Distaster on every front
We were expecting an acceptional night out judging from everything we had heard. Instead, it was quite the opposite....Upon arriving, we were told that our table would be ready shortly. Settling into the bar, we asked if we could sit at one of the tables there instead for dinner. The hostess (or whoever she was) said she would ask. We never saw her again. Then a young man came to take us to our table. When we told him we wanted to sit in the bar, he told us no, we already have your table. Okay...well the young man turned out to be our waiter, and while very nice, was nervous, didn't know a lot about the wines, and was in general, over worked. My appetizer, a tuna carpaccio, was so bad (quality of tuna, taste etc) I simply didn't eat it. Three people came by and never asked me why, just took the dishes when my husband was done with dinner. The dinner was not much better. My husband had veal chop (or loin, I am not sure which) -- the quality was average at best and for $35, should have been better. I had a medallions of veal, which still tasted like the flour it was dipped in before cooking -- and another rip off for the price that we paid for it. No one asked us if we wanted coffee, just took dessert orders and then seemed perplexed when we asked for coffee. The check was hard to get, in fact all service was hard to get. And, get this...for three courses and a bottle of nice wine, with tip, over $270. ONe thing that is exceptional is the decor inside -- its a 1750 restored building and they preserved so much of the original flooring, beams etc. Just tremendous.    [03 Jun 2006 09:09:18]

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Recommended Dishes: None

     ­Karen   karentrella at verizon dot net

Always excellent
I have been to the Woodward House on several occasions over the past 3 years. Everything I have ordered was very good or better and the service was always friendly and professional. It is a great place for a special occasion. I have a favorite restaurant in Woodbury, but find I have to bring friends to experience the charm and superior dining at this Bethlehem restaurant fairly frequently.    [20 Jul 2006 15:59:03]

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     ­Kevin T.   kpthornton at hotmail dot com

Better off somewhere else
My husband and I visited the Woodward House recently with another couple, at their recommendation. Overall, I would say it was mediocre at best. I wasn't impressed with the menu itself. Fortunately you can view this on their website prior to visiting, which I wish I had done. It seemed like every dish consisted of a hunk of meat, grilled or seared in some sort of pseudo-imaginative marinade, and served up with an equally lackluster side of vegetables. It was my mother's cooking, with a few exotic ingredients sort of haphazardly thrown in. It tasted like it was of good quality, but I could have made something more to my liking at home. It was not exciting or innovative.

The atmosphere was very nice. You do get a very private, personalized experience. The restaurant is situated in a colonial house that has been renovated to accomodate diners. The renovations were very tasteful to a seasoned New England eye.
I felt that the service was overzealous. The staff seemed afraid to make a mistake. They hovered a little bit over our appetizers and I got the sense that they wanted us to finish up. This was unpleasant. The hostess (and owner, I believe) tripped over her own staff. She meant well, but ultimately put her foot in her mouth when she was the third person to ask whether we wanted more wine, or more bread, or how our meals were. If you're going to wait on the tables yourself, why hire staff at all?

To top it off, we were seated a little too close to the kitchen for comfort. At one point, we overheard someone in the kitchen loudly berating one of the staff. That really ruined the atmosphere.

Compared to any old diner you can find in every nook and cranny of New York, the Woodward house is uninspired, overpriced, and just blah. Great service and ambience don't really make up for lackluster cooking. It wasn't bad, and if you just want a nice, simple meal out, fine, no major complaints, but it wasn't great, either.
   [21 Feb 2008 22:04:50]

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     ­Patty