This was such a great Italian find, right in the center of town. The portion sizes are on the small side with higher prices than other comparable restaurants outside of town. The bar seemed like a great spot to hangout read more

We booked our reservation through our hotel, The Veranda House. We had a small quaint little table for two. The place is gorgeous with dim lighting. A very romantic setting. The hosts were very happy and sweet. Our waitress was very well-informed and attentive. She did an excellent job at describing the menu options and discussing choices with us. We ordered: Polpette (meatballs), Insalata, Cesar Salad, Tagliolini Verde (without guanciale), and Spaghetti Nduja. The food was spectacular! Highly recommend everything mentioned above. I will say the two pastas were a little bit over salted. I never add table salt to my food. My husband does add table salt usually. Even he thought the pasta was salty as it was cooked. Other than this, this meal, this place... perfection! read more

Ventuno - Italian Near Me - Nantucket, Massachusetts

Ventuno is a class act. The interior design is exceptional, with attractive artwork spread through its several rooms. The small rooms make your dining experience feel much more personalized. The service is great and the food is excellent. Might wife and I have eaten at Ventuno twice and will certainly return. We've eaten at nearly every restaurant in Nantucket over many visits to the island, and Ventuno should be on the list of the top 10 best dining options. read more

Not in any way exaggerating, the pasta I ordered tasted like nothing. A salty sludge. After placing our order, our server repeated it back to us but apparently when relaying this to the kitchen only managed to remember 3 of the 4 menu items leaving one of our party without a meal. Fret not, they graciously offered to remove from the bill the meal that was never served. The wine was good but my read from the night was when James Carville showed up, a lot of the staff came out to express their admiration and in the process forgot about the 30-40 other people dining. read more

The food was good. management was TERRIBLE. our dinners came out 30 mins between each other with no compensation. the manager EMILY was rude and deplorable. should be removed from role. not worth the price for a non understanding establishment. our waitress was kind and attentive. read more

Absolutely horrible service. From the start when are server approached we knew where the night was headed. Don't even get me started on the food. I'm not sure what the kitchen staff is doing back there but someone needs to do something about it. No flavor, not enough sauce and only 4 pastas for an Italian restaurant. 100% do not recommend read more

A fantastic Italian restaurant in a cute house with two floors. We sat on the second floor, which had lovely table decorations and paintings hanging on the walls. The Fritto Misto to start came with an excellent dipping sauce. The homemade, fresh pasta was cooked to perfection - al dente - with a great texture and taste. The lamb was also well cooked and the polenta that came with it reminded me of a fancier version of my Italian grandma's polenta. The service was great - our waitress was exceptionally professional, checking in often enough without bothering us. Every course was brought out swiftly with just enough time in between to digest. Overall a great Italian dining experience (coming from an Italian). read more

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This is a wonderful restaurant. Service, food and atmosphere were on point. Started with the burrata and the panzanella salad. They were both great. On to the entrees...I had the fish of the day which was fluke. Perfectly cooked and flavorful with a wonderful vegetable medley. My husband had the pasta ragu. This can be entree or appetizer size. The flavor of the porcini and morel mushrooms put this over the top. For dessert we had the bomboloncini, bittersweet chocolate donuts with coffee gelato. Need I say more? Yes this place is pricey but worth every penny. The only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars is that the acoustics are not great. We sat in the front room which was beautiful, but very loud and was compounded by a four top next to us that were loudly competing for attention at their table and wouldn't STFU! Took a little off from such a great meal, but will definitely go back. read more

Really good food and atmosphere; friendly service but maybe somewhat slow and short staffed. Very edited menu lacking most staples. So, if you find something on the menu that you like, great, but don't come in with a favorite Italian dish in mind because they probably won't have it. Ex. For an Italian restaurant, it's odd to me they don't have any of the gourmet basics like bruschetta, caprese, prosciutto, arincini, tiramisu, cacio é Pepe, bolognese, veal, chicken Picatta, shrimp scampi, etc. I guess they're trying to be more "gourmet" to justify the higher price tag, but I'd prefer any of those Italian staples to their "sweet corn stuffed pasta" or "strozapretti with chicken sausage and broccoli rab." To a certain degree-I get it-you can get those at any old Italian restaurant so they want to do something more special. But, they're maybe trying a bit too hard. Definitely more pretentious and new money vibes as compared to the old 21 federal restaurant it replaced, but that's a Nantucket trend in general I suppose. read more

