Alchemy

Good food, great location, super expensive. Wine: glasses need an upgrade and a better pour. Servers should be more attentive at this price point; I should not be refilling my own water over and over from the table-​bottle. Steak was good but not top quality. Overall, would get another star if the cost wasn’t so steep.

Alchemy was a good restaurant. We went on our first night on the island. Good food, but after going to a few places since, not the best food we had. I ordered the lobster tail pasta. Very good. Husband ordered ragout. Very good. We had ordered the fried oysters. I didn’t enjoy those because of texture, so I’m not sure how others would feel about them. Too gooey for me.
Overall we would recommend visiting.

My family and I have been coming to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts for 7 years and loved it so much that we purchased a home on the island a few years ago. We love everything the Island has to offer — from the bike paths, the farms, the beaches, the towns and the great restaurants. We have our favorite restaurants and enjoy seeing which new ones open up each season. Alchemy has been one of our most visited restaurants having gone there for years. It is centrally located in Edgartown and prior to the chef leaving — many of our meals were enjoyable! The food quality has gone done since and unfortunately, the owner terribly mishandled a situation.
Approximately two years ago, when trying to make a reservation there, I was told by the owner, Charlotte, that my children were too noisy, that people had complained on multiple occasions and that the manager had to move people around in the restaurant as a result. Sure my 2 year old could screech from time to time, as anyone his age does, but we as parents acted appropriately. We ate on the early side and if he did scream we would take him out of the restaurant. My older kids have eaten at the some of the finest restaurants in America and over seas they are refined and well mannered. And candidly, like many kids their age, they were probably so engrossed with their games on their iPad that they most likely never even made a peep. No one at the restaurant ever mentioned anything to us when we dinned that summer. In the fall when we came for an off season visit– Charlotte firmly mentioned her concerns but we came to an agreement that when our two year old gets a little bigger he can join us. We were annoyed obviously and any parent can understand but we gave her there benefit of the doubt as a business owner of an establishment. And while we came to this agreement my husband and I didn’t go to Alchemy. The chef left, a lot of her staff left as well, the food quality was not as good, and the owner was not welcoming. Reasons enough to not attend.
We arrived this summer, two years later, and attempted to make reservations on the phone for adults only. We figured two years passed– maybe the food is better let’s give it a shot. Charlotte remembered our name and weirdly remembered what town we previously lived, New York. She rudely turned us down saying we cannot eat at Alchemy — suddenly it was not just my now four year old that was «loud» but all my kids and the entire family including the adults too. We were shocked and appalled by Charlotte’s tone and demeanor. She was condescending and in a controlled manner made reference that maybe New York is different than Massachusetts but she has the legal right to deny anyone she chooses for any reason she deems fit and my entire family being loud is reason enough. After personally attacking us, she stated that she runs two businesses and that we should be concise because she doesn’t have time for us. What business owner talks like that to patrons… This is a family oriented island. We are a well respected family and she pointed a finger at us making us feel like garbage tossed in a can.
For an island that prides itself on being family oriented, I felt obliged to bring this to the attention of future patrons and to the Marthas Vineyard community that supports these establishments. I find this insulting, very poorly handled and discriminatory given the lack of consistency on their part of denying people dinner reservations. Shame on Alchemy and particularly its owners for treating their patrons that way. I encourage everyone to enjoy the many other restaurants on the Island that have great food and welcome each and every one of us to join them.

We sat outside next to the sidewalk, which was great and quiet. My 1^st wine pick was not available — fortunately I had a 2^nd pick handy. We ordered sirloin tartare and duck confit, followed be a burger and the brick chicken.
Food was inconsistent: duck confit was tasteless, tartare was very tasty. The burger was excellent actually cooked medium rare (most places overcook burgers). Chicken was horrible — covered in cold underripe cherry tomatoes and a weird sauce/​aioli. A few minutes on a hot pan would have done wonders here.
Bottom line: not a bad place to eat, but a fairly inconsistent experience as far as I can tell

We dined here tonight and the food and service was outstanding! We highly recommend it — enjoy!

Been eating at Alchemy for 10+ years. Always excellent– great food, great service, in a warm atmosphere. Arrived on MV tonight and went straight there. Had a great salad and cel lent grilled salmon. Interesting wines by the glass.

I read mixed reviews on his place so was a little concerned — but a local brought me there and I ended up going twice in one weekend. All I can say is the food was awesome — every appetizer we had blew our minds (we go for multiple appetizers over entrees). Service and the hosts were impeccable. Definitely earned its 5 stars — no negatives. Tip: upstairs is way more cozy and convivial.

Prepare to be disappointed. Service slow and indifferent. Ambience pleasant but if you are sitting more then a foot away from your dining companions, you won’t be able to hear a word they’re saying.
Food uninspired, standard shore offerings. Scallops were good as was French onion soup. But remoulade sauce for overcooked fried oysters was amateurish. Seems like kitchen was winging it.
Not good value.

My dish was was fantastic. My burger was perfect with pink in it. But a downside my wife’s dish (swordfish) was good but had a hair in it:(
It was good but kind of pricey. So I gave it three stars because the burger was OK and I know the hair was by accident.

