NORTH

Bistro is fit for a goddess

Barbara M. Houle

The expectations were high when Ceres Bistro at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester opened to great fanfare this summer.

There were no disappointments.

The upscale restaurant is a labor of love for its owners, Dr. Charles Birbara and his wife, Janet, who also own the Beechwood Hotel. The restaurant is part of the $9 million expansion of the hotel. Janet Birbara said she and her husband are “extremely happy” at how the restaurant turned out.

Ceres Bistro, referred to as “modern, intimate and hip,” is splendid, inside and out. The seasonal menu, based on contemporary American cuisine, offers diners a farm-to-table concept. The extensive wine list is impressive. Featured in the cocktail lounge is an oval bar and serpentine drink rail made of white Avonite that “glows” through the night.

The restaurant, operated and managed by Niche Hospitality Group in Worcester, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Sunday brunch at the Beechwood continues downstairs in the hotel.

Friends of the Birbaras know them to be avid art and antique collectors. As Janet Birbara puts it, “We go to auctions, and we always walk away with enormous pieces. We’re not into collecting teacups.”

Some items have gone into the new restaurant. The beautiful stained glass dome in the dining room, for example, dates back to the 1800s. Then there are the Vanity Fair caricatures, equine lithographs and exquisite outside light fixtures. Diners surely will appreciate it all.

•Ceres Bistro at the Beechwood Hotel: 363 Plantation St., Worcester; Telephone: (508) 754-2000. Free valet parking available. FYI: Ceres in Roman mythology was the goddess of agriculture.