This was a lovely evening out to celebrate my birthday with my wife. Superior service provided by an attentive wait staff and, as always, superior food and drink. Cafe Routier is one of the finest restaurants I have enjoyed and they keep getting better!!
Kerry
Had another wonderful dining experience at Cafe Routier with 4 of my friends. Love the new winter menu items. 5 out of 5 meals were delicious! Service was great. My favorite restaurant along the shoreline!
Leigh
We have been going to Cafe Routier since for nearly 25 years and have never been disappointed.
dirk
We had not been back to Cafe Routier in a while, so we were not sure what to expect. New to us was the addition of Thai food, which turned out to be excellent. Our server, Sarah, was cheerful and very attentive. I now remember why Cafe Routier was our favorite go-to restaurant on the coast.
Marci
The soup was delivered cold . I asked to have hot soup it was returned cold . We caught the waitress in a 14 dollar mistake in a bottle of wine. The dinner was just ok The second time this month we went just to be close to home our real favorite Livs was to far in the snow storm . I ordered the steak and the fries had so much salt in it that it was not possible to eat it . Worse than tha a bad meal group of young adults came in to drink with a seven year old the bar tender gave them permission to sit at the bar with her . This was disappointing and I feel like i'm not sure I could go back to this restaurant. It's inappropriate for this child to sit at the bar . Who was driving this child the young people drinking . Just awful no food just drinking . This should be illegal a bar with what people talk about is no place for a child.
Jane
Always a favorite for dinner with friends, we had a most enjoyable evening at Cafe Routier. A lesser crowd on Sunday was great since the noise level was more reasonable and we were unrushed and enjoyed a leisurely evening.
Antonia
The food here is top quality, NYC style cuisine. Every time we come we have a delicious meal. Tge steak is always perfectly cooked, the salads have clean crisps dressings and the vegetables are nicely presented. I have two things that bug me every time. One, I wish they would improve the decor in the dining room. It is so plain and almost Russian at this point. Second, some of the servers are inexperienced and they reach across you and interrupt you to clear the table at the end of the meal (we were about to leave.)
sandy
Excellent meal. Delicious and wonderfully presented. Outstanding drinks. Love this place. Are in the dining room.
Marialina
As always, the food and service at Cafe Routier was excellent. We went to CR for my birthday and I had the steak frittes - my favorite meal at CR. The steak was cooked just right and the frittes were great. My partner had the butternut squash ravioli which she thoroughly enjoyed. Also, the wine list provides many choices for wines at all price points. Finally, the service was attentive and professional. Overall, a wonderful experience.
Pam
We have been going to Routier since it was located in Old Saybrook and always enjoyed it. Last night we did not check the menu first, and found it was Thai food month. For my appetizer I got the steak tartare, which I disliked so much I sent it back. The chef had taken a tender, expensive cut of meat and overloaded it with vinegar and/or dijon mustard, plus it seemed to have cornichon or something similar cholled in, adding more acid to it. You could not taste the meat at all. It was served with toasted bread smeared with a very acidic aioli. The dish was very heavy-handed, unbalanced, and unappetizing. I had the Thai style duck breast, which was ok, but again the sauce was acidic. Their regular duck dish is much better. The mound of rice that came with it was uninteresting. So I ordered wrong, my bad, but I thought they could cook well across the board and that did not happen. My husband had the fried oysters and the boar/ papparadelle dish and thouroughly enjoyed his meal. The waitress was slightly pushy about me refusing desssert. If we go again we will stick to their American fare.
This restaurant was listed as the #1 spot in Westbrook and they certainly lived up to their reputation. The atmosphere is lovely, the seating is roomy and the food was superb. Hubby and I started with the mussels appetizer which was large enough to share. They were PEI mussels (Prince Edward Island) which are the best and the sauce they were prepared in was delicious. Then we shared an Autumn salad - fresh mixed greens with goat cheese and honeyed pecans. The chef split the dish for us. I ordered the duck breast in a Thai sauce with Thai rise that was out of this world. My husband ordered the wild boar ragu which was also stupendous. We had enough for leftovers and saved room for dessert - we shared profiteroles with home-made hot fudge sauce - yummy! Even the bread and olive oil served as a starter was superb. In this place, you truly get what you pay for - and every bite was worth it.
Carl
Great dining experience. Routier does a phenomenal job from the time you walk in to the time you walk out. Patty our server was awesome, food was excellent, cocktails were excellent. Highly reccomend
Chris
We've been dining at Cafe Routier ever since they first opened. We are huge fans and always enjoy our dinners there. The food is incredible and the menu changes with the seasons, but they keep their tried and true dishes year round. We also enjoy that the waitstaff doesn't fluctuate much at all and are very professional. If you haven't been, you need to go!
Susan
Great meal and good value! Our waitress Patty was super helpful with her advice. We shared outstanding mussels marinière and then shared ahi tuna entree which they split for us. Very generous portions. We ended with fabulous profiteroles. A super place to celebrate our special anniversary. We're from NY and have eaten lots of good food, but this dinner ranks up there with the best. Only negative was that it was dark and difficult to read the menu
KIMBERLY
Top notch food and great service. Pleasant surroundings. Looking forward to going back again!
