80 Thoreau restaurant opened this year in the old depot building in downtown Concord. With its French-inspired versions of New England fare created by chef Carolyn Johnson (formerly of Rialto), 80 Thoreau has created quite an enthusiastic buzz in the area. Owner Ian Calhoun, who grew up in Concord, and friend and co-owner Vincent Vela, a constant presence in the dining room, have long dreamed of bringing their culinary experiences together in their own restaurant.

I visited 80 Thoreau several times for dinner with friends over the last six months. As a general observation of the menu selections, for the first course there is always a soup (usually a vegetable purée), a pâté and/or a foie gras, the usual mixed lettuces, and sometimes a salad featuring root vegetables.

For the mains, you can count on one each of a beef, lamb, duck, pork, scallop, fish (usually tuna), and a vegetarian dish.

I will get my pet peeve out of the way now; the excellent vegetarian dish (a roasted eggplant stuffed with five grains accompanied by a sunflower seed purée) was on the menu during all of my visits, while all of the other offerings went through various reincarnations. When I asked a server when a new vegetarian dish would be offered, he replied that the menu was "seasonal" and it would soon change; it didn't. At the time of this writing, however, the dish has been replaced by a sweet potato tart.

On the first visit, a busy Friday night, we were seated in the smaller (and more private) of two dining rooms, which provides a view of the immaculate and vibrant kitchen, where Chef Johnson can be seen assisting with the final plating of the dishes. Cocktails were well made and amply sized, and an assortment of breads was provided right away. The waitress was friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu, answering our questions with ease.

For a first course, John had a sweet corn soup topped with crème fraîche and white truffles. The flavor of the corn was quite intense. Dina had a tomato bread salad (a small bruschetta) that was accompanied by a small portion (about 2 ounces) of thinly sliced rare sirloin, which was very tender and flavorful. This dish was more like a tappas plate than an appetizer.

I had a salad of roasted root vegetables (primarily beets), arugula and frisée, and gorgonzola. The smallish portion of greens was lightly seasoned in olive oil, the beets were just a few small bites, and the gorgonzola was barely present.

As dinner arrived we asked for more bread and it was brought right away, along with more butter and the wines by the glass we had chosen. My grain stuffed roasted eggplant was as delicious as it was impressive to look at; perfectly roasted eggplant piled high with five grains that were thoroughly cooked but retained their integrity, surrounded by an earthy pesto of roasted sunflower seeds. It was accompanied by a small wilted salad that was indeed wilted, a supposed virtue I never could understand.

John had a shellfish risotto dish that had a generous amount of scallops, squid, and mussels. The risotto was tender but not overdone (it had a little bite to it) and extremely buttery, too much so for my taste but not John's. Chuck had the swordfish served on a bed of greens and yellow tomato. The fish was perfectly done, but the portion was a bit on the small side. Dina had gnocchi with sautéed lobster, which was quite buttery and succulent; however the gnocchi was, in my opinion, undercooked, as it had more than just a little bite to it.

We were satisfied by the wines we had chosen; I had a domestic pinot noir for about $11 that was a good pour and had a nice finish to it, easily lasting throughout the meal. At one point an unlucky little fruit fly found itself drowning in my glass, so I asked for a spoon to fish it out. The waitress offered to replace the wine if I'd prefer, but I was happy to fish the little guy out.

For dessert Dina had panna cotta, sort of an Italian crème brûlée made with gelatin and yogurt (very squiggly and light, with a bit of a tang to it) served with edible flowers, berries, and a cookie. John had a warm blueberry and nectarine crisp with ginger ice cream. The crisp was indeed very crisp without being dry, and the very gingery ice cream was a nice complement. I had the sorbet, which was very fresh and fruity tasting.

Our next dinner was on a Saturday night, and we were seated at what I have to say is the table from hell, the one table you really must avoid on a busy night. Right by the reception desk and adjacent to the sizable bar/lounge area, we endured a constant stream of customers arriving, being greeted and marched by us to their more private tables. The noise level from the bar, combined with the lack of acoustical treatment to soften it, made for a clatteringly loud evening; we all were a little hoarse on the way home, having to shout to each other throughout the dinner. A simple three-panel screen between the table and the desk would go a long way in reducing the sense of encroachment. Consulting with a sound engineer wouldn't hurt either.

The service during this dinner was a sharp departure from the previous one. The waiter poured iced tap water without asking if we'd prefer bottled. I asked for a bottle of sparkling water for the table, with some citrus and no ice. At some point a service person (not our waiter) dropped off a bottle of sparkling water and quickly vanished. No glasses for the water, and no citrus.

Bread was eaten. No waiter. Appetizers were brought and requests made for bread and water glasses, which eventually appeared.

My foie gras was excellent, creamy, and delicious­—however, it was served with three thumbnail sized pieces of puff pastry, which were insufficient to take this up, so I used some bread to finish the task. The Concord grapes served with this dish made no sense, their intense berriness a distraction rather than a complement to the earthiness of the foie gras. Chuck had a terrine of pork paté, which was generous enough that we all could share.

For dinner we chose a wine recommended by the waiter, a Banshee Pinot Noir (2009 Sonoma County; $49). This wine was OK for the varied dishes we ordered but for the price was a disappointment. It was clean but thin, and did not have a finish of any distinction.

While waiting for dinner (and our citrus for the water, still) I noticed a little girl at the next table with, I assume, a parent, having a hamburger and French fries, offered on the bar menu. I asked to see that menu; it offered small plates of eggplant purée with grilled flat bread, tuna tartare with horseradish, lobster salad with marinated squid and smoked swordfish, cheese plates, and other yummy items I could easily combine to make a complete meal. My friend and Harvard resident Steve Pope tells me the items on the bar menu are top notch; he hasn't even bothered to venture to the dining room.

For dinner this night Chuck had a sirloin and braised short rib that were both very tender and flavorful, with a sauce reduction that was rich in flavor and not salty as reductions tend to be. Dina and I had the seared tuna, with caramelized red onion and a warm horseradish dipping sauce. I asked for mine to be a little more cooked than just seared, and knowing how tricky this can be with tuna, I said I'd be fine if there was at least a little red in the middle. They did a great job; the tuna was just a little more cooked than seared, warm throughout, and served on a really hot plate that kept the red meat from going cold.

John had the braised and roasted chicken, a whole leg served with scalloped potatoes and a mix of corn and spinach. It was done just to perfection, moist and tender throughout.

For dessert I had a very interesting goat cheesecake with whipped honey and berries (currently being served with poached pear); creamy yet light and tangy, this was a nice play on the usual heavy cheesecake.

80 Thoreau is a great new restaurant that brings a Boston touch to nearby Concord. It's pricey, with starters ranging from $8 to $16, entrees from $18 to $30-ish. Decent wines are available by the glass, and unless you really know your wine-to-price valuations I suggest you stick to the glasses.

Weekends are hectic, and service can be quite uneven. For a new restaurant, this is not uncommon, and it does seem as if they are working out the kinks in the system.