Join us as we experience an evening in a 19th-century tavern.

In addition to a supper prepared in part at the hearth, guests may enjoy beverages fashionable in early New England, hear music and stories from an earlier time, and explore period games and entertainment. Learn about table manners from the period, when it was not only polite, but advised to eat from the knife (fork tines were meant for spearing the food, not the mouth).

A reproduction 18th-century clock jack roasts beef "to a turn" in front of a roaring fire, and costumed interpreters demonstrate the preparation of pounded cheese and mulled cider.

Your Hearthside Bounty evening begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. at the Visitor Center, the main entrance to Old Sturbridge Village. A costumed staff person will welcome you and you'll stroll along the candlelit walkways to the Bullard Tavern, where you will be met by crackling fireplaces, the aromas of open hearth-prepared entrees, the offer of intriguing 19th-century beverages, and the sights and sounds of a 19th-century tavern!

Would you care to help whip cream with a birch-twig whisk? Or you may choose instead just to enjoy the trifle that results.

The Menu

Pounded Cheese
Mulled Cider
Gourd Soup
Roast Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish Cream
Escalloped Potatoes
Roasted Root Vegetables
Trifle
Coffee, Decaf Coffee, Tea

Cash bar available, serving period and modern libations

Register online or choose from other dates.

*Please note that this is an evening geared towards an adult audience as we explore the 19th-century tavern. Guests with children may find our Families Cook program of interest as children may take part in preparing their meal over an open hearth.

Planning Ahead

Add an overnight stay at the Old Sturbridge Inn and Reeder Family Lodges. Packages available for additional savings.

Find more useful information for planning your visit.