While traveling to Martha's Vineyard last weekend we looked forward to a special dinner with friends we had not seen for over a year. After numerous confirmation requests from Open Table, we arrived at Guard East to find it closed. We had received no cancellation notice. The website said nothing about closing for the season. We were disappointed and inconvenienced on this special occasion.
Jodie
The view was stunning, the ambiance was lovely, and the staff were wonderful, but the food was mediocre (my halibut was dry) and for the price (200$ per person with all courses and wine/drinks) I felt like it should have been waaaaay tastier and more impressive. The feta salad was just OK. The crudo was good. I don't know, I was expecting more.
Sommerset Chadwick
We decided to dine at Garde East for dinner after a great interaction with the hosts earlier in the day. While the lunch menu didn’t quite fit what we were looking for, the staff was so friendly and offered fantastic recommendations for other spots.
We returned for dinner, and we weren’t disappointed. The waterfront view was spectacular, but the real highlight was the exceptional service. Isak and the manager went above and beyond to make sure we were well taken care of. When one of our dishes didn’t meet expectations, they were quick to address it with professionalism and care, ensuring that the rest of our meal was flawless. It’s rare to experience such attentive, thoughtful service, and it truly made the evening memorable.
We’ll definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Kevin Hodo
Had the greatest time with my family! Our server, Dhimiter from Albania, was fantastic, and the Steak Frites, Pan Seared Bass, and Farro Risotto with Scallops were all delicious. Dhimiter went above and beyond to make us enjoy the experience! Best view in the island! Can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
LE L
Enjoyed a delicious meal with excellent service, overlooking the Vineyard Haven harbor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Arthur
The best thing about this restaurant was the view. I had the dryest quarter chicken of my life. Totally overpriced and I'm a person that doesn't mind paying for quality.
Sig
We have been loyal patrons over the years having had many family and social engagements at Garde East. The view obviously is its biggest draw - you simply can't get a better view of the harbor - espeially at sundown. The service has always been great - friendly and helpful staff makes for a pleasant dinner experience. That's why it's not easy to offer feedback on what turned out to be a quite mediocre eating experience. The scallop crudite was delicious . My salad with chicken added was bland, the chicken looked heated up from precooking and tasted quite dry. Billed as a tomatoe sald, there were very few tomatoes if any. My wife's citrus salad had very little citrus (although they did provide a cup of additional citrus pieces, it wasn't what was expepected. ) My wife's mussels came as a small order with tiny mussels - a few shells did not have mussels no were they to be found. We forgive the restaurant for the mediocre meal - it's post labor day weekend - most likely staff shortages and sub par food products. But, it was what it was - Hopefully we can anticipate a better exeprience next time.
lisa
I was really looking forward to trying a new spot on the vineyard and unfortunately this was a disappointment. The view (if you get a close enough table) is beautiful but we were sat in the way back where the runners left the used dishes. We were left for about 15/20 minutes before being offered a drink and our mussels appetizer was sub par. Our entree was slightly better but nothing to shout home about. The manager was very attentive towards the end which helped for our service rating. All in all it was a sub par experience and you can get much better food/service on the island for $200.
Harriet
We had had a wonderful experience here in the past and chose to celebrate our anniversary here. The food and service was not as good though setting still lovely. We ordered the tomato/ feta salad which was skimpy but fine. The mussels had a good broth but 1/3 of the mussels had not opened and those that were edible were shrunken. The entrees were more successful: the scallops were excellent and the lobster pasta was also good but some grated parmesan would have been nice. (By the time the server-came to check, we were almost finished.) Also, be aware that some tables are up a steep flight of stairs. No mention was made of our anniversary though noted on reservation.
Mark
First visit to this restaurant despite coming to the island for over 15 years. The setting is great but the restaurant is not fine dining calibre. My wife and I ordered two appetizers and the 16 oz rib-eye special. First appetizer was a scallop crudo. It was fine albeit the portion was quite small. Second appetizer was the mussels in a Pernod infused broth. The mussels were the tiniest that I had ever seen and the broth had little flavor. The ribeye steak was ordered medium rare and came back rare. In addition, the steak also had way more fat than we typically see with a nice prime cut of ribeye. The fellow in the next table over from also ordered the ribeye and was very unhappy. The restaurant manager apologized to us and said they had issues that night with the steak. He was kind to offer a reduction but suggested we order halibut next time. Sadly there will not be a next time any time soon. Cannot recommend this place right now and am really sorry to write that.
Beautiful setting. Sat outside on balcony overlooking harbor. Food was excellent! Great wine choices too.
Sandy
On a clear day, the price is worth every penny. The view from the balcony dining area is the main reason we love Garde East. The food is wonderful and the staff is very friendly and efficient. Just be ready to spend some money! For lunch, my husband and I had a cocktail each, shared a dozen oysters. I had the tuna poke and he had the lobster burrata. Both excellent. I did ask for chips to go with my tuna.
Frank
View was fantastic! Uninspired menu. Many more interesting menus on the Vineyard. Instead of feeling that we were at the best place possible for our taste buds, our attention turned to discussing what other places we could have gone to. Very sad and disappointing.
Wendy
Superb chef this year and the staff is wonderful. We love sitting on the porch looking out over Vineyard Haven harbor. A marvelous place to have dinner!
