Longfellow’s Wayside Inn

Went there for dinner service is amazing. Food is fantastic. prime rib and Caesar salad great. Clam chowder is good needs salt. Desert is awesome call ahead. It’s wealth it

Such a classic spot. Best place to get a drink in Sudbury. Best place to feel like you are committing espionage during the revolutionary war over a couple of pints with Georgy Washington. No liars, cheaters or whores allowed, unfortunately! Beautiful grounds just behind the famous carding mill pond of the sexy Henry ford’s property. Love this place

My daughter, my wife and I had lunch at a table right in front of the working fireplace in the tap room. One Nantucket lobster slider with chowder, one burger and a chicken sandwich with Wayside Inn ale — good service, good amercan pub fare. There is an old bar/​pub room as you walk in with a fire. a few beers there will warm a winter chill.

The review below is for this place as a wedding venue, though I can say that the restaurant itself is good as well…
My wife and I sifted through A LOT of venues for our wedding, because nothing really was standing out to us until we came across Wayside Inn (and the nearby Martha and Mary Chapel, where the service can take place) The area itself is gorgeous and makes for a perfect New England setting (especially in the fall!). Between the Wayside Inn, the chapel as well as the nearby Grist Mill, you have ample opportunity for beautiful, scenic photography. That was half of the selling point right there.
We found the process of booking and making the arrangements to also be very straightforward. We ended up going with the vendors they recommended for photography and floral arrangements, and it all came out perfectly. The staff’s professionalism and courteousness during our event was of the highest caliber — everything was planned out so well, allowing us to enjoy our wedding without having to micromanage. On top of that, this place is very competitive in terms of price — I simply do not see how our experience could have been better.
With that said, our wedding was on the smaller side, so for large weddings you may want to ensure that there is truly enough space in the function rooms to seat all your guests comfortably (and the staff is very honest about the size limitations of each function room). If you are looking for a more intimate gathering, however, this place definitely deserves your consideration. ⁵⁄₅ — Highly Recommended

I love the history of this place and the vibe you get there.
The food here is not very fancy, honestly most of it is quite simple and plain — but what they do tastes good and the quantities are decent.
The clam chowder was one of the best I have ever tried.
There is a great bar area and a few different rooms to sit in. I love that every room has a fire place.
We will definitely be back.

I was debating between 2 stars and 3 stars. I’ve been here a handful of times and it’s always been just ok. It’s a cute place, nice atmosphere on a really pretty side road. The food is always alright. Nothing mind blowing, but it’s alright.
The service has ranged from simply «meh» to just totally terrible. The people who work here rarely seem happy, and one was outright rude to us recently.
So the debate landed this place at 3 stars. Why? Because it has a cool, olde tyme feeling and if you walk around the area and take the whole thing in as an experience of more than just the restaurant itself, and take into considering the lovely brook and the church and the mill, it’s a beautiful place.
The gift shop it cute and gives you something to do if you have to wait for your table. The Christmas decorations are really lovely too.

