Queequeg’s

It’s easy to miss Queequeg’s as you walk around town as it is tucked away on a small street, but not if you talk to the local’s. It’s one of the favorites, both for great food and reasonable prices.

Inside, the small, intimate dining room is cozy and comfortable and decorated with faux finished rust colored walls with dark wainscoating and trim. An eclectic art collection adds color and whimsey to the space. Black and white tile floors compliment the dark wood trim and a huge picture window brings light or a views out onto the street. Mahogany tables center the room and booths ( I love booths) surround the floor.

A great little bar sits at one end of the room and judging by the fact that we could never get a seat, it is a hot spot for drinks…..mostly locals, they know what time to come and get a seat. The drink menu is unusual and worth the trip alone….even if you have to stand.

You can eat at the bar, in the dining room, or as we did, on a delightful little deck outside. There were just a few tables, it was quiet and perfect for an intimate conversation. Summer of ’11 introduced a new outside bar which is shared with sister restaurant Town.

The menu has about 8 appetizers, two can also be entrees, and 6 entree choices. My tuna tartare appetizer was served with a wonderful homemade guacamole with tortilla chips. Jen’s lobster and crab cake was filled with meat and served with a cucumber mint slaw and homemade tartar sauce. A Burgundy style braised short rib was cooked to perfection in a red wine sauce and served over sour cream mashed potatoes and Jen’s mushroom and sweet corn risotto was sprinkled with Pecorino cheese and a mushroom cream. Simple but tremendously satisfying.

The wine list is small but has some wonderful selections and may just have the best prices on the island. Oggi Pinot Grigio was priced at $28, a Chateau Vitalis Pouilly Fuisse at $48 and a Castle Rock Pinot Noir at $35 ( I buy this at home for $15, so there is none of the usual gouging here). Even the reserve list, called Captain Ahab’s list has choices under $50. Hats off to the owners!

ROMANTIC QUOTIENT: Great on the patio or inside in a booth.

WHAT OTHERS SAY…
“Queequeg couldn’t have imagined” Eclectic–New American dishes as “amazing” as those presented at this “Melville-inspired” spot in Nantucket, each of which is served up in a “whale of a portion” for a relatively “reasonable” sum year-round; the “quaint” space is “cozy” (read: “small”), though you can always “harpoon a table outside in the summer.” ZAGAT