5 stars. We were sat a little after our reservation time, but they more than made up for it by giving us a free appetizer and free round of drinks. The service was great; our server was very attentive and knowledgeable. We sat by the open kitchen, which was very lively and fun to see. But the real star of the show here is the food. We had the roast chicken with apricot jam-- so good! We also had the macadamia encrusted snapper-- one of the most delicious things we've ever had. Very well done! We'll for sure be back again, especially for the fried chicken and the banana pudding cheesecake! read more

Great Happy hour and delicious food. We love eating here then catching a show at Lyric theater next door. The meatloaf and Mables chicken are must haves when you visit. You won't be disappointed.... read more

Went there for drinks and dinner. The bartender, Ian, was great. Very friendly and made hubby and great Old Fashioned. I had the fried chicken and hubby had the meat loaf. Both were outstanding. Will definitely go back. read more

The complacency of stuart restaurants is apparent in downtown. Uninspired dishes, overpriced and sub-par level presentations. We went to enjoy some wine and appetizers and I have to say disappointed doesnt even come close. I have had several charcuterie trays all over the world so I do know them and your has to be the sadest excuse for one. 5 pieces of salami, and 2 cheeses, some homemade pickles, whole grain mustard and just liquid honey no comb. Some crackers and assorted bread, all for $22.00. I didnt take a picture of yours because it's not worthy of my phone but I added a photo to give you a look at a one that is done correctly. If you cant do the small things right what makes you think you have the big picture in perspective. read more

The Gafford - An example of a well done charcuterie platter, this is not THE GAFFER'S so dont expect it. - Salad Near Me - Stuart, Florida

Excellent food and service. The staff was very nice and the food was very good, especially the pork chop. The only issue was the long waiting time. read more

Great service and good, quality food!!!! Came here on Mother's Day and it was surprisingly better service and food than expected! Will be coming back :) read more

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Wow! This place was amazing! We haven't had a dinner this tasty in a while and we have spent much more in the past. We went on a Sunday when all alcohol is 50% off including bottles of wine! We ordered a Caesar salad and crab cakes to start. The crab cakes were tasty, not too dense and just right. My husband had the pork chop and I had the mahi for dinner. The pork chop had layers of flavor. Pork with maple glaze, apple and subtly sweet. The mahi had coconut and chili flavors. It was so tasty and everything was cooked to perfection. I can't say enough good things. Our meals were phenomenal! read more

Phenomenal spot. Grace was flawless. Taylor handled an entitled dbag about as professionally as possible. Hummus was on point, hanger steak was to die for. Peanut butter pie was the perfect finish. Couldn't have had a better experience. Will be back 100% read more

Was very impressed by the chefs visions and execution. The short rib was phenomenal and very well balanced. Solid cocktail list and the duck wings were addictive! I will be coming back! The menu was very well thought out! read more

This restaurant has good food nice people however the bar staff is not as friendly and treat you as if you are lucky to get served a drink. I usually tip 30 percent but was rudely avoided with alot of attitude I have never experienced in my life and it left me feeling hurt . read more

Good service and we love the vibe here. Nice folks all around. The food is pretty solid, we just don't love sitting outside personally. They have a good happy hour as well. We have become regulars here. read more

One great place to enjoy dinner. Have brought several friends up from North Palm Beach and no one has left less than impressed! The wait staff is great! Thanks for you attentive service Nick! But the star is the food. Elective menu of delicious selections, the meatloaf is 5 star, the pork chops are a hit, and Mabel's fried chicken gets my wife excited every time! Can't go wrong with this cozy spot! read more

No sooner did I leave the restaurant did I want to leave a review. Heck, I should have done it during dinner. Our server, Janine was fantastic- top notch! From describing the specials to informing us of Wine Wednesday (50% off all bottles) She was great at giving recommendations and didn't miss a beat. On to the food: we ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes topped with a good portion of crabmeat, the Burrata appetizer was amazing, and the fried chicken was great as well. The owner, Rick checked on our table, which is so nice to see nowadays. He was very friendly as well. All around great place. Can't wait to go back! read more

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Maybels fried chicken was fantastic. Not heavy or greasy and falls apart. Consistently very good food and service.

