The food was wonderful however the constant cold from the continuous rotation of customers coming in and out of the front of the building made it uncomfortable for dining. Double door or curtain would be helpful for this downtown Belfast eatery. read more

I live in another part of Maine and had been looking forward to the opportunity to eat at Chase's for a long time, as I've always heard great things about their food. I was in Belfast today for a meeting, which got out about 2 hours before Chase's afternoon closing time. Excited to finally get over there, we went to check it out. One couple was finishing up their meal, and about 4 people were buying baked goods at the register. My husband and I waited at the "Please wait to be seated sign" for about five minutes. No host, no server. Several restaurant employees walked past us, gave us a passing glance, but didn't say anything. We continued to wait. Finally, we sat ourselves down at a table in the mostly empty dining area. The counter staff, wait staff, and kitchen staff all milled around and we saw nearly all of them looking at us sitting there as they went about. Still, no waiter/ess, no host, not a word from anyone. The other dining couple finished their meal and got up to leave. Most of the people at the counter finished their transactions and left. Still, no one came over to us at the table. Having not been there before, we decided to walk up to the counter/register thinking maybe we had to place our order there. The lady at the register finishes up a transaction, talks to another employee, and then answers the phone --- everyone leaving us standing there and continuing to not say a word to us. Not even a, "hello, we'll be with you in a minute." By that point, we had been waiting in various parts of the (mostly empty) restaurant for upwards of 20 minutes without so much of as an acknowledgement from any of the many people working there -- so we walked out. Heard a passing, "Hey, sorry guys....." as we we exited the door. I don't expect a whole lot when I go out to eat and I never send food back or make weird complaints --- but jeez, basic courtesy and some semblance of customer service would be helpful. Not sure if I'll try again if I'm in the area again. read more

While the efficient waiters did not race about the service area we were eating a very tasty pepper jack egg dish in a timely fashion. Coffee is endless, which is good since the pastries are the very best. Great breakfast! read more

Fair warning: this is a vegetarian only menu. Which would have been lovely to know before being seated and ordering drinks. As a family who eats paleo/primal, vegetarian dies not work well for us. That was not the problem. The issue arose when the waitress could not offer any suggestion as to what we could try and then was terribly rude when we paid for our drinks, left her a 5$ tip on two drinks and she was still nasty. I have considered giving this place another try a few times but I can't get over the initial visit. Meat lovers you have been warned. read more

The food was okay and the bakery in the back was nice. What was really awful was the wait! We waited 30 minutes for a table which is fine, that happens during lunch but then we waited another 40+ minutes for our food and not once did anyone check up on us. It shouldn't take that long to make a sandwich. There aren't that many tables and it looked like everyone else was waiting just as long as us read more

I was visiting Belfast at lunch time and this restaurant was packed. So I thought that was a good sign. I order their two specials. A cup of lentil soup. When it came in a bowl, I reminded the server that I only ordered a cup. She confirmed that it was their cup size. It was wonderfully flavored and filling. I also ordered the pasta with kale and olives. A delicious combination. The kale had been roasted and was crispy, which gave a nice texture addition to the pasta. I am not a vegetarian; however, I totally enjoyed my meal. I can see why it is so popular. read more

We come to Maine from Texas every other year, and one of the places we really like is Chase's Daily in Belfast, Maine -- that is, until today. We arrived at the restaurant at 1:35 and were told very rudely that the restaurant closed at 1:00 for lunch. The restaurant was still packed, and the doors were still open. I'm not sure why we didn't get seated, but we won't come back. In addition, we called back to see when it was open on Monday and the lady gave us the hours including Sunday -- open until 2:00 pm. read more

Excellent stop for counter service before we walked around town. Delicious lattes and blueberry muffins to die for! Kids and adults were all very happy. read more

