When we first visited The Copper Grouse in the Taconic Hotel in Manchester last fall, we vowed to return. And, last Friday night, we fulfilled that promise. The first thing we noticed was that the restaurant (indeed, the entire hotel) was exceptionally busy as it was the end of school vacation week. The atmosphere was festive and folks were clearly enjoying themselves.  There were also many more children in attendance than we’d seen during the fall, but they were well behaved and merely added to the party mood. We had luckily called a week in advance for reservations and were seated immediately.

The night was bitter cold, but the restaurant was warm and cozy.  I nevertheless found myself hoping they had a rich, warming soup to start my meal.  I was thrilled to order the Cheddar Ale Soup which met all my expectations and more. Thick and rich with chunks of delicious Portuguese linguica.  It was such a perfect choice for the weather that my husband followed suit.

The Copper Grouse has a fairly limited menu which is not a problem at all.  Everything sounds so delicious that making a choice is the hard part. My husband was very tempted to order the Grilled Chicken Breast with truffle madeira sauce which he’d enjoyed immensely on the previous visit.  I convinced him he should really try something new and he ordered the Beef Tenderloin instead. Even though not a fan of chevre, he ate every bite of the Vermont chevre potatoes as well as everything else on the plate. I then broke my own rule and ordered the same thing I’d eaten on my last visit – the Pan Seared Arctic Char.  It was just too good to pass up. And, just light enough to leave room for dessert.

A co-worker who had dined at the restaurant a few nights previously had recommended the Brown Sugar Molasses Cheesecake with poached peaches.  We both opted for that and it was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

It’s worth mentioning that even though the restaurant was very busy that night, the service was perfectly paced and flawless. The perfect complement to a perfect meal. As always, when we finished we asked the question, “Was it worth coming again?” Both my husband I answered with a resounding “Yes!”

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The Copper Grouse