Chef-owners William Hoffman and Merry Catanuto live upstairs from their restaurant. That single biographical detail is, in our view, the most important thing to know about the House of William & Merry — because that proximity, of life to table, is felt in every dish that leaves their kitchen. The building is an 1890s farmhouse on Old Lancaster Pike in Hockessin, about fifteen minutes north-west of downtown Wilmington, and the couple have spent more than a decade renovating it in the way one renovates a home rather than a business: slowly, with intention, and with a refusal to rush anything that matters.
The cooking is seasonal, regionally sourced, and French-leaning without being French. Confited and fried duck wings — the dish most regulars cite when pressed for the one thing not to miss — arrive crisp-skinned and heavily flavoured, a conversation piece masquerading as an appetiser. Roasted pork belly is finished with whatever fruit or preserved vegetable the season provides. The pork chops in bordelaise sauce are the kind of dish you remember in bed the night you've eaten them. Homemade soups change weekly; the staff's descriptions of them are among the more charming moments in any Delaware dining room.
The room itself is the opposite of slick. High ceilings, big sunny windows, old wood, modest art, a bar at the front that functions as the social centre of the restaurant on any given night. Hoffman has been a James Beard Foundation Best Chef Mid-Atlantic nominee, and the restaurant has been covered lovingly by The Infatuation, Delaware Today, and Visit Wilmington DE. But the recognition feels almost incidental; this is a restaurant whose centre of gravity is a married couple cooking for people they want to take care of.
Service is unhurried in the best possible sense. Plan for a two-and-a-half to three-hour meal; the kitchen will not rush a table and the staff will not rush a guest. Wine pairings are short, thoughtful, and often under-priced for what arrives in the glass. Bring a proposal, a retirement, a quietly important conversation — the room knows how to hold them. Few restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic do.
If you are asking someone to marry you within an hour's drive of Wilmington, this is the room in which to do it. The farmhouse setting is inherently intimate; the lighting is soft; the pace is unhurried; and the staff — tipped off in advance — will handle champagne, dessert, and timing with a discretion that corporate restaurants cannot replicate. Request a corner table when you book. Avoid weekend peak hours if you can. The rest takes care of itself.
Proposed on a Tuesday because the room is quieter. The staff coordinated everything from arrival to champagne without any of it feeling rehearsed. The duck wings are absolutely as good as everyone says. We were the last table to leave and Merry herself came over to wish us well. You cannot stage that.
A farmhouse, an open kitchen, a small room, and food that actually earns its price. We were there for nearly three hours and never felt rushed. The pork chop is superb. The soups were extraordinary. It is 15 minutes from Wilmington and worth every minute of the drive.
