I said a couple of reviews ago that I had the best Italian meal that I have ever had. Well I found…read moresomeone to knock that one off its throne. When I came into Chatham Ontario, Canada, and checking into hotel, the lady at the front desk said you have to go to this restaurant. I hear that at a lot of hotels, but I figured I would check it out. For starters, this place is located downtown in a very quaint little district, there seems to be plenty of street parking. Although I can imagine on Friday and Saturday nights it can get a little hectic. Regardless, I found a spot walked across the street to the restaurant The place itself is really quaint and inviting. They made it up to look like a small Italian village. It's really really cool. This place is also kind of elegant, they have black tablecloths and silverware rolled up in cloth napkins and it is just an overall upscale dining event, although you definitely do not have to dress up to go here. My waitress, Claire, greeted me and asked if I wanted anything. I ordered a loss of water to start and just wanted to check out the menu. She came back a few moments later and I decided to order the calamari appetizer, the chicken parmesan which came with a salad... I opted for Caesar, and a glass of their house! Pinot noir. One thing I like about Italian restaurants is the pacing of the meal. This is not a walk-in, turn them and burn them. Type of establishment. This is a hour and a half to 2-hour culinary adventure. Claire has this down to a science. The appetizer came, and was cooked perfectly. I love fresh calamari. A nice touch was the dusted jalapenos and pineapple that came with. Instead of a shrimp style sauce, they opt for a slightly spicy sweet dipping sauce. Next came the bread. Claire also brought over the obligatory olive oil and balsamic vinegar, plus a spicy oil. She recommended that I mix all three and even brought over some shaved Parmesan to put on top of that before I dip the bread into it. Absolute heaven on a plate! Then came the salad, the Caesar was absolutely perfect. I love it when a salad is dressed properly, and not just a wad of dressing lumped on top. This was such a good salad and of course I had to have extra pepper and parmesan. After a short break, the main course arrived, and it was huge. Seen a bigger chicken parmesan in the history of my eating Italian food. And it was cooked so perfect! The spaghetti underneath was perfectly cooked, and the marinara sauce was totally on point. Mozzarella on the chicken parm and then covered it in the red sauce to give it that slightly melted texture. Did I finish it? No, I did not. But I am having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The reason being I wanted to save room for the tiramisu. I ordered the tiramisu, and had a double espresso. What a perfect combination! The tiramisu was absolutely wonderful, not too sweet and the bitterness of the coffee worked perfectly with it. I have to brag on Claire a little bit, as she was one of the most perfect wait staff people I have ever met. She was attentive without being hovering, she paced the meal perfectly, made great suggestions. I could not eat another bite as I was so full. And completely satisfied. This was literally one of the most perfect meals I have ever had. Bottom line? It was expensive. And I am more than willing to pay for quality food and service. And this place hit on all cylinders. If you are looking for a great night out, you would do no better than to check out this place.

Delicious!! I had…read morethe salmon with dill & lemon sauce over potatoes and rainbow carrots, delicious but the white carrots were practically raw... The roasted red pepper soup was fantastic!!! Kari was the best server...right there to clear off dishes, pour water, see if we needed anything. Thank you, Kari. Very kind and professional. I'd love to go back as there were many things on the menu I wanted to try. Sadly, t was so loud at 5:30p on Saturday you could barely hear someone at your own table.

This was excellent BBQ. Everywhere we go we look for BBQ.. we don't always try it. But the pics…read morewere too good to pass up trying, plus we love beef ribs. And the meals came looking just like the pics. The owner and grill master prepared our meals and his wife was our waitress. The bbq sauce is made in house, We tried both the pork and beef rib. Portions were huge. Two hungry people could have shared one of the dinners. We saw the sandwiches. They were also full of meat and according to a fellow customer nearby, delicious, the meat is always tender, never dry.. we started with the nachos. Normally I don't like non traditional bar type nachos, but I ate at least half the order: it had pulled pork, cheese, bbq sauce, and yes, baked beans. . Never thought I'd like baked beans on a nachos, but it worked. each nachos chip was loaded. We did go back a second time the next day for lunch with a friend. She'd never been here before, but liked it and said her dad and brother would love it. She could only finish half beef rib meal. The sides were good, they are in the process of changing the menu a little. This is not a town that likes very spicy food, so you had to request heat. The Mexican corn needed a boost Mexican chilli powder, but it's catered to local tastes. It was good, I'd order again. Home made baked beans. Very good. We enjoyed the fries, but wish we had changed them out for something more exotic on the sides menu. Would we return, we did, ordered the same thing all over again and still enjoyed it. Wished the cook but as many baked beans on the nachos. Maybe request more because it is good. All I can say is, you gotta eat here, even if you are travelling along the 401. It's worth the detour up to Chatham for the restaurant.

Went here with a large group and restaurant staff were super friendly and accommodating to our…read moregroup. The food was amazing from the burnt ends to brisket, the bbq was all good. The owner even gave us 3 pizzas on the house and showed us great hospitality. Highly recommended if you're visiting Chatham!

How lucky we found this beautiful restaurant on the river!…read more The food and service were both outstanding. Kim was a kind and professional server. The maple glazed salmon was perfection! Compliments to the chefs.