Steven
Wow! The view is world class and the food lives up to their fantastic reputation. A little pricey but an unforgettable experience
While traveling to Martha's Vineyard last weekend we looked forward to a special dinner with friends we had not seen for over a year. After numerous confirmation requests from Open Table, we arrived at Guard East to find it closed. We had received no cancellation notice. The website said nothing about closing for the season. We were disappointed and inconvenienced on this special occasion.
The view was stunning, the ambiance was lovely, and the staff were wonderful, but the food was mediocre (my halibut was dry) and for the price (200$ per person with all courses and wine/drinks) I felt like it should have been waaaaay tastier and more impressive. The feta salad was just OK. The crudo was good. I don't know, I was expecting more.
We decided to dine at Garde East for dinner after a great interaction with the hosts earlier in the day. While the lunch menu didn’t quite fit what we were looking for, the staff was so friendly and offered fantastic recommendations for other spots.
We returned for dinner, and we weren’t disappointed. The waterfront view was spectacular, but the real highlight was the exceptional service. Isak and the manager went above and beyond to make sure we were well taken care of. When one of our dishes didn’t meet expectations, they were quick to address it with professionalism and care, ensuring that the rest of our meal was flawless. It’s rare to experience such attentive, thoughtful service, and it truly made the evening memorable.
We’ll definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Had the greatest time with my family! Our server, Dhimiter from Albania, was fantastic, and the Steak Frites, Pan Seared Bass, and Farro Risotto with Scallops were all delicious. Dhimiter went above and beyond to make us enjoy the experience! Best view in the island! Can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Enjoyed a delicious meal with excellent service, overlooking the Vineyard Haven harbor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The best thing about this restaurant was the view. I had the dryest quarter chicken of my life. Totally overpriced and I'm a person that doesn't mind paying for quality.
We have been loyal patrons over the years having had many family and social engagements at Garde East. The view obviously is its biggest draw - you simply can't get a better view of the harbor - espeially at sundown. The service has always been great - friendly and helpful staff makes for a pleasant dinner experience. That's why it's not easy to offer feedback on what turned out to be a quite mediocre eating experience. The scallop crudite was delicious . My salad with chicken added was bland, the chicken looked heated up from precooking and tasted quite dry. Billed as a tomatoe sald, there were very few tomatoes if any. My wife's citrus salad had very little citrus (although they did provide a cup of additional citrus pieces, it wasn't what was expepected. ) My wife's mussels came as a small order with tiny mussels - a few shells did not have mussels no were they to be found. We forgive the restaurant for the mediocre meal - it's post labor day weekend - most likely staff shortages and sub par food products. But, it was what it was - Hopefully we can anticipate a better exeprience next time.
I was really looking forward to trying a new spot on the vineyard and unfortunately this was a disappointment. The view (if you get a close enough table) is beautiful but we were sat in the way back where the runners left the used dishes. We were left for about 15/20 minutes before being offered a drink and our mussels appetizer was sub par. Our entree was slightly better but nothing to shout home about. The manager was very attentive towards the end which helped for our service rating. All in all it was a sub par experience and you can get much better food/service on the island for $200.
We had had a wonderful experience here in the past and chose to celebrate our anniversary here. The food and service was not as good though setting still lovely. We ordered the tomato/ feta salad which was skimpy but fine. The mussels had a good broth but 1/3 of the mussels had not opened and those that were edible were shrunken. The entrees were more successful: the scallops were excellent and the lobster pasta was also good but some grated parmesan would have been nice. (By the time the server-came to check, we were almost finished.) Also, be aware that some tables are up a steep flight of stairs. No mention was made of our anniversary though noted on reservation.
First visit to this restaurant despite coming to the island for over 15 years. The setting is great but the restaurant is not fine dining calibre. My wife and I ordered two appetizers and the 16 oz rib-eye special. First appetizer was a scallop crudo. It was fine albeit the portion was quite small. Second appetizer was the mussels in a Pernod infused broth. The mussels were the tiniest that I had ever seen and the broth had little flavor. The ribeye steak was ordered medium rare and came back rare. In addition, the steak also had way more fat than we typically see with a nice prime cut of ribeye. The fellow in the next table over from also ordered the ribeye and was very unhappy. The restaurant manager apologized to us and said they had issues that night with the steak. He was kind to offer a reduction but suggested we order halibut next time. Sadly there will not be a next time any time soon. Cannot recommend this place right now and am really sorry to write that.
Restaurantji Recommends
Beautiful setting. Sat outside on balcony overlooking harbor. Food was excellent! Great wine choices too.
On a clear day, the price is worth every penny. The view from the balcony dining area is the main reason we love Garde East. The food is wonderful and the staff is very friendly and efficient. Just be ready to spend some money! For lunch, my husband and I had a cocktail each, shared a dozen oysters. I had the tuna poke and he had the lobster burrata. Both excellent. I did ask for chips to go with my tuna.
View was fantastic! Uninspired menu. Many more interesting menus on the Vineyard. Instead of feeling that we were at the best place possible for our taste buds, our attention turned to discussing what other places we could have gone to. Very sad and disappointing.
Superb chef this year and the staff is wonderful. We love sitting on the porch looking out over Vineyard Haven harbor. A marvelous place to have dinner!
Wow! The view is world class and the food lives up to their fantastic reputation. A little pricey but an unforgettable experience
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