Although I like the food very much I was quite distressed this morning when a friend and I were asked to vacate our table. We had ordered pastries and coffee from the counter since there is no other service available weekday mornings. Apparently we were butting into lunch time because after being asked twice if we wanted to order lunch, hello we are eating pastries, we were told we had to leave because they needed our table for lunch customers. I suspect they do this because they think they make more money from lunch but I have been a regular there for a long time and they have lost my business. I will miss the food but not the way I was treated. read more

We went to Chase's Daily with a friend recently. This was our first time and our friend is just crazy about this place, so we were open to trying it. I am plant-based and my partner eats anything, so we thought it might be a good fit for both of us. Unfortunately, both my food and my partner's food were pretty awful. She got a peppery spicy pasta dish that was way too spicy to eat for starters. I got a pretty good salad since I really didn't see anything that I could or would eat on the menu. After they ordered their main dish, I thought to try a pizza with no cheese. What I got was horrible. A dry pizza, no tomato sauce, with green tomatillos, radishes, cilantro, and sliced hot peppers. When I ordered the pizza, I requested sliced red pepper and mushroom and the waitress got kinda ticked and said are not prepped to vary from the recipe. What? Can't they throw on some red pepper and mushroom? I got the dry pizza and it didn't even have tomato sauce on it! They charged us over $90 for our meals, I think the pizza was like $22! The food was not worth the money. Go to Darby's in Belfast if you want a good meal. read more

Excellent lunch, including peppermint ice tea, Greek salad sandwich, omelet w/ goat cheese, summer squash & caramelized onions - topped off with a berry tart. Highly recommend fresh vegetable market in the back. High ceilings (tin) make it a little noisy, but great casual ambiance. read more

Great baked goods and coffee. Yummy vegetarian fare, if you have the time to wait for it. Pompous 'We are cooler than you" attitude.

Adorable, hippyish place. Reminds me of places in Brooklyn, NY where I live. The cherry tart was the best sweet I had while on a week vacation. The fresh produce was nice, some were expensive, but the fresh corn and lettuces were reasonable. The set up is very cool, loved the place. read more

Three things: gorgeous locally grown produce, ingenious vegetarian menu options, best possible cherry tarts.

Arrived at 9:45 am for breakfast and was dismissively told that there was a 45 minute wait and that they were not taking anymore names for breakfast because they wanted to switch to lunch. It looked like a nice place, but felt very exclusionary. read more

Great food and friendly service! It's wonderful to have a place that caters to vegetarians and makes it such a tasty experience. I've never had unfriendly service at Chase's, but it does attract a lot of grumpy tourists so watch out for them on the busy days! read more

Food was so yummy... wonderful for vegetarians, and non-vegetarians alike! The coffee is AMAZING, I couldn't get enough of it. The farmers market in the summer, and the commitment to local is wonderful. We go here every year... a must-do dining experience to anyone looking for a great breakfast place in Belfast! read more

Delicious! Loved the napa cabbage salad with marinated, grilled tofu - never enjoyed tofu more than this. Taco's were also a recommendation from our friendly server and we were not disappointed. Both very satisfying with creative preparation and depth of flavors. A little more than what I typically pay for lunch but worth it. read more

Wonderful bright open space and delicious food! I had fresh sautéed greens that had been brought in from the farm that morning and bruschetta with grilled onions, white beans and olives. Wonderfully hearty and filling. If I lived nearby I would have stocked up on fresh produce and tomato plants,too. Finished lunch with a pot of tea and a molasses cookie! read more

The food is delicious - and the high ceilings, wood floors, etc. lend a hip, old-timey feel to the place. It is a wonderful place to be and to eat. My only gripe is that it sometimes gets so overcrowded (mostly in summer, when I most often go there) that I cannot dream of being seated and there are long lines to even get a cup of coffee and a muffin. It is worth the wait but sometimes I can't do it. Having said that, during the off-season I have never experienced anything but the best of the best at Chase's! read more

back to maine. back to chases daily! i was so excited to make a stop here again and it was everything i remembered! see you next year!

