Romantic dining

The way to someone's heart is still through the stomach

by Jim Johnson

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'd like to share my picks -- in no particular order -- for the most-romantic restaurants in Central Massachusetts.

The Harrington Farm Country Inn & Restaurant (178 Westminster Road, Princeton, 978-464-5600) is quite possibly both the most romantic and the best overall restaurant in the area. Set in a 1763 farmhouse in the deep woods near Mount Wachusett, the restaurant offers candle-lit dining in an elegant yet quaint setting. The service is expert, thanks to a warm and knowledgeable staff. And the food by innkeeper and chef John Bomba is incomparable. If you're expecting true romance, note that the inn offers lodging as well.

It's almost a cliché to include the Struck Café (415 Chandler Street, Worcester, 757-1670) in a list of romantic restaurants. Hidden innocently enough behind a Chandler Street storefront lies a parlor-like dining area. Tables are decked with starched linens and fresh flowers. Paintings and prints by local artists adorn the walls. Service is always attentive and accommodating. The menu changes often, and specials are always tempting.

The Restaurant at Tatnuck Bookseller Marketplace (335 Chandler Street, Worcester, 756-7644) may not be romantic in the traditional sense, but there are a whimsy, a warmth, and a touch of funkiness that make the place special. I've often brought friends to share the company of countless books, sitting amidst hardwood floors and ceilings, exposed brick, and beaming skylights. Tatnuck provides solace, a peaceful refuge where lovers (especially those on a budget) can enjoy fine food and caring service in the intimate warmth of the old building.

I love Arturo's Ristorante (411 Chandler Street, Worcester, 755-5640) for its understated elegance and unrivaled Continental service. And the Northern Italian cuisine is glorious, a celebration for all senses. Skylights and a cathedral ceiling lend airy brightness, while trees and canvas room dividers add intimacy on a quiet evening. Lights sparkle from oil lamps throughout the room. There's something sensuous about slowly dipping steaming Italian bread into a swirl of herbed olive oil. Or maybe it's just me.

The Castle Restaurant (Route 9, Leicester, 892-9090) may not be for every person. The women's menus are blank in the price column, definitely a throwback. If you can get past that, you'll find superb service, an award-winning wine list, and a setting that is indeed castle-like, from the moat outside to the medieval weapons, heraldic coats of arms, and high-backed chairs that decorate the lofty Camelot Room. If you want to impress your date, order the Caesar salad for two, prepared with flair at tableside, or the Chateaubriand, which is flamed as you watch.

What can be more romantic than a French restaurant? Chez Claude (5 Strawberry Hill Road, Acton, 978-263-3325) takes it a few steps further with exquisite dining and gracious service in a charming setting: a 200-year-old red farmhouse resting on a wooded hill. Each table has a small oil lamp and a ceramic pitcher filled with fresh-cut flowers. The house's many rooms and crannies lend an air of intimacy. Although the cuisine is decidedly French, it's accessible to American tastes.

If you love French but your lover loves Asian, try Escargot (231 Main Street, Marlborough, 481-9509). You'll find subdued elegance, fragrant aromas, attentive and gracious service, and food that's a gentle mesh of French and Thai cuisine. Flavors know when to be harsh and fiery and when to be silent, subtle, and sublime. Definitely take the French route for dessert, and order the chocolate soufflé.

Sonoma chef/owner Bill Brady describes his menu as "global cuisine," and it's indeed an exquisite fusion of cultures and cuisine. Sonoma (Route 31, Princeton, 978-464-5775) is elegant yet accessible, with gentle lighting, exquisite artwork, and soothing background music. Service is impeccable, a sincere sharing of knowledge, attention, and conversation. And the food excites with flavor, whispers with subtlety, challenges the imagination, and impresses the eye.

If you like to mix history with romance, travel back to the 1700s and Longfellow's Wayside Inn (Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury 978-443-1776, 800-339-1776). Nearly 300 years and only eight innkeepers after it opened as How's Inn in 1716, the Wayside Inn still offers meals and overnight lodging. Impress your date with the sad and romantic tale of Jerusha How, known in the early 1800s as the "belle of Sudbury." Jerusha became engaged to an Englishman, who left for home to get his family's blessing but never returned. Jerusha lived out the rest of her life at the inn, spending much of her time playing her beloved pianoforte. Local legend has it that her ghost still resides there. (At this point in the story, pull your lover toward you as you say convincingly, "Don't worry. I'll never leave you.")

Tiano's (108 Grove Street, Worcester, 752-8901) whispers romance. The setting is elegant yet accessible: a comfortable clash of classical and modern. Exposed brick and wooden beams hint at the factory it once was. Soft lighting warm the teal, brown, and peach shadings. Wrought ironwork covers the windows, overlooking a sparkling pond. And, like the setting itself, Tiano's menu blends Old World tradition with New World flair, using pasta, produce, and meats that are always fresh and painstakingly prepared. Start with wine and linger over espresso.