Company of the Cauldron

I couldn’t write a better description of Company of the Cauldron than Malcom A. Willson of Cape Cod Times. “This little Nantucket restaurant has charm written all over it — from its dark red, ivy-framed, single-story front, pierced by small-paned windows, to its darkly handsome, romantic-as-a-novel interior.

The inside’s post-and-beam and rough plaster construction seems more like a stage set than interior design. And careful decoration gives Company of the Cauldron one of the prettiest dining rooms around.

Copper pans hang on the walls, along with a full-rigged half model ship. Pie-plate sconces are set with flickering candles, and, overhead, there are pierced antique tin lanterns and large, gracefully curved chandeliers for soft lighting.

Antique ship paintings on the walls and boat models hanging from the ceilings seem secure in their antiquity. Tables are covered with flowered cloths, and there are real candles in brass holders and tea roses in vases.”

We couldn’t have said it any better when we when we first included this quote. It is still an apt description. The restaurant oozes romance and if you can sit in the window booth (stop by during the day after 11:30am to make your reservation and request the window seat) your view of passersby on a tree-lined gas lit street is just wonderful.

In 2017, the restaurant was purchased by Joseph Keller, who at one time was the Sous Chef at the Club Car and then the Chef at Cliffside Beach Club and the Woodbox Inn. He went on to help his brother Thomas open the acclaimed French Laundry and Bouchon in Napa.

Each night a single prix fixe dinner is served, that’s right only one. The restaurant posts its nightly selections a week in advance. A sampling of the ever-changing menu is testament to the creativity of the Chef. This is a wonderful experience, complimented three nights a week by the delightful harp music of Mary Keller.

The service is excellent and the wine list while modest in length is also modest in price. Dress is casual. Credit cards accepted. Check the daily posted menu, pick the night that looks best to you and don’t miss it.

ROMANTIC QUOTIENT: High

WHAT OTHERS SAY…
“Every meal is an experience” at this pricey, “tucked-away” spot where a “knowledgeable” staff serves a near-“perfect”, “imaginative”, “constantly changing” New American prix fixe menu in two seatings each night; the courses are posted weekly out front and online so you can “check what’s being served before making reservations” – which are “a must”, as the “romantic, very quaint” dining room “sells out quickly”; P.S. closes after the island’s popular Christmas Stroll and reopens in spring. ZAGAT