Village Tavern — Restaurant in Kennebunk

Overall: Maybe the locals set our expectations too high.

Food: Salmon was great. Chicken Tenderloin appetizer was good. Salad was a salad. Berry crisp dessert was underwhelming. The Key Lime pie was key lime pie.

This restaurant was the most highly recommended from our B&B and research for places to eat. They do not take reservations, no problem, we called ahead to check the wait and were in honeymoon bliss regardless. The host was cordial and got us seated almost immediately because we had the "lucky number of 2" in our party. Well. If we had had the option of waiting so as to be seated in ANYONE else's section, I would have waited 2 hours. I wasn't very hungry, so I ordered the Asian Chicken Tenderloin Tempura for my husband and I to share and a salad as my main course. My husband ordered the Atlantic Salmon. We ordered this all at once while we were waiting on our server. No big deal, they have young busboys serving water immediately. Our food was brought out in a timely manner, but once we received our main dishes, that's where the night plummeted. Our server NEVER ONCE checked on us to see how our food was. He had tables on both sides of us that he waited on. Once we were finished with our main course I waited about five solid minutes of us just picking at what was left before I asked the water boy to bring me the dessert menu...since our server was NOT concerned with us in the least. We waited at minimum 5-10 minutes after that before he came to remove our plates (I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he had a lot of tables, but when he stopped to just chitchat with the host, I was done). When he went to remove our plates I decided I'd go ahead and get our dessert order in since we had him at the table. He immediately told me they were out of the torte and said "one minute" and turned around and walked away. Did he come back immediately?!? NO. We WAITED AGAIN. At this point I was livid and we should have no ordered dessert and left. But we ordered it, he brought it out in a timely manner, we ate and tipped him appropriately because we aren't tacky people. AND LEFT AND...

I now have a new favorite restaurant. I have lived in this area for 14 years and eaten at all of The Kennebunks finer restaurants. There is no question that the Village Tavern has the best food at the lowest prices. My second favorite is now Joshua's. In comparison, the Village Tavern has a broader and more interesting menu at lower prices. The food quality is similar and they are both family run restaurants which make you feel at home. However, Chef Lemoine of the Village Tavern has 17 years experience as the Executive Chef of the Cape Arundel Inn and earlier experience as the Executive Chef at the White Barn Inn and it shows! His wife Tina is the hostess. Their lovely daughter Tia was our great waitress. We got to meet Chef Rich Lemoine who came out to greet us when he heard we used to frequent the Cape Arundel Inn. The inside of the restaurant is all new and has a very nice decor with dark blue tablecloths and white napkins and romantic dark lighting. Although they encourage you to "come as you are", you would not feel out of place if you dressed up because the atmosphere of the restaurant is upscale.

Going in to the restaurant last night, I asked a couple who was leaving how the food was -the husband shook his head in awe and with a smile on his face said "We've been here 7 times and the food is always great" and the restaurant just opened last December! The only downside is they take no reservations and the wait times can be long. However, it appeared that if you wait until 8 pm, the line is gone even on a Saturday night. I reluctantly write this positive review because I'm afraid the lines will only get longer. BTW, try the crab cakes appetizer... the three of us agreed they were the best...

UPDATE: Village Tavern was bought by new owners last year. For a while, things remained the same, but they have gone downhill recently reportedly under new management.

For a long time, they had the same servers, but recently some have left and apparently it is because of the new management. In their place, they have brought in younger, less experienced servers who really aren't skilled in working high end restaurants who are clearly trying but don't have the finesse of the more experienced servers, and either by virtue of that lack of finesse or because of pressures from management, left us feeling very rushed on a recent visit. Additionally, while the menu has remained pretty much the same, prices have gotten higher and food preparation has been subpar. I got crabcakes recently and the slaw was just forgotten about, the plate presentation was poor, and the crabcakes undercooked. My husband said his burger was also not quite as good as before. The nail on making this a 3* experience for me is suddenly the pours on the drinks are far weaker. They used to make a mean drink at the tavern.

The Tavern used to be our go to for guests, and its literally right down the street for us. I hope they are able to work out the kinks and perhaps be a little less obviously margin-focused because it used to be the best place in the bunks.

We live in the area and Village Tavern is our absolute go-to for taking guests out to dinner. Food, drinks, service, experience all 5 stars. Save room for dessert also. Theirs...