The Scoop on the Richard Gere Restaurant
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- February
- 1
The actual restaurant will not open until summer at least. But the bakery cafe  in another building than the proper dining room  is open. Food writer Judy Hausman checked it out and filed this report. You’ll see it Wednesday in the Journal News, but Small Bites readers get a sneak peak:
The Bedford Post Inn, also known as the Richard Gere restaurant, has opened its cafe and bakery.
For now, it’s only serving breakfast and lunch, but chef Brian Lewis  who is committed to seasonal, local farm-to-table eating  is already impressing diners with such dishes as seven-grain waffles with New York state maple syrup, creamy grits topped with a local, farm-fresh egg and a cheeseburger made with beef from Herondale Organic Farm in Ancramdale.
The cafe is the former barn on the property, and looks appropriate for that. There are exposed beams and a stone fireplace, bare-wood tables and a simple color scheme with lots of whites.
Glass French doors open onto a lawn, which is circled by a stone fence. Baked goods are displayed on tiered plates around the semi-open kitchen.
Developer and partner Russell Hernandez, who lives in Pound Ridge, is restoring the property  once it was called Nino’s and then Hoppfields  with an eye toward the environmment. He’s fitted with geothermal HVAC systems and detailed with recycled beams and boards. There are plans for an on-site garden as well.
Upstairs, there are multipurpose rooms that will be ready for private parties, community events and yoga classes in March. The more formal restaurant and eight suites will open over the course of the summer. This schedule allows chef Brian Lewis, who is returning to his Northern Westchester roots from Arizona, to work on his menu and train his staff.
In the meantime, settle in with pastry chef Jessica Haight’s ruby grapefruit sorbet and toasted almond gelato or her apple walnut crostada and Meyer lemon squares  while you sip a cup of tea or Fair Trade coffee.
The Bedford Post Inn, 954 Old Post Road (Route 121), Bedford Village. 914-234-7800.
(Photos by Stuart Bayer/The Journal News)
This entry was posted
on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 6:04 pm by Liz Johnson.
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(4.62 out of 5)
(4.21 out of 5)
Liz,
I told you that they weren’t going to open the formal dining room until spring/summer. the cafe opened last week.
K
Yes, thank you. It was very difficult to get a confirmation on anything.
Will they have Spaghetti and Meatballs?
They are tight lipped. They have to get a liquor license for the restaurant…...
Thanks for the feedback, Liz! It sounds, looks! oh, so inviting.
As I drive past every so often, I’ll be sure to peek, hoping for movement. Sorry it won’t be for our Easter dinner this time.
B.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think that unpaid advertising is permitted on this blog (and if it is, it shouldn’t be).
Unfortunately, I think this place is headed for the dumpster. I had dinner there this past Saturday night, and at best, they seem “confused” about what they’re doing there. Indeed the building is still under construction, but the ambiance in the cafe (for dinner anyway) is more like eating in a master bathroom, than a 18th century farmhouse. While I haven’t had the luck to have tried any reportedly yummy baked goods during the breakfast hour, I did have ample opportunity to sample Chef Lewis’ highly pretentious, overpriced, and at times completely inedible prix fix dinner menu. Given the attempt at historic relevance in the decor, and the Bedford setting among Westchester County’s finest horse horse country, I was surprised by an incredibly limited dinner menu that looked more like it came from some ego-driven chef in LA. The 4-course menu limits diners to 2 options for each course (3 for the main course)...most of which are inedible, overly salty fish dishes with portions the size of Paris Hilton’s IQ. The staff was clumsy, confused, and uninformed about the simplest menu items—- which was even more irritating, since they only had to learn about 6 or 7 dishes to cover the entire menu. After being served an appetizer and a second course, neither of which were even remotely palatable, I still hadn’t eaten a thing—and was ravaged with hunger. When the pokey, dim, waitstaff finally brought out the “main” course (pork 3 ways), my reaction was not the “Oh, thank goodness…food!”, but rather “You’ve got to be kidding.” In the center of a vast, white plate were three bite-sized pieces of pork. No starch, no sides…sitting in a soggy puddle of what used to be some kind of green. 8 seconds later, I had finished my 3-bite dinner…and thought about how much more satisfying it would have been to write a $500 check for a speeding ticket than to pay the same amount for a sickly excuse for a dining experience. If you’re considering checking this place out, I suggest you do it at 40 miles an hour as you drive by and wave… If you’re so inclined to throw money at a group of people who clearly think more of themselves than they do of their customers, you’ll save time and misery by just chucking a few bills out the window as you pass. Then go have dinner somewhere else. Wendy’s would be an improvement.
Just had a fantastic lunch at Bedford Post. Best scallops I’ve ever eaten. My daughter had a soft shell crab BLT (she let me taste) that was out of this world – my wife enjoyed a veggie burger that was also delicious. The staff was friendly, prompt and knowledgeable. All in all a very nice lunch – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (Pastry we took home was also excellent !)
