by Alice Bartram ·
Friday, October 18, 2024
It had been a day. So we were looking forward to a night out with friends who had suggested Logan’s Table in Leominster. Leominster has a great restaurant scene, something I sometimes forget and shouldn’t. The Logan’s Table website features pizza, which looked perfect to me as comfort food after a long and busy day.
Walking inside the cozy space near Leominster’s Monument Square, the first thing we noticed was a copper-topped full-size pizza oven in the middle of the kitchen, signaling the pizza should be great.
We arrived around 7:30 on a Saturday evening and requested a table (the restaurant does not take reservations). The wait was about 30 minutes, and since the indoor bar area is for diners only, we headed across the street to Tavern 13 for a drink. Back outside, we noticed the outdoor seating areas. The restaurant is fronted by a patio with bar-style seating facing Central Street. Along the side of the space runs an alley that hosts a covered bar and seating. The space was lit with cafe lights and gave a hip, yet relaxed, vibe.
Almost on cue after our drinks, the phone rang to tell us our table was ready, so we headed back across the street. Logan’s Table describes itself as an elevated casual eatery with creative cuisine and vibrant cocktails, sourcing locally as much as possible. Its menu offers something for everyone. In addition to pizza, burgers, and sandwiches, the entree menu has classics like chicken parmesan and more exotic offerings like Korean barbecue ahi tuna.
The salads also looked great, so for a moment, I thought that the leafy greens in the power 2.0 or detox salad might be just what I needed. That feeling passed and I refocused on pizza.
Beyond the standard margherita, the other 11 pizzas on the menu were interesting—sometimes unusual—combinations, many with clever names. For example, the “PBR” is a pickle, bacon, and ranch pizza—a Pabst blue ribbon beer can be added (presumably drizzled on top). The “fig & pig” boasts mozzarella and gorgonzola cheeses with balsamic fig jam, dressed arugula, and prosciutto; “piccata” features chicken and capers.
Logan’s Table bills their pizzas as Neapolitan style, which is a description I realized I didn’t fully understand. A quick Google search told me that pizza Napoletana is designated as a traditional food product in Europe. Dough must be made with specific ingredients and worked a certain way, and the pizza needs to include tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella.
After going back and forth on choices, I went for the lasagna pizza—red sauce and mozzarella with meatball, sausage, ricotta, and basil. My friend ordered the truffle-wild mushroom pizza with mozzarella, dressed arugula, and truffle aioli. Both arrived piping hot and delicious looking. The crust was thin, but not too thin, holding up well when a slice was lifted, and with that great char a wood-fired oven imparts. My lasagna pizza was basically a meatball pizza with ricotta, which is not a complaint, more another example of clever naming. The sausage wasn’t obvious, but the pizza tasted great with plenty of meatballs and ricotta, which I love on a pizza. My friend and I swapped a slice. The truffle pizza was also tasty, though the wild mushrooms did not shine through on my piece, or the arugula overwhelmed the mushrooms, as arugula was the dominant taste. That said, I do love arugula on a pizza—makes me feel like I’m having a salad to balance the pizza’s cheese.
The guys ordered from the entree menu, both selecting the Korean spiced seared ahi tuna over brown rice vegetable stir-fry with fried kimchi and a gochujang aioli. There was a bit of deliberation before ordering as barbecue sauce on tuna was not an obvious pairing, but they both went with it and were rewarded for their choice. The tuna was perfectly seared, and frying the kimchi (new for all of us) was a brilliant touch, adding a satisfying crunch. My husband shared a bite with me; I especially liked how the gochujang gave the barbecue sauce a great flavor.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal with great food, service, atmosphere, and company. Our friends are very witty, bringing laughs as therapy after the long day. We were having so much fun that we ended up closing the place, leaving well past the 9 p.m. closing time. The staff could not have been more accommodating, not rushing us out, though their smiles seemed to get a bit bigger when we finally stood up to leave! Service throughout the meal had been attentive and engaging.
There were so many tempting choices that we’ll be going back again soon.