High Tide Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Brewer

I’m up in the area with my gf for vacation and we decided to visit this spot with some friends. Overall there were many good things about this place. Food was great, our server was super friendly, portion size was average, and the cleanliness was great as well. Through all my reviews it’s obvious that I’m someone who loves to try new foods and drinks, I love alcohol and can’t think of the last time I’ve ever complained about a drink. I decided to order a cocktail I hadn’t tried before but have had plenty similar. After it landed on the table I took one sip and was taken back a little, it immediately tasted like tap water and straight whiskey. I had someone else try it and they said the same thing, I hoped they just made the drink wrong (should of been lemonade, with Jack honey, garnished with a lemon and cherry) plus it had no garnishes with it either, but in case that’s what it was supposed to be, I asked the server to take it back and I would just take a Guinness. The rest of our experience went perfect till it was time for the bill, the receipt showed up and the first drink was still on my tab, my gf asked if we could get it removed since only a sip was taken and it tasted wrong, the server explained very nicely that she would have to check with her manager and that she wasn’t sure. She returned about 10 minutes later and explained that it is against policy to remove the item, but that’s not the worst part, the worst part was her demeanor, all evening she had been super friendly and cheerful, now she seemed frizzled and sad. My gf worked in restaurant for years and understands the struggles of serving and what comes with it. Especially unfriendly and dense upper management. We gave that poor girl a 30% tip just because you could see that she was probably just yelled at for asking. Two lessons learned while dining here, if the bartender serves you a glass of warm pee, you have to pay for it, and the manager who made a policy that disrupts the customer experience when dining is a cynical human being. Never been to a restaurant where they make you pay for their mistakes. Pathetic. If the server reads this, you were lovely hun, thank you for being so nice about the...

Please know that when I make this review, I truly am not trying to be "that person". This was our first time visiting High Tide, and we had brought three of our out-of-state friends. The service was excellent, and 4/5 of our meals were delicious. Unfortunately, one of our friends ordered a steamed lobster, and he felt that it tasted a little off. We all tried his lobster and agreed that it didn't taste quite right. When our server, Kayle, came back our friend politely explained to her that it tasted a little funny, and she quickly handled it by notifying her manager.

The reason I am giving High Tide a 3/5 rating is specifically because of how the manager handled the situation. Mind you, the five of us are young, non-confrontational, shy people. The manager approached us and asked what the issue was. Our friend explained that the lobster was sort of mushy, to which the manager defensively responded "well they're soft shell lobsters". Our friend then tried to tell him that it just didn't taste quite right, but before he could finish, the manager stated, "they were brought in fresh this morning". At this point I interjected and stated, "He just wanted to see if he could order something else, it's not a big deal". The manager then took his order, but did not apologize nor offer to clear his plate. When we received the check the only thing taken off was a -$5 discount, and we still paid for the lobster and the additional meal.

All-in-all, it was a shame that the manager acted in this fashion, and we most likely will not be visiting High Tide again for this very reason. All we wanted was to order something else, but instead we were attacked by an overtly defensive manager with a bad attitude. I may be young, but I can tell you, this is not how you conduct a business.

I hope for the sake of the staff that this manager was just...

If you think about coming to this restaurant while in Maine, I wouldn't, unless you want to be covered in butter and treated terribly. 4 of us came here for dinner like we do once every single year (after a very long 5 hour drive mind you) and give this place our loyal business. Two of us got twin lobsters, once they came the waitress dropped the butter on the table which went flying all over the place completely drenching one of our friends; on her face, hair, brand new shirt, pants and all over the windows, there was not a spot left uncovered. Butter baths were not included on the menu with the lobster and were not appreciated. Once the bill came much to our surprise both lobster meals were on it, we asked to speak to a manager since it was quite unpleasant to sit through dinner covered in butter. When he came over he pulled up a chair since he didn't even know what had happened and then offered to comp the one $6 dessert (mind you the huge butter stain was clearly on her shirt and dried on the windows)...gee thanks the dry cleaning for the clothes is more than that. When we had mentioned the one lobster being comped instead the manager immediately responded with attitude repeating "you want the whole lobster meal comped??? I cannot do that" as a manager how can you not? The restaurant had plenty of business to take the hit but apparently that was out of the question. He ended up comping the dessert and appetizer which came to only $20 less than the meal, so what was the difference??? He threw the receipt back at us and continued to give us attitude towards the front of the restaurant. If you ask me Nick Bishop isn't fit to be a manager and I will never come back to this restaurant after 5 years of coming here they have gone completely down hill with customer service being...