Chapter One - Guilford

Very nice restaurant. Very attentive staff. Food was a bit salty for my taste but very tasty overall.

Had a great experience at Chapter One in Guilford, Ct on Saturday night. The staff is friendly and accommodating and the food is excellent! The atmosphere is very relaxed and enjoyable. Would definitely recommend dining there :)

Great ambiance..food choices and taste way above average..great place to dine for any occasion.

even though there were few patrons in the restaurant, our food seemed to take a long time served. But, i had the Quinoa salad with scallops, and it was the best salad I’ve ever had! There were nine in our group and everyone raves about their meal.

Great ambience great food

Absolutely outstanding service and a great meal

The food was excellent and liked the atmosphere but our server was not the best. She was okay. I think we were supposed to get bread which we never received and she was flat, it was like she was going through the paces so she definitely did not improve our experience at the restaurant.

The food was excellent, from appetizers through dessert. The focaccia appetizer was really good, and my entree (seared scallops over a tomato-basil risotto) was delicious. My husband ordered the salmon, which was prepared very well. Meal was well-paced, service was professional but friendly, with our server checking in from time to time as was appropriate. Will definitely eat there again.

We love Chapter One but the service is slow. It seems that there aren't enough servers at lunch in particular. Our server was making drinks at the bar and also waiting tables. It was inevitable that this would result in a slow down.

The waitstaff is courteous and pleasant. Food was prepared well and served in a timely manner. We were seated at a 4-top table for our party of 2 so that was a treat. Our only complaint is that there was a private party being held before our reservation and this was not indicated on their website. We arrive a bit earlier for our reservation - as we typically do, and had to wait outside with other patrons. Then we had to rebook our reservation. Kind of confusing.

Good service foot was hit or miss. My wife enjoyed her salad entree. One of our companions had to return the scallops as did I. Will give it another chance.

We had an excellent experience on the outdoor patio. The wait staff (Jennifer) and manager checked on us regularly, and the food was outstanding. My son ordered the seafood boulibase, and he ate every bite! Well worth it for a happy 14 year old. The town was also charming like a Hallmark movie. We definitely recommend this place!

Long wait for food, accompanied by repeated apologies and reassurances from waiter and management. Food uneven in quality. Some very good though lukewarm. Some not good at all. Very expensive for quality. Ambience of dining room was fine but high level of noise spilled over from adjacent bar space.

We go often, but service is starting to lag and a simple dish was not done very well. Pasta was many minutes past al dente. Drink order took forever as did someone coming back to take check. Had to go to station to get it taken care of.

The patio is a nice lunch spot. Unfortunately, the food is not as delicious as the first time I was there. The lobster was very fishy and I did not eat the meal. I enjoyed the atmosphere and company but the food lots of room for improvement. While dinner was lovely the once I went and had an excellent hot lobster roll, the two times I went for lunch the food was very disappointing.

I have always loved this building and in most cases the restaurants themselves. Chapter One did not disappoint...we'll be back!

Bruschetta and mussels appetizers very good. Risotto with scallops also very flavorful—but risotto a bit al dente for my taste. My boys gobbled up their pasta and chicken cutlet sandwich. My husband did not love his clam chowder—felt it was too chunky and lukewarm.

We love coming to Chapter One in Guilford as we love eating outside on the patio. The view is so pretty and peaceful and the food is consistently amazing every time! I also love that they have great vegetarian/vegan options that are so full of flavor!

Chapter One is a place that we love bringing our friends to or recommending because we know the food is spot on every time!

This restaurant is truly a hidden gem!!

We were highly impressed with everything from the cocktails to the deserts. The seafood jambalaya was amazing! We can’t wait to come back again!!

We live close by and had family in to see us. We walked to the restaurant and sat on the terrace for lunch We heard there was a new chef and the food did not disappoint. Loved the veg stir fry. Really delicious. You can add a protein to it for an extra charge. But honestly it wasn’t needed at all.

The restaurant is in a lovely position overlooking the village green, the ambience and the service are excellent but the quality of the food was mixed and overpriced - $30 for a scallop “risotto” was virtually no rice (an essential ingredient for risotto!!) and 5 scallops is outrageous, as is $23 for Mac n Cheese with a few strips of bacon. If money is no object and location/ambience is more important than food quality then this is the place to go, otherwise you could do better elsewhere.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good our experience was at Chapter One in Guilford. We are already making plans to return. We went on a Monday night with some friends. We were greeted enthusiastically at the door and were led to our requested outdoor seating. The fire pits were ablaze and the area was beautiful. Monday night was buy one get one martini...outstanding. Nadia, our waitress, was absolutely exceptional. We ordered the calamari for an appetizer and it was probably the best we ever had. My wife had the shrimp scampi and raved about it. She said it was very light and not overpowering. One of our friends had the seafood bouillabaisse and said it was great. Another was the chicken piccata which was quite good. I had the bolognaise and I have to say it was the best bolognaise I have ever had and I get it out a lot. The wedge salad was excellent and we had a couple of onion soups which were good although a touch burnt on the edges. But still tasty. Desserts were excellent and fairly priced. I would highly recommend Chapter One in Guilford to anyone.