I travel to Stuart for business at least once a month and someone recommended the Gafford. The first time I visited I had the famous fried chicken and it was amazing. I have been back at least 8 times since then and always recommend this place to anyone I know in the Stuart area. A must-try for sure!! read more

If you want a great meal every time. This is where to go. If we are in Stuart it's a guarantee we will be stopping here. Highly recommended the Gafford! read more

Third time disappointed. This place just keeps getting weirder. Drink orders can be forgotten, but three times in a row by the same bartender? This would not have been a big deal except that it got much worse: All three times we had to go to the second bartender for the order. However this bartender's pours were so weak in comparison that I eventually mentioned it since everyone around us were getting much healthier pours. The bartender GLARED at me, then poured from a measuring glass to prove his point. We have always tipped well, so how is this treatment warranted? Please note; we frequent a lot of restaurants around town and I have never written another review like this one. No place is perfect, but nowhere else have we had these problems so consistently, now even rudeness. The wine and SOME of the dishes are very good, these are the only redeeming factors I can see. For a second time, I am so disappointed in this place. Drinks supposedly are half price on happy hour. It is never mentioned that this is only for well liquor. (Their well vodka is Mc'Cormicks which we all know is undrinkable.) So an upgrade to a better vodka for a simple vodka-soda drink is $10! Of course the bartenders are not REQUIRED to explain it, but a good bartender does. Most of the places we frequent do that, presumably because they want their customers coming back? What you are doing here is pushing away your regulars, and creating bad PR for yourselves. Is that really what you want? I don't want to come back to The Gafford, but my partner does, I for one am not going to give this business the satisfaction of overcharging us one more time, and I will be telling everyone I can about these practices. This has been a great place up until now and we were regulars, but our most recent experience was so disappointing. A week ago the crab cakes were $14 on the happy hour menu. A couple of nights ago we ordered them, not realizing the price had been raised to $21, ($25 on the regular menu.) The happy hour menus were not given out, so we foolishly made the assumption that prices were the same. Furthermore, the crab cakes were terrible! They had very little actual crab meat in them, and they were dry. We were paying for breading, not crab. We can get a whole crab and lobster entree for $26 at Bonefish, so what a nerve this place has! The way they apply their so-called discount coupons also doesn't make sense. We wanted to use one but were not allowed to because we were happy hour customers. So if we stayed past happy hour and ordered food and drinks at full price - we still wouldn't be allowed to use that coupon? That's how it was explained to us, and that is also ridiculous. Not sure I can recommend this place to our guests anymore, and not sure if we will be back. read more

We used to really like this place. The outside is charming. But the service was awful the other night. I asked 4 different servers for a refill of water- (I would have had another drink but was never asked) - and waited over 20 minutes. The crab cakes were over cooked and terribly dry. They were out of the one vegan entree on the menu. Probably will not return so soon as even the hostesses were not very welcoming. read more

Best burger I have ever had! Seriously, I have never had one better! Plus the town is super cute to walk around.

We were very excited to try this place, especially since we haven't been out to a nice restaurant in months. This place met every expectation we could have had. Very classy place, delicious food, and friendly/attentive staff!! The price is not bad considering the large portions and fancy plating! Very very happy with our experience! If you're in the area don't miss out on this gem! read more

The Gafford - The Mabel 's Fried Chicken Ancho Hangar Steak INSANELY AMAZING!!! We will absolutely be back! - Salad Near Me - Stuart, Florida

Food is ALWAYS yummy, never disappointed. This is one of my favorite restaurants. Staff are friendly and attentive.

Amazing as always the food is always on point and the drinks are as well! Complements to the chef and entire staff!

