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| - The hype has made it difficult to not be slightly disappointed, so my advice when dining at Woodlot is to lower your expectations (or just not pay attention to the hype) and then be pleasantly surprised.
Our table was upstairs in the dining room, which others have described as unpretentious but which I found stuffy and uncomfortable. It looked a lot like an Italian restaurant that was trying for "minimalist" but missed the mark. In fact, much of Woodlot's decor and food seems to have overshot on what it means to be "rustic" and "unpretentious" - both the space and the food occasionally go too far, and become just sort of spartan and joyless.
I felt jealous of the people downstairs when I'd head to the bathroom. Sitting at the long, shared baker's table near the kitchen or sitting at the bar may not sound romantic, but it looked more fun and friendly than the staid dining room, which made me feel like I was on an awkward first date.
I love the fact that Woodlot has a solid, standalone vegetarian menu. The service was also very attentive and friendly, and our food arrived quickly. The food was good - and some bits of it were very good - but it certainly wasn't perfect, delicious, or even particularly memorable.
The French onion soup was fine. It did what a French onion soup was supposed to do. My duck and pork belly was certainly "rustic", by which I mean "kind of ugly and mysteriously greyish." I understand that Woodlot is trying to get away from all the rectangular plates, sugar-dusting, squiggles of sauce, and foam reductions that have turned so much of modern dining into a misery, but simplicity demands perfection - or at least slightly more effort than was evinced by my experience. My duck was bland, and the (nicely seasoned) beans - on which the duck and pork belly were served - were overcooked. The pork belly was delicious and perfectly cooked, but the tiny, stingy portion of it was stupid. It floated around on this huge sea of beans and was dwarfed by the duck leg - half the size of a credit card.
My friend ordered the trout, which was tasteless, watery, and served on a plate of vegetables that also tasted pretty much of nothing. We ordered a side of gnocchi that would've been lovely had their delicate seasoning not been spoiled by greasiness. They were also just kind of thrown into a bowl, and looked limp and soggy.
We were pretty full and opted to split a dessert. The lemon tart topped with blueberry and marshmallow tasted excellent, although we had to hack through the crust like woodsmen (so rustic). The lemon tart arrived, lonely and naked, sliding around on a white plate. Again, I get the whole "rustic simplicity" schtick, but it loses its charm when the food you're eating looks like the leftovers you'd eat at home. This style of "comfort food, done expertly" is meant to make you feel warm and cosy while reconsidering old classics, but either Woodlot hasn't quite got its ethos together yet, or we happened to be there on a particularly mediocre menu night.
Overall, Woodlot isn't bad, but it couldn't live up to the hype for me. I had a choice between Woodlot and Splendido that particular night, and now wish I'd gone with Splendido.
I wouldn't make reservations again, although I'd tag along if someone else did and they needed a dinner date. I wouldn't mind giving some of Woodlot's other menu offerings a try, but, given that there are so many other restaurants to choose from, I doubt that I'll have the time or the proclivity to return.
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