The Chanticleer Restaurant & Gardens

I hate to complain about a local restaurant but our experience here last week was terrible. Truly terrible. Three people in our party, including myself, ordered the chicken frites. The frites were excellent. The chicken, however, was rubbery and upon further inspection, it was nearly raw close to the bone—red, pink and gummy. All three of us, had the same, undercooked chicken. When we brought this to the waiter’s attention, he scoffed and said it could just be reheated. At this point, we were pretty turned off by seeing it was nearly clucking so we declined the offer. The waiter whisked the dishes away and never returned to our table. We had to search for someone to tend to our issue and when we finally got the manager to come over, he was flippant and dismissive. No apologies, just a round of desserts that were placed around the table without a word. They did remove the chicken from the bill, which rightly so…but as we were leaving, we were eyed by the staff like we had just been setting the napkins on fire. We will never go back and if you do, be sure and steer clear of chicken, unless you want to end up in the ER with food poisoning, like my husband did.

This place was great in the past, it totally sucks now with bad service and a new chef that doesn’t care..

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

Amazing !!! Great atmosphere and wonderful service. A beautiful beautiful environment tucked away. Had the lobster BLT, which was phenomenal.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My steak was burnt and disappointing. Not a good experience.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 4

This was such a beautiful and atmospheric restaurant! The service was so amazing and the outdoor seating was absolutely idyllic and charming. The food was delicious and the presentation very nice. Would recommend to anyone looking for a nice dinner out! Love this place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Steak

Excellent hamburgers. Outside seating was very nice on a perfect day.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Simple, snobby and pretentious, mediocre food, expensive . . . typical touristy Nantucket and totally not worth it.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Simple, snobby and pretentious, mediocre food, expensive . . . typical touristy Nantucket and totally not worth it.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Fabulous restaurant. Amazing atmosphere!! Gorgeous welcoming gardens!!! Food and service matched the wonderful atmosphere!!! The owner is fantastic - Susan Handy - extremely interesting and knowledgeable on the history of Nantucket. My favorite restaurant on the island!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My pithy review: go for drinks, apps, and atmosphere. Skip the main course.

More detail:

Wine list was excellent, and French-forward.

Lobster appetizer was absolutely delicious and a must-order.

I ordered the Ceviche special and, in a word, it was delicious. Hope they continue to have it or put it on the menu for the summer.

My wife’s burger (menu item) had a wonderful charbroiled flavor, but too salty (for her, not me). Fries were very good. Overall presentation was a little plain on the plate though.

I ordered the lamb bolognese off the menu. I would give this a miss. Too little pasta, too saucy, and you couldn’t taste the sausage. Lamb was way overcooked and dry.

Service was attentive. They kept on wishing us a happy anniversary though and it wasn’t our anniversary, so maybe confused with another reservation?

Dining in the garden area was very nice.

Parking: You might have to drive around a bit to find parking. We parked a few blocks away. Hey, but that’s Sconset!

Kid-friendliness: In theory you can bring kids.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Ceviche, Maine Lobster Cocktail Waldorf

We got the Confit de Canard and Lamb Bolognese at lunch. Hostess and service was outstanding. The hostess chatted with my daughter and let her take home a dessert menu which she loves because she likes playing pretend restaurant at home. My mixed drink, Old Money, was perfection.

Sadly, the food though...The bolognese came out lukewarm with a pile of shredded cheese off to the side, and the entire plate was monochromatic brown. Tasted good, but we eat with our eyes first.

The risotto with the confit came out cold and the rice was crunchy. We sent it back and they fixed it with a properly cooked risotto. Mistakes happen, but this isn't a Wendy's.

These are rookie mistakes that we don't make in our home kitchen, so we don't expect a restaurant charging this much to make these mistakes either. We regret eating here because it just wasn't worth it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5

I am not one to write a bad review, but I had the most horrible service with this restaurant. I booked a reservation, I called to cancel it and they didn't cancel it. They failed to send me an email or a text message to tell me I have an upcoming reservation so I know it wasn't canceled, but they charged me a $150 fee and the lady at the office was beyond rude on the phone and she acted as she couldn't understand me, even that I have an accent, I speak fluent English. I would never book again.

Service: 1

Great stop to take a break. I had coffee and a slice of carrot cake. Both were excellent. Friendly staff, nice outdoors seating. Recommended!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had a beautiful September evening at Chanticleer: a memorable dinner in the garden. The food and service were excellent, and Chanticleer's simple elegance made the experience even richer.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Nice outdoor dining. Make sure you make reservation. Excellent service and

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5