Abigail's Grille & Wine Bar, Simsbury

Excellent for entertaining business guests! Food and service are great and the New England charm is very appealing to out of towners. Would highly recommend!!

My wife and I had a very positive experience for our first time dining at Abigail's this past weekend. Reading the other comments before this one, they must have greatly improved their service and food preparation since 2010. We had the escargot, paté, center cut steak, Atlantic spicy seafood pasta, crab cake, chocolate mousse cake, cheesecake and glasses of white and red wine. All were excellent and delicious. The seafood was fresh and well-prepared. The waitstaff were prompt, courteous, informative, and non-obtrusive. A manager even stopped by our table in the middle of the meal and asked how we were enjoying the food and experience. The decor was simple and elegant. The temperature outside was about 33 F, but we felt very comfortable inside, even sitting next to a window. We have been at other excellent CT restaurants including Carole Peck's in Woodbury and Winvian in Morris and would rank Abigail's very close company to those but less expensive than them. What a wonderful evening ! We will be back to dine here.

First off- food is fantastic 95% of the time. Menu is great, there's something for everyone, and they have interesting spins on their dishes. They have an excellent wine list and a huge selection of bottles. The facility is beautiful and clean. However, where this place lacks severely is service. We love the food but it's like each time something has to mar the experience. Usually it's the waitstaff. The service is decent but the attitudes generally range from disinterested to downright surly. We had one girl recently who never cracked a smile the entire night. And if you make a reservation and have any special requests, you'll want to repeat them about 15 times but don't be surprised if you show up and no one bothered to write it down. I once called up and asked for a quiet table out of the way a little since it was a special occasion for my guest and the person who took the reservation was very nice and polite, assured me that was no problem. We showed up for dinner and were sandwiched between a noisy large party and some obnoxious children. And the restaurant wasn't anywhere near full and we passed by countless nice out of the way tables that were unsat. One would expect a place charging these prices can afford to hire more personable and more competent staff, or at least teach them how to fake it.

We used to be regulars at Abigail's, but unfortunately, will not be returning. We booked a fire-side table, which they guaranteed would be available for us. It wasn't, and we had to sit in the side room. It was a 40 degree night, and the AC went on over and over and over again, despite our repeat complaints (and complaints of all the other tables in the room). Nearly every woman in the room had to eat with her coat on. Despite complaints, no manager ever appeared, and despite our request, they refused to make up for our uncomfortable experience by taking a drink or two off the check. We left frustrated and irritated - not ideal after spending over $100 on dinner for two people. Will not be returning.