The Gafford

This was my first experience dining here and it was absolutely wonderful. I ordered the signature steak and it was cooked to perfection and the side of mac and cheese was different and delicious. My server Janine was awesome and very attentive. I will definitely be back

Wonderful food and a but just a bit pricey compared to local competition of equal standards

Creative cocktails and a full bar! The appetizers are delicious, especially the cheese board and burrata. Mabel’s fried chicken is a comforting favorite of mine.

Quite good. Quality ingredients and service in nice classic atmosphere. Pulls off classy without being too pretentious. Decent portions on a menu that features a slightly limited selection supplemented by a selection of daily specials. It was nice too see this type of classic setting.

Had a great experience. Great service and drinks. Great food. Big rib was great. The grilled avocado too but don’t even like it

The Gafford is perhaps the best restaurant I have ever encountered!
Their menu is Southern inspired, fresh, features local ingredients, and is the perfect mix of funky and classic.
We came here a few times on vacation and were totally impressed by the service and quality of the food.
The charcuterie is incredible and changes daily. Their burger is amazing, as is the fried green tomato. Their fried chicken was the best I have ever had and their salads are so delicious and unexpected.
I cannot recommend this place more!
It also is in a really cute part of town, perfect for walking around after dinner.

After searching for the perfect spot in Stuart, I chose The Gafford and it did not disappoint. The food was excellent, the server perfect. He understood we didn’t want to rush but also checked in enough so we felt cared for. His knowledge of the wine selections made for a perfect paring for my husbands meal. I was pleasantly surprised the bill was less expensive than expected. Desserts were reasonably priced (the only verbal portion of the menu so we had no idea how much they would cost), oversized and yummy. Creative menu without being too confusing. We’d got back for sure. Two hours of heaven.

The Gafford was absolutely amazing! Had the fried chicken that was absolutely to die for! I understand they have an amazing bone in ribeye steak which is what I’m gonna try next time. Also, the staff is absolutely the best. I left my lights on and one of the cooks in the kitchen had jumper cables and saved my day! thank you and I will be there again. Highly recommended!

Huge disappointment. Went there on a Tuesday night. Yes it’s season but over an hour to get dinner. Unacceptable. Not to mention the fact that the menu is very limited. Not enough choices. Will not be coming back.

Great food, respectable bar, generally nice décor, but by having the tables jammed in, The Gafford loses one star for noise and ambiance. Recommended especially for «off peak» nights when the pleasant quietude adds to the meal and service to provide an excellent experience.

We are from Canada and winter in the area… we have been eating here 3 or 4 times a season. Meal is always great. Service is great and the owners are hands on. I recommend the bone in ribeye. Never disappointed.

We had a truly wonderful time here at The Gafford the other night. There were six of us and they took our reservation for a Saturday and our table was ready and waiting. Being from NYC, The Gafford reminded me of a NYC Bistro, busy and bustling with closely knit tables and a comfy looking bar to hang and drink or sit at the bar and have dinner… My kind of place, where the service is impeccable, friendly and the drinks are served with attention and care all the while feeling at ease and happy. There are a few rooms to sit in, each with a different ambiance of your liking.
All of us started with a salad and most of us went for the special (heirloom tomatoes). These salads were a meal and delicious.
For an entrée, I had the meatloaf (special), which was an unusual twist on a classic, this one with brisket and ground beef with a tomato glaze – slightly smoked. Honestly, it was far away from a meatloaf classic and more like a slow cooked barbecue braciole, none the less delicious, albeit not what I was expecting… however, there was not a morsel left on my plate, and I wanted more.
Three others had the house favorite (Mabel’s Fried Chicken), which was tender, delicious and served with copious amounts of mashed potatoes and haricot vert string beans… a good portion of it you will take home… For tomorrow… Cold… and will not wait for utensils…
Another had the Snapper and she loved it.
For dessert, six of us split the deep friend banana cheesecake with ice-​cream… yikes… I cannot imagine one person eating this… it was corruptingly wonderful.
One can get away here with a full belly and a decent bill. The Fried chicken is $ 16 and the meatloaf was $ 20… add to that a glass of Hess Chardonnay and a Sweetwater IPA, sitting at the bar? That my friend is a great night out at a reasonable price. After dinner, go walk it off on the boardwalk and catch a concert or farmer’s market – there is always something going on in my new home town, which is happening, these days.

Good meal for this general area. Buratta and lamb lilies were excellent. The Mac and cheese was the best part of the Steak which was ok. Pork chops and swordfish were excellent.

Very solid American place. Slightly upscale and you should definitely have a recommendation. Everything we ordered ranged from good to great. My beef rib was totally unique and absolutely delicious. It was seriously 12 inches long, smoked for 12 hours until it was impossibly tender. A must-​try place if you’re looking for something special.

