Ansel S Gurney House

An amazing Sunday lunch as it is always well prepared and served here. Today was the ‘Ansel’s Reuben’ and presentation was just excellent. The store is amazing too, but that’s another story.

When I was in Massachusetts last fall, two different people (a family friend, and also the innkeeper at the B&B where I was staying) recommended the Ansel Gurney House. It is very quaint and does have a lot of charming rooms with unusual gift items in all price ranges (or just something for yourself that catches your eye).
My favorite part of the House is the lunch. I feel like I am back in the 1950s when I was growing up, the décor is definitely midcentury modern, and the rear gardens are lovely. The chowder and soups are fantastic and made with fresh ingredients. You can tell that everything from the bread to the sandwich fillings to the garnishes and condiments is freshly made. And that Indian Pudding dessert, made with real molasses, has haunted me ever since I was there in September. I’ll be back in the area for an extended stay this June, and you know I’ll be here for lunch at least a few times. Seafood is what most come to the Cape for, but I come now for seafood and Ansel Gurney’s delicious lunches!

I had been by this place so many times before I finally decided to stop in.
It is so un-​assuming.
The first few times I visited the sandwich shop was closed or closing but I shopped in the gift shop and walked the gardens.
Yah that part is nice but not for everybody.
The food service part was GREAT.
I had the turkey and will go back for it. It is not that spongey rubber stuff that all the other places have it is REAL TURKEY.
The other stuff in and with the sandwiches was also real and handcut not the near foam tomatoes that come in some food service tray from a supply company.
I thought the deserts were all so old fashioned, but man they are like mom or grandma would make, real home made stuff not factory food.

Two stars? Why just two stars for a place two other people l-​o-​v-​e?
Context, people. Context.
My Wife loves this place, so we went w/​our 5 y/​o. Since we don’t eat meat but do like our beer & wine, I expected a menu favoring vegetarian options and a nice wine list.
I found neither. Only two things on the menu were meatless, and they don’t serve alcohol. Also, the interior was quaint in a «we have doilies and tea cozies and a hearty distrust of anything created after 1941» kind of way.
I pressed my Wife to find out why she likes it so much, and it turns out that it’s because she and her mom have taken my Daughter there since she was a baby (and back when we did eat meat). So, it’s the memories, not the menu, she enjoys.
That said, I’d trust this to be a great place to take a grandparent for a cozy lunch.
Oh, one other note: there is a wonderful little shop attached to the restaurant full of neat things for people of all ages. Definitely worth a stroll.

I have NEVER had a bad meal here, and I go weekly. This is a small restaurant with a small menu, but everything they make is homemade and incredibly fresh. Turkey sandwiches are made with turkey roasted on the premises — salads are unique and completely fresh — bread is homemade.
Most importantly, they have the best chowder I’ve ever tasted, and it’s only 4 bucks for a bowl the size of your head — PACKED with clams. I have no idea how this place makes money because everything is priced so reasonably.
And AMAZING desserts. Bread pudding is the best, but they also have some unusual Yankee favorites like Indian pudding.
The ambiance is cute — it’s set in an 18^th century house with a wood stove, and there is an awesome gift shop attached with lots of unusual stuff.
Here’s what you should get when you go to Ansel Gurney’s:
–A cup of chowder (served only on Sundays — other soups during the week are also great)
–The Cranberry Festival turkey sandwich
–The bread pudding (served with homemade whipped cream)
Waitresses are also really nice.
Nobody knows about this place! You must go!