I live in Bedford great town great people great restaurants. Bedford post is a nice place to eat. food is ok people are nice, but the service is really bad i ask a waiter to read me the menu, i was not able to understand him and, he did not know what type of cusine the restaurant representS. i have been to many restaurants, in NYC, CT, CHI,LA,. I DONT CARE WHO OWN’S IT I WANT A NICE MEAL A NICE PORTION,NICE WINE SELECTION. AND THE MOST IMPORTAN GOOD SERVICE. PERSONALLY I THINK THIS PLACE IS BUSY NOT BECAUSE OF THE FOOD, THE WINE, THE STAFF OR EVEN BECAUSE IS IN POUND RIDGE. RICHARD GERE RESTAURANT NO OFFENSE CHEF
Well, my experience at the Bedford Post thus far has been quite favorable. For brunch, the natural Herondale hamburger (a bit on the small side) on a homemade English muffin was bursting with flavor; one of the best I’ve ever had. DO have the waffles and French Toast! Yes, the service needs work. For dinner, the curried black bass and the mustard crusted wagyu beef were a delight. That being said, as if the main dishes weren’t enough to satisfy the palate, my highlight was the dessert!!! Try the Chocolate passion fruit tart and the honey mousse on lime shortbread. I stay awake at night thinking about it. I am sure that once they get their front of the house in order, they’ll do fine. I asked a server how often they change the dinner menu. She said it is different every night, which may explain why they don’t seem as knowledgeable about the food, but if they go through their rounds a few times, I’m hoping for a vast improvement. By the way, they don’t screw up the coffee.
My family and I tried this restaurant for the first time for breakfast this past weekend. We were excited to have an alternative, local place to eat. We called in advance to be sure they were ‘child friendly’. They assured us they were. When we got there they had 2 high chairs – both being used. While my husband and I and our 2 18 month old daughters waited for the high chairs, 2 other tables sat down and ordered. The hostess, with not a clue in the world, was a mess. When we finally did sit down, our waitress was even more clueless. She had to run back to ask the chef every 5 seconds because she didn’t have an answer for anything. I asked for a sliced banana for my children to hold them over, as they by now were restless and hungry. She came back with a thimble full of berries. I asked if they had any whole grain bread (which one would think would be a given) but no, only brioche. Juice? Orange only. The food came out at a snails pace. The 2 tables that came out before me, ate, paid and left while we were still waiting for our meals. I will admit the food was delicious – banana pancakes (actually cake, singular) was fabulous. Sweet potato fries – incredible. But the service was atrocious. Hope they work out the kinks or local or not, my family and I won’t be back.
Oh..oh .. too many of these “reactions” sound ominous, even discouraging! Eating “out” should mean satisfaction, no….perfection – at ANY price. For me, when I treat, it’s gotta be “either – or”: great or not at all.
May we hear soon that the entire building is ready for service, and going strong …..I wait patiently for that day! Keep us updated?
The Inn is supposedly going to be open by this September, so figure October.
I just returned honme to Northern Ireland after a flying visit to my brother and his wife in Katonah. We had breakfast in Bedford Falls this morning and I can only say that the food was beautiful, service excellent and the staff very friendly and happy to answer any of our many questions. Sadly no Richard Gere but a good time was had by all! I will be back…someday I hope and by the way…my ‘over easy’ eggs were perfect!
This place is coming along and the word from the staff is that the formal dining room will be open in October.
While many of these stories above can seem disheartening, I would urge people to have patience. Opening a restaurant is a very difficult prospect – especially when trying to put out food of this level. (This is not to make any excuses for incompetent staff, however!!!)
When I was there last week, I had a lovely time for dinner. The service seems to be coming along nicely and the room is quaint and beautiful. I did not witness any of the nightmares that were posted above. The limited menu was strange, but I assume that the (small) kitchen in the Barn is to blame. It seems much more suited to a casual style meal. I think we can assume we’ll be able to witness the full power of Chef Brian Lewis’ talents when the main restaurant opens in October.
I personally love that a place like this has opened and I can’t wait to see how everything flourishes and takes shape.
I was very excited to try this new place. Richard Gere is going to be on Martha Stewart this week, talking about his restaurant. So…. after reading all these posts I don’t think I’ll be going there at all. Not worth to waste my time with something that it’s not REALLY worthy! Even more coming from a celebrity! Richard, get a grip on this place.
Michelle Nov 21,2009
My Husband John and I visit on the weekends for Breakfast we enjoy it very much we have been visiting since they opened we travel all the way from Cold Spring, N.Y. and now since it is fall the ride is wonderful, we have quite a view in Cold Spring but we live there so we see it all the time. So it is fun when we visit the Bedford post Cafe for breakfast, we also go for dinner occasionally My sister is in from out of town for the Thanksgiving Holiday so we will be going tomorrow morning for Breakfast. My husband John enjoys the Banana Pancake that is his favorite!!! out of this world