This restaurant was recommended by the owner of the VRBO rental we were staying at in Stuart, Florida. It was Friday night, and we pulled into the quaint, historic downtown Stuart and found a parking space right in front of the restaurant… off to a good start.
We were so happy that we had made reservations as the Gafford was packed, loud and lively. The hostess promptly greeted us and sat us right next to the open kitchen. Our waitress was very friendly with a lovely British accent. I started with a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which was very light and smooth for a hot summer evening. The organic farm stand salad sounded delicious with mixed local greens, farm carrots and cucumbers, baby heirloom tomatoes, homemade croutons and avocado ranch dressing. For my entrée I ordered the Mahi Mahi which was lightly blackened and grilled local Mahi with red pepper and mango salsa served over couscous and quinoa pilaf. We sipped on our wine and the delicious freshly baked bread with real butter. The salad was very good as well as the bread and butter. I am sorry to say that my fish was very dry and lacked flavor in the fish and mango salsa. The couscous and quinoa pilaf was flavorless and also dry… Very disappointed in my entré.
I tried to order a cappuccino at the end of the meal and basically was brought hot milk with coffee and no froth. I do not think the waitress knew what was in a cappuccino as mine had no… froth whatsoever. She asked the manager to help her with my next cappuccino and she returned once again with hot milk in coffee. She was very nice and apologized and then took it off our bill.

There’s only one other restaurant on par with The Gafford in Stuart and that’s 7 Orchids and they serve an entirely different style of food. Thank goodness there’s someplace like this to eat at in the area now. Would’ve given 5 stars but the very self-​important hostess have our table away — word of advice: don’t be more than 15 minutes late for your reservation. At 16 minutes you’ll have to go wait in the bar until they can ‘work you in’, which isn’t so horrible with a friendly and capable bar staff. Our server was great. Food was great. Left completely stuffed and happy.

Wow! This place is amazing. Best meal in a while. I ordered the fried chicken with gravy and mashed potatoes. My dad ordered the cheese burger. My mom ordered the duck. My friend ordered the chicken sandwich. We basically stuffed ourselves.
The mashed potatoes were memorable. Garlic mash with chive or something. Amazing with gravy. The gravy was mild and perfect on the fried chicken. Asparagus was cooked perfectly. The presentation of this dish was a work of art.
I tried some of my mom’s duck. It was glazed with a sweet chili sauce. Amazing. I’m not a duck fan, but this was definitely something I would have ordered on my own.
Dad’s cheeseburger was huge and it was served with homemade potato chips.
I ordered a blood orange vodka. A bit expensive, and I forgot I don’t like vodka. It did the job, though.

We dined at the Gafford Tuesday night. I had made reservations previously. We arrived about 10 minutes before our reservation. The hostess seated us by the window, which I declined because it was still too hot and the sun was directly on the table. She seated us to the table closest to the hostess stand which I wasn’t crazy about either, but it was fine. The restaurant only had a couple tables taken, she could have put us at a more desirable seat. We were greeted promptly by our server David with water, warm bread and butter. He offered cocktail specials, which we had pineapple vodka martinis. David told us the appetizer specials, we ordered the Burrata and Gator ribs which arrived to the table within 10 minutes. I loved the Burrata and the ribs were good.
David took our dinner order, and replinished our drinks. Our Gafford Ribeye and Filet Mignon were cooked perfectly! The accompaniments suited the dishes, and were yummy as well. David described the desserts in which we had the banana cheesecake in fried Philo with salted caramel ice cream and coffee, Delish!!!
David took our payment in a timely manner, we complimented his wonderful service, and will ask for him when we dine again!
Other than the hostess’s snippyness, dining at the Gafford was superb!

Incredible! The food was superb, I had the Hangar Steak which was cooked to perfection and topped with a chimichurri sauce and a hidden extra «zing» to it, it was amazing! The tuna steak was again cooked to perfection and was very tasty. No one at our table was complaining and the food was fairly priced. I liked that the specials were told to us with the pricing rather than surprising us on the bill. Service was excellent! It packs up pretty quickly on a Saturday night so I do recommend making a reservation! I used the online reservation system and we arrived 10 minutes prior to our reservation time and our table was ready and waiting for us. The atmosphere can get a little loud. I definitely recommend this place!

My companion and I had dinner here last night before seeing Judy Collins at the Lyric Theatre next door. Perfect spot to dine before a performance — short stroll, easy parking.
I had the kale and arugula salad (see photo), which had a nice bite to it. My companion had the swordfish for an entrée, I had the seared tuna. Both fish dishes were expertly prepared, with a nice salt hit, cooked to perfection. The swordfish had a kalamata olive tapenade, my tuna was wrapped in prosciutto and basil.
I thought the food was spectacular for the price. I have been charged far more and not been nearly as happy with the quality.
We were tempted by the deserts, but we were running out of time and appetite.
Bottom line: I’d go back again in a heartbeat.