Was here for birthday party and did not expect much as the entire town of Chester looks like it could use a paint job. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. Nice staff also. read more

I just had my wife's surprise 65th Birthday Party there with about 80 people and it was AWESOME! We gave a choice between Chicken Francese, Parchment Baked Salmon and Eggplant Rollitini and Everyone said it was great no matter what they ordered! My wife said it was the best Chicken Francese she's ever had. Tony and his wife were awesome hosts and we highly recommend it! read more

Let me just say the service was amazing in this place. Our server Tiffany was accommodating and attentive. The owner greeted us and make sure we were happy with our orders. The food was amazing. I oredered the chicken parm, my bestfriend ordered the ribeye steak... both dishes were perfect! Freshly made and they came out pretty quickly. If I lived closer I'd definitely frequent this restaurant. I encourage everyone to visit this restaurant! Aldo.. try the white sangria, to die for! read more

Dinners are always delicious. Recently had pasta bolognese...outstanding. Tony's pizza always amazing.

Great meal! Fresh parm made in house! Loved the chicken parmigiana! They also had a beyond tasty house salad dressing! The peach margarita on the rocks was to die for! Next business trip I'm coming back here! read more

Rustic Wheelhouse - Italian Near Me - Chester, New York

Excellent food, great value, comfortable atmosphere and awesome service. Give it a try - well worth it!

Seven of us went for dinner on a Tues. night. The place wasn't very busy. We all ordered our food . 1) Food was cold when it arrived to the table 2 Two orders were done wrong. It was the worst experience. For the price U pay for a dinner they should get their act together. Nothing! Any of us ordered was worth what the bill came to! Then my nephew said to my husband U get a veteran discount. There was a sign on the door when we came. So my husband asked the waitress & she said I have to check. Came back from the table & said it would be only for his meal. It doesn't say that on the sign . The whole experience taking my family out to this place way a waste of money. If Your in Chester & want to go out to dinner Find another place to spend your $$$$$! So very sorry we waited a good night to enjoy family & have a good meal. This was my 2nd time at your restaurant Tony. read more

I have never been to this restaurant before and I live relatively close. I ended up going for a 60th Birthday party and let's just say I was not impressed at all as I have extensive experience in the restaurant industry. To start, the inside of the restaurant is very cute, the décor really matches the theme of the restaurant and there was a live piano player who was awesome, he sounded really great and was playing at the appropriate volume for the restaurant so you were not screaming trying to talk to the person next to you! I am very disappointed I had such a bad experience. First off, our waitress for the party had blonde curly hair passed her shoulders that was not pulled back which I immediately noticed and that's absolutely gross and also a health code violation. Secondly, there were no drink choices for those of us who do not drink soda. I asked for lemonade and the waitress said it would cost extra. To me, that doesn't make any sense. So basically the drink choices were soda or the water on the table that was never refilled. When it came time to order, there were 3 dinner choices that all had tomato sauce incorporated in them along with the Wheelhouse Chicken. My side of the table was all ready to order the Wheelhouse Chicken and was suddenly advised by the waitress (with her hair down) that someone called and cancelled that menu item choice earlier that day and she told us the kitchen was not prepared to cook them so they would not be available to order. So our choices then became the 3 choices with tomato sauce. I have a severe tomato allergy as I cannot have tomato sauce at all. It became my turn to order and I explained I cannot eat tomatoes and before I could explain I had an allergy to tomatoes the waitress's response was "you are a big party and the kitchen cannot handle separate items so please stick to your set menu." So, I ordered a dinner anyway and gave it to someone else at the party to take home and just ate the house salad that came before dinner. Needless to say, they are not accommodating and do not make things to order. Also, where our table was located in the restaurant was next to the back wall and there was a cold draft so I had to keep my winter jacket on the whole hour and half I was there and got so cold. I, along with the other ladies I came with, left before dessert because we were so cold and hungry. Not to mention, the parking is terrible! It is a dark parking lot in the back behind restaurants and near apartments. By the time we got there at 7:30 I had to park far from the restaurant and walk up a steep, alleyway. Obviously, I will not return. read more

