May 6, 2025
Into the Woodland Restaurant
A Lakeville Favorite Continues To Thrive
By Charles Dubow
Photographs by Ryan Lavine
The Northwest Corner of Litchfield County has been blessed over the years with a number of excellent restaurants. Unfortunately, most of them don’t last. It’s not easy to keep a restaurant going, which is why when a restaurant can not only survive but also thrive for more than 40 years, it is a testament to the excellence of its food and to the loyalty of its staff and patrons.
That is the fortunate position in which The Woodland, in Lakeville, finds itself. Once a little burger shack catering to hungry students from The Hotchkiss School (just up the road), The Woodland was born in 1983, when Carol Peters expanded the shack into a charming roadside bistro offering beautifully cooked seasonal American food. Later, sushi was added to the menu.
For years it was almost impossible to get a table between Friday and Monday. The restaurant and its bar were always packed with a mix of locals, Hotchkiss parents and students, or weekenders looking to unwind over the superb steak au poivre or pan-seared chicken, with a bottle of Vieux Telegraphe, a Barbaresco, or a Napa cab (the wine list is superb and varied).
Other favorites include the truffled Parmesan fries with garlic aioli, the roasted beet salad, the pistachio-crusted salmon, and the best Wiener schnitzel this side of Stuttgart. In the mood for something Asian? The sushi offerings are among the finest in the county.
In addition to its regular menu, there is always a plethora of daily specials.
What makes The Woodland’s longevity even more impressive is the fact that it could have all ended when chef/owner Robert Peters (who had taken over from his sister Carol) died of cancer in 2021. Fortunately, Robert’s friend, the chef Brandon Scimeca, was on hand to pick up the ball. “The restaurant never closed for a day,” he says. “I kept it running for a year before I was able to buy it.” Scimeca, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of the legendary Chez Panisse in Berkeley, has lived in the area for 20 years, and runs a catering business in Millbrook called Hunt & Harvest.
He knew the restaurant well, having informally consulted on the menu and décor with Robert after he took it over from Carol. (They met when Scimeca was working at the nearby Interlaken Inn; Robert was his sous-chef.)
Later, as Robert’s illness progressed, Scimeca came to help out in the kitchen.
“I got a feel for the legacy of The Woodland,” he says. “I’m not here to change it. I moved the menu forward without sacrificing what it stood for. We have so many loyal regulars who have been coming for years; many even have standing reservations. This is a great institution for our area. I love it. It’s homey and familiar. It’s 40 years of different ideas all mashed together, but somehow it works.”
Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday; lunch is served Thursday through Sunday. Reservations are recommended.
The Woodland, 192 Sharon Road, Lakeville
