Peter Ott's on the Water — Restaurant in Camden

This review is a ‘tale of two cities’ type of a situation, a great experience with the server, but a most unusual and negative occurrence at the very end.

This restaurant is conveniently located on the Camden waterfront where most harbor/bay tours depart. It offers indoor/outdoor seating by the water. This past weekend with the windjammer festival, the town had a very healthy number of tourists, I being one of them.

I gave this place a try, and given the late evening hour, I was able to secure a table outside with a great view. The experience was pleasant from the start; the server (Sarah M) had a very gregarious and friendly attitude; not to mention how attentive she was. The menu is full of seafood delights, and the daily specials looked equally tantalizing. After an engaging discourse with Sarah about the options I was contemplating, I settled on the Lobster corn chowder. Alas, they mixed up the order and I got the Clam chowder instead. I didn’t mind, and didn’t fuss about it. The clams were luscious and the soup was just the right texture. I then had the Maple pan seared Scallops, which were a delight. Definitely recommend this dish, especially since it is served with two sides. Normally, the sides are small accompaniments; but these were hearty portions. I had the house salad, which was very fresh, and sweet potato fries which were crisp and appetizing. Combining a very amiable server, with a hearty quintessential Maine seafood meal, I could not have been more satisfied.

Then the experience changed completely. It was just about closing time. I settled the bill, and happened to be the last patron remaining on the outdoor patio. I needed to use the restroom, but found the main door leading inside to be locked. I got the attention of the staff inside, and my server immediately came out and asked her supervisor (or whatever her role was) to open the main door, which she did. They both pointed the way to the restroom. But then for some reason the supervisor very quickly and emphatically said ‘but there is a public restroom close by.’ I processed that as an informational statement, but then the following sentence ‘just because we are now closed,’ came as an overt ask which to me meant – ‘you can’t come in here, use the public bathroom on the pier.’ In the presence of the moment, I complied and while finding it strange, left the restaurant and went to the dark (no outdoor lights) public restroom in a nook on the pier. It then started to sink in that I was just nudged away from using the restaurant’s restroom, about five minutes after it had closed, and where I had just plunked a 35% tip for the great service I had received.

My mind raced at trying to find an explanation or meaning to what had just happened. I have travelled to many parts of the World, including within the U.S., but this was a first of being denied the use of a restroom, a handful of minutes after the restaurant’s closing time and being a paying customer. I recalled the perplexed look on my server’s face also as all this was transpiring, and then I wondered if the same treatment would have been meted out, had I been sitting inside the restaurant, or if the two or three patrons remaining at the bar had wanted to use the restroom – would they have been ushered to the public facility?

I cannot ascribe a motive or reason for this animus towards me; it had been just a few minutes past the closing time, and the staff were still picking up the tables, etc. There were no signs of the restroom being closed for cleaning or any other posted policy or notice that the bathroom could not be used by patrons after closing time. I think I have an idea as to why this happened, but I will leave it for the reader to assess and decide. Many people might have used a restaurant’s restroom after closing time, at one point or another, and they can judge this incident as they deem fit. One thing is certain; I will not be a repeat...

A truly disappointing and wasteful experience, our first time at Peter Ott's will be our last. [Read to the end, it gets worse as the story progresses.] On Wednesday evening July 17 at around 8:15pm my wife and I went to this restaurant for our once-per-year "date night" together. I ordered the Surf & Turf, my wife the haddock topped with lobster. The food took a really long time, and when it finally came out, we were starving. But my lobster tail and steak were both extremely overcooked and hardly worth eating. The supposedly 5-ounce steak was really just a small lump of meat, disappointing even to look at. I ordered it prepared medium, but it came out well done - waaaaaaaay well done. The meat was totally grey, dry, and hard. The lobster tail and claw was also shockingly dry. I ate the lobster tail and salad while waiting for the waitress to return for her check-back so that I could have the meal fixed. We were both very hungry, so we were trying to make-do. The waitress didn't return for her check-back until we were done eating. My wife was very upset that I didn't get to eat with her. The waitress waited until the meal was essentially over. I explained that my steak was ordered medium but I got it over well-done; she took one look at the meat and was like "Oh yes, I can see that, it's quite grey, sorry about that." Then she faltered. My wife asked if I could get a properly cooked steak, as $36 for this meal was outrageous for what I received. The waitress visibly squirmed and stammered. "I don't think he'll make another one for me, he has already shut the kitchen down," she said. This was at 9:03 pm...the restaurant closes at 9:00. So based on this, Peter Ott's has no intention of continuing to service guests who are already in the restaurant at the time of closing. They destroyed my meal and had no intention of fixing it. I let the waitress squirm for a minute, trying to figure out what to do. Now, all the other restaurants were closing too, so we'd have no other options. I asked her to bring me a bottle of A1 steak sauce so I could just drown the steak in it and eat it - I was totally disappointed but still needed to eat. The waitress brought the A1 and asked if we wanted dessert. So, I could still buy more food from them, but they couldn't fix their terrible food...or service. No. We paid the bill and I left a 20% tip anyway, but I did not feel good about it. The waitress took $18 off our bill, but that doesn't do anything for the fact that we had an abysmal experience, and did not even get to dine together; I had to choke down Denny's-quality food just to have something to eat, and we still paid $100 for the meal. That included a small pitcher of Sangria, which had no price on the menu, but for which we were charged an unbelievable $28! What a joke! We are locals in the area and have been wanting to try this restaurant for at least a decade. We'll never go back, and we'll definitely not recommend the place to any of our friends, family, visitors, or clients. I'm giving the place 2 stars because the restaurant is beautiful and my wife's...

I'm convinced the only reason this restaurant is open is because of its A+ location. We visited on a Sunday night at the end of busy season, so I would have anticipated any kinks in their processes would have been worked out throughout the high season.. we were wrong. First issue, the hostess told us 25 minutes for a table for two outside, no problem - we'd grab a drink at the bar while we waited. The bartender was relatively unfriendly, but I chalked that up to being annoyed the restaurant was crowded on a Sunday night in late September. Our table was ready within 10 minutes, which normally I would have said was amazing, but as I grabbed my drink to head for the hostess stand to check in, she was no where to be seen. I stood waiting for someone to seat us for TEN MINUTES. Countless waitresses walked past without even smiling or saying the hostess would be right back. As I was waiting a line of at least 6 parties backed up the stand and were growing impatient. Then when the hostess decided to come back outside, no apologies, no explanation just asked "so who's next".

We were seated in the darkest corner of the patio, essentially in a parking lot. The twinkle lights did not reach our table so I used my phone flashlight for most of the night as our tea light candle was burnt out and the hostess did NOT come back to relight it (as promised).

Our waitress was a sweet older woman, and as much as I wanted to like her, her service left much to be desired. She forgot about us several times, had the timing of our oysters and food very off, and was overall just a subpar experience.

As for the food, we ordered a dozen oysters, the lobster alfredo, and the crab cakes. The oysters were good, although I did find it strange no location was mentioned. The lobster alfredo was some of the worst pasta I have ever eaten. The lobster was cooked fine, but the alfredo sauce just tasted like cream water, and the pasta was BEYOND overcooked. My husband's crab cakes were 99% stuffing, and the coleslaw that came withit was INEDIBLE due to the level of rancidness it was. For $150, this was the worst meal and experience I've had in a long time.

There are so many great seafood options in Camden and around the midcoast, don't let this dockside establishment fool you into thinking...