Was there on Saturday and got some delicious appetizers! Our calamari was perfectly cooked and tasted great so thank you for that. Just wanted to also mention the staff of this establishment, they were all so warm and friendly it felt like we were long-time family friends. We had a blast! read more

Food was OK but service was very slow and the place was empty. I had the baked grilled cheese sandwich and it would have been much better had it been hot. read more

Everyone deserves a second chance,.... well maybe not...'everyone'. My family and I were in the mood for a night out so we decided to give a local restaurant that we were disappointed in, one before, a second chance. We arrived at the Rustic Wheelhouse around 6PM and the place already had a good amount of tables filled,... about 75%. Now to be fair I should point out that there were positive as well as negative points to our night at the Rustic Wheelhouse. First the positives, The staff couldn't have been nicer. We were greeted by a lovely young lady who was charming and very friendly. Our waitress (sorry 'server') arrived immediately with menus and to take a beverage order. She was 100% on her game in both appearance and demeanor, very present and quick. There were NO children (BIG PLUS) in sight and most of the tables were either in their late 20's-30' or older. Everyone was nicely dressed...(by todays standards)....the tables were nicely spaced and the atmosphere (decor) was pleasant and tasteful. Now the first hammer blow... there was live entertainment that shouldn't have begun until at least 8PM. It would seem that the management was going for a cabaret/bistro feel. The performers were way to loud for a dinner crowd and made conversation between our party impossible. We were 'treated' to an eclectic array of jazz, pop and sentimental old favorites. Now let me stop here... I wish to be fair.. We were well aware that there was often live entertainment at this place and didn't like it the last time we were here, so this was no shock. Like I began this review, this was a second chance dinner. At some point we noticed that the majority of the persons eating were their for the show or were in someway friends of followers of the performers. There were a few long winded ramblings given by the 'main attraction' that seem to be on par with an inside joke to most of the audience/dinners. WOW, I didn't even get to the food yet an I've already written a novel. In short, the music was inappropriately loud and subpar in quality. Now to the food and the disposition of our group. There was myself, 50+ male and champion eater of anything that in not twitching. Then there was my wife, also a 50+ female who is a top rated food artisan herself and knows good food. Lastly, my son, a 20+ health conscious male who also enjoys good food. We ordered three different dinners. First, I had the Chicken Rustica followed by my wife who had the Chicken Wheelhouse and finally my son who had the 10" Neapolitan pizza. Most of the meals were prepared relatively quick, I say 'most' because there was a 10 minuet lag between the arrival of the two chicken dishes and the pizza. This was in no way the fault of the waitress who kept us constantly updated as to the situation with the balance of our order. This meant that my wife and I had to sit with our dinner on the table, in front of us, while our son waited for his pizza. Not being rude or inconsiderate, we waited for his pizza to arrive so we could eat as a family. That meant that our food was cold when we began to eat. My Chicken Rustica was 75% potato, 5% sun-dried peppers, 15% chick peas, 3% artichoke and a whopping 2% chicken. I counted 4, 1/2 inch chunks, of chewy tasteless chicken swimming in the Rustica 'fluid'. There was one large artichoke cut in half hiding under a mountain of potatoes and chickpeas.... this dish was a D-. Dish #2 was the Wheelhouse Chicken which was another total disappointment. Three overcooked tasteless and unevenly seasoned 'chicken' cutlets. As my wife's fork explored each slice of these breasts she was 'treated' to a different seasoning in every bite. The broccli-rabe was mushy and over seasoned to the point of being uneatable. The mashed potatoes were real and fresh made but again overly seasoned. Steer clear of the Wheelhouse chicken..another D-. Lastly we have the Pizza, it was O.K. It seemed to be on par with a microwaveable 10" frozen Walmart pizza. We went back to the Rustic Wheelhouse with high hopes that we had just caught them on a bad day the last time we were there. Alas, we were were wrong, it was us that were treated to a 'bad dinner' ..twice. I could go on but I shall not subject you to a continuance to this novel. We will NOT be returning read more

