Chew Restaurant - Downtown Jacksonville

Chew Restaurant

So I have wanted to try Chew for at least a year, maybe longer. I’ve always heard good things about it. We went last night for dinner around 6:30. The place was steady but not packed. Overall, I like the décor; it’s clean and modern. Not quite as warm as some of my favorite spots, but seeing something different was nice. It is downtown after all and feels more like Manhattan on the inside than Jacksonville.

My husband ordered a cup of the Lobster Bisque ($6) to start that was tasty and I had the Ricotta Gnocchi. On the menu, it states that it comes with seasonal mushrooms. I love, love, love gnocchi and had high expectations of the dish. The fact that it is called Ricotta Gnocchi ($13), had me expecting something cheesy and rich with a mushroom sauce. What I received was mushroom everything. There was no balance of flavors. The gnocchi was brown and tasted like mushrooms and the sauce was much like a salty Marsala. The flavor was ok, just not what I was expecting. I could get past that except that every other bite was gritty – the same texture and feeling as oysters that haven’t been cleaned well. When the waiter came by, I told him I enjoyed the dish but wondered what the grittiness was. I figured maybe the mushrooms because I know mushrooms aren’t supposed to be cleaned rigorously. Sure enough, that’s what it was and they took it off the bill. Although I didn’t care either way, I ate most of it and wasn’t expecting it for free.

Our server was polite and attentive the whole meal, so I don’t have anything bad to say about their service.

Next, our entrees came. Brett had the Braised Duck Leg salad ($14) and I had the Vanilla-Peppercorn Lobster salad ($18). Brett’s again was awesome. The duck was tender, delicious and not greasy. My salad however was a disaster, I only ate it because I was starving and I don’t really like to complain – I took the chance ordering it. It says the salad comes with vanilla pouched lobster, red peppers, Romano cheese, mixed greens and lemon-Dijon vinaigrette. With Peppercorn being in the name, you would expect some pepper somewhere. The lobster was flavorless and horribly over-cooked. Gum that has been chewed for an hour would be more tender. The red peppers were missing. The best thing about the dish was the mixed field greens and light dressing.

I’ll give Chew a C+ and a second chance. I’m sorry though, for the prices, I expect everything to be spot-on like Orsay, Biscotti’s and Bistro AIX. Consistently good, every time.