1686 Kingston House Restaurant

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  We finally decided to try this restaurant after living here for several years.  We went on a slow night and we were the first customers that day.  It was fairly warm out and we were surprised that they didn't turn on the a/c in the dining area.  The food was good, but I felt as though it was overpriced compared to what we've gotten elsewhere of the same quality.  I think perhaps they should do something with their menu presentation.  For the prices they charge, they should laminate their menus or something.  The chairs were quite worn and stained and the tables showed a good amount of wear.

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  Posted on 06.05.13 S. L.

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  Wasting your money here!  Ambience lacked any character.  Staff was bored and still lacked sufficient service.  Food portions were small, salad was tiny, French onion soup had the worst flavored bread and a piece of mystery meat (yuck).  Lazyman lobster was poorly done and my arteries were clogging from the butter, (not a good thing).  Seafood combo over pasta was bland and not worth finishing.  Dessert menu looked good but they ran out of various items when asked.  Poor business!  Bill was exorbitant!  Never again!  This place survives on its bar which was unappealing with a toddler on a blaket with toys near the entrance of a BAR!  Looks like the owners have given up any hopes of a successful business.

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  Posted on 05.23.13 Therese D.

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  Went for the Easter brunch and the hostess who didn't greet us was rude and surly when approached. Acted like I was bothering her when we tried to tell her we had arrived for our reservation. The wine was "corked" and when we mentioned it the waitress acted like we didn't know what we were talking about, even after we asked them to try it. The buffet food was OK, nothing special, not always replenished, often cold and difficult to get to at times. The restaurant was cluttered and dated. The lobby/waiting area had little to no seating and the majority of the seating was in the back so you had to cut through the lobby to get to the buffet asking guest to move so you could get through.
  
  Overall the customer service was poor, the food was average for the (high) price, the ambiance was country cluttered. We will not return and cannot recommend this restaurant.

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  Posted on 03.31.13 Tom W.

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  Went here with my sister who told me that food was great.  I wasn't too impressed.  The first unfortunate mistake this fairly expensive restaurant does is serve a complimentary appetizer dip and is it ever horrid.  It's made with some type of cottage cheese-based mixture.  There's little one can do to disguise the unappealing texture of cottage cheese.  The 1686 doesn't even attempt to disguise the cottage cheese.  I took one taste and nearly gagged.  They serve this inspipid dip with packaged saltine crackers.  Ahhh, NO.
  
  I ordered baked haddock and my sister ordered steak tips.  The entrees were far better than the free appetizer; however, the prices charged leads the diner to believe that they will be experiencing fine cuisine which our dinner clearly was not.
  
  The server was quirky and fun.  He and I got into an amusing exchange about the origins of the term "scrod."  He claimed it was a type of fish, which it is not.  It's a term that can mean several different types of a fish; but, it is not a type of fish itself.  Anyway, he did go back to the kitchen to further investigate my claim.  I was right and he took it well.
  
  We did order dessert which was actually quite good; but, the portions were tiny for the price.
  
  In summation, they need to take a closer and harder look at their menu and adust their prices to the quality of their food.  And the appetizer needs to go.  Free or not, it's dreadful.

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  Posted on 05.24.12 Riccardo D.

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  Nice place has a tavern along with the regular restaurant.
  The long island duck was perfect, the menu is both simple if you want tavern food and expanded for the restaurant.  Prices are mid line, atmosphere is really nice.  Service was great.
  I will return, and recommend the place.

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  Posted on 04.10.12 Mark H.

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  I am going to keep this simple and to the point, relatively speaking...... Upscale my ass!  They charge a lot of money for bland food, crap ambience/decor, and a completely uninspired menu.  They need a serious re-vamping.  This place is sooo dated!
  Got the shrimp cocktail to start, shrimp cooked well, the cocktail sauce in a little plastic container with a lemon wedge on the side, uber classy....sarcasm.  Wouldn't care but, it was supposed to be a higher end restaurant, and for what they charge, spare me the plastic.
  We both got the filet with the Bordeaux reduction.  Flavor say what?  There was none.  The only redeeming quality is that the filet was cooked very well and it was super tender, the way a filet is supposed to be.  The sauce was so lackluster it was disappointing.  I got the wild rice mix for my side....mix huh?  How about just wild rice (the dark long grained rice that is normally incorporated into a medley) it was gross, bland, and was so chewy I couldn't even get it down.  That is why they incorporate it into other grains of rice, idiots.  There was no seasoning what-so-ever, not even salt and pepper, which are both basic staples.  The filet wasn't seasoned, the sauce snapped it.  
  No dessert for us.  Let the teenage "I don't give a sh*t" waitstaff have it.  The girl serving us wasn't rude, she was just clearly new and didn't really know what to do.  I will NEVER return.  Esp. after shelling out over a $100 bucks for two people.

