John’s Cafe

We enjoyed a special New Year’s Eve dinner there last night — everything was spot on, food preparation, service, environment. They even had someone assisting with parking outside.
They were very accommodating — honored their ½ price wine deal on Thursdays even though it was a party night and they were sold out. I had the mussels appetizer, a huge bowl of very clean mussels in a tomato broth — the waitress brought me a plate of crustini for dunking at my request.
My wife and I both had salmon — mine on a caesar’s salad, hers the entrée. The salmon was a nice sized piece, and cooked perfectly. My wife got the chocolate soufflé for desert with homemade pistachio ice cream, a cookie and a brownie. All very good, and we even had complementary housemade limoncello after. Even though it was NY eve, we were there 2 hours and never felt rushed. We dined upstairs.
We’re local so we had been there 2 or 3 times before — I always thought the food was a little plain for the prices. I believe they have new ownership and a new menu — we were very happy with the changes. With Carol Pecks across the street and The Marketplace a block away, Woodbury has some excellent dining choices.

What a great place to dine. Food is tasty and savory. Gretchen our waitress was so attentive, engaging and funny. John’s is the kind of place I would recommend for delicious food, wonderful service and a feeling of warmth.

We chose John’s Café for my mother’s 60^th surprise birthday party. From the start, the staff was wonderful and accomodating. They let me decorate the private room to my liking and were super flexible with menu and drink choices. I cannot say enough about Dennis the chef… he took the time to answer my many emails and provided my guests with a wonderful meal, everything was cooked beautifully, from the appetizers to the carrot cake and my mother had a celebration she will forever cherish! Thank you!

Wow. Had a pork chop that was big as I’ve ever seen but so good. Backing up though, I’ll start with a good wine list and a friendly server. My wife had the strip with blue cheese and we shared the mussels. We enjoyed everything. Cute place, friendly staff and really good limoncello! Will be back soon.

Four of us went last night to try JOHN’S again, since the head chef is now also the owner, and we wanted to see how it had changed with him in charge. (We’ve always felt the food here was very good.) The menu was simpler and looked great. The wines prices were varied and reasonable. We anticipated a rewarding evening. Since it was Wednesday, two of our group of four ordered the «three pasta special,» but were then told by the waitress that the chef «would prepare it only if the whole table ordered it.» Strange… and disappointing. So we all rethought our choices. I decided on the roasted salmon on top of a risotto, but then the waitress mentioned that snapper was a «special» tonight, so I chose that instead. Sad to say, when the dish arrived, the risotto was fine, but it was topped by two overcooked, rubbery, bland pieces of fish with no flavor at all. And my companion’s order of gnocchi was also overcooked and mushy. Another at our table had a fine dish of duck breast, etc., with no complaints. When our plates were cleared, the waitress asked if we wanted the food we didn’t eat wrapped up. We declined. Nicely, she offered us complimentary limoncellos… perhaps noticing that we were unhappy with our entrees. All in all, a disappointing night at JOHN’S.

The atmosphere is comfortable and the food is great. The house made pasta is delicious. One of my favorite places to go!

Overrated. The food was satisfactory. the waiter was robotic and the ambience was stuffy. overall not a pleasant dinning experience.

Went back under the new ownership, food and price point is very good. Only reason it is 3 stars instead of 4 is menu selection is extremely limited and wait staff is overwhelmed on a busy night. But we will be back.

came here for dinner and we all enjoyed our dinner.

I’ve been going to John’s from when there were just a few wooden tables inside. I don’t go that often but over the decades, going for those special occasions, it adds up. Unfortunately my recent visit was disappointing. I’m not sure what happened to the restaurant I looked forward to going to and would recommend to friends. I found the entrées just ok. Without harmony. I had the pan roasted duck (picture posted) and my wife the roasted salmon. We share. The duck meat was cooked just right but the skin was over cooked. Like it was hit with a torch or put under a broiler for too long. That burnt taste clashed with the sweetness of the duck meat. The duck was placed on a few asparagus stalks that were cool compared to the duck, potatoes, and duck confit strudel. I found the strudel pasty and without much flavor. Potatoes ok. The salmon was your basic piece of salmon. Could have been a little more generous. The crab with it was tasty but the roasted beets, which were tiny cubes, were a tease. There wasn’t much horseradish in the accompanying horseradish crème fraîche. The dessert turned out to be the best part of the meal. That’s not good for an entrée guy.