Edit: Visited a year after my first review. Quality of food has declined. Changed review for 4 stars to 3 stars. The Crostini with Foie Gras & Chicken Liver Mousse with Wild Kumquats was tasty. The other food we ordered was pretty average. Waitstaff was friendly. read more

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Get the Ragu!! One of the best meals I've had in a while. The breadcrumbs on top are fantastic. Very friendly staff. And I must add the Espresso Martinis are on point! read more

Ventuno - Ragu! - Italian Near Me - Nantucket, Massachusetts

I love Italian food but for some reason I was always intimated by their menu. It took me one meal with someone who worked there to guide me in the right direction. I am so anti-olive but she had me try their olive ascolane which are fried castelveltrano olives stuffed with pork sausage. They're tiny but mighty and I could happily pop a bunch of these bad boys in my mouth without getting that weird olive texture I tend to avoid. Being on an island, we are spoiled with fresh seafood, but their ostriche chilled oysters with Campari-grapefruit Italian ice are my absolute favorite. I'll usually check out their pasta offerings and depending on how hungry I am I'll get a half or whole order. Their grilled prime ribeye is also amazing if I'm craving some protein and I hope to someday find someone who is down to split the prime porterhouse for two... one can dream right? read more

Ventuno - Ostriche chilled oysters with Campari-grapefruit Italian ice - Italian Near Me - Nantucket, Massachusetts

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Agree that it's way too difficult to make a res. We were told that reservations for Christmas stroll would open up Wednesday at noon. A friend in our group called exactly at noon and left a message. she then left at least one or two more messages and hadn't heard anything back. I called the following day to confirm. I was told there was no reservation. When I questioned how we didn't get at least something calling exactly at noon she claims she didn't appreciate my tone of voice and hung up on me. I don't think that's a great way to treat recurring customers. There certainly are other great restaurants in Nantucket that we will look to frequent more often as a result of this rudeness read more

Terrible Service. Rude Manager. We made reservations 2 weeks in advance for 5 people, both of us and our 3 adult children. When we arrived, the waitress took us to an outdoor picnic table next to the bar that was very crowded. My husband requested a quieter table and was told by the manager, Emily, " I told you your options", which was no to another table. My husband pointed out a few available tables. She responded, "You're not welcome here. I'm canceling your reservation" and asked us to leave.My husband is the COO of a large hospitality company. He is known for his kind and respectful disposition. We've never experienced this type of treatment. We quietly left as instructed and went to the White Elephant for an exceptional meal. read more

We went here because of the great reviews but were very disappointed. Started off with 2 margaritas that were made from an obvious mix and tasted sticky sweet. Burrata was delicious to the point that I should have gotten a double order for dinner ! We had the linguine with white clam and shrimp with scallops and greens. Dinner entrees were not on point. Not much flavor and seafood did not taste fresh. Would not recommend. I'm from NY and used to NYC food and this was not on par with what I'm used to. read more

We had a wonderful dinner at Ventuno last night 10-29-18. The halibut and scallops were to die for. Chocolate donuts with chocolate sauce a huge hit. Our server was exceptional and staff very attentive. The Owner came to our table and welcomed us. So kind and grateful for our business. My fav now in Nantucket. read more

Amazing food and environment. Johnny B behind the bar was so awesome. We went for dinner and sat at the bar both nights. I had the truffle pasta the first night and the second night the soft shell crab. So delicious! Great spot on the island read more

Charming setting. Hostess was very accommodating, could not climb more stairs with knee issues. Sat us lovely table. Wine list & sommelier are terrific! Wanted to try everything in the list! Our meals were delish from beginning to end. Look forward to returning, highly recommend! read more

