Harpswell Schoolhouse — Restaurant in Harpswell

Since the reopening at the end of July 2025, the new “chef” here has been seen by other staff taking a flower garnish off a dirty plate that came back in through the kitchen he then put it into the fresh garnish, the sous chef witnessed this, and didn’t say anything to the “chef”. That same night someone was violently ill from the food and called to complain the following morning. I was a hostess here for a week. The chef made comments to me such as “the old men will love you” as well as making comments about “flamers” his words, completely inappropriate. He drank at least five beers a shift, the only thing cooked by him was the vegetable lasagna, he could not cook mashed potatoes or shuck oysters. I was told front of house staff would get a percentage out of the tip pool, not being in this industry before (12 years healthcare experience) I did not realize that he didn’t even initiate the tip pool through documentation such as signing paperwork with employees. Due to this, I did not get paid the tip pool as promised. “The chef” tried to pay only me, cash, even after he was told not to do so by the owners (he let me know this) he kept telling me to just give him a number. I did not feel comfortable doing this. The staff (5 of us total) gathered together yesterday to call the owners and tell them what was going on, we wanted a chance to all sit down with the owner, keep our jobs, and to get this man out of there. I left a voicemail on our behave. We never heard back however, the owner, made sure to call him repetitively and only talk to him before staff left. The “chef” blamed problems on the front of house to them and who knows what else was said as he is a compulsive liar. I have reached out to the department of labor and health inspection. I wanted to warn others, nobody should eat here or be working here until this place makes HUGE changes. The only good thing about this place is the remaining head waiter, he actually cares about the guests and goes above and beyond to maintain the overall environment, the owners do not care about their staff and the “chef” doesn’t even have a culinary degree. At this point they do not have a line cook, bartender, host, or payroll employee due to the owners and “chefs” negligence. However, the chef is opening for...

The Schoolhouse is under new management. Those who visited the restaurant over the past few years will find a very different dining experience. In our case, it was sorely disappointing.

Our table started with the charcuterie board, which was excellent (the waitress went above and beyond and gave us a list of the cheeses after we asked about it). The new chef, Andrew Krull, opened our bottle of wine at the table. Unfortunately, those were the highlights of our experience.

I had to ask specifically if there were any non-alcoholic options to drink, as we were given a beer and wine list but no signature cocktails. We noticed that the bread plates were grimy, with a thin layer of film, but we still held out hope. That hope waned over the hour it took for our entrees to arrive.

The crab cake with onion jam did not pass the visual or olfactory test, and it was, in fact, inedible. The stuffed squash was a little strange and would have been better suited as an appetizer. Most notably, the locally sourced chicken breast was absolutely enormous, about the size of a Hannaford whole rotisserie chicken, and it was so tough it must have been overblanched.

Mr. Krull was not working in the kitchen; he could be seen sitting at the bar eating dinner and drinking wine during Saturday night dinner service. He talked to us from time to time and mentioned that he’s been in the industry for a long time and has had 10 restaurants and 4 food trucks. He also referred to himself as the GM, joking that he has managers who do all the work. It seemed that he was more interested in promoting the “true farm-to-table concept” of the restaurant than in ensuring the quality of the food.

We spent over two hours at the table, consisting of drinks, appetizers, and the entrees that we quickly gave up on (no desserts - but then, we were given two conflicting dessert menus at the start of service). At a high price point we were expecting more.

The information we learned about the chef combined with our disappointing dining experience makes me wonder how long this iteration of the...

We celebrated our wedding anniversary last night at the Harpswell Schoolhouse. We were welcomed the minute we arrived and shown to our reserved table by Bruce, the front of the house. He introduced us to Magella who would assist us with our orders. Like Bruce, she congratulated us on our anniversary. She gave us ample time to consider the menu including the night’s special. We chose the latter which was a superb seafood chowder and opted for Magella’s wine pairing which was also superb. We learned later that she is the restaurant’s manager with extensive experience including outside the United States. She has created a professional team with many following her from previous engagements. We also understand Magella oversaw a recent renovation of the interior. Included was an acoustic arrangement that permits easy conversation in the restaurant’s open space. The Harpswell Schoolhouse has become our favorite local restaurant and we look forward to returning for many dinners...