavern has been a restaurant for as long as I can remember. I used to dine there quite often with my parents when I was in high school, and it was actually part of the popular “Chart House” chain at that point. I even went there to eat with a big group of friends before my senior prom, so the building holds a lot of fond memories for me.
Before the establishment opened as Abigail’s, it was “Pettibone’s Tavern”, but a fire back in 2008 caused extensive damage and the owners were forced to close. I was so delighted when it reopened again as Abigail’s, because I always thought that it would be a tragedy if that beautiful building so rich with history sat vacant for too long. I have always loved buildings that feel “lived in”, and there is just something that is so nostalgic and romantic about enjoying an evening meal in a place that has had people coming through its doors for hundreds of years.
My husband and I had dinner reservations at 7:30, but we got there about a half an hour early, so we headed upstairs to the “Tavern” section of the restaurant to enjoy a martini (or two)! The upstairs area has a more casual feel to it and is a great place to sit and relax and enjoy cocktails with friends, or to enjoy a burger at the bar. A couple a few seats down from us ordered the burgers and they looked absolutely irresistible! The bar is set up in an “L” shape and there were plenty of stools there, but the area is also set up with leather sofas and cocktail tables, which are perfect for small groups to gather and mingle.
There were quite a few options on the martini list, and I chose the Pomegranate one. It was nice and strong, just the way I like it, and not overly sweet as some fruity martinis can be. It was in a large glass and was $9, which I thought was a very decent price for a martini. I’ve seen them for $12 in quite a few places around the Hartford area.
One place that I forgot to visit while we were having cocktails upstairs was the ladies room, which is a rumored hot spot for Abigail’s resident ghost by the same name. The legend of Abigail has been swirling around ever since I would frequent the property as The Chart House, and the idea of her spirit always intrigued me. I remember being so terrified as a young girl because there had been reports of women looking in the mirror in the upstairs ladies room and seeing Ms. Abigail staring back at them instead of their own reflections. Now that I’m older, I’m incredibly fascinated by the paranormal, and I would welcome the chance to see her face in that mirror! To me, the legend of the ghost just adds an aspect of romance and intrigue to the already rich and historic atmosphere.
After we finished our pre-dinner libations, we headed back downstairs to check in at the hostess station and claim our table. We were escorted to the back of the restaurant, which looked like a newer section to me. The decor inside Abigail’s is rich and contemporary, and definitely has more of a “restaurant” feel than the structure did as “The Chart House.” Though some of the original fireplaces were still in place, I couldn’t help but feel like the atmosphere lacked a little bit of the colonial charm and feel that it once had. When I used to dine there years ago, I honestly felt as though I were dining in an old tavern, and that if I didn’t know any better I could almost be convinced that I had traveled back in time. The new decor definitely has more of a 2010 feel to it, but it is still pleasing to the eye none the less.
We had a wonderful and experienced server taking care of us that evening, and he was very knowledgeable about the menu. Abigail’s offers a wide range of choices in entrees including various fresh seafood options, steaks, and also homemade pastas. We ordered the Price Edward Island Mussels as an appetizer and were pleased to find that they had been prepared differently than how we were used to. They had been steamed and were served in a garlic and white wine cream sauce, which sounded heavy at first but turned out to be absolutely delicious. We are used to having mussels in a light broth, but the cream was a welcome change.
For our entrees, I chose the Cedar Plank Salmon, which was served on top of fingerling potatoes and was topped with tomatoes, and my husband had the lamb. I like my salmon DONE in the middle, and our server assured me that it was no problem at all to cook it all the way through. He recommended that the lamb be cooked to medium rare, and so my husband took his suggestion. Both of our meals arrived hot and perfectly cooked, and once we began eating them, the table got very silent! Silence is always a good sign that the food is top notch with us, because we are enjoying our meals way too much to talk and don’t want to miss one bite! I have only recently started eating lamb, and after having a bite of my husband’s dish, I would definitely consider ordering it on our next visit to Abigail’s!
We passed on dessert simply because we were so stuffed from dinner, but they had a wonderful selection of choices that sounded sinful, yet worth every calorie! Maybe next time we’ll take them to go.
**FINAL VERDICT**: A Historic Hot-Spot in Which To Make New Memories
I will definitely be returning to Abigail’s Restaurant again for these reasons:
1. Even though it is a bit more contemporary than in the past, the charm and history of the building make for a rich and memorable dining experience. I would highly recommend it as a place to take out-of-town guests who want to have a taste of Connecticut history.
2. Abigail’s offers the opportunity to really make an evening out of your visit by having drinks upstairs in the Tavern, and then moving downstairs to enjoy your meal. It keeps with the 200-plus-year-old tradition of it being a place to gather, mingle, and reconnect with others.
3. The menu offered a wide ranges of choices, and our entrees were fresh, beautifully presented, and delicious. We left satisfied, happy, and eager to return!
(And next time I may even indulge in a little ghost hunting)!
Disclosure: The opinions and observations expressed in this post are purely my own. I was not compensated in anyway by Abigail’s Grill and Wine Bar to write this review and my findings were not influenced by any outside sources. If you have any questions about Abigail’s Grill and Wine Bar, please contact the management staff directly. If you have any questions about this review, please contact me via email at thespymom(at)gmail(dot)com.
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