Sayle's Seafood — Restaurant in Nantucket

This is one of those places that is absolutely not high end, fancy, or anything like that. Don't get me wrong....it's by no means a dump. It is a really comfortable place that serves the absolute freshest seafood imaginable. It is pretty much the best fish market you could imagine, they also happen to sell some cooked seafood that you can takeout, or eat on the porch like I did. It's an old house style building, across from the water with a big front porch with granite top tables and plastic stackable lawn chairs. It's kind of like visiting someone's Grandma's house. IMMACULATE food handling, with delicious food like my Grandma would make ... better than any restaurant....only the best !!! No pretentious furnishings or trappings that end up inflating the bill....nope....nothing pretentious about this place. They do what they do, and they do it right. This is without doubt, the very best fried seafood on the island.....I can't believe I could get a small side order of whole belly fried clams for just 10. I don't know any place where you can buy an amount of fresh, sweet, whole clams for ten dollars. I really wanted their swordfish .... JUST WAIT until I tell you about that...but really, how often have you been vacillating over what to pick for dinner?This place has side orders ....but I mean side orders that are inexpensive enough, in two sizes, and the small size is small enough, that you aren't talking about the size and price of a whole other meal (just without sides.) I couldn't decide..I was dying for clams, and it's not easy to find good whole clams...but I also heard about their swordfish. By the way the swordfish dinner comes in two sizes...large and huge. They get it. They really get it. So, I ordered a small side of whole belly clams and a swordfish dinner. It was the best thing I could have done....oh my...back to the swordfish....they actually...get this... they actually CUT THE SWORDFISH STEAK from the fresh swordfish. Oh my ....oh my... really. It was a far cry from the well-intentioned restaurants, who sell good food, but feed us frozen swordfish steaks. I know. I eat them and they are good. Fresh is another level....but this .... cutting the hunk of swordfish steak from the massive fish ...that's just over the top...insanely good. My words fail me. The clams melted in my mouth. The swordfish was memorable. It came with chowder that was good and french fries and Cole slaw.I will go back to the island, with Sayle's as a definite stop. Sorry about the clam photo....I dove into them, and by the time I came to my senses long enough to stop eating, there were only a couple left, but I took a photo anyway. A fellow at the next table (there's no table service...you pay cash at the counter, and they call your name when it's ready.) The fellow had a New England Lobster Bake...oh my...steamed 1 1/4 lb lobster, steamed mussels, steamed clams, boiled red potatoes, corn on the cob with butter and broth...it...

Usually an extremely patient person, but unfortunately the attitude of the lady at the front was horrible and made us get up and leave. As soon as we arrived an elderly couple who was eating finished their meal and got up— immediately and abrasively, she stopped talking to us ran after them and told them to throw their own food away. We were taken aback but didn’t think much of it, told her we would like to order calamari and oysters. She said the oysters would take “a long time” with no estimate, then said calamari could take up to an hour. We asked if there was any timing to expect on the oysters in the interim, and were told “i can’t give you an estimate. As soon as someone’s hands are free they will get to it”. She said if you want any other fried food it will take over an hour.

Come on.. just awful service. There were more employees behind the counter than there were customers, perhaps unfortunately just reached them on a bad day but the customer service was atrocious.

Ended up going to CRU and perhaps paid more but the food was incredible and the service...

Do not go.
 We've lived on the island for 32 years and decided to treat ourselves to oysters and lobsters. While the lobsters were excellent, the oysters were clearly bad—inedible and potentially dangerous. We returned immediately to inform them, not to cause trouble, but because we work in healthcare and understand the serious health risks that can come from spoiled shellfish. Unfortunately, the staff was completely dismissive. One employee simply said, “Well, I don’t eat them,” and when we asked to speak with a manager, we were told no one was available. No one took accountability. My mom even asked, “Would you serve this to your own family?”—and the employee walked away without a word. We’ve never encountered such rude and unprofessional behavior in all our years living here. Save yourself the trouble—and the...