Water Street Tavern and Inn — Hotel in Lubec

The location for the Water Street Tavern is nothing short of perfect. The view could not be painted any better – there is a lighthouse to the east and a very long view along the west coast of Campobello Island, tree covered islands in the center and Moose Island to the west where of course the sun will set. The dining room is perfect for a coastal town. The greeting is warm & welcoming and the service is professionally friendly. All that being said, the rock star here is the FOOD!

Over years of dining out along the New Jersey shore and Cape Cod, we have come to expect that waterview restaurants offer a good view OR good quality but seldom both. As we were seated and enjoying the view with a glass of wine we started to see things on the menu that made us realize that this restaurant had innovative offerings.

While we were looking at the menu – the Chef, Nadine, and Pastry Chef Brad, came around to greet the guests and talk for a few minutes. Clearly these are professionals who understand the dining experience perfectly. And after we completed our dinners, we can say they have mastered their trade too. Back to the meal.

We were intrigued by the description of the Root Vegetable Au Gratin appetizer. It is crazy good. It has an herb component – parsley, dill stems and fronds, radicchio etc. The stems provide an interesting texture element. Then there is a bacon marmalade served alongside paper thin slices of root vegies. This appetizer speaks volumes about the level of creativity here.

For an entrée my wife tried the crab cake appetizer. The presentation was perfect – it featured a crab cake served with corn kernels, grape tomatoes, and a dark red puree (roasted tomato and roasted pepper puree?) at the ends of the oval plate. Here too the flavors were bright and fresh individually but they played well together. The meal tasted as good as it looked. I narrowed my choice down to either a haddock or scallops over mushroom risotto and asked for Nadine’s recommendation. When the scallops with mushroom risotto arrived, I knew we were in good hands. The scallops were perfectly crusted and the mushroom risotto was tender with complex flavors.

As we sat back after dinner to enjoy the waning sunlight over that fabulous view, diners from another table stopped to recommend the lemon bars for dessert. After that wonderful meal we did not have room for dessert, but with that enthusiastic recommendation and the track record so far, it would have been silly to skip finding out how good dessert could be! So we ordered the Lemon Bars. Expecting a cake like bar with lemon flavor we were pleasantly surprised to find beautiful rectangular bars that featured a lemon flavored curd atop a thin layer of shortbread. One end of each bar featured a dollop of tiny blueberries in a sauce. From an artistic point of view, the blue of the berries complimented the lemon curd and makes both colors pop.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Brad, the Pastry Chef brought the dessert to the table. He was so kind to also bring miniature cream puffs in addition to the lemon bars that he wanted us to try. The cream puffs were small and perfectly formed. They were filled with a light (mocha?) filling and finely drizzled with a chocolate sauce. And then pastry cream was served on the side. Brad is clearly an artist – the desserts were presented so beautifully and tasted better than they looked.

So after traveling coastal Maine for 12 days and dining in the best restaurants we could find in Ogunquit, Boothbay Harbor and Bar Harbor, we were pleasantly surprised to enjoy the best meal of the entire trip at the Water Street Tavern. West Quoddy Light House and Campobello Island are the two traditional reasons to visit Lubec. In our minds, there is a now a third reason – dinner at the Water...

This is a quaint place to stay. I believe only 2 inns in the town. Booked timely online (9 day prior to arrival) for the suite which was open at the time. Rec'd a call from the owner next day that it wasn't available and had to reserve one of the 4 rooms. The room was good for our one-night stay. Common area near the rooms was homey. Made dinner reservations (6pm, restaurant opens at 5pm) when the owner called to change our room. Was so looking forward to a wonderful dinner experience based on the atmosphere, reviews and their site. It was our last day of vacation traveling the coast of Maine. I wanted everything to be very special just as our vacation was. We were sat timely - several open tables but they filled up quickly. Menu indicated to have patience. We weren't in a rush at all and enjoyed the atmosphere plus talked about our next day heading for home. Did not order appetizers. Dinner salad was excellent - very fresh. Haddock was very good. Ribeye was good - I expected tender but more like a strip. Service was very good up to when we received our dinners then no one checked to ask if all was good or if we wanted more hot tea or anything. Servers, not ours - she had many tables to tend, passed by us several times and no one took our plates away. Owners were busy cleaning tables for the next guests. I finally went up to our server who was getting drinks at the bar and I wasn't fast enough. Owner saw me and asked what I needed, and I asked for the check. He then connected with the server and she brought over our check. She asked if we wanted dessert and we said no she had the check and walked away - didn't take our plates. My partner and I have worked / owned in the restaurant business for years - retired now. Service is critical. It's great this restaurant is busy - good for them. Our recommendation if you decide to dine here is to reserve a table when they open. We went for a nice peaceful walk after -...

We spent the night in the Inn and ate dinner downstairs.

The room is a good size with a great view (and breeze). The bed is comfortable and the bathroom serves well.

There is a common room that connects the four guest rooms where breakfast is served and the guests can interact.

We spoke to the owner at length, he’s warm and friendly. You can tell he has years of dealing with the public.

We had the local beer and a gin and tonic. I had the beer and should have used the plural. They were good, you knew you had gin in your tonic

The meals were excellent. The service timely and attentive. I had the scallops and haddock. Lightly breaded and fried (like a good southern chicken). The wife had the lobster. She’s picky and pleased. The price was great on two counts. First, it was almost half of what we’re still seeing in our local fish market in Boston. Second, it’s larger (1.6-2.0 lbs.) than many restaurants serve.

The sides, I agree with an earlier review - the bourbon carrots are the best-first choice. We both went with the red-roasted as our second. Almost as good as the carrots. I know -2 roots! Who knew?

This is definitely a place to put on your list, either to come too or to return too.

Hope to see you...