Well, I’ve eaten here a dozen times over the last 4 years and most recently last month so I figured it was high time I wrote a review on this restaurant. The restaurant itself is fairly small with limited seating in the winter, there is more in the warmer months with the outdoor seating. It has a small bar area as well. The inside is very dark but it’s cozy and has a colonial rustic feel to it.
The food is fantastic, I always get the arincini for an appetizer, you won’t be disappointed! They have a great beer selection. The wine selection is okay. The service has always been great here and it’s a good place for a special night out. My biggest issue with John’s is the fact their menu never changes, not by much anyway. I would be more inclined to visit here if the menu kept changing or at least a good portion of the entrees. It a good fine dining option for this area. The pricing is comparable to Carlito’s and Good New Café. Check this place out if you haven’t yet.

I came here for lunch and ordered the grilled chicken sandwich. It was by far the BEST sandwich I have ever had. I live about 45 minutes away, but meet family at the halfway mark for lunch once a week. It is currently snowing and I am seriously contemplating driving 45 mins in the snow just for another sandwich, it was that good. Grilled chicken, thinly sliced ham, and the best part — apple butter spread. I’m drooling just thinking about it. My mother had the John’s café burger and she thoroughly enjoyed it as well.
The service was a bit on the slow side, but Mom and I had plenty to talk about to fill the gap, so it didn’t ruin the meal. The prices were a bit higher than I normally pay for lunch, but it was worth every penny! I came here on a recommendation from a friend who had had dinner here, so I know it will be good for dinner as well. Definitely check this place out. You won’t be disappointed.

This is the best restaurant in Connecticut! Wonderful service! I had the special Kobe beef burger with a side of truffle oil fries, AMAZING! I also recommend the pizzas! The charm of the restaurant is perfect for a date or girls lunch.

One of the best restaurants in the area — delicious menu, though it hasn’t changed much in the years I’ve been there. Regardless of that, it’s always been consistently delicious and creative. The food quality is impressive, the staff attentive, and the atmosphere comfortable and friendly.

I was perusing Unilocal for a great place to have dinner after a local hike/​day outside in Woodbury. I was looking for a good food; not too fancy, not too casual. Woodbury seems to offer either tired diners or upscale… the middle of the road seems non-​existent. In the end John’s won because we’ve been across the road several times and I wanted to try something new.
The décor was very pleasing. I enjoy a warm, inviting, somewhat quiet space — I love taverns /​relaxed settings. John’s fit the bill perfectly, clean, cozy, neat with a nice variety of seating options. Since we didn’t have reservations, we got a two person table in the middle of the room. With the experience behind me, I would say the table probably shouldn’t be there at all — we felt awkwardly in the middle of the room. In the future we will make reservations and request a booth or a four-​top table. My bad.
The service was exceptional, a bit surprising considering our waitress was young. She was attentive, polite, accurate and busy (but kept up with our table efficiently). The waitstaff/​hostess all did an exceptional job helping each other and keeping the patrons happy. A+
The meal started with the best bread I’ve EVER had (made at the restaurant) paired with a white-​bean/​garlic/​parmesan/​olive oil dip — I’ll go back JUST for this. YUM! I had the mussels appetizer (with cherry peppers/​delicious broth) and a caesar salad with chicken. My husband had the organic salad and a pizza he customized (caramelized onions, figs, kalamata olives and ricotta). He raved throughout his meal. Intentionally saving space for dessert, we took home some leftovers and finished with the chocolate bread pudding. A VERY nice meal; $ 80 and worth it.
They offer a prix fixe menu for $ 29 (app/​dinner/​dessert), which I think is a sweet deal. Also, they have a comprehensive and diverse wine selections or you can BYO — I like a place with these options. I had a reasonably priced ($ 8) delicious glass of Portillo sauvignon blanc. Not an expensive wine, but I loved it.
Nice evening at John’s — we’ll definitely come back!

Good but pricey restaurant. Reservations required for lunch and dinner. Very small restaurant. I think it only seats about 30 people. The food was good. My kids are 14 and 10 and the staff didn’t seem comfortable with them in the restaurant. They seem to prefer their regular customers.