Fantastic lunch spot! Food was delicious, service was excellent and setting was gorgeous.
FrancoZ
Our table was 5 feet from the entrance and it was uncomfortable having guests waiting to be seated stare and talking next to the table. The place is small so they should do a better job with the table reservations so people aren't waiting.
Great ambiance, food and service. We had beautiful endive salad to share, Rigatoni with meatballs and penne Nonna. Bread & butter was served and we loved every bite at Baldanza.
Todd
What a cute little place. With snow on the ground the setting could not have been more picturesque. We shared the Warm Brussels Sprout Salad, a Pasta with Eggplant and the Salmon. All were very yummy. If I was to pick nits, the Salmon could have used a little more zing.
Francis
Sunday night. The Schoolhouse was filled by seven o'clock, but a little quieter than usual. Seated at a table we requested on a previous visit. We've been seated there every visit since. We shared a can't miss iceberg wedge. Katie had a Carbonara that was beautiful and I had Lobster Ravioli that was wonderful last summer and even better in the middle of February. There isn't anything better than sharing dinner with the most beautiful woman in the world at Sandy and Angela's. A restaurant as comfortable and as perfect as Baldanza.
This restaurant is quite frankly my favorite in Connecticut! The food is delicious and staff so thoughtful. The owners are true old school restauranteurs who put all their efforts to make sure you have an extraordinary experience.
PJfoodies
First time there. Cozy atmosphere and food was exceptional. Calamari app was amazing and definitely enough for 4 to share. Had the sole franchese which was delish and the carrot cake was light and scrumptious. The presentation all around was eye candy.
EE Grimshaw
This restaurant is in a ye olde schoolhouse AND they have Maple Old-Fashioneds - it was always unlikely this was going to be anything less than a five-star experience. I came here with my mom yesterday for lunch. She grew up in this area and was familiar with the building (she thinks it was a real estate office when she was growing up) and the little shops surrounding it. I had a few friends recommend this place over the past few years, and I attempted unsuccessfully to secure a table for Mother's Day last year (which reminds me - this is probably right around when I need to start looking into that again). I bet in two months or so this area is just gorgeous. The windows to the right of the entrance where we sat overlooked the Norwalk River, and even in these desolate New England times, it was a pleasing visual.I strongly considered the Eggs Benedict option, but I've been loading up on that a lot later and went lunchier with the Pappardelle Bolognese, one of my all-time favorite Italian dishes. Delicious and a very generous portion (not that it mattered - it was all demolished). I loved the plate that it came in, which had some depth to it verging on bowl-like. I might have to start prowling around Williams Sonoma trying to find one of its twins. My mother had the blueberry pancakes and was quite smitten with them - if memory serves, she was enormously pleased by the container that the maple syrup was delivered in, which was reminiscent of a mini milk jug or something.The Maple Old Fashioned was as advertised. It wasn't on the official brunch menu, but the waiter teasingly confirmed it was available, saying he'd already had one earlier in the morning. Perfectly made, with the maple strong but not overwhelming; it actually came off for me as a pretty brunchy drink with the maple, but I'm not sure I want to go on the record advocating bourbon on a brunch menu, even in CT. As an aside, their bar area is adorable; it's a very small spot to the left in the entrance/foyer section with just enough room for the bartender and no one else. I'm impressed they had the foresight and creativity to even have a bar here given their limited space.The service was excellent. Our waiter was very personable (as alluded to earlier), and other staffers stopped by very regularly to keep the water glasses full. The whole experience was pleasant from beginning to end.I would have advocated for eating in a schoolhouse regardless, but the fact that the quality of the food and service matched if not exceeded the novelty factor of the surroundings is a massive bonus.
Erin
The Schoolhouse is an adorable location that exudes charm and ambience. We dined on Valentines Day so the special menu was higher priced and more limited - less pasta choices. We expected that given the holiday. No worries there. While the bus people filing water glasses and serving bread were hustling on this obviously busy dining night, our waiter was less than attentive. We waited for a long time to order cocktails and even longer to receive them. While we were seated 20 minutes before other couples, our order wasn't taken until after theirs were. We were not offered additional drinks or even offered a dessert menu. Once our entrees were delivered, that was it. No check in. Nothing. We finally had to flag the hostess (maybe the owner) down to get our check. It felt as though we were invisible. Food was good, presentation lovely, but service is so very important. For that reason, we won't be back.
Bobby
Our first time at Baldanza. Service was very good and attentive. My Burger was cooked just the way I wanted it. Wife's Eggs Benedict were also great. Ambiance was great, lovely weather helped
The people who work there are very friendly and welcoming. The food is terrific. I've been a couple times now and everything I've had has been delicious. Look forward to going back.
Christian
We had been wanting to try Baldanza at the Schoolhouse for a while and finally did. Our visit exceeded our expectation and we will certainly be returning. Friendly service and wonderful well prepared dishes. We enjoyed all the dishes we tried and are looking forward to trying some more next time.
A truly incredible and intimate experience. Every dish was stellar!! The staff went above and beyond to accommodate and make us feel welcome. We are coming back for brunch soon :-)
KimG
We have never ever been disappointed here! Regardless of whether it's dinner, lunch, brunch, weekday, weekend. Always outstanding!! Highly highly recommend. Food, service, atmosphere- just superb and not “fussy.”
AnnetteB
The soup of the day was so good, I wished I had ordered a bowl instead of a cup. The beet salad was a mixture of ingredients that complimented the salad as a whole!!! We plan on returning in the summer for dinner! Highly recommend Baldanza but one negative is the acoustics are not good and it just took one table of five women to make the four of us not able to hear each other.
