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A year after closing, the Bedford Post Tavern is back ? and this time there's a new look, a new chef and, naturally, a new menu.
The restaurant, which at the moment is open for dinner only, opened June 7.
What's changed
The layout is among the biggest changes. What used to be a private dining room to the left of the restaurant is now the main attraction, complete with chocolate velvet booths; a medley of wood, marble and mosaic tables; café curtains; a new bar; and an outdoor terrace on the side. There's also outdoor dining in front with a view of the property's lush greenery and riot of colorful hydrangeas.
In total, counting the two alfresco spots, the restaurant seats 140.
The space, part of an old inn which dates to 1762, still has a casually elegant country vibe (the high ceilings help), but there's now an airier, timeless look highlighted by light woods, abstract artwork and lots of natural colors that resemble the outdoors. The goal, said Guest Experience Manager Sunny Harum, was to create a décor that resembled nature. "We wanted it to look like everything inside grew organically from the woods and trails that surround the property," she said.
That includes hanging lamps in the shapes of leaves, mini lights in the bar area that look like mushrooms, sconces in the shape of slugs and ivory-colored paper flowers.
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The theme extends to the bar area, which is visible upon entry and also from the dining room thanks to a cut-out window that makes it all feel like one big room. Also added: cozy cushioned half-booths for seating. And in the corner with candles light on the mantle: a gas fireplace. A larger gas fireplace sits majestically at the end of the main dining room.
What in the past had been the Farmhouse is now the Tavern's private event space, accommodating up to 126. The room also has a more minimalist, airier look thanks to new beams where two pillars used to be. And, like its counterpart, there's a gas fireplace and a naturally neutral color palette, with lots of handpainted bird illustrations from the 1800s, to keep in line with the history of the inn.
All art in the dining areas are for sale, including abstract work from famed artist Robert Motherwell who passed away in 1991 and who lived nearby.
What about the menu?
Just as important as the décor adjustments is the addition of Chef Sam Mason who, like the chefs who've headed the kitchens here before, has quite the impressive pedigree (the previous chef was Roxanne Spruance, a former Food Network "Chopped" winner who's now heading Wren of the Woods opening next spring in Armonk).
Mason's reputation is an ice cream provocateur ? he's the founder of OddFellows, a small-batch ice cream company which has grown to multiple worldwide locations. He's also a past James Beard nominee and the former pastry chef of the molecular gastronomy New American Manhattan restaurant wd-50. And he owned the short-lived Tailor restaurant in the city.
Coming from what he describes as a "fussy background," he was excited to do "unfussy" in Bedford. "It's tavern fare," he said. "We want to offer something for the local demographic that's comfortable."
His approachable technique means "when you see it on a plate, you know exactly what it is."
The Nyack resident's focus is also on local and seasonal ingredients. "I stop at farmers market every day," he said.
On the day this reporter met him, it was at Rochambeau Farm in Mount Kisco, but previously it had been Snow Hill Farm in North Salem and Hilltop Hanover Farm in Yorktown Heights (where he's incidentally doing a farmhouse dinner later this summer).
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Among his dishes proving popular so far: popovers with strawberry butter; a caramelized onion tart with goat cheese and arugula; and seared salmon with fennel salad, peas, mint, fingerling potatoes and herbed buttermilk. But he said the menu will continue to evolve based on feedback from the community.
Other entrees — the menu is fairly short and straightforward — include grilled branzino with tahini, spinach and silk chili; roast chicken with green olives, lemon caper butter and watercress; hanger steak; and "Katonah Pasta Garganelli," with zucchini, squash, tomato and pine nuts.
Appetizers include a Deep Roots Farm crudité; summer vegetable salad; seared pork belly and a complete raw bar with oysters, shrimp cocktail, salmon ceviche and tuna crudo.
Story continues after gallery.
Wait there's more — to eat!
The property also features the recently opened (as of June 19) Bedford Post Barn, operated by Dawn and Jason Bowman, who own BreadsNBakes in Pound Ridge. The 60-seat café, with a casual rustic look, is open for breakfast and lunch with an outdoor dining area set under a canopy of covered greenery and fairy lights that make you feel like you're on vacation.
Options on that menu, which is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., include French toast, pastries, oatmeal, a variety of salads, soup and a burger in addition to a host of drinks including wine, beer, cocktails and coffee.
As with the Tavern, the Barn also features work from local artists, in this case from Jonny Cournoyer whose brushwork features the historic hamlets of Westchester and surrounding landscape. And there's a fireplace — though this one is wood-burning.
Both the Tavern and the Barn are part of the 1700s-era farmstead that's been reinvented into a Relais & Chateaux property — with a luxury inn and yoga studio — that was founded (and still owned) by Actor Richard Gere. The two eateries operate under the Sunday Hospitality umbrella, a Brooklyn-based restaurant group that operates El Quijote, Lobby Bar and Café Chelsea in The Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, Sunday in Brooklyn in Williamsburg, Rule of Thirds in Brooklyn and Sunday in Brooklyn in London.
If you go
Address: 954 Old Post Road, Bedford, 914-292-9516, bedfordposttavern.com.
Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday; to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Good to know: Brunch is coming. Extended hours to come, as in dinner will eventually be available on Monday and Tuesday.
Mark your calendar: The restaurant will host a barbecue with hamburgers, hot dogs, lobster rolls, corn and ice cream sandwiches on July 4 with lawn games from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Bedford Post Tavern returns to Westchester NY with new look
