The Social - MONTPELIER

This was our second visit. Our first was soon after it it opened and we were disappointed but were willing to go for a second time. We were equally, if not more, disappointed. Our waitress was very good...pleasant, attentive and accommodating. Our meals however, were underwhelming. It was as Sunday Brunch. We ordered the waffles with fruit and Nutella and Eggs Benedict. Presentation was Connecticut diner style. Two huge waffles were served dry with strawberries and the spread and syrup separate in a do-it-yourself style. The Eggs Benedict had maybe a teaspoon of Hollandaise sauce and the eggs were poached to a hard yoke stage so no smooth flowing yolk to savor. It's disappointing to have such a lovely location, beautiful historical building and potentially perfect dining experience seem more like a quick stop off I95.

We had The Social as the caterer for our wedding in Vermont. We went with a buffet style dinner and full bar. The food was amazing! We had many dietary restrictions (GF, non-dairy, etc. and The Social was able to accommodate all of our requests. The bar had plenty of variety and somehow offered Heady Topper (still in shock that we had Heady Topper at the wedding! . The bar manager also helped us develop signature cocktails which all our guests loved. Special thanks to Thomas for coordinating and helping us pull everything together!

The afternoon tea has the potential to be great but was lacking in a lot of ways. According to their menu, the afternoon tea is $16.00 per person and includes your selection of one hot tea blend out of four, scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam, an assortment of macarons, petite fours, and mandolins and your choice of 2 sandwiches out of 5 options all to be served on white bread. My sister and I were seated at a plain white table clothed table, no condiments or floral arrangements. After about ten minutes we ordered. We each got a different tea and 2 different sandwiches. The teas each came in their own pots of vintaged broken pots, teacups had permanent faint tea rings. The teas were exceptional! We loved the flavors so much. My sister order an appetizer of stuffed dates wrapped in bacon for $7.50 they came out first. 4 pieces on a salad sized plate bedded in an excessive amount of watercress. The waitress told us an order was five not four and from the size of the plate, 5 or 6 would have made sense. We anticipated your traditional 3 tier tower but we?re surprised a little to receive it all in a big birdcage looking tier in a lackluster way. The scones we plain freshly cooked biscuits and came with whip cream and blackberry jam not as advertised) no petite fours either, just some macaroons that tasted fresh and 2 Madeline?s cold from a fridge that tasted dry and no real flavor. The biggest disappointment was the sandwiches. A traditional cucumber cream cheese sandwich has peeled cucumber sliced very thin and layered, the cream cheese is blended with fresh dill and lemon, these were thick unpeeled slices of cucumber on just plain cream cheese. The brie and ham had thick sliced ham and some old browning brie, not fresh or creamy. The avocado toast had so much lime in it to keep it from browning it overpowered the avocado taste. The goat cheese with apple and walnut were just that but tasted good. All the sandwiches had dry stale edged bread with no butter

We planned a wedding celebration for family members who live abroad and were visiting briefly in Vermont. We reserved the porch and had a lovely dinner with an attentive and excellent waitress. Everyone loved the food and the drinks and the outdoor setting was Covid safe and beautiful. The event was topped off by a fireworks display that we enjoyed from the porch. Things went very smoothly and I was delighted. We had 13 guests who all ordered different main dishes and side dishes and all were very happy with their choices. The serving sizes were more than ample and we took left overs home to enjoy the next day. I highly recommend this wonderful local option for dinner or family/community events. The porch makes for a very special afternoon or evening setting.

This place a few months ago was very decent. However, while the wait staff was super kind and cordial, it took about 20 minutes to get water and an hour and a half to get mains. I dined with two others and they ordered scallops with brussel sprouts. After a very long wait, they both received small hockey pucks covered in balsamic (sad excuses for scallops, wildly overcooked drenched in cheap balsamic), paired with what we're essentially raw brussel sprouts with cheese melted on top. I ordered the chicken and the nicest thing I can say was that it was fine. Frankly, Costco's rotisseries are better cooked. A LOT of potential here if they cook more competently, though the only thing that saved them from being a one star review was the beer selection and wine special. Good deal.