Think Sunday dinner! If you enjoy history and home-​style comfort foods as much as I do, this restaurant/​inn is not to be missed. The building has been welcoming guests since its construction in 1716 rendering it the country’s oldest operating inn. There is a lot of history packed inside the walls of The Wayside, along with some eerie ghost stories as well.
Low posted ceilings, wide-​board floors, and the wonderful smell of burning firewood will greet you upon entering. To the left of the entry hall is an exhibit room staged to reflect the décor of its time period. The right of the entry hall leads to an authentic tavern room with a large bar and a few tables surrounding the cozy fireplace. This is a great place to enjoy a quick cocktail before dinner.
Upon reaching the hostess desk at the far end of the hall, you are greeted with a friendly smile (usually) and given your choice of the dimly lit, original dining room (The Tap Room) or the much larger, brighter, and more formal main dining area. (This newer wing was rebuilt in the 1960’s due to a fire so is not part of the original structure). Keep in mind there are no booths in this restaurant, only tables. The tables and chairs in The Tap Room are made to replicate the same furniture as the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once sat upon during his famous stay at the inn in 1862. These chairs will not offer modern comfort, but fit the décor very appropriately. There are two tables on either side of the fireplace in the old room nicknamed the «anniversary» tables that can be reserved for special occasions. My dad often complains of how dark this room is and jokes about needing a flashlight to read the menu (it’s really not that bad). The formal dining area does offer more light and space to accommodate your preference. Perhaps I am getting old, but I truly enjoy every moment of dining in this cozy and authentic atmosphere. If trendy and modern is what you are looking for, this is not your place.
My family and I have been visiting the Wayside Inn for many years to celebrate special occasions or to enjoy a casual Sunday dinner away from home. The restaurant offers a lunch and dinner menu with hearty comfort foods including pot roast, prime rib, baked haddock, and more at affordable and average prices. This is a great place if you are in a meat and potatoes kind of mood. Being a seafood lover, I usually choose the baked haddock with a side of potatoes and butternut squash. We always begin with a cup of their thick and yummy clam chowder. The food is consistently good and served piping hot. Breakfast and desserts are available as well.
I love to wander the building and explore the different historical exhibits and artifacts. I have never spent a night in the inn, but rumor has it room number nine is haunted by the original innkeeper’s sister. There is also an old tradition carried on by guests leaving notes with details of their visit tucked away in the drawers of the rooms for future boarders to find. The Wayside Inn is perfect for a peaceful weekend getaway or a day trip to explore all the history and beauty the grounds and surrounding areas have to offer.

Another place that has failed to update their menu since the 80’s.
With a clientele in their 60 – 70’s they probably don’t have to worry about a negative Unilocal review impacting their sales.
The structure is beautiful and as I sat their sipping my KettleOne & tonic ($ 7) I found myself thinking of just how amazing this place could be with a little venture money and staff at the desk who actually knew how to run an inn, they seemed overwhelmed even with a low volume of guests.
The food was equal to Cracker Barrel or any other «family style» restaurant. It’s not that is is awful it’s just very bland and unimaginative.
Fingers crossed for a take over by someone who sees the full potential of this place.

The ambiance is wonderful. Staff were terrific. Some of our food was delicious (lobster pie, apple pie), much of it was tasteless/​bland (fish and chips, green beans), and the decaf coffee tasted burned. I might go back, but I wish the food matched the price more.

My fiancée and my soon to be mother in law enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Wayside after making arrangements to hold our wedding there. In retrospect we should have had dinner there to sample the menu before giving them a deposit, but we loved the food so it worked out well. The atmosphere is absolutely wonderful. It’s the oldest operating inn in the US — I think since 1716. The food is great. I had the baked scallops and they were perfect. I’m looking forward to having my wedding there and we already have plans to hold our anniversary dinner there every year.

Dinner out here with family and they chose the Wayside, not my first or 100^th choice but to each their own. Was pleasantly surprised with the cocktail prep it wasn’t rocket science but they have had problems in the past when we were there. Service was good.
Wife had a lobster roll which was surprisingly good, I go the safe route of a fillet with sauce on the side. Fillet was thin and over cooked and thank God the sauce was on the side as it was some odd red concoction that was unidentifiable. Veggie options… butternut squash… in August… peak veggie season in MA… friggin butternut squash… Wayside Inn where it is November all year long…
So predictable and still so 1982 New England chic…

Went here for breakfast last week and it was terrible. Our waiter came out with his bare hand covering our fruit… Gross. Then I asked for a side of potatoes and I only got one small one. The waiter was creepy. And overall, the food just wasn’t good.

Here’s the thing… YOU HAVE TO GO HERE.
It’s the oldest inn in the States, it is a living icon in our country’s very short history, and it’s really charming.
Just don’t expect much from the kitchen. The menu sells itself as traditional New England cuisine, but the quality of the produce and ingredients is just not good enough. If they invested in revamping their sourcing (local, organic, grass-​fed things), this place could be a real gem.
It is so worth a visit regardless. The service is exceptional. It has a very neat story, and it’s a great glimpse at how things were in the early 1700’s.
Turns 300 y.o. in 2016! And the grist mill is a lovely little thing as well.

