Fonthill is a village of fewer than twenty thousand, a Niagara town with more orchards than dining destinations. Root & Bone reads as the exception. Behind a Pelham Street storefront, Chef Raymond Taylor cooks a four-course dinner at a level the address doesn't advertise — a wagyu short rib Wellington wrapped in mushroom duxelles and set against truffle whipped potatoes, a dry-aged Ontario striploin, dishes that turn with the growing season. He opened the restaurant in 2018 and built it around a short card rather than a long one: prix fixe Friday and Saturday, à la carte Wednesday and Thursday, dark the other three nights.
The card rewards a table that orders across it. Classic beef tartare comes with a vodka-cured quail egg, caper emulsion and pommes gaufrettes; seared diver scallops arrive over a sweet-pea purée with Meyer lemon gremolata; char-grilled quail is plated with a sour-cherry reduction, wild mushrooms and a pistachio crumble. Among the mains, the striploin comes with spring morels, smoked bone marrow and a sunchoke purée, charred octopus is set against a chorizo emulsion and tomato jam, Ontario pickerel against a saffron beurre blanc brightened with yuzu, and Ontario lamb loin under a rosemary and stone-mustard crust with black garlic jus. The vegetable courses get the same care as the proteins — crispy butternut squash with miso brown-butter aioli and candied walnuts, a spring risotto of English peas, ramps and asparagus tips finished with aged pecorino. Dessert runs from a burnt Basque cheesecake to a warm carrot cake plated with pear ice-wine gelato and a Grand Marnier crème brûlée.
The current menu has enough first-course, main and dessert range to make the four-course format feel curated rather than narrow.
Chef Raymond Taylor's ownership and culinary leadership give the restaurant a named point of view, not just a polished dining-room shell.
Epicure Cellar, patio seating and the main dining room give guests different ways to use the restaurant for dates, groups and celebrations.
The four-course Friday and Saturday format is the cleanest way to experience Root & Bone. The card fits because the menu is structured around paced courses, premium mains and composed desserts rather than a broad casual list.
Ontario pickerel, lamb, organic striploin, farm herbs, spring vegetables and morels give the menu a strong regional backbone. The sourcing story is specific enough to shape what diners actually order.
Root & Bone has a named culinary point of view through Chef Raymond Taylor, and the menu reads like a chef-led dining room: precise starters, composed sauces and a clear seasonal arc across the meal.
Root & Bone works for date night because the dinner pacing, polished farm-house feel, tartare, scallops and Wellington give two diners easy shared decisions without making the evening feel formal.
A prix fixe dinner, steak and Wellington options, seafood starters, composed desserts and private-dining access make Root & Bone a natural celebration pick without needing a hotel or resort setting.
Share the nuances of your visit to Root & Bone in Pelham — the standout dishes, the room, the service.
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