I’m so glad we stumbled across this place as we were walking around Edgartown! Beautiful old building. I HIGHLY recommend the fried oysters accompanied with a Mojito. If you are tired from trekking around with the kids all day — that’s a great way to refresh!

Decent (but pricey) cocktails in a slightly stuffy atmosphere.

Back on island after a year’s absence and the first night’s dinner was definitely going to be at Alchemy. We started with the scallop crudo and asparagus and crab salad and entrees were yellowfin tuna and swordfish. All food and wine were wonderful. Great service from Ryan. Recommended.

Just returning from a delicious dinner at the newly updated Upstairs bar in Alchemy. While some of our previous favorites were taken off the menu with the new chef, we were very pleased with our dishes (chicory salad, matchstick zucchini, pappardelle with lamb). We had the pleasure of eating while watching the women’s World Cup soccer game, and got to know Tara, the (very patient) head bartender and (extremely talented) pastry chef and Jay, one of the owners. Both were lovely and apologized profusely when one dish took longer than expected, and even brought two decadent desserts as an extra thank you for our patience. From start to finish, we savored every bite and thoroughly enjoyed both the ambiance and the new menu creations. We’re glad to see one of our favorite Vineyard restaurants hasn’t missed a beat.

I normally would not post a review at the time I am still sitting in the restaurant. In this case, I feel the need. The NY strip was excellent. The hostess and bus boy were very professional; however, the waitress (Tess) has absolutely NO class. Enough said.

Love the atmosphere, food and cocktails at Alchemy. It always feels like date night on the island when we come here.
My only complaint — bring back the matchstick zucchini salad for 2015!

This restaurant is by far one of the best ones that we have tried. The staff is attentive to detail and the ambience is nice. They have a great wine list and the food it’s well presented and delicious. Definetely try the lamb meatballs with gnocchi appetizer. It’s phenomenal. Also the pork chops are delicious and so the swordfish with squash Rizzo toe I highly recommend this place and will definitely go back.

Okay few things to touch on because when I read a few of the reviews it made me nervous about going: the staff was not rude. They weren’t jumping for joy or particularly animated but they were not rude. Next, while Alchemy didn’t appear willing to go above and beyond to accommodate food sensitivities, they were at least willing to check with the kitchen to ensure I could enjoy my meal without adverse reactions. It would have been a plus to for the kitchen to be more flexible.
The asparagus and Jonah crab salad was good (lots of crab!) but should be called bitter greens and Jonah crab salad. There was hardly any asparagus and the small bits found were over cooked/​burnt. The mussels were very well done, nice and tender and the broth was tasty as well.
Alchemy was good. But I felt that it was a little too country club-​y and old fashioned/​inflexible for my taste.

Very, very conflicted about this review. I’ve dined at Alchemy in the past and have had four star experiences. Going there this past week twice, I’ve had more of two star experiences.
Both visits this week were sub par. Sure, some food items were organic and high vibration, but others, like rotted raspberries in my $ 16 special red oak salad, were akin to dining at a lower class establishment.
When my favorite dish — truffled risotto balls — came out sub par — and did not improve after 1^st send back to the kitchen, I was sure a buck or two would be taken off bill. That combined with my beau’s horrible dish he received to which the waitress didn’t even acknowledge. Instead, I was told to take it up with the manager on duty. He promptly informed me I «should» have sent the dish back a 2^nd time.
Hhmm, when I am dining in a place with $ 30 entrees, I was not aware it was MY responsibility to refuse a dish twice? Obviously, my bad…
Truly, $ 1 or $ 2 off would have appeased me. After much discussion with the manager, akin to being in a high level staff conference, I received a gift certificate for a set of balls on my next visit! You really think I’ll go back? Not at all.
So, being who I am, you know I spread this displeasurable experience far and wide thru the streets of Edgartown and beyond. I’ll probably give the certificate for the balls to someone I meet on the street or who is doing my nails.
Incredible how a measly $ 1 or $ 2 discount would have solved it all and avoided my bashing.

I had the swordfish, house salad, risotto balls, and the brownie dessert. The swordfish was excellent but I was not a fan of mash pototoes with broccolini. The salad was ok and risotto balls were excellent. The brownie dessert was very good and the pineapple side with dessert was excellent.

Really enjoyed the food, friendly wait staff and wonderful atmosphere/​layout. We started with a salad (can’t remember the name) that actually was more like a side of vegetables. It was cooked spinach sauteed with bacon. Mmm can’t go wrong with bacon. For the main course we ordered the butter poached lobster and brussel sprouts/​chicken dish. Let me say if you haven’t had lobster that’s butter poached you’re missing out. The texture is so much more tender than boiled lobster and the natural taste of the meat really comes out. It doesn’t actually taste very buttery, I’m guessing butter poached is just the method. The chicken dish was just delightful. It was basically a mild but flavorful vegetable curry (brussel sprouts, carrots, onions) with a piece of crispy chicken on top.
Our waiter was friendly and attentive. Since we came here during the shoulder season not sure what it’s like when it gets really busy, but we had a good experience with service. Finally, I really enjoyed the layout of the restaurant. The tables were nicely spaced, the atmosphere was classy and on the romantic side (but not like those restaurants where it’s so dark you need a flashlight to read your menu). Overall a wonderful meal!