Celeste Lets Fall Change the Menu

The first real chill of fall has a way of changing what sounds good for dinner. Early October still leaves room for corn, peppers, and fennel, while late November tends to call for mushrooms, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and richer sauces. Celeste is building its fall menus around that shift.

From October 5 through November 29, the Narragansett restaurant will change its a la carte harvest menu roughly every two weeks, giving Chef Andy Gould and his team room to follow what’s coming in from Rhode Island and regional farms rather than asking one menu to cover the entire season.

The progression starts on the brighter side. Through October 18, roasted cauliflower comes with almond romesco, poached raisins, Manchego, and parsley, while sweet corn and fennel show up in a velouté finished with crispy corn, fennel pollen, and yogurt. Braised lamb pappardelle begins nudging dinner toward colder weather with apricot, apple, rosemary, peppercorn, and Pecorino Romano.

“Fall brings an incredible array of ingredients at their absolute peak that naturally lean toward warm, comforting dining,” says Gould.

By later October, those flavors start shifting without the menu needing a dramatic reset. Apples move from supporting role to the plate alongside roasted grapes, spiced walnut, cider reduction, and country bread, while celeriac and apple soup gets brown butter, horseradish, and hazelnut.

November heads further into the season. Rhode Island mushrooms appear with Madeira and fried shallot before turning up again in a tart with butter-roasted leeks and later in tagliatelle with garlic and Parmigiano Reggiano. Sweet potatoes get similar mileage, first in gnocchi and then paired with lobster-stuffed flounder, Swiss chard, polenta, blood orange beurre blanc, and toasted almond.

A number of those ingredients come from close by, including Greenview Farm in South Kingstown, Schartner Farm in Exeter, Rhode Island Mushroom Company, and seafood suppliers in Narragansett, with additional sourcing from farms throughout southern New England.

That rotating schedule means an early-October dinner and a late-November return could look noticeably different, not because Celeste is chasing novelty, but because fall itself has moved on. Celeste is located at 15 Kingstown Road in Narragansett. For reservations, current menus, and more information, visit CelesteRI.com.