Foxwoods Veranda Cafe - My favorite place to eat at Foxwoods
Written: Dec 18 '08
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Food and Presentation: |
 |
|
| Ambiance and Decor: |
 |
|
| Quality of Service: |
|
|
|
Pros: Extensive menu of good food, Late breakfasts, 24-hours on weekends
Cons: Not always 24-hours anymore
The Bottom Line: I almost always eat at the Veranda when I’m at Foxwoods because I really enjoy the food there
|
|
|
| jps246's Full Review: Foxwoods Veranda Cafe |
When I'm at Foxwoods and want a good meal any time of the day or night, my first thought is the Veranda Café. The only problem is that it's not always a 24-hour restaurant, just on Friday and Saturday nights nowadays. That said, if you are in Foxwoods when the Veranda is open, it is well worth a stop and I doubt you'd be disappointed by your meal.
While some other restaurants in Foxwoods are fancier and others are quicker, The Veranda fills out the middle by providing quality American cuisine at a decent price (for Foxwoods standards). Not only that, but service is generally quite good and the portion sizes are usually more than enough.
Where is the Veranda in Foxwoods?
Foxwoods is a pretty big place, but the Veranda is quite easy to find. It's located in the Grand Pequot portion of Foxwoods and is on the level above the Grand Pequot Hotel lobby and one level below the Grand Pequot Casino gaming floor. It's easy to get to from either - come up the escalator from the hotel lobby or go down the escalator right after you exit the casino floor. This is also the location of the link between Foxwoods and the new MGM Foxwoods, so if you are walking between the two, it's easy to stop and have a meal at the Veranda.
Reservations required?
The Veranda is one of Foxwoods casual restaurants so they don't take reservations. It's a first come, first serve kind of place. The only time it gets really busy though is right around lunch and dinnertime. If you get your meal an hour or two before or after either, you shouldn't have a problem. Late at night there's never a wait and the same goes for early mornings too.
What am I going to eat?
Think of American comfort food along with some classic dishes. I liken the Veranda to Foxwoods' "diner" since a lot of its dishes are reminiscent of diner food. I for one almost always get the open-faced hot turkey with its mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce when I'm there because it's so good and they give you enough to really fill you up.
Besides the hot turkey, there are several different kinds of sandwiches and wraps. Should you feel more like a meal, there's a mix of entrees that include chicken, steak and seafood dishes. In the past I've had the prime rib and the pork chops and both have been quite good. My partner often gets the fish and chips and has liked them too. The sandwiches come with fries or coleslaw (or in the case of the open-faced hot sandwiches, mashed potatoes) while the entrees generally come with potato, vegetable and your choice of a small dinner salad.
I'm a breakfast guy too though and the Veranda doesn't disappoint here. In the mornings they have a fairly extensive breakfast menu that includes all the typical breakfast foods such as pancakes, waffles, french toast, eggs and omelets. After breakfast they have an afternoon and evening breakfast menu too, so if you are craving steak and eggs like I do sometimes in the evening, you can have it here.
The regular menu also has some appetizers and salads to chose from. Depending on when we're there, how hungry we are, and how many of us there are, we often get the nachos, which are a huge plate of chips covered in cheese, ground beef and a number of other toppings. For soup, one of my friends loves the turkey noodle soup and unless we're having breakfast, my partner almost always get a cup of the clam chowder.
For the late-night menu, your choices are a bit more limited, but there is still quite a variety of choices. There are burgers, sandwiches (including my hot turkey!) and selected entrees which do include several of the breakfast entrees (including those steak and eggs) along with a few pasta dishes, the fish and chips and the pork chops. Other than the steak and eggs though, you won't find any other steak entrees.
How's the service at the Veranda?
For the last several years I've had consistently good service at the Veranda. Before that, I had a few rough experiences, but probably in the last 4 years or so, things have been good. We haven't had to wait very long to be seated and once we are seated, a waiter or waitress quickly gets our drink and meal orders. The meals are generally well paced and overall the wait staff has always been good. My only real complaint is that at times the pacing can be a bit slow. You'll get your salad or your appetizer and then it'll be quite a while before your meal comes. That's not a frequent occurrence though.
Overall I've been quite happy with the Veranda service wise.
Ambiance?
There's nothing really fancy about the Veranda. This is a casual restaurant so just about anything goes. It's basically a big room that has some dividers and various sections. The décor is pleasant, but nothing to write home about. It's also well lit and well ventilated since there is a smoking section. If you sit in the non-smoking sections, you won't be smelling the smoke from the smokers.
Price?
This is Foxwoods so everything is more expensive than the rest of the world. I'd guess that at a minimum expect to spend $20 a person at the Veranda, but it can quickly add up depending on exactly what you order and if you add drinks to that. On average we find it to be about $30 a person.
Final Thoughts
I almost always eat at the Veranda when I'm at Foxwoods for any length of time because it's almost always open and because I really enjoy the food there. I especially like the steak and eggs and the hot turkey dishes, but almost everything there is good.
Really, the Veranda is just a great place to have a meal at Foxwoods.
Foxwoods Resort
Foxwoods' Cedars Steak House
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations The soups are quite good and the appetizers can feed quite a crowd
Best Suited For: Friends
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.