The Bootlegger Restaurant

The best thing about this location is the outdoor seating. It is very good for a night out with friends. Relaxed atmosphere, no rushing.
the cuisine is Italian and they have some affordable specials.
The food is a "6" but service and experience are an "8"

hands down, best upscale restaurant in the area! beautiful interior design with lovely crystal chandeliers, and a romantic ambiance at dinner time. for a more casual feel, ask to sit in the lounge area where there are high tops and comfy booths where you can see the keno and sports TVs.

to start off, ask for the homemade potato chips and horseradish dill sauce which are complimentary. If you're in an Italian mood, they also give bread and oil. For appetizers, try the calamari or the day boat scallops!

The dinner menu is extensive offering Italian classics, seafood, steaks and more. seafood trio pasta dish is amazing, along with the swordfish over lobster risotto!

Finish with homemade tiramisu! you won't be disappointed!

I heard they recently changed this into a gay bar only ? Is this true ? If so I will not be going obviously!


Not sure but I heard this is a gay bar... not sure why it switched over ? Or was it always a homosexual bar ?

The Bootlegger has gone down hill since the previous owner. Food is overpriced as well drinks. Service can be a bit slow and overlooked depending on time and visit.I can cook the same steaks better and much cheaper than the Bootlegger has offer.
Used to visit on a monthly regular manner and now it's maybe once yearly.
Asian Imperial is a much better value and portions worth the price as well the drinks much cheaper.
Bootlegger has lost me as a customer...

Food: 2.5 Stars
Service: 4 Stars

Parents and I came for brunch on a weekend as we were heading up to a state park nearby. This seemed like one of the only promising options in the area so we headed in. The decor I will say is truly interesting. It really feels like something out of the 1920s in terms of the art in the rooms and color schemes.

The food was a little bit subpar in my opinion. The complimentary bread they brought out tasted very strange, not fresh even though it was warm. It reminded me of white bread that you got in the supermarket, but not exactly that because it wasn't chewy, it just sort of melted into powdered dough in your mouth. I also couldn't quite figure out what the dipping sauce was, it wasn't pure olive oil for sure.

The portions for our brunch entrees were really large. I got the eggs benedict which was decent, but the potatoes were a little bit on the dry side. My parents got the lasagna and a salmon. Both were ok but neither was anything special. It's a decent place if you're looking for something that's sit down in the area, but probably can get a better dining experience if you look in a larger town area.

Service was great though! the waitress was very friendly and helpful.

The Bootlegger is a one-of-a-kind place in this part of Massachusetts. The owner, Allan Cosimi, his mom, Gloria, his manager, Angela and all the waitstaff, especially Nicole, make this restaurant the type of place you book a limo to go to with a bunch of friends on a Saturday night when you live in Boston. Sounds crazy, right? I mean, who drives an hour north-west of the city when we have all these amazing places in town to enjoy? Well, I do, for one, and here's why: the food's amazing, the drinks delicious, wine list extensive for this part of the world, and ambiance is fantastic. After 14 years in business, things have only gotten better at the Bootlegger.

On our most recent visit with friends we tried the surf and turf special (this dish had a seafood stuffing that must have been laced with an addictive drug - too good to be true), the veal chop with polenta (I don't think of myself as polenta person, but this was unbelievable), a new chicken dish with brocoolini and mushroom ravioli that would knock your socks off, and baked stuffed shrimp. EVERYTHING was delectable and dessert afterward (apple crisp and maple walnut creme brulee) put us into a food lover's coma. This is one of the few places so far west of Boston that you'll find Moet & Chandon Champagne Nectar Imperial on the wine list, and I highly recommend it - yum!

On prior visits we've tried lots of different items from the menu, but you have not had eggplant parm until you've had it here: Gloria makes it fresh almost every day and it's AMAZING.

The ambiance of the Bootlegger is not to be understated either: the lounge area is huge with a U-shaped bar complete with bartenders that really know how to tend bar. The waitstaff are a fantastic bunch too - every one has her/his own personality, but they all share one thing in common: dedication.

