The OpenTable restaurant platform has chosen a popular Connecticut restaurant as one of the top 100 romantic restaurants in America based on reservations, reviews and other metrics.
Millwright’s Restaurant, one of two Connecticut dining spots on the list, has more unofficial data to back up the claim: four guest marriage proposals a week, adding up to about 2,000 in the 14 years they’ve operated in Simsbury.
Last year they did 20 weddings in a private space.
Co-owner and celebrity chef Tyler Anderson, said he has spent thousands of hours on details to create the ultimate dining experience beyond food and service. He said it’s about lighting, sound, temperature, smells and general ambiance.
Also, it’s about location, location, location.
“I was fortunate enough to open a restaurant in a very beautiful location,” he said.
The four-dining room restaurant with a candle and sometimes flowers on each table is located in a rehabbed old mill circa 1680 in Simsbury. One of the dining rooms is on a bridge overlooking a waterfall and the views are “stunning,” he said. The bridge seats 40 to 50 people.
The restaurant has floor to ceiling windows and and about 50 percent of the tables have a water view. Currently, the waterfall is part frozen, making it all the more beautiful, he said.
The other Connecticut restaurant named on the Opentable site is J. Gilbert’s Wood Fired Steaks & Seafood in Glastonbury. None of the 100 are ranked by an order.
A file photo from t J.Gilbert’s, a restaurant on Glastonbury Boulevard in Glastonbury.
It was intended by OpenTable to be timed for Valentine’s Day, Anderson said, but at Millwright’s they can’t take any more reservations on Valentine’s Day proper because it’s been full with reservations for a year, as they forgot to block out the date for reservations earlier in the year.
As consolation, they are running their Valentine’s Day menu from Thursday, Feb. 12 through Sunday, Feb. 15. Valentine’s Day is on Saturday.
“If I had 5,000 seats I probably couldn’t seat everyone,” on Valentine’s Day proper, he said. “I think you can celebrate love any day.”
Anderson said he’s “no Don Juan,” but his fiance would consider him romantic.
But his mother, upon hearing the news of the list, called Anderson from California to tell him, “I never imagined my son would own one of the most romantic restaurants in America.”
“I was a little bit of a crazy kid,” he said, reflecting on mom’s words.
He said Millwright’s is a romantic and special occasion restaurant and has to be to be located in an out of the way location like Simsbury. It’s a destination, he said.
He said the experience begins with the drive through Simsbury.
“To me, it’s the quintessential New England town. Not too big, not too small. It’s kept its character for many years,” Anderson said.
For dining music he has a DJ put together an eclectic playlist that appeals to many ages.
The smell is of fireplace and he puts an emphasis on cleanliness.
“I have spent thousands of hours on making it a great experience,” he said.
On a busy Saturday they serve 300 dinners, he said.
They see about four proposals a week which adds up to about 2,000 in the last 14 years, he said. Last year they did 20 weddings in a private dining room.
Anderson competed on the national television show BBQ Brawl last year and came within a point of winning the championship.
He co-owns the restaurant with with Chris and Mary Ellen Nelson, owners of Nelson construction next door.