chase's is delicious! even non-vegetarians won't miss the meat. very cool interior yummy food and delish desserts. I've gone on days where they have a farmers market in the back opening up outside. awesome. read more

A gallery owner in Belfast recommended this place for lunch. I am far from being a vegetarian, but the vegetarian food made here with locally grown ingredients is simply delicious.The meatless enchilada I ordered was every bit as tasty as any I've had with meat at a good Mexican restaurant. My friend also was very pleased with her roasted beet salad. We had been warned that there is often a wait to be seated. I can certainly see why. read more

Love this place! My mother and I come to Chases for Friday night dinner & Saturday morning breakfast every year for the Common Ground Fair weekend. We love it! Great service, ambiance and amazing local fresh made vegetarian and vegan fare. Thank you Chase's! read more

We had dinner here on a Friday night and it was fabulous: fresh, great presentation, reasonably priced.

Simple, delicious, filling, non-gimmicky farm-to-table (the daily specials are usually what's best). My mother and I come here for lunch every day when I'm home. You must go if you're anywhere close! There's often a wait in the summer, and service can be slow, but it's worth it. Relax with some coffee while you wait, stock up on pastries, and enjoy the fact that you're in Maine and about to have one of the most satisfying meals of your trip. Tip: They serve dinner on Fridays and it is NOT vegetarian. read more

Amazing Breakfast, fresh baked goods, and wonderful vegetarian cuisine. Also sell fresh baked goods, honey, coffee etc.

This very vegetarian-friendly cafe is a great find in the downeast part of the state. I stopped in for an excellent breakfast on the way to Bar Harbor this summer. The food was top-notch, though their bagels were a bit anorexic. read more

This is a fine restaurant. As often as possible, food is sourced from their own farm or other nearby farms. So, everything is fresh and delicious. Breakfast and lunch are delicious (southerners, I would skip the grits at breakfast), but the true star of the week is dinner. Make reservations in advance and be prepared for a treat. The greens, tarts, and soldier beans are solid, but since the menu changes with the seasons, there will always be something new and exciting to try. read more

This place is amazing. The vegetarian food is fresh, creatively prepared, and the service was great. I had lunch at chase's one day and dinner one evening during a recent vacation. The produce I purchased was beautiful and fresh. It's a small place so if you don't like to wait, plan to eat early or late. Reservations for dinner are a must. read more

We love this restaurant for the creative offering & the vegetables in back are outstanding for quality/value.

The only reason we picked this place was because of all the highly favorable reviews. My sister-in-law and I decided to try it and eat healthy while our husbands played golf. Yes, it was a very long wait to get a table, and then an even longer wait to get served. We got involved in our conversation and finally realized it had been an extremely long time since ordering. I went to the counter to inquire, and the answer was " they're working on it now". Shortly thereafter, our plates came out. Mine was only a toss salad and hers was a sandwich. We agreed it was the longest either of us had ever waited for a restaurant meal. The salad was disappointing and her sandwich was just ok. The iced tea was good. We think they just threw it together because the waitress or cook simply forgot about us. Everything was way over-priced. The only good thing in this business is the back room where all the fresh produce and flowers are sold. The day before, we got some beautiful fresh tomatoes there. They were tasty but $3.50 per pound. I didn't mind paying this for garden-fresh vegetables, however. We noted the delicious looking bakery goods at the counter, which were uncovered and had flies landing on them...UGH!...COVER THEM, for heaven's sake! read more

I've never had a bad meal here and the baked goods are amazing. Great produce in the back that is grown on the family's farm. Nice cheese selection. Fun art on the walls. A wonderful place that always has a delicious and creative menu. read more

I am a voracious meat eater, and this restaurant has served me several of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life. The bad reviews I've read on this site are either written by idiots, or, in some cases, to be fair, they might be mere bitchy morons having a low blood sugar tantrum. I travel pretty far to go to Chase's, and have had many many meals there, and not one has been less than AMAZING. The last thing I had there, the tacos, were transcendent. I'm really into tacos, and let me tell you, these were amazing tacos. I'm going to embarrass myself if I go on, suffice to say they were worth a very very long drive and a very long wait in line to get a table. read more