Went here with friends to have dinner and see a band. The place was totally understaffed (according to previous reviews, this seems to be a pattern). It took at least 30 minutes to get our drinks and another hour and a half for our meals to be served; not only was my dish lukewarm, it was bland and nondescript. I was way too hungry to send it back - didn't feel like waiting another hour for it. Can't understand why management allows this to continually happen. When you advertise a band, you have to properly plan to serve a large crowd. Since we live in the area, we really wanted to like this place but it's highly doubtful we'll return. I don't think my dinner mates will. read more

I hardly ever write reviews here before but I felt like I had to for this one. This restaurant is top notch and definitely a hidden gem even for NYC standards. Before even stepping in, it looked like a historical place that anybody would want to go in and check out. Everybody from the hostess to the waiter and even the chef treated us all with a lot of respect and were very attentive to us throughout the entire night like we were family. The food was also amazing as we were pretty skeptical of finding a good place in the area (we're from Brooklyn so you would understand why). We came here to celebrate our daughter's 10th birthday with a decent size group after skiing and when reserving it with the lady on the phone, she was very nice about the whole arrangement and whipped up delicious cakes for us that we all loved after singing happy birthday. She will definitely always remember this night which makes me really happy. When we first got there, Tony served some delicious bread for us from that nice brick oven which definitely set the tone for us for the rest of the night. He even went as far as telling us all about the place and how he got there which I thought was very interesting. The waiter did a great job with the service as well and was very nice. You don't get this kind of combination of good food and service anywhere anymore so we were pretty impressed by it. Highly recommended for anybody looking for a nice restaurant with great food and service from a solid staff. I would definitely come back again when we're in the area. Thanks again Tony and crew!! Keep up the good work and we wish you great success. read more

We had a very unpleasant experience here with service, but the management reached out to us and made it right. We returned to try it again and had an amazing experience. The food here is above average. I had the bolognese and it was one of the better ones ive had anywhere. Entrees come with salads which have mixed greens and very good dressings. The pizza was good, not great, I would order it again if in the mood for thin crust brick oven. Menue is smaller but is fairly priced and can accommodate vegetarians. The creme brulee was one of the best ive had. The ambiance is very cozy and the staff is very attentive and friendly. We will be back again. read more

Good selection of beer and the pizza was good too. It was only my wife and I and we decided to get two of the small pies and it was more then enough. One large would probably have done the job and saved us some money. They offer to split the toppings on the large. read more

The Rustic Wheelhouse is such a nice restaurant. I have gone there a few times and the food and service are always wonderful. They even offer online ordering so if you aren't in the mood to talk to anyone, you can still order some delicious food to go. read more

Stopped by to wait for traffic to pass. We had lasagna and pappardelle it was delicious. Great service and friendly staff. Thank you!

I am a night shift RN who worked a very long night shift the night into Valentine's day. When I woke up the evening of Valentine's night all I wanted to do was get some good take out and have a cozy dinner at home with my husband (who is also a medical health professional by the way). I placed an order for take out, i had never been to the restaurant before but thought we would try it out. Now, i went there to pick up the food dressed in sweatpants, winter coat and winter boots (I did not feel like getting dolled up after the shift I had just to pick up take out). The restaurant was beautiful on the outside and the vibe inside was also very nice. They had a live band performing and immediately I thought what a nice place it was for date night with my husband. I walked in, 4 people looked at me and immediately turned around. It seemed pretty busy but I don't think that is any excuse to not even smile or acknowledge another human being and customer. I waked up to the desk where there was 2 waitresses who saw me but turned their back to me, There was a guy who looked at me but then just walked away. No greeting, no smile, no may i help you, nothing. I stood there looking at the food sitting right in front of me with my name on the receipt. Two more people walked past me no acknowledgement. I began feeling so self conscious thinking that maybe it was the way I was dressed? I have no idea? Finally a young girl walked by and I got her attention and said that I would like to pay for my food. She went and found someone who could help me. A lady cashed me out and gave me my chAnge. There was no friendly exchange or thank you for your order or have a good night. I walked out feeling so small (for lack of better word). I could not believe the treatment or lack of treatment that I experienced tonight. I will never set foot into your restaurant again. I grew up in Chester, my whole family did. We relocated back here because we love this small town. I should have just turned around and walked out but I placed an order and I wanted to do the right thing and pay for what I ordered. The food, however, definitely was not worth the emotions that I felt when walking out of there. Work on your customer sevice no matter what they look like when they walk through your door. We pay your bills. read more