We loved this place. We first heard about it on Ghost Adventures and we were lucky enough to get to visit. We stayed in the most haunted room they had. Our daughter had so much fun there. The restaurant was wonderful with excellent prime rib. Staff was very friendly. If you want to take a giant leap back in American history, this is the place to stay.

Friends have been telling me to visit Longfellow’s for years. After reading the Unilocal reviews I hesitantly included a stop on my way back from a sight seeing trip. Her is a dining only review.
I arrived as a solo dinner around 7 pm on a Friday night. The cheery colonial dressed hostess greeted me at the door and suggested I get my name in immediately after I explained this was my first visit. The whole hosting staff was friendly and accommodating. The manager assured me I would have a table and graciously held a table this busy Friday as I wanted to walk the grounds and see the historic buildings before dark.
After my walk I was seated right away at a small corner table. The server took about ten minutes to arrive but he was very busy. I ordered off the special meal package which includes the appetizer, entrée, and limited dessert selection for one price. The meal was very good but was not prepared as request. The server caught one error before leaving the kitchen by bringing me an extra side of vegetables. I was impressed. I had asked that the bourbon sauce for the chicken be brought on the side but the sweet topping appeared on the chicken. No big deal since it was not over drenched. The other over site was rolls were not brought to my table. The coffee were presented as ordered and were tasty.
In closing, the only issue was my server was always «too rush» (he was racing around the dining room). As a solo dinner and first time visitor you expect a little conversation. More importantly, you want the server to have time to answer menu questions with full descriptions. Still he was attentive as he could be.

The building is really cool, and is a historical site. You can walk around the grounds, take photos, and you can learn about the inn from historical placards and exhibits inside.
Our waiter was very attentive, professional, and had a great personality. He was able to make menu and drink recommendations. The only time he was thrown off balance was when asked about the bourbon selection.
I ordered a «traditional» drink from the menu and it was pure alcohol. I wouldn’t order it again, but some could argue it was great value. I believe it was called the traditional coow woww. I also had the Nantucket lunchbox for lunch, which consisted of a cup of clam chowder, a lobster slider, and a choice of side. My clam chowder was very good. My husband ordered the lobster mac and cheese, and also enjoyed his meal.

Great dinning experience for dinning while on business travel as well as it appears to be popular for family dinners.
I selected the dinner special and the 3-​course meal was great. I never had the Indian pudding ever before and found it to be a great dessert with a cup of coffee.
Price was acceptable for the service and quality of dining.

This was a catered event, stuffed chicken breast was very very good. The chocolate cake for dessert was really good also with layers of frosting and chocolate.
Got to go back to try the regular menu. This place is very old and one of the oldest bars/​establishments in the country. It was built in 1707 and turned into a business in 1716… old historic, oh and did I mention they have rooms here. One of which is supposedly haunted. I will pass on staying in that one, yes I’m a wuss with that stuff, it creeps me out!
Very cool rustic place.

Driving up to The Wayside Inn is like stepping back in time. The Inn sits off of a beautiful wooded lane. Past a working Mill and a gorgeous steepled church.
Once inside, the dining rooms all have there rustic charm.
The Menu is charming. Varied. Not very modern or inventive. But who cares!
Sit by one of the fireplace’s. Enjoy the ambiance and your friends or family. All the food we had for lunch was good. The wait staff attentive and friendly.
Be careful when ordering the ‘first American Cocktail ‘. You’ll know what I mean if you do!

Look… this place was around during the revolutionary war (oldest operating Inn in the country since 1716). It was an inn, bar and restaurant. You don’t see places like this often in the US. They keep as much of the original as much as possible (non-​profit). It’s a history lesson, decent food and show (revolutionary troops march in every evening). Go!
Famous for: Longfellow’s Wayside Inn is proud to be the oldest operating Inn in the country, offering comfort and hospitality to travelers along the Boston Post Road since 1716.