This is hands down, our all time favorite place to dine when we visit. We stay on Hutchinson Island for about a week every year and The Gafford is our go-to evening out. Last Sunday evening just solidified our opinion. We dined on the Gafford steak, filet mignon, and grilled avocado. Our server, Jilly, was so pleasant and attentive. She made sure that our glasses were never empty. :) AND it was Sunday Funday when all drinks are half priced including top shelf and bottles of wine! Can't wait until next year for our next visit! read more

If you're looking for a beautiful setting, and exquisite food for a date night or special occasion, this is the place! Our waitress was very patient and knowledgeable and informed us of the current offerings, and even helped pairing our wine with the entree. It is pricey, but very classy, romantic, and private. Don't forget to buy a round for the staff on your way out! read more

The Gafford - Chicken Thighs - The Gafford - Salad Near Me - Stuart, Florida

Found this little gem and it was an absolute 10/10. Food was amazing very fresh, unique dishes with locally sourced ingredients, drinks were great, service perfect. We live in Jupiter but would actually drive just for this place. Lots of cute shops in the area to make an afternoon of it. Highly recommend. read more

Memorable - Not today. Restaurant interior reminds me of a eating at a diner. Unfortunately, the prices are not what you would expect to pay at a diner. Table and chairs are poorly made/uncomfortable. One would expect at a Sunday dinner and apron on the table considering the total bill was over $300. Also I have come to expect at "finer" restaturants bread to be brought to the table while waiting for the meal. This was not the case at The Gaffard. Expect to pay a service charge on using your credit card. Lastly, at least Olive Garden, Carrabba's, Longhorn Steakhouse have salt/pepper shakers on the table- not here. I see no reason to return due to the lack of ambience and atmosphere one expects when dining out at a pricier restaurant read more

Best steak in Stuart!!! Spent 3 weeks in the spring going to every restaurant in Stuart to find the best steak. The Gafford is the winner!

I absolutely love this restaurant! It has such a beautiful ambiance.. it is an elegant yet cozy restaurant ... the farm to table food is beyond amazing. The Gafford is in the heart of downtown Stuart & is a gem The old-fashioned was delicious not to mention the lobster bisque with coconut & pineapple salsa The ribeye steak was a perfect medium temperature and omigawd that chocolate mousse cake was Devine! The services was Excellent our servers Harmony & Cody were beyond awesome! read more

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We had a truly wonderful time here at The Gafford the other night. There were six of us and they took our reservation for a Saturday and our table was ready and waiting. Being from NYC, The Gafford reminded me of a NYC Bistro, busy and bustling with closely knit tables and a comfy looking bar to hang and drink or sit at the bar and have dinner.... My kind of place, where the service is impeccable, friendly and the drinks are served with attention and care all the while feeling at ease and happy. There are a few rooms to sit in, each with a different ambiance of your liking. All of us started with a salad and most of us went for the special (heirloom tomatoes). These salads were a meal and delicious. For an entree, I had the meatloaf (special), which was an unusual twist on a classic, this one with brisket and ground beef with a tomato glaze--slightly smoked. Honestly, it was far away from a meatloaf classic and more like a slow cooked barbecue braciole, none the less delicious, albeit not what I was expecting... however, there was not a morsel left on my plate, and I wanted more. Three others had the house favorite (Mabel's Fried Chicken), which was tender, delicious and served with copious amounts of mashed potatoes and haricot vert string beans... a good portion of it you will take home.... For tomorrow.... Cold... and will not wait for utensils.... Another had the Snapper and she loved it. For dessert, six of us split the deep friend banana cheesecake with ice-cream... yikes... I cannot imagine one person eating this... it was corruptingly wonderful. One can get away here with a full belly and a decent bill. The Fried chicken is $16 and the meatloaf was $20... add to that a glass of Hess Chardonnay and a Sweetwater IPA, sitting at the bar? That my friend is a great night out at a reasonable price. After dinner, go walk it off on the boardwalk and catch a concert or farmer's market--there is always something going on in my new home town, which is happening, these days. read more

