Navillus Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Orleans

Sean Sullivan's restaurant, Navillus, in Orleans is a home run. Yes, the sports analogy is appropriate given all the screens around the bar, but the restaurant is so much more than a place to grab a lovely cocktail and watch the US Open (on tonight) or whatever game of the week. Sean has converted an old Blockbuster video space into a modern, airy and lively casual fine dining experience. What a surprise. We were fortunate to grab a last minute reservation by dining super early, and the place filled up very quickly on a Friday night. Our server, Melanie, made us feel welcome immediately and answered all our cocktail and food questions. The Cherry Picker, a new twist on an Old Fashioned, had wonderful depth and was compelling. The Rampart, a vodka, grapefruit, lemon and honey blend was light, refreshing and delightful. A dozen of Wellfleet's finest oysters followed -- can't ever go wrong there - and all the accompaniments were perfect. For the main, the scallops, the special of the day, were served on a bed of pureed carrot with fresh peas and gnocchi. It was a standout meal for any top restaurant in any major city. The sauce was delicate, complex and totally original. I wish I had the recipe - but if they make it a regular on the menu that will be just fine by me. We also ordered the Seafoood Cioppino, a lovely assortment of clams, muscles, lobster, and shrimp in a fennel and tomato base over pasta, with light summer greens and toasted bread topping it all off. The meal was really delicious, but even better than the food (which was great!) was the hospitality of Sean Sullivan who went out of his way to chat with us, learn a bit about our lives, and share his own journey in the food industry and true passion for his profession and his new restaurant. You go in there for a meal and you leave feeling like family. What could be better? Oh, well, you could end it all with Matilda's Chocolate Cake -- and WOW....many layers, many depths of the chocolate experience, and a wonderful crunch sprinkled across the plate that adds an exciting level of texture to the smooth elegance of the desert. Planning our next meal with Sean and his team soon. A special thank you to Chef Anthony Silvestri...keep making those scallops! If you are on the Cape, make sure to stop in and enjoy this terrific restaurant. You will...

Today we were lucky to enjoy Navillus in Orleans. What a great place!! This restaurant is  delight, beautiful, modern, bright and hip. It's a perfect combination of sophistication and yet totally casual, no intimidation whatsoever. The staff was terrific and outgoing. The food is delicious and beautifully presented. The chef is an artist in all aspects of food creation. The food was fabulous. We started with a caesar salad and a beet with goat cheese salad. Although theses salads are often available they were both a cut above. The Caesar was delicatey dressed with generous shaved cheese and in house made croutons. The croutons are delicious, crunchy, well seasoned with a light cheese  taste. We could have eaten a bowl of croutons. The beet salad was gorgeous with a refreshing lightly sweet dressing. The large golden beet slices draped the salad and were accented with deep purple beet slices. The high quality goat cheese was the perfect amount. The beets were cooked perfectly.  Then we had the Cacio e Pepe, which was perfect. We loved the taste and texture of the fresh Bigoli pasta which was tossed with  Parmesan and black pepper. We also had the Pan Seared Halibut. The beautiful thick pan seared halibut was well seasoned and served on sweet corn polenta topped with a mix of asparagus, frisee and pea shoots with pickled red onion. The pickled onion combined with the fresh sweet corn polenta set off a connection of flavors  that was unbelievable.  It"s a dish that will long be remembered. After all this we topped of the meal with Creme Brule and a dish of house made Strawberry ice cream. The Creme Brule was a beautiful rich eggy custard with a thin sugar coating top with a generous amount of homemade whipped cream. I have to say the Creme Brule  was one of the best we've ever had. The strawberry ice cream was like eating the best fresh sweet strawberries in a silky smooth cream form. We strongly recommend this restaurant and hope it will be a permanent...

Hi guys, I directed the family here when an old-staple for them failed without a reservation. Overall, we were very happy with this new restaurant! I had the steak (phenomenal with the chimichurri sauce), my wife had the seafood paella, my mother-in-law had the swordfish which I tried (very, very happy to have experienced this for the first time with you all), and my mother-in-law had the pan-seared scallops (I'm not normally a fan of scallops, for the texture, but thw flavor was great). My only comment on taste is that everyone agreed that things were a little heavy on the seasoning (my note applies here especially on the fries, but surely not the steak, which was perfect). I'm 29, so I assure you that this wasn't me being an 80 year-old patron that grew up without flavoring or whatnot.

Big note on atmosphere for the folks monitoring these reviews from the restaurant: I love the color-scheme. My wife isn't fat nor does she have the world's largest butt, but those black hight-op chairs need to go because they're uncomfortable for everyone, but especially for those whom the Lord has blessed with child-rearing hips. We love the spacious feel that the industrial ceiling gives, but the restaurant was loud. You will be able to help this and add to the atmosphere if you place some white sound-proofing panels that would help the way normal drop ceiling would without the lack of depth that you currently have. Of course, some things to take into consideration from a family of foodies, but we loved the food, the drinks (very refreshing), and the atmosphere here! Happy customer about...