The rumors are true, and how lucky are we! On Fridays and Saturdays, the Art Cliff has opened its doors for dinner, referred to as Art Cliff PM.
You know how you get excited when you walk in for breakfast, thoughts of your favorites and your mind curious about specials? Well, double that excitement for dinner.
At night, the Art Cliff sparkles. I can’t tell you exactly how and why, but nighttime in that space is delightful. It glows and is warm and cozy. With the festive Christmas decorations and the beloved Grinch, it’s even more special.
Could you bring your kids? Probably. Do you really want to? Probably not. Well, at least that’s how I feel. It was so fun to belly-up to the “bar” with my husband for dinner. No four top needed, no coloring books or syrupy hands. It’s such a different vibe in the evening.
Art Cliff PM is BYOB, which for me adds to the specialness of it. You’re in one of your favorite restaurants and you can bring your favorite bevys – it’s a win/win. You might even see someone roll in with a 12 pack of Natural Light.
You never know, but this is important to know because most of the other restaurants in Vineyard Haven now have the alcohol license.
In the kitchen, Art Cliff owner, Gina Stanley, was busy whipping up savory dishes like with her team like Red Wine Short Ribs, Moroccan Lamb Shanks and more.
In the front of the house, Art Cliff favs like Stacy Trevino and Caroline Derrig were serving up good food and good cheer and lots of laughs!
The menu is not huge, but full of tasty dishes. It was hard to choose. Since this was purely for research (yeah right), it seemed necessary to experience a three course meal. I should also mention that I was so excited, I really just wanted to try everything. Also, there are plans to change the menu weekly, so it’s important to experience as much as you can each visit.
For a starter, we got the Disco Fries. How can you not get something called Disco Fries? These fries had brown sugar beef, cheese, cilantro and housemade AC hot sauce – a fry party for your mouth can be found in this app.
After we cleaned the plate, it was on to the second course. I am a sucker for shrimp & grits and had to get this dish. The Art Cliff shrimp & grits also had bacon and mushrooms. I love the balance of creamy, earthy, savory and salty. Some seriously good grits.
My husband got one of the specials (always check the specials), the beef tenderloin skewer. He loved it, but I couldn’t get a picture. The light is low, and in order to get a good shot, I had to run into the bathroom to snap my food pics. He wasn’t having it. I can however confirm that it was tasty. Ah, the food adventures of a blogger. Sometimes it’s not so sexy.
In between bites, it was nice to take in the scene. Lots of people to say hi to, and you could tell that people were excited that they were having dinner at Art Cliff. Gosh, I can’t remember when they last did dinner, but it’s pretty awesome.
As if course one and two weren’t enough, we had to get dessert. How about this brownie sundae. Holy moly, this decadent treat makes you feel like a total kid. I mean come on – how fun to get this as an adult.
We left full of smiles and very full bellies. Art Cliff PM happens Fridays and Saturdays. Gina said that they would most likely keep the PM going through February. However, I would not wait to try it. Such a fun addition to the Island Winter food scene – thank you Art Cliff!
Author’s Note: Be sure to check out the ornaments. I love this hot dog one – not something you’d find in every place’s holiday decor.
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