My experience here was perfection. The ambiance was so lovely and the staff very attentive. I was lucky to enjoy Sunday Jazz which really added an extra level here. The food exceeded my expectations. Everything so fresh and such interesting flavor combinations. I wouldn’t change a thing. I rarely get a chicken dish out because it’s often bland or boring. This one was utterly amazing. The butternut squash purée coupled with the smokiness of the mushrooms and creaminess of the sauce was heaven. I hope to come back again soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Suzanne
Charming atmosphere and very much enjoyed the Jazz music. The food we had was ok. It sounded more interesting in its description than it was tasty. The soup was very good but not very much in the bowl.
Mandra
We originally had a party of 4, but our son was able to join us to our surprise to make it a party of 5. They were more than willing to accommodate us. Not a small feet on a busy weekend. THANK YOU for making it work!
Joel
Food was excellent but menu selection including entrees and desserts somewhat limited. Service professional and well performed. Noisy piano bar detracted from the overall experience. I guess just not my cup of tea.
Rick
We did not have a good experience at Haywood's this time. We've been frequent customers and have enjoyed the restaurant many times. Unfortunately, we knew that Haywood's and its wonderful chef had recently parted ways, but the menu was the same; the preparation was not. The food was passable, but presentation was poor on all plates - including a tasteless glop of subpar grits with the salmon and a vegetable side that was almost all onions with the sea bass special. To top it all off, I had made the reservation several weeks in advance and had requested a table in the Atrium because of the noise level of Sunday night jazz. When we arrived, not only were we not seated in the Atrium, but our party was placed right next to the musicians. When I asked about the placement, I was merely told that the restaurant was full. I had never received any response from my original reservation request, and the restaurant could easily have made a courtesy call to let me know in advance that it couldn't honor my request. Haywood's, you have done much better in the past and need to do so in the future to keep repeat customers.
Erin Buikema
Great experience! We sat at the bar and tried 3 different craft cocktails- so good! We shared the cheese plate that was full of interesting cheeses, nuts, amazing cranberry bread and a cranberry compote. Kip was very attentive and helpful. We will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stanley
We've been to Haywoods on two of our trips to Lexington, and plan to make it a regular stop on all future trips. My one disappointment this visit was that they had no non-alcoholic beer, where last time they stocked Stella Artois 0 alcohol which was fantastic after a long day of walking around.
JosieM
The food was generally good but uneven.the salads were excellent - beautiful fresh greens, plump berries, and perfectly dressed. My chicken was fine ( close to overdone) but the bacon jam was dried out into little strange bacon balls - no jammy sauce. My husband's steak was excellent. We were in the piano room, so the noise level was high. The server spoke in an annoyingly quiet voice and forgot to tell us the specials. Butter and olive were set on the table without explanation. Eventually we observed other tables being served warm bread. We had to request it and the server said " you want MORE bread?". The piano player was quite good!
ClarkB
We reserved a table for 12:30. The website says it is good for 1 1/2 hours. At around 1:35 we were through eating but still conversing with our guest. All other patrons had left. The staff started hovering around us and staring from a distance. We finally felt we were no longer welcome and left at 1:45. If they want you to leave at 1:30, they should not take reservations after 12:00.
Zach Beckner
Amazing place in downtown Lexington! Tried every course!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Snapper with Baby Kale Citrus Salad
I brought my daughter and was disappointed in their inflexibility and unwillingness to make even small adjustments. The brunch menu is very limited with not a lot of choices if you are gluten or dairy free. I asked if I could get my omelet with egg whites: the answer was a firm "no" so I simply ordered a cup of berries ($8 for what appeared to be 3-4 sliced strawberries, 5 raspberries and a few blueberries). My 10-year-old wanted her eggs without the english muffin and spinach - no special cooking techniques required, she just wanted the eggs put on the plate instead of on top of the english muffin and spinach. The waitress made a huge deal out of our requesting any changes at all and then went back to the kitchen and talked to the chef about us very loudly. We were very polite and deferential when we made the requests but were made to feel very unwelcome; sitting in the dining room and overhearing the staff discussing us in the kitchen made us very uncomfortable
AEMG
There aren't a lot of upscale choices in Lexington. The menu is very limited - only offer one dessert - our main server was very kind, but he did disappear for a while - asked another waiter if we could have a dessert menu and she was quite rude. No desire to rush back
Spokes
Absolutely lovely dinner. We had the crab salad appetizer, veggie pasta and the salmon. Everything was cooked and seasoned perfectly and was in fact flawless. What a nice surprise when you are new to an area and don't really know. We also had a desert, a berry jam and cream trifle, that knocked our socks off. Thank you for such a nice meal.
Leigh
We had another excellent meal here! Brussels sprouts appetizer and salads were very tasty. We had lamb, shrimp, and salmon entrees, all of which received rave reviews at our table. I am frequently hesitant to order rack of lamb in a restaurant, but I have had other fine meals at Haywood's and thought it would be good here. I was not disappointed--loved the presentation with a Mediterranean flair! J.J. was a terrific server--very attentive--and the timing of the food arriving from the kitchen was perfect. Lovely evening enhanced by the piano music. Thank you!
