HarborSide 1901Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Boothbay Harbor

We went out to dinner tonight to celebrate my mother’s birthday. Let me start by saying that I rarely write reviews—especially as someone who works in the food service industry. I know how subjective dining experiences can be. But this one deserves to be shared.

Unfortunately, from start to finish, the experience was disappointing. While our server was genuinely wonderful and did their best to make the evening enjoyable, the issues with food, timing, and menu availability overshadowed their efforts.

Right off the bat, we were told they were out of their signature appetizer—the one that supposedly won an award. Instead, we opted for the baked oysters, which turned out to be just oysters with panko. No seasoning, no depth—nothing memorable.

Every dish we ordered suffered from the same core issue: a complete lack of seasoning. One of our guests ordered the risotto, but even at a glance it didn’t look like risotto at all—it resembled plain white rice with some stock added, and likely wasn’t Arborio rice. My mother’s pork belly was fatty and unrendered, leaving it chewy and unpleasant.

My sea bass had a distinctly "off" fishy taste (never a good sign), and it was served skin-on—with the skin soggy—and I had to pour the sauce over myself. The presentation made for an awkward experience, as I had to manually separate the skin from the fish. The accompanying potatoes—three small spoon-sized lumps—were mushy, and somehow the asparagus tasted even fishier than the fish.

My father’s "sushi" wasn’t a roll at all—it was just a disorganized pile of the listed ingredients. Not at all what was expected or described.

Service pacing was also off. Our entrées arrived before the appetizer plates were cleared, and staff began clearing our main dishes while one of our guests was still eating—essentially forcing him to rush through his meal.

When it came time for dessert, we were told the espresso machine was "out of order," and out of the full dessert menu, only two items were available. Our server, clearly embarrassed, suggested we go downstairs for dessert instead. We ended up skipping it entirely.

To top it all off, my father had specifically asked the manager in advance to arrange a dessert with a candle for my mother’s birthday—something he was happy to pay for. There was no candle, no dessert, and no acknowledgment whatsoever of the occasion.

Overall, I’m extremely disappointed in the entire experience—especially considering how much effort it takes just to get my father out to dinner in the first place. I'm not sure what’s going on in Boothbay Harbor lately, but it’s starting to feel like there’s nowhere left to get a...

"We are definitely not in Mozambique," my husband said as the server slid the seafood platter onto the table.

I looked at the $38 dish which had four shrimp🦐, four scallops, a small piece of fish, and some pieces of clams.

When you order this dish, you can have it deep fried 🍤, blackened, or grilled. While I love all things fried, I wanted to go for a healthy option. Blackened fish is particularly good on catfish in order to mask the funky flavour it sometimes has. Grilled is always my preferred method. Mmmmm chargrilled with just salt and pepper is divine.

We expected that type of grilled fish and seafood, but what showed up looked and tasted more like it was streamed. Perhaps it was sauteed in a pan, but it had little flavor.

Our server was incredibly attentive, and asked how the food was, to which we replied, "It's fine." She may have heard the flatness in our voice, because she came back later to ask if we wanted to say more about the meal. When someone says "fine," she's always curious about how it could be better.

We appreciated that, and shared with her that the fish was ok but not what we expected of grilled fish. Maybe it is a Maine thing.

While the seafood platter was lackluster, the cocktails were excellent! Well balanced, complex, innovative, and refreshing.

We also ordered the pistachio, pomegranate spinach salad 🥗 Although I couldn't see any evidence of pomegranate, it was super tasty 😋. The textures, cheese, dried fig, and dressing went well together and the spinach was tender and fresh.

But we went to the Maine coast for seafood, so we enjoyed the meal but had hoped for more.

We realize this is a tourist zone and it is high season. For $92 for two people for lunch, we couldn't help but wonder if this was one of several tourist restaurants in the region that are pricey and mediocre. That may sound harsh, and it would be unfair to compare the food in this spot with the massive platters of chargrilled giant prawns and fish we eat in Mozambique and South Africa.

This place was ok but it...

Made reservations a couple months in advance for my birthday trip to Maine. The host greeted us and was the highlight of the visit. All downhill from there. Server didn't tell us about specials, but heard about them after we ordered when he told other tables. My friend and I both ordered different lobster dishes. The food took a long time to arrive & the server never checked on us or refilled our drinks the entire time. We had to flag him down and ask for refills after another person brought our food. My lobster was maybe 8 ounces and was over cooked, rubbery, barely warm and bland as were the asparagus and garlic potatoes. My friend had similar comments about her dish which was supposed to have brown butter and tarragon. She said everything was bland and barely warm. This was not during a busy time so not sure if this was a one off bad experience, but based on the food and service we received I would not return. We would have asked for our sides to be warmed except the server never came back until he brought our checks. In fact, he didnt even deliver our food. We never saw him from the time we ordered until we got our checks except when we flagged him down to ask for refills when we were almost done eating. We got much better food and service for much less than the $60+ price tag we each paid. Server never offered a dessert menu or even told us about desserts either. With it being my birthday and that being a question on the reservation form I'd have thought they'd have at least offered a...