Calamari appetizer ok, sirloin steak was an odd looking cut, very thin, looked more like a flank steak, didn't taste like sirloin. Side salad made from pre cut and bagged lettuce, much of which had turned black or brown from age. Shrimp scampi way over salted probably due to using clam juice in cooking. Shrimp scampi is NOT made from clam broth, ever. Should be garlic, white wine, butter or oil. And no parmesan offered. What a waste of money!

Excellent food, green (inexperienced, slow) dining staff.

Very quant /cozy atmosphere. Waitress was excellent! Scallop Risotto dish was superb!

The ambiance is of Chapter One is cozy and inviting. Warmly lit, relatively quiet and the outdoor space is a relatively new cozy option as well. After dark, however, the lighting by the windows should be dimmed a bit to equal the warmth of light if the rest of the indoor area. For entrees, there is as good variety of pasta, fish, meat and vegetarian options, as well as a selection of burger and sandwich options for lighter fare. Service is very friendly, very good and prompt. They know the menu well and can describe items quite thoroughly.

Our waitress was very pleasant and helpful, our meal was eye appealing and delicious, the seating comfortable, and the atmosphere calm, attractive, and conducive to conversation. We look forward to dining here again!

Excellent food, service and value

Variety of food. My wife is a vegetarian, also gluten free, and has a few options. A full menu for others.

Attentive and friendly service from our waitress Wendy, comfortable inviting decor. Menu descriptions made all dishes tempting. Execution was mediocre. Stonington seared scallops appeared cut in half and only one scallop in the dish had a nice carmelized sear, risotto lacked any depth in flavor, cavatelli bolognese sauce was bland, highlight was the meat. Churros were soggy and chewy, albeit tasty sweet. Highlight was the ceviche appetizer.

Wait staff was exceptionally attentive. Good experience.

My raw clams had pieces of shell in them and my steak was cold

Decided to try Chapter One again after a couple of bad experiences because I heard the owners were trying to improve and I love their rear patio. Everything was much better. The food was great and our waitress couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful. The only downside was that there was a noticeable smell of manure, maybe from a nearby garden. I hope they take care of that! Can’t speak to the noise level inside, but I will go back.

The room and location was great as was the service. The food did not measure up. My date had a salad which was basically croutons with a few pieces of asparagus on top- saved by the shrimp which was good. But with out the shrimp, it was a $14 crouton salad. $23 with shrimp. I had the linguini with clams which was good- and a nice presentation with steamed clams around the pasta on the dish. The clams, however, were inedible ( unless you like to swallow large hunks of chewing gum).
Very overpriced!

Our first time to Chapter One. Food was creative and very well presented. Service was very friendly and helpful. Our server even made some wine and cocktail recommendations based on our food selections. Homemade bread pudding was delightful. Will definitely be going back.

Excellent food and service.. outside dining very pleasant. No bugs! Wait staff very attentive...

Went for lunch. Dates with bacon appetizer was delicious. Patio was great for a nice summer day.

Not a good experience. We've been twice before and felt mixed about the place. This time, the restaurant was less than half full on a July Sat eve. Ordered our drinks, chowder and dinner. Drinks came, then chowder, which was overly salty. Then we waited. Nearly an hour later, just as we were about to leave without eating, the new GM brought out our dinners apologetically (which was nice), but we decided to leave when one dinner arrived undercooked and not as requested and we didn't want to wait for it to be corrected. At each table around us, diners were complaining about the food---too salty, too sweet, too spicy--- and about the long wait for food. As a local, I really miss having a good restaurant in that spot. Chapter One needs a real overhaul on food and service.

I wouldn't recommend. My bouillabaisse was very salty, our friends french fries which he asked to be very crispy were soggy. The Thai Calamari was not fresh, rubbery in consistancy and not a lot of Thai flavor. The drinks were fantastic

The waitress was outstanding and the decor is casual elegant. The AC system worked perfectly on a very hot day. Appetizers are delicious and can be shared as they are mostly very large. The salmon entree was over cooked and dry, but the bouillabaisse was just right. Someone at the next table sent their steak back as it wasn’t cooked properly, so entrees are hit or miss.