The Pheasant — Restaurant in Dennis

The Name Can Be Deceiving!— I like 2 think I’m a fair person when it comes 2 giving a place the benefit of the doubt. When new owners sev yrs ago took this restaurant over, I’m afraid it looks as if they intended & still do 2 deceive prev customers of the former “Red Pheasant Inn” by “slightly” changing the new name 2 “The Pheasant Inn” therefore at least expecting 2 get u & ALL the prev customers who thoroughly enjoyed The Red Pheasant’s amazing fare in the door, instead of standing & building on 1’s own reputation w/a new name !! I was envisioning a special last evening w/my children, ea newly married, 2 delight them & their spouses 2 relive a dinner as memorable as all the times it was 4 my husband & I many yrs prior. I gave them the choice of a few places we’ve known so how were they 2 know when they booked T P. Inn—wasn’t what I meant? I was expecting a memorable evening fm yrs past & 4 sev reasons that didn’t happen!

1. If you’ve taken over this restaurant for 6 yrs now, & serving good farm-to-table food at the hi prices u are—some overpriced—$6. for 3 slices of bread, (U can’t even give ur customers bread w/their meals gratis??) That I find a joke; But at least have the decency 2 change either the large table or chairs in the back room 2 the proper dining height so ur guests u sit at this table aren’t having dinner w/their chin height sitting just above the top of the table! Only my 6’ 1” husband was almost at proper eating height! Don’t laugh it off when first seating us, after seeing me walk in w/a cane at my young age, by making excuses it’s a 1700 yr old farmhouse—we already know that! Why not take the time 2 put a few new smaller tables together & go to a hardware store 2 get levels etc so at least your customers can be comfortable when they 1st sit down instead of having to look up at the underside of their servers nostrils the entire evening—OMG from the beginning thru the entire evening (use ur imagination) I was disgusted! That should have never happened!! 2). So u know by now it’s the “new” way of eating, basically a la carte, only it’s called small plates now==can charge the same as a normal dinner plate just w/o ur veg & starch. I’m not against trying something new, but in this current status of almost post-Covid, we have this centuries old wood table w/no tablecloth, paper, bare—all the tables were, & our waitress proceeds to take away our empty “very used looking” small plates 1st w/o bringing clean sm plates out w/her so we had the choice of either holding our used fork & knives for…..or putting them down directly on our wood table. I’m afraid that doesn’t fly w/me. We’ve paid med 2 hi prices before in the most expensive county of our state 4 farm-raised chicken or grass-fed beef, heck we only eat mostly organic & have harvested our own vegs & fruit for yrs in our org garden but don’t give me 4 sm-med stalks of red leaf lettuce & charge $16. Or I noticed the sm glass of white wine at our table rec’d & it was poured barely half full vs the 3/4 full glass of red. —On a final note, not everyone can eat many diff dishes & there wasn’t even a soup 2 b found. I’ll say the flavors & quality were very fresh & tasty which is why I just barely gave them 3 stars. Glad my gang enjoyed the food. There’s not enough choices 2 appeal 2 all. It’s great the owner curated his own restaurant’s wine shop, right in the area behind us as we were recommended “to look & shop 4 a bottle” & we did look, saw some nice choices. It’s obvious they opened n maybe painted but absolutely nothing as if it’s been changed 2 this restaurant in the alm 40 yrs I have been coming 2 the Cape. So, if ur going 2 justify ur prices (we all didn’t drink)& warrant a 5-star rating, then I expect 2 definitely sit properly & comfortably, have atmosphere, have excellent service w/excellent food. The first 3 mentions were lacking. And 2 add insult to it all—how ironic t old Red Pheasant sign fm prev owner was against the wall right besides r table!!🫣 I hope I hear back fm the restaurant but I’d b...

