Recently, I was invited to my friend Josh’s family’s home for a summer barbecue. Tony, Josh and I were all excited about the delicious food his family was preparing to serve. We excitedly got into our van and headed to Mattapoisett for that is where his family lives. Little did I know when we arrived the barbecue was over with no food because Josh got the time wrong. We were all starving but we didn’t want to be rude so we stayed awhile; I met his very kind family; and took a stroll around their large & beautiful property. We said our goodbyes and headed out to look for a place to eat.

Luckily just around the corner was the Mattapoisett Chowder House. There are handicap parking spaces located in front of the restaurant with direct access to the front entrance. The entry doors are not automatic but they are wide enough for my wheelchair to fit through with ease. Inside is spacious; we were warmly greeted by the hostess who showed us to our table. I wheeled my Permobil C350 Power Chair down a sloped ramp that has railings for safety on both sides; we then entered a beautiful glass enclosed room where the dining tables are all of a good accessible height.

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In the main dining area you will have no trouble getting around with plenty of room to maneuver your chair. In the rear of the dining area is a pizza bar where you can enjoy pizza making while you eat. This was cool, just unfortunate that I could not access for its too high for me to sit at.

After finishing our meal we saw a bar and lounge and noticed neither are wheelchair accessible. The bar is too tall for my chair; all the tables set in the lounge are tall bar/style tables that are too high as well. It’s a shame for there are 3 large flat screen TV’s that hang on the wall; the Red Sox game was on the TV and it would have been nice to sit here and have a drink and watch the game at the same time. Yet there is no place for me to be seated.

A fish market is also located inside this restaurant. All the fish are enclosed in a glass case where I could easily see the fresh fish for sale. There is also a lobster tank where customers can purchase fresh live lobsters. The lobster tank is of a perfect height and I could view all the lobsters. The cashier counter is NOT accessible for it is too high for me to reach.

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The restrooms are spacious, wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant; except the pipes under the accessible sink are not covered as it now is ADA required.

I give the Mattapoisett Chowder House TWO STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Three Stars they would need to install automatic entry doors so a customer in a wheelchair can enter independently; lower a section of the bar to a wheelchair accessible height; place an accessible table in the lounge; lowering a section of the pizza bar to a wheelchair accessible height; lower the fish market cashier counter to an accessible height; and cover the exposed pipes under the accessible sink in the restrooms.