The White Barn Inn Restaurant — Restaurant in Kennebunk

I will preface this by saying I have never eaten at this caliber restaurant before in my life, so I was not sure what to expect.

The service was by far and away the best I have ever had at any restaurant in my life. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Everyone already knew our name and occasion. It felt like a very personal experience despite the other tables being served at the same time.

The food itself was mostly very delicious. My wife and I did the prix fixe menu. I was most impressed by the tomato tartare. That dish is like nothing I have ever had in my life and it was delicious. Perfect blend of sweet and savory. She started with the white asparagus dish. She was not the biggest fan, I didn't get to try it so I can't really comment.

The next dish I had was the cucumber sorbet. That was very refreshing, and although the portion was small, it was perfect to cleanse the pallet before the main dish. My wife has the pork cheek. We both tried that and I thought it was incredible. That was actually a pretty decent sized portion, very filling.

For our main dishes, I had the beef tenderloin and my wife had the lobster. My meat was perfectly cooked and very tasty. The potato side was good as well. One minor gripe, the "steak knife" I was given was pretty awful at cutting the steak. My wife's lobster dish was a bit of a mixed bag. The pasta under the lobster was really good, but she was not particularly impressed with the lobster. She said it was a bit tough.

We finished off with the baked Alaska and the apple tatin. My apple tatin was honestly underwhelming. I'm not sure what happened, but it almost tasted burnt. The ice cream side was really good though. She had no complaints about the baked Alaska, but it was a large portion.

In addition to all the above, we were served some other tiny portions. We had a small dish of guac, melon, fish, and rice. That was okay, not exactly my cup of tea. We also had a small creamy lobster puff. That was decent. Finally, after our dessert, we were served a box with some macaroons that were really delicious and a few other after dessert desserts. The rest were okay, but mostly chocolate based so I did not care for them.

The bread options were all good. The brioche was the favorite of my wife and I.

Finally, the drinks. We had 4 different drinks, all of which were very very good. The g&tea was a cool take on a gin drink in a teacup. I honestly can't remember the other drink names but they were all great.

Overall, this was a great experience for a special occasion. I wouldn't really consider this a good value for the money. For $165 each + $19/drink I honestly expected to be blown into another food dimension. I still maintain that the best steak I have ever had was at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney, and that was nowhere near the cost of this, yet at least double the size. It was a good experience and a chance to try a bunch of things I have never had in my life, however I can't shake the thought that I have had better food at a hole in the wall Thai place outside a military base in BF Virginia. The experience, however, was second to none.

Hope this was helpful for those who took the...

The Little Barn Inn for lunch was one of the most disappointing meals I have ever had. The menu is fabulous, creative, and enticing, but the execution was horrible for a restaurant of this caliber.

The deviled eggs were forgettable. They were as bland as the ones your aunt made for covered-dish dinners at church. They needed salt, and the parmesan crisps were soggy.

The turmeric-pickled cauliflower starter was almost inedible. The cauliflower seemed to have been quick-pickled, and the only significant taste was vinegar, which was so strong it nearly choked us both.

These first two dishes destroyed our whole experience here. We had studied the menu beforehand and were looking forward to a great lunch that would be a test meal for the dinner we hoped to have a few nights later.

The asparagus and wild ramp soup with creme frais was a deep green delight, except it was warm, not hot.

The white fish cream dip was good but contained chunks of cream cheese and felt rushed.

The small lobster Cobb salad felt thrown together, with large lettuce pieces, and the lobster's texture was wrong.

We wanted to love this place, but it was deeply disappointing. The wallpaper in the foyer was stunning, the main barn dining room was rustic and warm, and the service was attentive and understanding. Things should be much better at this high level of dining at this price point.

A couple of days later, we had the deviled eggs we were expecting at a modest little restaurant...

This may be the best dining experience we’ve ever had; none of the Michelin starred restaurants we’ve experience were this good.

The interior gives the impression of a small barn complete with a hayloft (sans hay). There is small bar area at the front of the restaurant with a piano on which standards were played during the course of the meal. There were bar patrons seated at the piano enjoying their cocktails.

Watching the wait staff perform was like watching ballet. As every course was served, members of the wait staff would serve each guest at a given table simultaneously with an easy grace. It was wonderfully choreographed.

The food was spectacular. While there is a menu, the tasting menu is the emphasis and the way to go. There were two menus that was offered to us, The Lobster Tasting Menu and the Chef’s Eight Course Blind Tasting. We both chose the blind tasting.

All 8 course were perfectly done. For brevity, I’ll only review 3. First out was the Tomato Tartare. Easily our favorite course of the evening. Served with a dollop of barrata ice cream, flavor was bright, but crunchy bits of Parmesan and toasted sour dough crumbles made for a wonderful experience. The fish course was a butter poached halibut served with guava beans in a white sauce. The beef course was Wagyu beef and was spectacular. Pictures of each are included.

Our servers were Nathan and Ryan, and they...