Excellent restaurant. Top notch service with fabulous food. I had the rack of lamb and they were perfect. The dish came with baba ghanoush and wow what a great combination. The service was perfect and the jazz was very well done. I would definitely recommend and will be returning when back in the area. I highly recommend reservations. BTW the martinis were great too
My experience here was perfection. The ambiance was so lovely and the staff very attentive. I was lucky to enjoy Sunday Jazz which really added an extra level here. The food exceeded my expectations. Everything so fresh and such interesting flavor combinations. I wouldn’t change a thing. I rarely get a chicken dish out because it’s often bland or boring. This one was utterly amazing. The butternut squash purée coupled with the smokiness of the mushrooms and creaminess of the sauce was heaven. I hope to come back again soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Charming atmosphere and very much enjoyed the Jazz music. The food we had was ok. It sounded more interesting in its description than it was tasty. The soup was very good but not very much in the bowl.
We originally had a party of 4, but our son was able to join us to our surprise to make it a party of 5. They were more than willing to accommodate us. Not a small feet on a busy weekend. THANK YOU for making it work!
Food was excellent but menu selection including entrees and desserts somewhat limited. Service professional and well performed. Noisy piano bar detracted from the overall experience. I guess just not my cup of tea.
We did not have a good experience at Haywood's this time. We've been frequent customers and have enjoyed the restaurant many times. Unfortunately, we knew that Haywood's and its wonderful chef had recently parted ways, but the menu was the same; the preparation was not. The food was passable, but presentation was poor on all plates - including a tasteless glop of subpar grits with the salmon and a vegetable side that was almost all onions with the sea bass special. To top it all off, I had made the reservation several weeks in advance and had requested a table in the Atrium because of the noise level of Sunday night jazz. When we arrived, not only were we not seated in the Atrium, but our party was placed right next to the musicians. When I asked about the placement, I was merely told that the restaurant was full. I had never received any response from my original reservation request, and the restaurant could easily have made a courtesy call to let me know in advance that it couldn't honor my request. Haywood's, you have done much better in the past and need to do so in the future to keep repeat customers.
Great experience! We sat at the bar and tried 3 different craft cocktails- so good! We shared the cheese plate that was full of interesting cheeses, nuts, amazing cranberry bread and a cranberry compote. Kip was very attentive and helpful. We will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We've been to Haywoods on two of our trips to Lexington, and plan to make it a regular stop on all future trips. My one disappointment this visit was that they had no non-alcoholic beer, where last time they stocked Stella Artois 0 alcohol which was fantastic after a long day of walking around.
The food was generally good but uneven.the salads were excellent - beautiful fresh greens, plump berries, and perfectly dressed. My chicken was fine ( close to overdone) but the bacon jam was dried out into little strange bacon balls - no jammy sauce. My husband's steak was excellent. We were in the piano room, so the noise level was high. The server spoke in an annoyingly quiet voice and forgot to tell us the specials. Butter and olive were set on the table without explanation. Eventually we observed other tables being served warm bread. We had to request it and the server said " you want MORE bread?". The piano player was quite good!
We reserved a table for 12:30. The website says it is good for 1 1/2 hours. At around 1:35 we were through eating but still conversing with our guest. All other patrons had left. The staff started hovering around us and staring from a distance. We finally felt we were no longer welcome and left at 1:45. If they want you to leave at 1:30, they should not take reservations after 12:00.
Amazing place in downtown Lexington! Tried every course!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Snapper with Baby Kale Citrus Salad
Restaurantji Recommends
I brought my daughter and was disappointed in their inflexibility and unwillingness to make even small adjustments. The brunch menu is very limited with not a lot of choices if you are gluten or dairy free. I asked if I could get my omelet with egg whites: the answer was a firm "no" so I simply ordered a cup of berries ($8 for what appeared to be 3-4 sliced strawberries, 5 raspberries and a few blueberries). My 10-year-old wanted her eggs without the english muffin and spinach - no special cooking techniques required, she just wanted the eggs put on the plate instead of on top of the english muffin and spinach. The waitress made a huge deal out of our requesting any changes at all and then went back to the kitchen and talked to the chef about us very loudly. We were very polite and deferential when we made the requests but were made to feel very unwelcome; sitting in the dining room and overhearing the staff discussing us in the kitchen made us very uncomfortable
There aren't a lot of upscale choices in Lexington. The menu is very limited - only offer one dessert - our main server was very kind, but he did disappear for a while - asked another waiter if we could have a dessert menu and she was quite rude. No desire to rush back
Absolutely lovely dinner. We had the crab salad appetizer, veggie pasta and the salmon. Everything was cooked and seasoned perfectly and was in fact flawless. What a nice surprise when you are new to an area and don't really know. We also had a desert, a berry jam and cream trifle, that knocked our socks off. Thank you for such a nice meal.
We had another excellent meal here! Brussels sprouts appetizer and salads were very tasty. We had lamb, shrimp, and salmon entrees, all of which received rave reviews at our table. I am frequently hesitant to order rack of lamb in a restaurant, but I have had other fine meals at Haywood's and thought it would be good here. I was not disappointed--loved the presentation with a Mediterranean flair! J.J. was a terrific server--very attentive--and the timing of the food arriving from the kitchen was perfect. Lovely evening enhanced by the piano music. Thank you!
Excellent restaurant. Top notch service with fabulous food. I had the rack of lamb and they were perfect. The dish came with baba ghanoush and wow what a great combination. The service was perfect and the jazz was very well done. I would definitely recommend and will be returning when back in the area. I highly recommend reservations. BTW the martinis were great too
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