Fantastic lunch spot! Food was delicious, service was excellent and setting was gorgeous.
Our table was 5 feet from the entrance and it was uncomfortable having guests waiting to be seated stare and talking next to the table. The place is small so they should do a better job with the table reservations so people aren't waiting.
Great ambiance, food and service. We had beautiful endive salad to share, Rigatoni with meatballs and penne Nonna. Bread & butter was served and we loved every bite at Baldanza.
What a cute little place. With snow on the ground the setting could not have been more picturesque. We shared the Warm Brussels Sprout Salad, a Pasta with Eggplant and the Salmon. All were very yummy. If I was to pick nits, the Salmon could have used a little more zing.
Sunday night. The Schoolhouse was filled by seven o'clock, but a little quieter than usual. Seated at a table we requested on a previous visit. We've been seated there every visit since. We shared a can't miss iceberg wedge. Katie had a Carbonara that was beautiful and I had Lobster Ravioli that was wonderful last summer and even better in the middle of February. There isn't anything better than sharing dinner with the most beautiful woman in the world at Sandy and Angela's. A restaurant as comfortable and as perfect as Baldanza.
This restaurant is quite frankly my favorite in Connecticut! The food is delicious and staff so thoughtful. The owners are true old school restauranteurs who put all their efforts to make sure you have an extraordinary experience.
First time there. Cozy atmosphere and food was exceptional. Calamari app was amazing and definitely enough for 4 to share. Had the sole franchese which was delish and the carrot cake was light and scrumptious. The presentation all around was eye candy.
This restaurant is in a ye olde schoolhouse AND they have Maple Old-Fashioneds - it was always unlikely this was going to be anything less than a five-star experience. I came here with my mom yesterday for lunch. She grew up in this area and was familiar with the building (she thinks it was a real estate office when she was growing up) and the little shops surrounding it. I had a few friends recommend this place over the past few years, and I attempted unsuccessfully to secure a table for Mother's Day last year (which reminds me - this is probably right around when I need to start looking into that again). I bet in two months or so this area is just gorgeous. The windows to the right of the entrance where we sat overlooked the Norwalk River, and even in these desolate New England times, it was a pleasing visual.I strongly considered the Eggs Benedict option, but I've been loading up on that a lot later and went lunchier with the Pappardelle Bolognese, one of my all-time favorite Italian dishes. Delicious and a very generous portion (not that it mattered - it was all demolished). I loved the plate that it came in, which had some depth to it verging on bowl-like. I might have to start prowling around Williams Sonoma trying to find one of its twins. My mother had the blueberry pancakes and was quite smitten with them - if memory serves, she was enormously pleased by the container that the maple syrup was delivered in, which was reminiscent of a mini milk jug or something.The Maple Old Fashioned was as advertised. It wasn't on the official brunch menu, but the waiter teasingly confirmed it was available, saying he'd already had one earlier in the morning. Perfectly made, with the maple strong but not overwhelming; it actually came off for me as a pretty brunchy drink with the maple, but I'm not sure I want to go on the record advocating bourbon on a brunch menu, even in CT. As an aside, their bar area is adorable; it's a very small spot to the left in the entrance/foyer section with just enough room for the bartender and no one else. I'm impressed they had the foresight and creativity to even have a bar here given their limited space.The service was excellent. Our waiter was very personable (as alluded to earlier), and other staffers stopped by very regularly to keep the water glasses full. The whole experience was pleasant from beginning to end.I would have advocated for eating in a schoolhouse regardless, but the fact that the quality of the food and service matched if not exceeded the novelty factor of the surroundings is a massive bonus.
The Schoolhouse is an adorable location that exudes charm and ambience. We dined on Valentines Day so the special menu was higher priced and more limited - less pasta choices. We expected that given the holiday. No worries there. While the bus people filing water glasses and serving bread were hustling on this obviously busy dining night, our waiter was less than attentive. We waited for a long time to order cocktails and even longer to receive them. While we were seated 20 minutes before other couples, our order wasn't taken until after theirs were. We were not offered additional drinks or even offered a dessert menu. Once our entrees were delivered, that was it. No check in. Nothing. We finally had to flag the hostess (maybe the owner) down to get our check. It felt as though we were invisible. Food was good, presentation lovely, but service is so very important. For that reason, we won't be back.
Our first time at Baldanza. Service was very good and attentive. My Burger was cooked just the way I wanted it. Wife's Eggs Benedict were also great. Ambiance was great, lovely weather helped
Restaurantji Recommends
The people who work there are very friendly and welcoming. The food is terrific. I've been a couple times now and everything I've had has been delicious. Look forward to going back.
We had been wanting to try Baldanza at the Schoolhouse for a while and finally did. Our visit exceeded our expectation and we will certainly be returning. Friendly service and wonderful well prepared dishes. We enjoyed all the dishes we tried and are looking forward to trying some more next time.
A truly incredible and intimate experience. Every dish was stellar!! The staff went above and beyond to accommodate and make us feel welcome. We are coming back for brunch soon :-)
We have never ever been disappointed here! Regardless of whether it's dinner, lunch, brunch, weekday, weekend. Always outstanding!! Highly highly recommend. Food, service, atmosphere- just superb and not “fussy.”
The soup of the day was so good, I wished I had ordered a bowl instead of a cup. The beet salad was a mixture of ingredients that complimented the salad as a whole!!! We plan on returning in the summer for dinner! Highly recommend Baldanza but one negative is the acoustics are not good and it just took one table of five women to make the four of us not able to hear each other.