The Summer House Restaurant

Eat outside, go for lunch. Don’t get too fancy, keep it simple. Beer is cold on a hot and sunny day. Nice venue.

My family has been coming to Sconset for the past 16 years and the highlight of our vacation is going to the SummerHouse to listen to the talented and entertaining piano player, Jamie Howarth. He has a great sense of humor and is attentive to everyones needs. I am always amazed at his depth of knowledge of all genres of music. Whether it is one that I request, or my parents request, he always has a fabulous rendition on hand. Sconset would not be the same without Jamie and the SummerHouse. Bravo for another fabulous evening at the piano bar.

We dined with 6 people and all 6 salads and entrees were delicious. Presentation and service was very good. Cheers to Boris who made the evening delightful.
The entertainer, piano player, was terribly rude. Such a disappointment to the end of a great evening. He consistently corrected customers who were singing the wrong lyrics even becoming irate when a personal opinion was offered about a particular artist. Never is slamming your hands on the piano, swearing and embarrassing guests ok from a hired employee. Needless to say we won’t be going back because of this particular pompous employee. Sorry Jamie were done and don’t need to hear you drop the F bomb because you disagree with my opinion.

A little run down in appearance, but the meal was excellent! Had a fun family dinner sans kids; a great evening! I got the swordfish and HIGHLY recommend it. All 5 of us were pleased with our meals. The piano player/​singer was a nice touch.

It was a wonderful dinner. The service was A+ — very attentive. Planning for our large party wasn’t easy, but Rebecca made it seamless. The food was soooo good. heirloom tomato salad was amazing and entrees were delicious.
Well done and thanks for a special evening.

I thought service and my dinner great. Piano bar, some dinners not as good Would go again.

We come to Nantucket each year and have generally liked their food. Tonight our food was good, but the service was terrible. The waiter took our order and largely ignored us until it was time for desert. They have only 1 other person who only takes away dishes. We requested coffee after dinner. The desert did not arrive for 15 minutes and one of the deserts was missing. After another 5 minutes, the waiter arrived and apologized for the error. We asked for more coffee. Next time we saw him was with the check. At no time did anyone ask «Would you like more wine?» or «Can I fill your water?» or «How is your entrée?» No matter how good the food, the level of service is unacceptable for a high end restaurant. It’s off my list.

Food was so disappointing for both lunch and dinner! For lunch I ordered a salad and it came with dirty, limp lettuce, the tiniest cubes of cucumber, and a few random tomatoes. It was drenched in bad, watered down olive oil. How do you mess up a simple salad?! My boyfriend ordered a $ 30 lobster roll. It was SO tiny and unimpressive. Our lunch was $ 60 and we were completely unsatisfied. Dinner was average — my wine tasted cheap, they couldn’t make a good cocktail, and my $ 35 chicken was gross. Both waiters were hardly friendly. Beautiful view and setting, but not worth eating here!

Sadly, not a great review for the Summer House. My wife and I took one of my best friends and his wife to ACK for July 3 and 4. They had never been to Nantucket, I recommended staying at the Summer House for both nights. My wife and I honeymooned there 12 years ago. I love the view, location, serenity, pool, beach etc. The location, in my opinion can’t be beat. Having said that. I just felt upon our arrival the place was not the same and has gone downhill a bit unfortunately since 2002. I felt the grounds were a bit unkempt, the cottage we stayed in was essentially the same inside as it was 12 years ago. The bathroom desperately needs to be updated. I was stunned nothing had been changed. I like the dinner crowd, piano playing, people leaving late etc. If you are staying in one of the cottages, you have to expect this to happen and be fine with it and we were. The place actually can be a fun scene after dinner. I would recommend it for drinks late night. We we were getting ready to go out and my friends wife blew the fuse of their cabin with her hair dryer which kind of was a pain in the neck. In my opinion, it is not worth staying there for 7 bills a night and I feel bad about saying that because it hold a special place for us.
Anyway, the Bistro (by the pool), despite the view, is not a great place at all and not worth the money. The staff was nice enough, but the wait for a burger, two lobster rolls and salad was over 45 minutes. Not good. The food at the Bistro is very average and not worth the prices. The waiter forgot the bacon on my burger, for $ 25 – 30 I expect more. The view is awesome though!
Dinner at Summer House was good and expensive. Portions were fine. I had duck breast for the first time and loved it. Bartender was excellent, makes a great Old Fashioned. Service seemed fine that night, but not extraordinary.
One issue with staying in Siasconset, plan your rides to and from town. This has nothing to do with Summer House, but is a pain. We were at the Chicken Box on July 3 and it was almost impossible to get a cab back. No cabbies want to drive away from town. Summer House really should have a livery to pick up guests. It would go some way to justifying the price of staying there.
Loved the new concierge, Johnny. Great person, very helpful, has good contacts and can make things happen. He is an asset to them.
I spoke with my friends, next time in ACK we will probably go back to a place like Brant Point Inn. Great place to stay near town, but not in the middle of downtown.

I just came from lunch here with my boss and co-​worker. Very pleasant waitstaff, extremely attentive and polite, they thanked us multiple times for coming in. Gorgeous view of the beaches. Food was okay, my boss got the Cobb salad, my co-​worker the fried clams, and I, the fish tacos. Not bad by any means, but nothing to write home about. I just felt the need to comment after having read such unkind reviews regarding the service. I’d definitely come back for a liquid dinner and with a group of friends.