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  Posted on 03.13.12 Jennifer D.

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  Disappointing to say the least, we arrived to wait 10 minutes to be told that it would be a 15+ minute wait before we were seated in what appeared to be a half empty dinning room.  We then went to wait in the bar and did not get drinks for 15 more minutes.  Our order arrived almost 2 hours after we walked in the door, which is when we needed to leave.  So we ate our over priced dinner out of syrafoam containers at our kitchen table.  The hostess became our waitress and saved our night from being a complete loss.  However the bartender tromping in and out of the kitchen was very annoying.  Food was average prices were far to high for what you got and the enviroment and service.

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  Posted on 09.19.11 Becky Y.

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  We love this place and go back time and time again.  Some people that write reviews here are not used to relaxed service where you are given time to converse and digest between courses, they are used to being rushed in order to accomodate as many people as possible in an evening.  I asked for a specially prepared shrimp and lobster tail due to a gluten sensitivity and got exactly what I wanted, and it was awesome.  My onion soup was perfect, and given to me without the bread.  All in all, this place provides a wonderful meal time and time again.

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  Posted on 06.26.10 Linda H.

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  Very dissapointing based upon the reputation the place has.  Only reason I gave it a three is that the wine list is good, but qualify the statement by saying our server asked us to choose 5 wines because the list is old and our first choice may not be there. My husband enjoyed the veal cordon blue, but my slow roasted duck looked as if it had sat too long under a heat lamp as part of it's cooking process.   Even worse- the inside of the duck was cold.  Be careful of what you order.  One thing that will bring us back is the emtertainment in the tavern.  Acoustic guitar player was very good.

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  Posted on 12.13.09 M B.

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  I forgot about this place because I've only been there once and it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.  They brought out some appetizers and gave everyone a stuffed mushroom cap or something else that my wife doesn't like.  Then they brought each person at the table a tiny quail-sized drumstick.  Since my wife hadn't eaten all day and didn't go for the mushroom cap, this tiny thing was just a tease so she asked for a second one.  And they said no, ONLY ONE PER PERSON!  Excuse me?  The rest of the meal was okay but we spent the entire time wondering (out loud) about where else they were trying to save a few cents.  It was a baby drumstick, not a lobster tail.  Anyway, we haven't been back and I can't think of a reason that I'd ever want to go back.  There are too many restaurants where you can get treated better.
  
  The only reason that I'm giving this place 3 stars is because we haven't been in a while, it could have changed hands, or maybe the owner didn't know about this and eventually fired the server.  Maureen says they're playing country - I guess they're still making goofy decisions.  Nothing against country... let's face it, the Longhorn Steakhouse wouldn't be right without it.  But an old house in New England that's trying to appear elegant and they're playing country?  I'm getting an Achy Breaky Heart just thinking about it.

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  Posted on 01.05.08 Don W.

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  The oldest house in Kingston  gets buttoned up behind bad panelling, paintings for sale and  lots of frilly stuff.  
  
  If I had to choose, my preference is the Tavern, I think it's the newest section, but it has a shiny, smooth 100 year-old white pine bar top and there's a wood stove.  Aside from that, I have to fight the urge to redecorate and remove the beer signs.  The music is country/country rock radio, though not too loud, mercifully.
  
  The good things are:  you know Josiah Bartlett is buried nearby in the Plains cemetery and that covers a multitude of sins.
  
  Being in a four-centuries old house makes me feel pretty young, tho eavesdropping on 50 somethings share tales about their condos, cruises to Bahamas, Mexico, Cuba, fill-in-the-blank, and how they wish their kids would move out is a yawn.  Yes, Virginia, everything is formulaic.  My advice is eat and leave.
  
  The old man at the tavern is very appealing.  You can get him (prime rib sandwich) with a very decent barbeque sauce, too.
  
  No draft beer in the tavern for some strange reason.  Guinness and Smithwicks in bottles, among other citrussy offerings.
  
  So much potential, not much imagination.  Good food, however.  Tavern menu items $10 and under; dining room items $30 and under.

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  Posted on 01.04.08 Maureen H.

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