This was a lovely evening out to celebrate my birthday with my wife. Superior service provided by an attentive wait staff and, as always, superior food and drink. Cafe Routier is one of the finest restaurants I have enjoyed and they keep getting better!!
Had another wonderful dining experience at Cafe Routier with 4 of my friends. Love the new winter menu items. 5 out of 5 meals were delicious! Service was great. My favorite restaurant along the shoreline!
We have been going to Cafe Routier since for nearly 25 years and have never been disappointed.
We had not been back to Cafe Routier in a while, so we were not sure what to expect. New to us was the addition of Thai food, which turned out to be excellent. Our server, Sarah, was cheerful and very attentive. I now remember why Cafe Routier was our favorite go-to restaurant on the coast.
The soup was delivered cold . I asked to have hot soup it was returned cold . We caught the waitress in a 14 dollar mistake in a bottle of wine. The dinner was just ok The second time this month we went just to be close to home our real favorite Livs was to far in the snow storm . I ordered the steak and the fries had so much salt in it that it was not possible to eat it . Worse than tha a bad meal group of young adults came in to drink with a seven year old the bar tender gave them permission to sit at the bar with her . This was disappointing and I feel like i'm not sure I could go back to this restaurant. It's inappropriate for this child to sit at the bar . Who was driving this child the young people drinking . Just awful no food just drinking . This should be illegal a bar with what people talk about is no place for a child.
Always a favorite for dinner with friends, we had a most enjoyable evening at Cafe Routier. A lesser crowd on Sunday was great since the noise level was more reasonable and we were unrushed and enjoyed a leisurely evening.
The food here is top quality, NYC style cuisine. Every time we come we have a delicious meal. Tge steak is always perfectly cooked, the salads have clean crisps dressings and the vegetables are nicely presented. I have two things that bug me every time. One, I wish they would improve the decor in the dining room. It is so plain and almost Russian at this point. Second, some of the servers are inexperienced and they reach across you and interrupt you to clear the table at the end of the meal (we were about to leave.)
Excellent meal. Delicious and wonderfully presented. Outstanding drinks. Love this place. Are in the dining room.
As always, the food and service at Cafe Routier was excellent. We went to CR for my birthday and I had the steak frittes - my favorite meal at CR. The steak was cooked just right and the frittes were great. My partner had the butternut squash ravioli which she thoroughly enjoyed. Also, the wine list provides many choices for wines at all price points. Finally, the service was attentive and professional. Overall, a wonderful experience.
We have been going to Routier since it was located in Old Saybrook and always enjoyed it. Last night we did not check the menu first, and found it was Thai food month. For my appetizer I got the steak tartare, which I disliked so much I sent it back. The chef had taken a tender, expensive cut of meat and overloaded it with vinegar and/or dijon mustard, plus it seemed to have cornichon or something similar cholled in, adding more acid to it. You could not taste the meat at all. It was served with toasted bread smeared with a very acidic aioli. The dish was very heavy-handed, unbalanced, and unappetizing. I had the Thai style duck breast, which was ok, but again the sauce was acidic. Their regular duck dish is much better. The mound of rice that came with it was uninteresting. So I ordered wrong, my bad, but I thought they could cook well across the board and that did not happen. My husband had the fried oysters and the boar/ papparadelle dish and thouroughly enjoyed his meal. The waitress was slightly pushy about me refusing desssert. If we go again we will stick to their American fare.
Restaurantji Recommends
This restaurant was listed as the #1 spot in Westbrook and they certainly lived up to their reputation. The atmosphere is lovely, the seating is roomy and the food was superb. Hubby and I started with the mussels appetizer which was large enough to share. They were PEI mussels (Prince Edward Island) which are the best and the sauce they were prepared in was delicious. Then we shared an Autumn salad - fresh mixed greens with goat cheese and honeyed pecans. The chef split the dish for us. I ordered the duck breast in a Thai sauce with Thai rise that was out of this world. My husband ordered the wild boar ragu which was also stupendous. We had enough for leftovers and saved room for dessert - we shared profiteroles with home-made hot fudge sauce - yummy! Even the bread and olive oil served as a starter was superb. In this place, you truly get what you pay for - and every bite was worth it.
Great dining experience. Routier does a phenomenal job from the time you walk in to the time you walk out. Patty our server was awesome, food was excellent, cocktails were excellent. Highly reccomend
We've been dining at Cafe Routier ever since they first opened. We are huge fans and always enjoy our dinners there. The food is incredible and the menu changes with the seasons, but they keep their tried and true dishes year round. We also enjoy that the waitstaff doesn't fluctuate much at all and are very professional. If you haven't been, you need to go!
Great meal and good value! Our waitress Patty was super helpful with her advice. We shared outstanding mussels marinière and then shared ahi tuna entree which they split for us. Very generous portions. We ended with fabulous profiteroles. A super place to celebrate our special anniversary. We're from NY and have eaten lots of good food, but this dinner ranks up there with the best. Only negative was that it was dark and difficult to read the menu
Top notch food and great service. Pleasant surroundings. Looking forward to going back again!
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