Wonderful dining experience. The entrees of lobster fra diavolo and cod were perfectly prepared with moderated spice for the lobster. The cod was an enormous hunk, cooked to a turn and accompanied by mussels and other delicious additions. The amuse-​bouche of a hard-​boiled quail egg stuffed with foie gras was fantastic and imaginative. It showcased what this kitchen can do to rise above. We also were impressed by the service, especially since it was shoulder-​season. Wish we had gone earlier for a drink in the lovely garden.

Staff and ownership are so unbelievably rude and condescending. Went as far as shouting racist profanity at someone in my group for NO REASON.
You might think I’m kidding. I am not.
Never felt so disrespected, so degraded in my life.
Stay far from this establishment.

The location and décor is five star but when I go out to dinner I want more than atmosphere. Our waiter was not at all involved with our table. Too efficient and made no attempt to be friendly. Our table ordered four different entrees. None were anything special.

A great place to wrap up a boozy afternoon. Lunch at Chantecler, after lunch cocktails by the beach, someone else driving home, a really long nap.
Can I do this three times a week? Lets see.

My recent trip to Nantucket featured a rather disappointing trip to The Summer House. Others in my party spoke excitedly of its’ warm atmosphere and great food, so I admit I was looking forward to it more than any other meal I had planned on the island. I couldn’t have been more disappointed. The service was awkward and the food itself was dismal and felt thrown together. Poorly seasoned, ugly plating, and at clearly unintended temperatures. Everyone at my six-​person table agreed. The décor was gaudy and over-​lit, the piano player did more drinking than playing, and again, the food just wasn’t very good. Not terrible, but not worth the price and not representative of The Summer House’s illustrious reputation. Years ago this was Nantucket’s jewel — what happened?

STAY VERY, VERY FAR AWAY!!!
The only bad place on the island. 2 drinks spilled on us from a drunk server, crappy food, awful prices, disgracefully long service and then they took 25 minutes to try to figure out the bill. At which point, they charged the tip to my card.. .TWICE!!!
Have called 7 times about getting a refund for the overcharged $ 200 tip but nothing yet.
STAY VERY, VERY FAR AWAY!!!

Arrived ontime for a 7:40pm dinner reservation for 6. Restaurant was about 65−70% full. We were seated at our table and within 5 minutes given water by a staff person that wasn’t the waiter. THEN THE WAIT BEGAN! After 20 minutes and requests to 2 seperate staff, a waiter appeared. In his introduction he actually said he wasn’t supposed to be our waiter but the person who was assigned the table agreed to give up the table when he requested it (I guess there’s a negotiation process that takes place after the customer finally complains about lack of service)!
The waiter was great; very attentive which was bad since he kept coming by to check on us but couldn’t deliver anything because the food wasn’t ready. FINALLY AT 9:20PM OUR DINNERS ARRIVED VIA A PAPER BAG BECAUSE 5 MINUTES PRIOR WE SAID WE GAVE UP AND MAKE IT TO GO.
THEN THE WAIT BEGAN FOR THE BILL WHILE THE FOOD CHILLED IN THE BAG!
We moved towards the bar area awaiting the bill and observed our waiter and someone else talking while working on the computer. When the waiter brought us the bill he commented that the manager had comped 2 ceasar salads which brought our bill down to $ 250 (that was the other guy at the computer)!. While there with the waiter, the manager walked passed us and didn’t even acknowledge or approached us!!!
I figured out the problem is leadership! Despite all the problems, I had never seen this guy on the floor. HE CLEARLY HAS NO BUSINESS IN THIS BUSINESS!!!

I would have given it a 4 star but service was way off. We were seated immediately and waited almost 15 minutes before our server came over to introduce himself and get our drink order. Now if the place was packed I would understand but since there were only 11 tables occupied we were a little confused.
Service did not get better as the night went on. The runners never got the correct plates placed in front of the correct person. Got kind of fun as we bet on which dish would be placed in front of each other.
Food was nice and the dishes were plated well. The place never filled up on this Thursday night in fact looked half empty. Wondered if we missed some notice or something since friends had called to make a reservation that same day and were told that they are fully booked for the night. Maybe the reservation person has a sense of humor and decided to make it an easy night for the staff and only half book the place.
Such a nice place but needs to work on the reservation system and the service if they are going to compete with the other nice places.

Very disappointing return.
Last year we had a super experience at the Summer House. Huge letdown this year. The lobster bisque had a burnt beef broth flavor, the halibut was over cooked and dry, and the dessert was an embarrassment. A single strawberry sliced in a small bowl with a dollop of whipped cream was served with a straight face.
Never again for us.

Beautiful outdoor patio-​best reason to go to this restaurant. Otherwise, our experience (food and staff) was just okay. Worst complaint, waiter charged us $ 40 for my kids plain spaghetti! He went on to tell us a ridiculous justification for it. No manager on site to discuss this with. Bottom line, unprofessional and very disappointing. We have been to this restaurant in previous years, but likely will not go back. Sorry Summer House…
I am editing my rating from two stars to three after following up with the manager about my complaint and received a very apologetic reaction. Unlike our waiter, he took responsibility and graciously tried to make it up to us.