Great atmosphere, attentive service, amazing pastas and seasonal specials that change all the time. Special thanks to somm Julia who twice within one week guided us to fun Italian reds we wouldn't otherwise have known to try. read more

Unbelievable food, best prime rib for two I have ever had. Spent a nice week on Nantucket this summer & this restaurant by far was my family's all time favorite. Friendly waitstaff & knowledge about the wine list. Co owner stopped by out table to introduce himself which is so lovely & appreciative. Definitely one of the best restaurants in Nantucket. read more

Ventuno - Italian Near Me - Nantucket, Massachusetts

The service was great! The ambiance/vibe was also nice. We ordered the swordfish and the lamb. Both entrees were delicious and cooked perfectly. The side of polenta was nice as well. The server asked if wanted bread so we said yes. We didn't realize there was a $5 charge. It's not that we can't afford it but it seemed petty for an upscale, expensive restaurant. We also would have preferred to relax and enjoy our drink before our entrees came with sides and bread all at once within 5 min of having our drink. We were in and out in 35 min. Again, for a nice experience, we would have preferred to delay our main course so we could enjoy our drink and relax. We will know better next time and ask for more time. read more

The back bar at Ventuno is a hidden gem! The atmosphere and food were incredible. The bartenders behind the bar were personable and helpful with selecting the perfect meal. The halibut and crab pasta were highlights for us. Highly recommend this restaurant! read more

Went with some friends who had been raving about the pasta. I had the dry chicken sausage pasta an my friends had the tagliatelle. The pasta was good, portions we're very small. Sooooo salty. Broccoli rabe and caesar were pedestrian. Nice atmosphere. Not worth the super high prices. read more

Completely surprised that what we expected to be a sophisticated dining experience was an example of restaurant 'what not to dos' in almost every way. Seated right next to the extremely noisy bar area that was blasting a range of music including Michael Jackson and hard rock. No real identity for ambiance. Patrons were drunk, and downright obnoxious. There was no denying it even by staff. Management solution was to turn up the volume on the crap play list so everyone was screaming even louder. A group of cackling hyenas enjoying their alimony payments amongst round after round of martinis kept us from hearing each other and left me with a migraine. We asked to move, but were only offered a table between two huge, drunk and loud groups. Appreciated the effort but didn't really solve our problem. Primi dropped on the table and my wine glass sat empty for ten minutes. I like wine with my pasta, is that weird? Pasta went cold while I flagged a food runner for a refill. Secondi was scallops. I specifically asked how many came with entree so we could plan around ordering additional items. Told 3 or 4 depending on size.. We received 2 medium sized (not diver) scallops. Before receiving them, runner realized we had no silverware and walked back to kitchen with our food. Then came out with another runner who came bearing forks. Totally weird. No apology. Where was the manager that was so nice when we first arrived? Avoided us like the plague. Our waitress was really sweet and probably the only pleasant part of our experience... When she was there to take care of us anyway. This place needs a sophisticated area for sophisticated patrons. I get that drinks are key to margin, and you have to cater to what makes money. I just wish we had known this was a bar more importantly than a restaurant. read more

Stopped at Ventuno's outside bar area over the weekend and enjoyed the food, drinks, atmosphere and bartender. The food is FRESH and the pasta is HOMEMADE. The spicy chicken pasta dish was by the far the best and super tasty. The brussel sprouts were hell'a good! I ended up going back the following night for a night cap drink with my girlfriends and ended up staying longer than expected and had the best time. The bartender is super friendly (Matt) he has a great playlist of oldies that he played later in the night... you can't help but dance whether in your sit or on the bar... Looking forward to my next meal at Ventuno. If you haven't been your missing out. read more

My wife and I went to the Ventuno last night. It was off-season already, but the place was still crowded and I was glad I made a reservation before. The restaurant is a beautiful old house and very nicely restored from the inside. The food was just exceptional. We had oysters as an appetizer, pasta as a starter and a fluke and grilled swordfish as entrees. All of it was very fresh, perfectly cooked and nicely presented. The wine list was small but very well selected. We just had a wonderful night and would certainly return! read more

