Photos by Michael Piazza

When you start with great ingredients, “you’re halfway to a great dish,” says Aaron Chambers, chef/owner of Settler in Salem.

But Chambers is being more than humble. At his Lynde Street restaurant, the Mediterranean-inspired dishes are indeed products of the best local produce, fish and meat, but the addition of technique and talent elevates them to another level.

On a recent visit, we were greeted by Chambers’s wife and Settler co-owner, Shanna, who manages everything from front-of-house operations to marketing and social media, and ushered us to what must be the best seat in the house: a cozy corner banquette with a premier view of the bar and kitchen on a busy Thursday.

First comes a tiny welcome drink—Moroccan mint tea, a gesture of hospitality that sets the tone for the night.

Next is house-made sourdough bread—served with olive oil (from Patrida Imports in Peabody) seasoned with za’atar and a pomegranate molasses—made from a starter gifted to Chambers by the pastry chef at Boulud Sud in New York, where he served as executive chef.

In fact, it seems everything at Settler has a story, and in the hands of the knowledgeable and convivial staff that espouses a team approach, you feel like you’re a part of the family. And that’s exactly the point.

“We want to make people feel like they’re coming into our home,” says Shanna Chambers. “It’s about making you feel welcome from the moment you walk in the door.”

The food, meanwhile, leaves us satiated for what feels like days. Our feast includes whipped ricotta from Liuzzi Cheese of Connecticut with wildflower honey, grilled sourdough and vegetable crudité; blackened striped bass collar caught off Gloucester; homemade spaghetti with gem clams from Lucky Lips Oysters of Wellfleet; Niman Ranch grass-fed New York strip with eggplant from Ramblin’ Roots of Beverly and broccoli spigarello from Norwich Meadows of New York; the crispiest potatoes with lemon aioli; gluten-free churro served with milk jam, cherries, cocoa nibs and ricotta chocolate stracciatella gelato. For an even sweeter ending, we were treated to tiny lavender brown butter cookies and a to-go box of warm lemon madeleines.

Chambers relies on his training and geographically widespread experience as building blocks for his cuisine. “The dishes I do now are part of what I did 20 years ago,” he says.

Prior to his time with Boulud—including Café Boulud in New York and Bar Boulud in Boston—and Tony Maws of Craigie on Main, Chambers, who was born in Yorkshire, enjoyed stints at Michelin-starred restaurants in England (Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford) and Dubai (Al Mahara), as well as Café du Parc in Washington, D.C. It was when he took a break to serve as vice president of culinary and executive chef for Not Your Average Joe’s that he dreamed up Settler.

Settler—the name a nod to Chambers’s globetrotting culinary journey that landed them close to Shanna’s hometown of Swampscott—opened in February 2020, just a month shy of the pandemic, and pivoted to family-friendly takeout and grocery boxes for staff. Thanks to a business-owner neighbor, they enjoyed donated outdoor space, which they still lease May through October.

Through it all, Settler has remained committed to buying ingredients with purpose: organic, local, antibiotic-free. Now the couple is poised to open a nearby sister restaurant: Bernadette, an homage to the women in Chambers’s life: Shanna, his mother, her mother.

“Our mothers taught us how to be great hosts, how to take care of people,” Aaron Chambers says.

Along with warm hospitality, any venture for Chambers is about inspiring the next generation of chefs. “Having worked in kitchens as long as I have, I’ve learned so many lessons,” he says. “Sharing that knowledge is what I want for my footprint and legacy.”

settlersalem.com

This story appeared in the Fall 2024 issue.