We were at The Inn at Little Washington in April 2021 (you can read that by clicking here). They have finished the construction of their casual restaurant across the street and we also went there this trip – Patty O’s – and they’re now working on numerous other projects which we found out about on the facilities tour that is offered when you stay there. A new employee parking lot was under active construction as was a pool and a spa/wellness building that’s coming after that, complete with acupuncture!  On the tour we also got to feed some of the animals that live on site but they are not ever featured on the menu. Chickens, goats, sheep, llamas and geese that parade through the streets with their keeper. On the food side they are planning new areas for seating including wine cellar dinners. However all this didn’t keep their third Michelin star when the newest ratings were announced- they dropped to 2-stars despite Chef/Owner Patrick O’Connell being ever present on property. It’s worth a visit just to see the heavily decorated place and the food is good. Each diner has the choice of 3 tasting menus equally priced with optional wine pairings. I like that only supplement option was a cheese course and that the tasting moves along at a good pace.  Hope you’ll let me know what you think if you go.

Set-up

 

Food

The bread cart is first to visit the table. A choice of small baguettes (rather than the big ones on display), brown bread and a light bread. The butter is peeled off a large mound of Animal Farm butter.  All were good and they brought around a basket of warm refills frequently.

 

The amuse bouche was a potato cannoli stuffed with cheese. It was yummy with a bit of spice. Also there was a Cherry Bomb radish topped with caviar. Also good.

 

All menus start with a roasted garlic custard which was baked in an egg shell with parmesan mousse. The mousse is more of a foam on top. You need to dig down to get all the layers in each bite. It was lovely.

 

A foie gras mousse was encased in a slice of Sauternes poached pear with a  Sauternes gelée. Some quince paste was on the plate and the pear’s stem was made from pickled shallots. On the side was a slice of very crisp cinnamon raisin toast and pear jam which were good as a separate item. The pear was luscious as was the foie gras filling.

 

A terrine of wagyu beef tongue was with rutabaga, carrots, horseradish and apples. A sauce gribiche was underneath the tender terrine,  The flavor reminded me of rare beef but all the extra ingredients added a lot of textures.  The overall flavor was mild but good.

 

Pan seared Diver Scallop was perfumed with passionfruit butter sauce and fresh ginger.  The halved scallop was browned on one side and perfectly cooked.  The intensely flavored sauce was quite good and accented with 3 different peppers.  This was a perfect dish to use up some of that bread to get every bit of the tasty ingredients.  The only ding was that the scallop dish was placed on some rather odiferous seaweed that I found an unpleasant addition.

 

A crown roast of Long Island duckling was served in 3 ways – as a dumpling of Hoisin-braised leg, a sauteed foie gras and with cherries on a cherry sauce.  All parts were good especially the foie gras.  The tender duck had a crispy skin and the sauce was perfect with it all.

 

The palate cleanser was a coconut sorbet with passionfruit on a ginger granite. Petals from the passionfruit were decorative additions.  It was good.

 

Dessert was your choice from 5 options.  I chose a chocolate butterscotch bar with hazelnut ice cream.  A bit of sea salt helped bring contrast to the nice sweet dish.

 

My husband had a dark chocolate topped with puffed rice.  The very thin layer of chocolate was cracked at the table .  It melted easily in our mouth for a fun end too.

 

A parting gift was a replica of their building with a couple chocolates inside.