Food was tasty but a bit heavy on the oil in some of the dishes. We had the linguine puttanesca and chicken a la rustica. Enjoyed both but lots of oil at the bottom. Would have.prefered a light sauce. There was also no music playing during parts of our meal. We had an early dinner and the place was a bit too quiet. read more

Rustic Wheelhouse - Large space with good amount of seating. - Italian Near Me - Chester, New York

See all

I came to the Rustic Wheelhouse with my husband and daughter while visiting my mother, stepdad & brother who live right next door to Chester in Goshen. We were wanting to treat my parents to a nice dinner as a thank you for hosting us. The reviews seem mixed but we had high hopes and went in with open minds. The decor and ambience were spot on with the name and I personally liked both. What I didn't enjoy was the fact that it was nearly 90 degrees out and the restaurant was extremely warm inside. They had some ceiling fans running and I saw AC units on the walls but none appeared to be on. We ordered calamari for the table, each adult ordered salads and various entrees, my brother (who has a very restricted diet) was able to order something special from the kitchen and my daughter got a personal pizza. The waitress was very sweet and attentive despite it being very hot in the dining room (plus she was running up and downstairs to the kitchen so I was feeling for her!) and they even had a fun family friendly trivia game hosted tonight which I enjoyed. The food itself, I am sad to say, was disappointing. Calamari was super crunchy and cooked perfectly but was bland (though the dipping marinara was yummy and very fresh tasting); salads were all good and dressings were yummy; all the entrees needed salt or some general seasoning. For the price of the dishes I was just hoping for more flavor, though the portions were decent. Just nothing spectacular here. I can see it being a fun place to have an appetizer and a drink while you play trivia or spend time with friends, just not the 5 star meal I was hoping for tonight. Also, I have to note that out of 6 of us, 4 of us currently have tummy aches and I'm not sure what the deal is there. Not pegging it on the food, but it's just odd and we all have pretty iron clad stomachs. So, overall, proceed with caution in my opinion! read more

This restaurant is a find in Chester. Excellent food with a nice bar. Pizza also available but my favorite here is Chicken Marsala. You can't go wrong with the constant flavor. Staff friendly and chef does a great job with all dishes. I also love their hamburgers. Try this place. You won't be disappointed! read more

Went there with hubby for dinner last night. I've been wanting to try this place since I moved here cause we live right down the street. I really like the ambience of the place and we both agreed we can see a smaller version of the place in the city. Our servers were both really nice and prompt. With all that said, me n hubby had a really different experience when it comes to the meal. I had chicken Parmesan and thought it was wonderful and hubby even said it might be one of the best chicken Parmesan we've had. However, he really disliked his rustic wheelhouse chicken. He thinks the whole dish could've had more flavor and chicken was a bit dry. read more

About a month ago, my husband and I decided to have dinner at the Rustic Wheelhouse once again. We eat our frequently and have several places we go to often. We had been to the Rustic Wheelhouse a couple of times before and decided to go again. I ordered the marinated chicken; my husband ordered a special, pasta with shrimp and scallops which if memory serves, was $25 or $26. I won't belabor this review but will just say we thought they must have hired a new chef! The meal was awful; the chicken was dry and did not appear to have been marinated. The potatoes (about two tablespoons) were cold. I ate nothing. My husband's dish had three or four (small) shrimp and he had to hunt around in the dish to find a scallop which were tiny when he could find one. We each had a glass of wine and he had also ordered an appetizer -- with tip, the bill was $97.00. To our knowledge the waitress never told anyone how displeased we were with our meal, but I decided to write the owner a letter. (snail mail) I had heard restaurant owners would prefer to know if you are displeased rather than the customer telling friends and family how bad a meal was. I did this as a kindness, rather than to write a review on Yelp. Much to my surprise, I never received a response of any kind from the owner, not even an email (which I had provided) So, I've now told everyone I know about the terrible meal and also the rudeness and arrogance of owners who did not feel it necessary communicate in any way about a less-than-stellar meal. Needless to say, we will never return to the Rustic Wheelhouse. read more

