Queen's Head Pub — Restaurant in Bridgton

Went there just last night and wow what a disappointment. 3 appetizers and two non-alcoholic drinks cost $40. The brussels sprouts were so overcooked that they were barely recognizable. Spinach and Artichoke Crab dip was a premade pile of cold goop straight off the back of a Sysco truck. Truffle fries, one of my favorite items, were burnt to a crisp, ice cold and the few shreds of parmesan over the top never even started to melt on them.

Waitstaff was pleasant enough.

The wait to get a table was a bit of an issue. Got there and was told a 45 minute wait with another party ahead of us. Ok, fine. They offered us immediate seating at the bar (not interested, thank you) or a couple of lounge chairs near the bar. Both locations were so noisy we couldn't even hear ourselves. The problem became apparent when we started walking around outside the building to kill time. There were dozens of available tables - apparently they have a major staffing shortage. Yet when I saw those open tables near the front of the building I also saw several waitstaff just sort of wandering around. However we went back up on the outdoor patio and decided to wait a bit. Then, they took in and sat three other groups of people, no one ever came to get us, and when we walked back in to check on things the seating list even had the names before us crossed off and others listed after us crossed off but no one ever bothered to seat us.

The physical atmosphere was almost oppressive inside, which is odd considering that the building is brand new yet it looked quite run down in many areas inside. The colors chosen do not complement any restaurant. Extremely dark navy blue paint and for some reason a predilection for mounted deer skulls on the walls with cheap dollar store style lighted decorations on the antlers.

Overall, I'm sure that there will be plenty of tourists who love coming here. As a local, no thank you. If you need a pub in town, try Black Horse Tavern. If you need decent food in town, try...

The restaurant was beautiful and the front desk staff was extremely friendly. We remarked on the interior design and how nice everything flowed. The wallpaper was cool as well. The brussel sprout appetizer was a highlight. The drink selection was plentiful. The food needs improvement. Two of the guests thought their food was okay. I would avoid putting the fish on top of the “chips” as it makes the fries soggy. Overall the fish and breading was perfectly cooked. The fried chicken sandwich was nicely done but nothing stood out. Next time I would try some of the additions to add flavor to the sandwich. The bun was not soggy which is sometimes a challenge to achieve. The disappointment of the evening was the blackened shrimp and grits. The shrimp had no flavor and was very rubbery. The grits had zero flavor and were not correctly cooked, they should be creamy and buttery not lumpy and stiff. The added ragu overpowered the dish and was not balanced in flavor or consistency. Having eaten shrimp and grits all over the US, this was disappointing. It was not edible and after trying one shrimp and a spoonful of grits I was unable to continue. The waitress although friendly at the beginning failed to offer any type of compensation or apologies neither of which we expected or asked for but based on the principle of the situation would have been appreciated. We did tip the waitress 20% because based on our principles we have never “stiffed” anyone in the service industry. Overall the atmosphere was beautiful and made the experience enjoyable. The food needs a lot of improvement. We would not return because we did not...

Forgive me for being long winded... I met with an old friend I only get to see once a year when she comes up from FLA. Last year's lunch here was excellent and we really enjoyed our food. We had a good time then, and to our good fortune, this year was even better! Our two wait staff/bar tenders, Patience & Annabelle (I hope I spelled their names correctly) were outstanding. They were attentive and so much fun as their self-deprecating sense of humor had us laughing throughout our meal. The food was incredibly good, even better than last year's selections. The drinks were excellent and well proportioned and I can't say enough about the service. It was the best all around dining experience I've enjoyed in quite some time. I heartily recommend The Queen's Head Pub to anyone in the town of Bridgton or anyone visiting the surrounding area. If you give it a try, please tell Patience & Annabelle that I said hello. Side note here... I don't usually get this giddy about a pub, but this place was really that good. Oh, and I almost forgot! The cheesecake with their caramel, chocolate chip sauce left me, and my family won't believe this, speechless. I'd go back just for that! Keep up the good work and we'll see...