Chleo — Restaurant in City of Kingston

It’s rare that every dish I order wows me, and I was so pleased that Chleo achieved that!

Little Gem Salad, Buttermilk Dressing, Radishes, Toasted Seeds (not pictured) • 9/10

The greens were absolutely gorgeous, and the dressing was perfectly decadent while not being too heavy. My only critique is that I am a lover of seeds and nuts in everything, and it was seeded a little too heavily to the point that every bite was a little bit difficult to chew. This didn’t hinder my experience but it was definitely noticeable,

Spaghetti with agretti and anchovy • 10/10

This was so delicious. I had never had agretti before and I asked the waitress what it was, neither of us could quite figure it out even though I was googling it while we were talking. The balance in flavor and texture of this dish was incredible. Anchovy can be so overpowering and it was used perfectly here, just as an addition to the depth of the sauce.

Kingston Bread & Bar Sourdough + Cultured butter • 9/10

I will never get over how good this bread is. The crust to soft inside ratio is perfect, and the sourness from the sourdough is just right. My only criticism here is that the bread is $5 and the butter is $2. I understand these are local and well made foods but in my opinion the bread should come with butter. I’d be happy to pay for them as a unit it just seems silly to order a side of butter. This is probably on the menu like this because there are other things you can buy to add to the bread (cheese, pate, etc) but still, the bread should come with butter.

Overall this was a really amazing experience and I’m so excited to come back when I visit...

I'm sad to say I was wildly disappointed with our experience at Chleo because I was truly looking forward to not only a wonderful evening, but we are also looking for a restaurant where we can become regulars in Kingston. Unfortunately our search will continue. Perhaps Chleo is more of a sharing restaurant...because there were literally only two dinners to choose from on the menu... lamb or spaghetti...we ordered one of each, and also ordered the potato rosti as an appetizer. Thank goodness we did...because the lamb was just a small plate of meat...there was not a potato, not a veggie, not a roll to accompany it and the spaghetti, was a tiny portion of noodles with a little parmesan and basil. Our waitress was lovely, but I wish she had explained that my $41 entree was just a few slices of delicious meat, and if I was looking for anything else to make it into a full meal, I would need to order more. Needless to say, we will not be returning, and if you're hungry for a full meal with more than one food group represented, I suggest you...

Delicious, pricey, and caters to a non-local audience. As a local, I don't see myself going back again, after a handful of tries.

I would recommend to anybody that they try Chleo for their first time, but it's hard to convince me it's worth a repeat visit. Anybody coming up from NYC or looking for a fancy birthday dinner is in for a treat.

The food is inspired, and the open kitchen with the giant firepit is a very cool concept.

But it's a near-guarantee you'll pay $100/seat for dinner+drink, and at the end of the meal, you'll find it tasted great, but you're walking out the door hungry. I'd find more value in the food and experience if they leaned all the way in on the gourmet experience and offered a full tasting menu.

Finally, $8 for a quarter-boule of bread + salted butter is bananas. This is not a location where I can go often as a local. Great food, similar wines, (free) delicious bread, and Happy Hours exist elsewhere, and...