I could go on and on, but you get the point: whether you happen to be out in the middle of nowhere in Massachusetts and are looking for an amazing place to eat & drink, or if you're yearning for an alternative to what you find in Boston every night, take a trip to the Boot and you won't be disappointed!!!

I was desperate for a decent place to eat near route 2. The mall restaurants were out. And, I refuse to go to Olive Garden or Applebee's under any circumstances. So, with some nervousness, I traveled down Mass Ave to look for a place to eat.

I am thrilled to say that there is at least one decent restaurant in Lunenburg and I am going to give a shout out to a new server-in-training named Erica. I would come back just for the service from Erica.

The Bootlegger is a very homey New England style restaurant. But, the food is much more interesting. My wife had a seafood dinner in an extremely tasty, light tomato sauce with lots of capers and spices. I had the scallops, which were prepared well, and vegetables that were cooked just right. What a surprise! Not just an interesting menu -- there is clearly a chef that cares.

Erica is a gem of a server. She gave just the right mix of attentiveness and leaving us alone. She checked in, delivered what we wanted BEFORE we asked, and always had a winning smile. Bootlegger -- Erica is a gem. (And, no, I have never met her before and do not know her family.)

Objects on the inside were nicer than they appeared (from the outside).

I came here for lunch after helping a friend move back to the area, and she said her family had been coming here for many years. I thought the outside was a bit nondescript, but I was pleasantly surprised upon entering. I can understand why her family likes the place.

We were given the option of outdoor or indoor dining. We chose indoors, and asked about a choice of seating in the bar: at the bar, bistro tables, or very comfortable booths. There are no bad seats here. The bar is bright with quite a few seats around 3 sides.

The menu also offered a lot of variety, both for food and drink. I'm surprised I had any room for a meal after starting with the warm, dense bread and olive oil steeped with cloves of roasted garlic. We ordered a variety of salads and sandwiches, all of which were served quickly. My sandwich, grilled chicken with pesto, tomato and fresh mozzarella cheese, came with a generous portion of fries.

Service was friendly and prompt.

I need to help more people move to this area.

I understand a Thursday evening can be busy. However, to have a reservation days in advance, and yet be told we have to wait for tables to be cleared, and then to wait about 40 minutes? What is the point of a reservation, then?

I actually felt bad for our waitress because it appeared you guys may have been understaffed. She did a good job considering the situation. That being said, it seemed a request to split a bill was a hassle for her, only to have her split the bill at the end of the meal anyway. We were totally fine with having the bill all together given how stressed it seemed to make her, but this wasn't a 20-person table. We had about 6 people seated at the time and we hadn't even ordered yet. Why is this the end of the world?

The food was sub-par. Based on prices, you'd think the quality would be top notch. In the past, food at the Bootlegger was delicious. Not sure what has changed. Maybe the cooks? The menu? But the prices went up and the food quality has gone down.

Probably the worst part was the karaoke that night. You had 4 singers rotating, and when one of our people asked to sing we were told a rap song with no swears might be inappropriate for the crowd, only to have the current singer scream out a cuss word two seconds after the DJ said this. No, really.... Also, I was yelled at for not cutting in front of a singer to request a song, going on the other side of the table instead, because apparently someone tripped on that side a previous night and hit their head against the fake waterfall? Um, maybe let's relocate the table at that point, and not make a customer feel uncomfortable by scolding them for not interfering with a person singing. If a customer almost cracks their head open by tripping on your wires, your DJ table is poorly located.

If you are going to have karaoke at your venue, please let your customers feel comfortable singing there. Whether it be the song they want to sing, or the fact they don't want to get in the way of other singers. Otherwise, it's really loud noise on your outdoor patio with the same 4 regulars singing for 3 and a half hours. Not good. Or, if you want to come off as upscale and fancy for the area, maybe ditch the karaoke. I generally like karaoke and this felt awkward.

Lastly, we were offered bug spray by your staff because the mosquitos were so bad. We didn't ask for it. It was offered because they knew how bad it was. Maybe better to do something about that other than asking customers to spray themselves? Professional treatment, torches, something? Just a thought. It's only June and this will only get worse over the next month or so.

Really good fresh food! The best chips and dill dip. Anne is the best bartender! Excellent daily soups!