I have to downgrade my review after a few experiences in the past couple of months. The food at the restaurant is still good but they have done something different with their breakfast potatoes which has made them very bland. Other than that, the food is good, if you can wait long enough without passing out from hunger. The problem is not the influx of new people waiting for tables, it is the way they are dealt with while at the tables that makes the wait so long. In any restaurant that is busy and wants to open up tables, they give you your check very soon after your meal is over (telling you that there is no hurry, of course) so that you can get your butt out of the way for the next person in line. That is not the case here. After we waited for a half hour, we noticed that some people were sitting there waiting for their check so that they could pay and leave but they had to wait for a long time before they could get out of the place. I suspect that they keep everything moving slowly by design so that the cook doesn't get too backed up, but it is still very annoying. Hiring some more kitchen help might solve some of the issue. Also, the place is so very loud that I had to raise my voice to almost shouting to speak to my husband, who was sitting less than a foot away. There were bored children crying and people trying to yell over their noise, silly parents who thought that (since the place was so noisy anyway) it would be a great idea to give their toddlers spoons to bang on the table with. We were at the restaurant for 2 hours and 27 minutes to have brunch. We order an omelet - 15 minutes to prepare, if you take your time - and pancakes - scoop, flip, and serve - so there was no excuse that we ordered something that took a while to fix. We ate very little of our food and skeedaddled quickly, since we were very tired of the place by that time and were anxious for the morning meal to be over. The atmosphere, food, service, and baked goods all left something to be lacking. Unless you are of a personality type that likes to be at a place because it seems to be hoppin' and happenin', avoid this place and go somewhere that you can get comfortable seats and some peace and quiet. read more

For years I have loved Chase's Daily. Up until this past Friday. Because the food has always been so good, I have been able to ignore the less-than-friendly staff. NOT ANYMORE! I reserved a table for 1 at 5:30pm, as a celebratory dinner at the successful conclusion of a business trip. When I arrived I was seated at a small table by the kitchen door. I explained that this was a special dinner, and asked if I could sit at one of the open tables by the window (all were vacant). I waited while the server asked. She returned without a word, and seated me by the window. When I thanked her, she said nothing and with irritation, walked away. "Ok, it'll get better...after all, I am happy enough for both of us", I reasoned. When I ordered, I alerted my server that I am allergic to peanuts and almonds. When my appetizer came I again asked her to confirm that what I had ordered was nut-free. Maybe overkill, but better safe than sorry. When deciding on a dessert, I told her I would be ordering one for myself, and another to go, for my husband. After a really poor description of the choices, I ordered; when mine came, it did not look like my selection (or my husband's). "Oh", she said, taking the Sticky Toffee Pudding back to get the Boston Creme Cake I had ordered. When it came, I ate a few bites, and thought--in disbelief--that it tasted like almonds. I got up to find a server, and asked. Yes, indeed, there was almond extract in the pastry creme. When I said that I had told my server TWICE of my allergy, she asked "Well how allergic are you?" REALLY?!!! "Enough so that I should not have touched peanuts or almonds, and will race home to get a Benadryl and Epi-pen", I replied. I was handed the check with an anemic apology and the one dessert taken off the bill. There are several things that Chase's could have done to make the situation feel better, even if damage had been done. They did NONE of them. The owners were present, and it would have been good business for the server to realize the severity of her carelessness, and alert the owners. These days, all restaurants understand dietary restrictions, and the good ones handle them with care. My allergies are not a lifestyle choice such as reducing sugar or sodium, they are frightening and life-threatening. I am now one the many who feel the food is good, but not good enough to balance the staff's incompetence and attitude. Especially for a $70 meal that consisted of an appetizer, entree, one glass of wine, and a cappuccino. read more