Great little find- awesome service, great food, really nice atmosphere, full bar. We happened upon this place while visiting for a wedding and had a fantastic lunch that started our vaca off right! Thank you!! read more

We've been here twice and have found the food to be fantastic as is the service (Anna was awesome!). We find the prices very reasonable considering the quality of the food. The only reason it gets 4 star is because nothing really stands out in the menu for me... but that's a personal evaluation. Eh, I'm changing the review to a 5! Oh, and the cheesecake is probably the best I've ever had! read more

Unfortunately we never even had a chance to sit down and eat so this is a review for the service only. My Boyfriend, myself and another couple came here on a Saturday night, because I had heard good things from my clients and the reviews on yelp sounded good. We walked in the door and there was already a large group waiting for the hostess. This group stood around maybe 10 minutes before the hostess appeared to take their reservation name. after Taking the group's name she informed that that it would be another 5 minutes. Now in this time we were standing behind this group and the hostess did not acknowledge us once. Finally that group was seated, and we were now standing alone by the hostess station and not a single person had said a word to us. I finally flag down a waiter and ask if the hostess is availible. he told us that she would be up in a minute. Finally this woman finally comes back looking flustered ( i don't know why because half the tables in the restaurant were empty) and asked us in a rather nasty voice if we had a reservation. we told her we didnt and she then informed us it would be a 45 minute wait. Meanwhile half the tables in the place are EMPTY. At this point a woman from the bar came over and told us that the exact same thing happened to her. so we finally just decided to go over to allan's falafel and grab food. Its a shame because i will never spend a single cent in this establishment, and I will be sure to tell all my clients not to either. First impressions are everything! read more

I've been wanting to try this place for awhile now and finally did this evening. I have nothing but great things to say. Our server, Dustin was great. Very attentive and made us feel welcome. The food was delicious. We ordered seafood corn chowder, tortellini a la vodka and the wheel house chicken. All of these dishes were delicious. Even my son's Mac and cheese blew me away. The cheesecake was absolutely delicious too! We will be returning and I would recommend if you are in Chester or close by, to give this place a try! read more

Wonderful little restaurant with excellent service and food. Varied menu offers many options, including a nice wine list. Each dish was individually prepared and absolutely delicious. Our waiter Destin was attentive and courteous throughout. Owner/chef came by to ask how everything was. Atmosphere is country casual and intimate. Will definitely return!!! read more

Went in and sat at the bar. No one acknowledged our existence, made eye contact, said hello or anything. Horrible place. Horrible BRIGHT atmosphere. Cafeteria like setting. We left and went to Clayton Delaneys where we were promptly greeted with a hello and a smile. We will never go back to the Rustic Wheelhouse. read more

The Rustic Wheelhouse in downtown Chester NY is an absolute gem!!!! A warm, friendly and inviting place where you can sit and relax and are made to feel very welcome! The owners are friendly and genuinely appreciate your business. The menu offers varied choices and what we have had so far has been delicious! Friday and Saturday nights there is live entertainment. What is also wonderful about this place is it is spotlessly clean, including the restrooms! Try it and it will become your go to place!! read more

Rustic Wheelhouse - The Rustic Wheelhouse in downtown Chester NY. An absolute gem!!!! Very very comfortable atmosphere, friendly owner who values your business. - Italian Near Me - Chester, New York

Tried for the first time, quite pleasantly surprised. Great staff, ambiance, food and service. Very reasonably priced. Ordered Marsala and the bolognese, both VERY good. Highly recommend, we will be making this a regular stop read more