Our visit was intended as an anniversary celebration, yet will be remembered more as an infamous occasion. Exactly a year prior, my boyfriend and I met on a blind date at the then Red Pheasant fondly remembered as a night of nerves and excitement but also great food and pleasant atmosphere. We therefore naturally decided to return a year later – this time leaving us with quite a different kind of memory. Upon arrival, we found the restaurant, (now under new ownership) spruced and updated providing a slicker branded presentation. Little did we realize what the evening would have in store. Seated at the very same table in front of the fire in the dining room where we’d first met we weren’t surprised to be the only guests on Wednesday evening on Cape. We were surprised; however, by the wintry atmosphere. Despite the fire, the room was FREEZING. It felt like we were sitting out-of-doors which was, understandably, confusing. I asked the server if the heat could be turned up and he said he’d “close the windows”. Mind you, it’s November. But we soon gained an appreciation for the openness of the windows as the fireplace began intermittently belching great puffs of smoke into the dining room. Focusing on the issue at hand, we reviewed the menu which was a rather odd mix of things. I’m always one for creative culinary experiences but the pairing of ingredients across the board felt off. We settled on the bacon-wrapped scallops despite our skepticism of the bed of kidney beans and kale. Meanwhile, I ordered a celebratory glass of bubbly which arrived in an odd choice of glass leading me to wonder if I’d mistakenly ordered a rotund martini. Meanwhile, my boyfriend received his fish chowder whose green pallor is not at all what one wishes for one’s seafood dish. I think they may have confused the interesting color with the bland flavor (other way, please!). The main course then arrived and my skepticism about the scallop-upon-kidney-bean liaison was sadly confirmed. As this point though, we were both paying less attention to the food as we were most distracted by the bar patrons who kept coming into the dining room to stand before the erstwhile fire, politely considering its smoky misbehavior and then apparently concluding that any action was ill-advised or perhaps not within their jurisdiction. Left to our own devices, we, the happy couple, decided to refocus on our meal. After all, this was a celebratory night so dessert must be had! For an admitted chocoholic, the choices disappointed but I got over myself and selected the homemade hot chocolate while my boyfriend chose the vanilla ice cream with espresso. Alas, neither met expectations. The ice cream was mediocre but to be fair, it was struggling to stay afloat amidst the deluge of cold espresso drowning any potential flavor while my hot chocolate lacked…anything at all except a bobbing mass of mini marshmallows, several of which had been neutralized by a quick-and-dirty torch job. To be fair; however, we really honestly couldn’t see the dessert at this point due to the thick smog of smoke through which our servers were literally pantomime swimming to our table. The whole experience was so ridiculous that one could almost call it amusing. I say almost because when we finally got home and peeled off our heavily smoke-perfumed attire, we looked at each other with dread as we simultaneously realized that we – the both of us – were quite definitely not well. We then spent the rest of our anniversary evening, night that followed and much of the next day in the bathroom providing us sufficient opportunity to consider design choices for its remodel (#silverlining). So, dear review-readers, in conclusion: If you’re the type of restaurant-seeker looking for the thrill of culinary misadventure, possess a profound distaste for modern heating, feel that you haven’t provided sufficient support to your local dry-cleaner, or simply need a good intestinal cleanout - we heartily recommend this...

We visited the Red Pheasant again last evening, and chef/owner Bill Atwood Jr. continues to put a very fine menu together. While this review could be a duplicate of the one earlier this month, I shall try to keep it brief.

Ingrid started with her usual Barnstable Oysters on the 1/2 shell with a cucumber mignonette, and while these seemed on the smallish side, they met with Ingrid’s approval. I opted for something new, and am I glad I did. I had the Faroe Island Salmon Gravlax cured in-house; served with toasted brioche, mustard-dill mayo, pickled onions & capers, and I cannot say enough about the delicious taste of the Salmon Gravlax itself, but the condiments just added another measure of pleasure that was savored long after Ingrid’s oyster were history. Ingrid agrees with my assessment whole-heartedly.

For the entrée, Ingrid enjoyed the Sole Meuniere with lemon, shallots, white wine & capers, finished with sweet butter, served with gratin potatoes so much the last time we dined here, that she just had to have it again, with the same results and compliments. I deviated from my usual Red Pheasant fare and went with the Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops with celery root soubise, ramps, Shiitake mushrooms, asparagus & gratin potatoes. When eaten together, the scallops, soubise, and Shiitake mushrooms bring their individual flavors to another level, where the combination is way above the sum eating individually.

For dessert we went back to the "Sweet Dream" Peach Cobbler with Chantilly cream, which was a repeat from our last visit. This is soooo good that it is difficult to move onto another delightful-sounding option.

The menu is somewhat limited when compared to other restaurants that need to have pages and pages of options to cater to anyone and everyone. But, everything sounds absolutely scrumptious, and if past experiences are any indication, we’ll have to try eating our way through the menu. That said, I say I have my next visit planned as I’ll have the Faroe Island Salmon Gravlax as the appetizer, and then I’ll go with the Artisan Cheese Selections, which is an assortment of fine hand-crafted European & American cheeses with dried fruit & crostini as my entrée, even though it is on the menu as a starter and a dessert.

The Red Pheasant can be considered to be on the pricey side, but when dinner is this...