Sea Glass — Restaurant in Cape Elizabeth

I have a long history with Inn by the Sea including my wedding reception (to my ex) in the 1990s, family from New York and New Jersey staying there over the years and referring my out of state friends to the Inn.

My husband and I decided to have breakfast there every Sunday last summer and we had reserved our table for the season. We chose that table because of my husband's skin cancer and least amount of sun exposure and also the view. Our table was given away one Sunday and we were treated like local "poors" without any apologies offered. Spoke with manager and was promised a great experience next time. We showed up next Sunday and once again our table was given to someone else and we were treated in a condescending manner. Spoke with manager again and was told that he overheard someone talking about how our table had more sun than the one they offered us. So not only did they give our table away again but then they let us know they were gossiping about us and used that as justification. Then I was told about how much money their guests spend so how they must be catered to.

I and my family and friends have spent thousands of dollars here over the years. My husband and I were originally planning to have our ten year anniversary celebration here. Not only will we not be doing so but we have no interest in the free breakfast we were offered ("Fool me once, shame on you...") or being treated like second class citizens. I also believe a table reservation should be honored and not dependent upon how much you are spending.

I did give two stars, one for the beautiful location and one for the best server...

Having dined at the Inn restaurant in all of it's various incarnations over the years it has now reached a low point. Last night was my second time eating with the most recent chef. The server was professional and attentive. The bar and the food were mostly a disaster. As a former waiter in a fine dining restaurant in college a million years ago I'm typically pretty tolerant of missteps and don't expect perfection. Ordered a makers Mark old fashioned got a watery whisky drink of some sort in a cocktail glass. Left the dining room and directly asked the pleasant bar tender to remake it the traditional way. He asked what that meant. I took the time to tell him in detail how an old fashioned was made and how it was poured on ice and the type of glass etc. He said he thought I wanted a Manhattan. But whatever I had been served wasn't a Manhattan either. The next drink to arrive was still served in a cocktail glass with no ice. Bizarre. Two of us ordered the lobster gnocchi. What arrived at the table was a barely warm, unusual version of gnocchi which was tasteless and had no desirable form or texture. And, no joke, for $38, there were two pieces of relatively small claw meat and one piece of knuckle meat in the entire dish...for both of us that ordered that meal. Having expended energy to fix the cocktail crisis (which the server did take care of on her own) and send back flat soda and so forth we had nothing left to effort a battle over the anorexic entrees. The last time we ate there was not a great experience either. The previous 40 times...

I had really high hopes for this restaurant. Online and in the Portland Dine Around book, they show a beautiful restaurant with distinguished dishes. This is a very nice hotel, and you would expect the food and service to match. We were disappointed. We went here for breakfast and decided to sit on the deck, as it was a very nice day. Honestly, the view was the best part. Their sprawling gardens and view of the coast sitting on the porch made it seem like it would be a very nice relaxed meal. They have a smaller breakfast menu with the classics. We ordered eggs Benedict and corn beef hash. The food arrived rather quickly, but the presentation was lacking. The pictures of the food we saw online looked nothing like what sat on the plates in front of us. There was no garnish and everything looked like it was just tossed on the plate. Being as it was a warmer day, we drank our water fairly quickly, yet the server never refilled the glasses even after we had asked for more water. The menu was also a little unclear. Upon receiving the corn beef hash, we were surprised at the size. Then menu saws it comes with crispy red potatoes and those were not on the plate. We asked the server and he said the potatoes were mixed with the hash and then continued to point to a tiny piece of potato hidden under the eggs.That was also the last time we saw our server until he brought the check. Overall, the view was excellent but the food hardly lived up to the expectations and the service was as lacking...