Oustanding meal at Ventuno last night. Even though it was restaurant week, we splurged on about 8 different items. Standouts were... Crustini w/ local goat cheese & honey Fristo Misto (I rarely rave about calamari but this was awesome. Peppers were a nice surprise). Strozzapretti w/ the house made chicken sausage had a great lingering spice/heat note. I kept thinking the heat would build and overpower the dish but it was incredlby balanced. Dry-aged sirloin - at this point I was stuffed to the gills but couldn't resist this steak. Superb cut of meat. Bomboloncini - again, thought I was going to be too full but kept eating anyway. A+ Bonus points for having Jack's Abby on tap! read more

Excellent! Lovely location and great Italian food with a unique twist. The oysters with Italian ice in each shell were amazing. I had fish which was delicious and my girls had pasta which was also great. A great place for a special night out! read more

Great, friendly service. Wine choices are abundant. Entrees very salty especially the fruit de mar but still enjoyed our experience.

Ventuno is more than able to rise to the challenges. We had a good experience at Ventuno last year, so we returned--this time with a slightly different multi-generational mix. I reserved on OpenTable and cited the special needs of older folks with bionic hips; we were given a corner table on the first floor--just right. Any good restaurant ought to be able to serve a good meal, with good service, to an average guest. Our party, however, was anything but average. We had questions. We were hard of hearing (some of us, anyway). We knew nothing about Italian wine and some of us wanted to try it. Our waiter (I don't remember his name) was cheerful, helpful, knowledgeable and gracious throughout. He explained the menu (which is, thank you Ventuno, much easier to read this year). He suggested (and poured sample sips) of wines that were similar to our group's French wine comfort zone. He was an excellent waiter. We remembered that the food was good from our visit last year, but I think the food was even better this time. We ordered a couple of little dishes to pass around (crostini, fried olives--odd-sounding but delicious) and they were quite good. Our dinners were even better. It seems to me that the chef is more committed to making food taste great than in making it look or taste "interesting". Bravo! Everyone in our diverse group left Ventuno feeling that they'd had a marvelous, memorable dinner. Take a bow! read more

Do you know the saying "save the best for last"...well that didn't happen... Let's take it from the top. The ambience was fine...I don't really care for that sort of stuff though. Fortunately they sat us on the second floor where we could hear each other over the boisterous figawi riff raff at the bar. The appetizers...meatballs, chickpea fries, mushrooms and polenta were all enjoyable. I got pissed that they didn't bring our highly sought after fried olives until I learned that one of our dining partners at the end of the table...in all his eagnerness, polished off the olives before I even knew they brought them....so apparently those were good too. Entrees...I can't speak for other people I was with since they didn't leave any scraps for me to pluck off their plates but my "Bisteca" (steak) was off the chain. Beautifully cooked, nice moustardardy parmigana crema sauce and a nice side salad( I couldn't figure out what it was since I was too busy devouring it) the reports on the pastas and Halibut were all very good. Good to know they offer an entree size portions for the pastas. No complaints yet, we were all psyched for desert...except for me(not a sweets guy despite my doughy exterior). Desert...the anticipation killed us...because we waited for what some at the table described as an eternity. In real time it was about 20 minutes as a conservative estimate. As the excitement for desert wore off they finally brought them. The cheesecake appeared to have been set to burn under a blow torch while the panacotta sat right beside it melting from the residual heat. We ate it all out of poor self-control and having nothing better to do rather than out of enjoyment. The waitress asked how it was...yet she didn't seem to care when we broke the news that it was less than good. O well. Overall it was a good experience minus our one star desert. Would recommend...just don't forget your checkbook. read more

Pleasant to deal with on the phone. We'll see if their food, service, and decor is up to the standards of the old 21 Federal. read more

Ventuno - Italian Near Me - Nantucket, Massachusetts

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FRESH SALAD. BUTTERY GOLDEN FLUKE. CIOCOLATO w/ SALTY OATS. It was a slow start after we sat down, but after we finally got our bottle of wine, we fell into the patient pace and enjoyed every bite. The salad was fresh and simply delicious. I thought you couldn't go wrong with spaghetti alle vongole with green garlic, chiles and clams but it was very/too salty and I LOVE salty. They won me back with the best fluke I had in Nantucket. Dessert was fabulous as well - spumone di ciocolato w salty oats. read more