Had lunch today and it took 1 hour and 45 min. to get soup and sandwich. There was one other table in the restaurant when we arrived, but they were done by the time we ordered. The soup was OK, but to salty, and took 45 minutes to get it. The grilled cheese had 3 slices of bread with very little cheese, and the bread was burned. The service was VERY slow and the server was inattentive. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant and we will not go back. read more

Best meal I've had in a long time. Go there! Excellent! Great dessert. Great everything, good friendly service. read more

Cozy Italian restaurant. All the food is homemade (inluding the pasta). The servers are very friendly and the owner is always there to offer a up a "Hello, thanks for coming." Try her brownie sundae. It's phenomenal. read more

Our experience was very disappointing. The Wheelhouse Chicken was very thin boneless chicken breast with ZERO flavor and it was served with broccoli rabe that was over sauteed. It was supposed to have come with a salad, but our server forgot that. She also forgot to ask if we wanted another drink, dessert...nada. My husband ordered the fried calamari, which was good, but that was the highlight. read more

Just left one of those most delicious dinners I've had in a very long time! My party of two and a toddler were well taken care of by the staff. Everyone was incredibly friendly and attentive. All of the food was amazing. We had the French onion soup and the special soup which was chic peas, sausage, and spinach. Wonderful!! The pasta dishes were preceded by salads that were included. Both the Caesar dressing and their house vinaigrette were delicious. And... the pasta! Wow! My puttanesca was unbelievable and I couldn't stop eating it until it was all gone. I think I might burst! My friend had the Alfredo with shrimp and her only complaint was that she had to remove the tails which were very saucy. Will absolutely return again soon!!! read more

We went here because the place we planned on going to was closed for Passover and this place was nearby. So glad we went! The bread in the beginning is nice and simple, just some toasted italian bread with butter - but it was so delicious! The calamari was great, nice and soft - not very gummy or overbreaded. The ambiance is mellow and quiet, but then again we went on a Tuesday night and there weren't many patrons there. I ordered the surf and turf with the house salad with white balsamic vinegarette that was really good. Although my steak was well done (I ordered it medium), the shrimp were cooked nicely. The waiter did offer to get me another steak without me having to ask, he just asked how the steak was and when I didn't answer verbally (I was chewing at the moment) he said, "It was a little well done right?" I said, Yeah.. so he asked if I wanted another one but at that point I was hungry and didn't want to wait for another one so I said it was fine. My husband enjoyed his meal, he got the chicken wheelhouse and substituted the mashed potatoes with a pasta dish for $8 extra (the waiter did say they would have to charge extra for it but that he told the chef to make it bigger than a side since he had to charge for it). I had a decaf cappuccino to end our dinner, which was delicious. in all it was a great experience and we'll definitely be back! read more

Rustic Wheelhouse - The surf and turf - Italian Near Me - Chester, New York

See all

After dining at the Rustic Wheelhouse before and having a positive experience, my wife and I decided to head back. Unfortunately this time around didn't go so well. The restaurant was not busy with only 5 tables occupied. We were seated right away and given menus without the waiter asking for a drink order. We sat for ten minutes with no one coming over to the table to take a drink or food order, I am not going to ask for service so we walked out and had a good meal with good service across the street. Unfortunately I don't post my positive experiences but hopefully this will make management aware of this issue. As a side note, we run an AIR BNB and this restaurant is on our recommendation list. Our last guests who ate there also complained of the service but did have a positive experience otherwise. read more

First time at this restaurant, glad we tried it. Nice, intimate, good wine list, food was delicious, staff was very attentive. I think the menu could've offered more variety but other than than that, everything was very nice. There was even a live piano player!! Would definitely go again. read more

We had a lovely Saturday lunch this past weekend. Our server April is pleasant and very patient and prompt when we needed help. The food was excellent homemade tasty. From the bread to the chicken manicotti to the fish and chips to the three different types of dissertation we had. The Brule and cannoli. Perfect! The tables are far part so you can have a conversation without interfering other guests. And the ambiance is very calm and decorated just right. read more