Batson River Brewing & Distilling - Kennebunk — Restaurant in Kennebunk

I am a regular customer who overlooks the mediocre food and drinks for typically decent service and fun vibe and location. Based on my recent experience in Kennebunk, the service has become awful. We arrived at 7:30 to be told last call was at 8:45. That was fine- we were hoping for one drink and light dinner. After waiting 10 minutes, our server came by, announced last call and told us the kitchen was closing. We told him it was fine, we were ready to order. I tried to place an order for a spicy Paloma, but he was unfamiliar. It became so confusing I settled on wine. (I would have thought he’d ask the bar tender) My dinner mates ordered off the cocktail menu. We also placed our order for dinner and appetizers. The waiter did not ask how the burger and steak should be cooked. In the rush, my dinner mates didn’t think to speak up. The food arrived without the appetizers. The steak was over cooked, the salad had gigantic anchovies. The waiter never checked back to see how we liked the food. As we were finishing, the appetizer arrived. We mentioned the overcooked steak and awful anchovies and he apologized. We also pointed out we were finished w our meal and the appetizer was late. No response. Shortly after, the waiter came back and began removing our plates and glasses- including my wine glass which was 1/4 full and the Caesar salad which was uneaten. I told him I wasn’t done with the wine. He apologized but did not leave the glass. The deck was still full with customers and it was not yet 8:45. But, it was clear he wanted us to leave.

He came back and announced that the check was $160. I asked if I could see a print out of the check- that seemed high. He gave me is ordering device and told me to scroll. I did and realized I misunderstood- $116. I did not get a check. At this point I couldn’t wait to leave- I tapped my credit card, input my loyalty number and left. I called the next day, and the next and the next and the next and left messages asking for a manager call back so I could relay some information about my experience since it wasn’t typical or on brand. It’s been a week of daily calls. Here I am writing a poor review because nobody cares enough to follow up. My recent experiences in Biddeford and Wells have been positive. There are plenty of choices in Kennebunk and Batson River is at the bottom of my list. What a disappointment and waste of...

We’ve been to Batson several times and to several of their locations (Portland, Kennebunkport, Biddeford, Fish Camp at The Claremont). We keep coming back for the decor/ambiance and really want it to be good….but it just isn’t. We love their Christmas camp and vintage hunting decor and vibes. Their interior design is top notch - tough to get a themed decor right and they win for that. Post up for a drink and you’re golden.

The food and service however, leave much to be desired. We went today to their seasonal Fish Shacks today with a group of 6 of us total. We have been wanting to go for a couple of years and honestly we were very underwhelmed and disappointed. It was 20 degrees today and the shacks have only a simple and cheap space heater that they seemed to turn on 2 minutes before we entered. The space was quite cold and we all ate in our winter gear. They had 2 (for a room for 6) cheap felt blankets . The space was too small for 6 guests (2 of which for us were 4 year olds so I can’t even imagine 6 adults). They servers can’t even fit in the space when they bring f+b in so any “heat” you might have captured leaves immediately while they hang with the door open. The heater never read about 43 degrees.

Food is rough. Even the burger is borderline inedible. Gluten free options are severely lacking. The pickle on my plate literally made me gag. Not sure if it was old or moldy or I don’t know. 😬 Fries and brussels sprouts are good. We were told no less than 6 times we only had 90 minutes to be in the shack at the start of our meal and at check in which didn’t exactly set the relaxing holiday lunch vibe - especially considering most of our 90 minutes were waiting for drinks, service, food, etc. Overall - we have typically dealt with the mediocre food and annoyed service because we like the space but this experience at the fish shacks I think finally pushed us over the edge of not needing to come back. Hopefully their hospitality and food program can improve because they have a lot of potential in their space...

Batson River Brewing and Distilling is a location both me and my friend Ben have passed by many times, but never gone into until it was recommended to me by a list of the best restaurants in the Kennebunkport area. The place is famous for going all-out with decorations for the holidays - both Halloween and Christmas, as we discovered in October when greeted with a brewery spectacularly covered in spiders, ghosts and body parts.

Batson River is a two-story building with indoor and outdoor seating on both levels. Service is wonderful, with the front desk being willing to guide you to the right seat for you, and the waiters letting you know their names first thing and having good recommendations and answers to your questions.

I started with the duck fat cornbread, which met my cornbread standards: tender, moist, and sweet, albeit this one had a kick of spice due to being made with hot honey. The maple butter on the side was served in an attractive swirl, but cold and hard to spread on the cornbread. In addition, the serving tray had no edges and quite the potential for mess-making… at least the way I eat things.

The highlight was the burger, a fairly standard smash burger (single or double) with the surprise implementation of Boursin cream cheese, which stood out well when I took a bite. While smashed, the patties were nice and juicy, enough for me to have to wash my hands afterward. Curiously, both buns on the burger seemed to be “tops” - presumably for their superior texture. Clearly, the cooks have an eye for detail.

Finally, dessert is a chocolate peanut butter cake. It’s chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, with some whole peanuts on top. The peanut butter is very sweet, very Reese’s-like, and the peanuts provide a surprisingly good crunch in contrast to the soft cake. It reminds me of something I’d order after lunch at a diner, which is absolutely a compliment...