'We have a sausage guy': Weymouth's Mad Hatter is more than just big Irish breakfasts

WEYMOUTH – You may think of Mad Hatter for breakfast, but owner Michelle Doran wants hungry patrons to know the restaurant is much more than big Irish breakfasts. However, they still offer the classics too.

"People know us for breakfast," Doran said, though she and a new head chef are working to expand Hatter's evening menu and offer a more elegant experience.

The Irish-American restaurant moved to its new Weymouth location on Washington Street three years ago, after opening initially in 2012.

The move meant an upgrade from an 18-seat diner to a restaurant that seats 300, Doran said, including bar space, patio dining and a function room.

"We're not that little place anymore," she said. "This is not a diner anymore."

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Part of the move three years ago meant being open for people to enjoy meals in the evening, she said. Now with a new head chef, the Hatter is creating new dishes for its dinner menu.

"I think for the first three years, we just did a lot of what we did for breakfast and lunch, which was comfort food," Doran said. "Pot roast, meatloaf, things like that. But we're trying to elevate dinner.

"We don't want people to forget about us for breakfast and lunch because it's what we do. But we want the experience to be a little more elevated at dinner time."

The change doesn't mean Mad Hatter isn't serving its classic breakfast items. Still on the menu are its hefty Irish breakfast and savory chicken and waffles.

And those dishes are as hearty as ever.

The Irish breakfast comes with eggs, Irish beans, soda bread, white and black pudding, Irish sausage and rashers, a kind of Irish bacon, Doran said. The chicken and waffles dish is a classic, with a mound of crispy chicken dripping in syrup towering over a thick waffle layer.

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The dinner menu is still being tweaked, she said, but the newer dishes show off the Hatter's sophisticated side.

On the menu are options like a saltimbocca, a chicken dish blanketed with prosciutto and fontina cheese on a bed of mascarpone risotto. The baked burrata dish sits on top of thin slices of prosciutto and a tomato confit, drizzled with a balsamic reduction glaze.

Diners looking for a lighter meal might choose the baked cod, paired with broccolini and sliced fingerling potatoes. The dinner menu also offers a sirloin steak topped with onion jam with creamy mashed potatoes.

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Each dish comes out artfully arranged, with drizzles of glazes and sauces encircling the meal.

Beyond the Irish-American grub, options such as the Cuban sandwich and Papa Rellena – a seasoned-ground-beef-stuffed potato that's deep-fried – keep the menu close to Doran's heart.

"I want it to taste like home," Doran said, whose mother is Cuban. "Food is love."

The dishes Mad Hatter is known for, plus its newer dinner options, are designed and made in-house, Doran said.

Even the meats are made from scratch.

"We have a sausage guy," she said, joking.

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Doran said the new restaurant space helps give patrons a different experience for dinner, for both families and people looking for an adult-only meal. The bar is no-kids-allowed after 6 p.m., she said.

"When you're at the bar, you can just be an adult," Doran said. "But if you come with your family, and you're just your family, you can do that too."

If you go

What: Mad Hatter

Where: 969 Washington St., Weymouth

Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Info: 339-201-4247 or madhatterwey.com

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Reach Alex Weliever at aweliever@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weymouth's Mad Hatter goes beyond breakfast with 'elevated' new menu