Really lovely place on their outdoor patio overlooking the river. The atmosphere could not be…read morebetter. Only managed a Caesar Salad with chicken but husband had a meatloaf dinner which was good. The service was great- very nice waitress. All in all, one of the better restaurant dinners we have managed in our week's trip to Ontario.

The ambience was great and above all, the food was amazing. I have never had mango Shirley temple…read moreand kids loved it. Service was great too. Food came really quick.

If you live anywhere near this restaurant and have not been, you need to go. If you don't live…read morenear this restaurant, you need to go. This is our second visit here. We drive about an hour and a half and meet friends who are about an hour away. We will visit here again and again. If we lived closer this would be our Cheer's. This place is special. What I love about it. The building as well as patio has a wonderful ambience and charm. Even the bathrooms showed attention to detail. The staff and service is attentive and friendly without making you feel rushed. Dominique served us both visits. She made us feel like we were old friends being welcomed into her home. Then, there is the food. Oh my, the food. This as well as last visit, we ordered for the table and shared. This visit, we enjoyed the cauliflower, the wings, the bee sting pizza and the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream. Different beautiful plates for enjoying each course. Each dish is thoughtfully plated and absolutely delicious. The pizza was so good, we were wondering if we should bring one home to go. We are looking forward to returning. There are so many offerings we want to try and are confident they will all be wonderful.

Food is AMAZING!!!! Service is great and the place has lots of vendors and things to buy. Would…read morerecommend it if your looking for a art café in the Southwestern Ontario area.

Love the owners very kind and genuine people. Amazing Greek Pastries and a place you will want to…read morego back to say hi to the welcoming and kind people.

Great food. Grat prices. Nice cozy ambiance. Service was excellent! Nice restaurant overall. Good…read morework!

The food is always amazing and scrumptious. The service is impeccable and the servers are always so…read morewelcoming.

What a great addition to Chatham restaurants! I was recently visiting family and Forte was…read morerecommended. It did not disappoint! The decor is stunning and sticks with the character of the building while giving it a modern edge. Food was fantastic. We split the delcious Burrata appetizer and couldn't finish it. I almost think the bread was too much and something like crostini would be better. Truly I think we only noticed because we had ordered sandwiches. We both got the Braised Beef sandwich that was a special. The beef was so tender and the sandwich was huge. More than half came home with me and was just a great the next day. I loved that it was loaded with caramelized onions. The truffle aioli paired nicely with the truffle fries I upgraded to...hey...if you are going to go for it, might as well go all the way! My dining companion opted for the garden salad as his side and it was large compared to most side salads at other restaurants. The veggies looked crisp and fresh which was also nice to see. I had planned to just have water, but after hearing rave reviews for the cocktails, a Blackberry Mule was begging to be ordered. No joke, it was the best I've had. I appreciated the muddled blackberries and the ginger beer had a really nice bite to it. I wish I had thought to ask what vodka and ginger beer Forte uses. Wishing Forte much success!

My wife and I along with another couple went to Forte Resto Lounge for dinner last night. (Jan 17…read moreth 2026). Everything was great!!! The atmosphere was nice and the food was delicious. Our waitress Jess was very attentive and also very entertaining which helped for a fun evening. We wouldn't hesitate to stop by this restaurant again.

Valentines day special. $200 for some raw "baked" potatoes, steak that was 80% fat, and all of the…read morefood was unseasoned. Even at $100 I would have been disappointed. I usually don't complain about things like this, but this was pathetic. Dirty utensils, black grease on the wall beside us. Waitresses were nice, but overall a bad experience. I do not recommend this place

A beautiful old home - wish they'd tell its history on the menu. Many specials and delicious…read moreoptions. And Alexa was a kind and professional server.

The ribs are wonderful. The staff is really nice and efficient. It has become my favourite…read morerestaurant in Chatham. I could hear others talking about how perfect their steak was. The prices are a little high however, with today's prices they are reasonable. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a fancier surrounding.

Valentine's day for dinner was excellent. I enjoyed the prime rib while my husband indulged in the…read moreham wrapped pork chops. The atmosphere was low key and comfortable. I would recommend this place for eat or dine out.

A hopping outpost of this restaurant chain. The place has a…read morevariety of specials and promotions for game day. There is a dining side and bar side. Tables are most casual on the bar side. Parking is on site and free but can be challenging during peak times. Lots of options for roadhouse type grub. Burgers, chicken, salad, nachos, tacos plus steaks, ribs (Wednesday has rib promos). Etc. At our table we had burgers, spinach dip, chicken fingers and the chicken quesadilla. The spinach dip was ok but I have had better elsewhere. The quesadilla, chicken fingers and burgers were very good though. Service was friendly and pretty timely considering how busy it was. The manager was helping staff which is always a good sign in my book. It's family friendly too (with a separate child priced menu). There are lots of booths on the dining side.

This is my second trip to Chuck's. This time I ordered a steak that was mostly mediocre with an…read moreunpleasant spice on it. The service was fast, friendly, and efficient. It's still pretty noisy, but at least this time we could hear each other speak. I did notice that they added a 3% 'Honest to Goodness Fee' which I felt was neither. Management claim this is to keep prices down but I think they need to be more upfront about it.