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Great staff, fantastic vino selections only wish they had more. Food is delicious, everything I've tried has been a great selection. Reservations highly recommended, they are typically filled up. Seating is small but it adds to the charm. Can get a bit noise if your near the bar area. Have seen the owner helping out, a rare sight in most restaurants but seems to care. Can't honestly say I have a favorite as everything I've tried I would eat again. Haven't completed the menu yet, but working on it. Minus 1 star due to seating and noise level only. read more

Visiting friends in Stuart...they suggested The Gafford... This place is packed on a Saturday evening, but we are there at the "changeover" time...lots of people leaving for the theater next door, so we are able to get a table at 7... We had Fried Chicken excellent, Meatloaf excellent, Crab cakes excellent and a fried chicken salad.... We all tasted each others dishes...and I can say that this restaurant definitely rates the 5 star rating. read more

This was our second visit here and not the greatest experience. We were put at an undesirable table facing the kitchen so I asked if we could sit over on the bar side where it's much nicer.After that our service went down the tubes. We had the worst server I think I have ever had at any restaurant. I ordered a margarita and it didn't taste like one. Took about 15 min to get the drink. The bread was brought out after 30 min and it was hard as a rock. An hour later I asked where our food was and she said it takes awhile. I then found out she never put our order thru. I ordered their famous chicken and the breading was barely cooked, the mashed potatoes were lukewarm and the gravy was cold. I believe the server makes or breaks your experience. Our last server we had the first time we went there was excellent! Sorry to say we will not be back after our experience with the incompetent server and food/drink. read more

My wife and I joined a few friends for a birthday dinner at the Gafford Restaurant in Stuart, Fl on Friday night, May 18 and really enjoyed the friendly wait staff and the food was hot and delicious. The meat and cheese plate was filled with three cheeses, salami, house pickles, bread chips and some of the best honey ever tasted. Each of us picked from the prime choices of entrees that included salmon, lamb, beef and chicken, along with fresh vegetable and a good assortment of desserts. We enjoyed it and will do it again soon. Check them out for yourself and share your experience. read more

They can not cook a steak to order. Over the years it became an inside joke with us. At these prices and with their "reputation", you'd expect better than line cook quality food. Steaks are always overcooked. read more

Excellent service and the food was amazing. They can mix a drink with the best of them as well. Great date night spot. We'll be back!

The Gafford is perhaps the best restaurant I have ever encountered! Their menu is Southern inspired, fresh, features local ingredients, and is the perfect mix of funky and classic. We came here a few times on vacation and were totally impressed by the service and quality of the food. The charcuterie is incredible and changes daily. Their burger is amazing, as is the fried green tomato. Their fried chicken was the best I have ever had and their salads are so delicious and unexpected. I cannot recommend this place more! It also is in a really cute part of town, perfect for walking around after dinner. read more

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Great meal at the bar. Bartender was so friendly. Gluten free aware and very accommodating. The famous fried chicken is really good! Come hungry! Cocktails and wine are fantastic. Great wines by the glass. Can't wait to return. read more

Great blueberry basil cocktail, fried chicken was fantastic - gravy had great flavor, and service was good

Been to this local eatery several times but this might be the last. The menu is just plain boring. The appetizers are the chef gets a chance to be creative and show his passion Uninspiring. Salad with butternut squash delivered- tasty and not overly sweet. Entrees just run of the mill Hangar steak and few "crusted" fish entrees. Not a busy Tuesday evening but the service was uninspiring by our aging surfer waiter. Never inquired if everything was satisfactory, it wasn't. My wides medium rare was overcooked. Never inquired if we would like another cocktail after our first. Not service that you would call bad, just short what you expect when the tab hits$100 for two. Its always a treat to get out and support the local restaurants when all the seasonal visitors are gone. Unfortunately it looks like the quality staff left with them. read more

Good food served quickly in a very loud atmosphere. Nice specials every night. Will not seat you before 5, therefore no dinner before the show at the lyric. read more