I was very disappointed in Ventuno despite the rave reviews online. The food was decent but the service was pitiful. We didn't see our waitress after placing our order until when we called her over to get the check. The bus boys were essentially our waiters and they were pushy and reaching over our plates while we were trying to eat. It's not right to fill each water cup to the BRIM and force us to purchase several bottles when we're paying for sparkling water. Since we didn't see our waitress we were unable to let her know that our food was lukewarm at best after waiting 40 minutes for it, and that 1 dish was so peppery it could not be consumed. This was a let down. read more

How was your meal? That's the best question the waitstaff should ask, but they should be prepared with a genuine response. We have been to Ventuno a few times a year for the last few seasons and each time we come back, hoping for a bit different and improved experience. We almost achieved 5 star status, but we're left disappointed at the end. We sat on the second floor as a group of 6 in a nice sized booth/table. The appetizers and entrees were tremendous- savory and just the right portion. We were disappointed however by the follow up service to provide salt, pepper, or cheese. And our desserts were underwhelming - the cheesecake burnt and the panna cotta liquid. These must have been sitting under the warmer for 20 minutes. They also provided a Baileys that was clearly a knock off more nutty version. At the end of the meal we were asked how the experience was, for the first time. Our response was similar the the sentiments above. Our waitress responded ok and walked away. Keep trying Ventuno- we'll be back. read more

I was with a large party spending a fortune on the back porch. The food was fantastic as was the service. There were some very inventive takes on Italian cuisine. However, all night long, the bartender keep throwing bottle after bottle after bottle after bottle into a metal drum filled with bottles. It was like being trapped in a demented recycling center with Satan. This insane noise pollution was continuous, even after he was very politely asked to stop. It completely ruined my dining experience. Alison M. read more

the bartender was so funny and cool he made the best olive oil dip for our bread i have ever had. then he served us a very tasty anti pasta and a lamb neck that was LITERALLY..... I mean LITERALLY to die for. And don't even even get me started on the polenta!!!! can't wait to come back and see Tyler read more

On my most recent visit, I decided this was the my favorite new restaurant of the season. In addition to the wonderful food, the decor was beautiful and we had a very friendly and attentive waitress. I never had the occasion to dine at 21 Federal before it closed, but I'm happy such a wonderful restaurant has taken its place. For a starter I had the home made goat cheese crostini with truffled honey, it was a good sized portion and had obviously had a lot of care put into it. The real star of the meal was the duck bolognese, a perfect pairing of handmade herb pasta and meltingly tender ground duck. I would never have thought to put something like that together. My big problem was that after myself and my table mate each had a taste, there was hardly anything left! I don't get why the portion was so small, and will know not to share in the future. For the main I had a perfect veal chop with roasted potatoes and a side salad. The food was definitely a 10, not a single misstep. Fortunately, the hostess was able to give us a reservation at the last minute, but the table we ended up in was not the best. Upstairs next to the wine storage it felt isolated, but not in an intimate or cozy way. I'll request sitting somewhere else next time. All of the staff seemed really, really young, but our waitress actually turned out to be the best server of the week. Really knowledgeable about the menu and checking up on us often without being intrusive. I know some earlier reviews have complained about the service, but there was no sign of problems so maybe they worked out some of the start-up kinks. I can't wait to get back and try something new! read more

I was craving pasta while were on vacation in Nantucket in mid September. We tried to get a table one night, but were told by a very rude young hostess with glasses that they were fully booked. I didn't want to try to go back, but my friend insisted. It turned out to be a great decision. The food and service was exceptional. I could probably have gone every night because there were so many great choices on the menu. It's too bad that my experience has been tainted by that hostess who turned out to be rude again on the night we ate there. read more

Food wine, and service wonderful, but the rose pana cotta was the best dessert I have eaten, ever.