The Black Birch — Restaurant in Kittery

Recently had an unfortunate experience at Black Birchn...excruciatingly long wait for food after our party was seated, followed by sub-par meals when they did arrive. Management ultimately did comp us for the evening, which was appreciated, but we obviously would have preferred if things were made right initially. Seated at 7:30 p.m. after an hour wait for a table, we ultimately did not leave the restaurant until nearly 10, amid the bustle of closing up. The majority of that interval was spent waiting for our meals, and feeling strangely ignored. We finally queried our waiter who said something about a mix-up, and apologized. Then we waited another 30 minutes. People who arrived after us ate and left. By the end of the evening, we had several staff members apologizing, saying "people make mistakes." Where had they been all evening? Note to staff: excuses are not a good look in this type of situation. When food arrived, it was not nearly as good as what I have experienced on other visits. We were VERY hungry by this point but shawarma, fish and chips portions were undersized (supposed to be "Larger?"), poutine & duck confit so salty as to be inedible. Felt like something has changed .. please fix it! Have had other lovely experiences at...

As an out of towner, this place came as a recommendation from friends as a must. On my arrival, there was promise, though the restaurant was small and packed. I opted to wait for a space to open at the bar and excited about the menu. The host offered to order drinks from the bar for other waiting guests and I jumped on the opportunity as well. This is where things did not pan out.

My wait was estimated to be 5-10 minutes. This was negligible, but 10 minutes in, I was not only still waiting for a seat but also without my cocktail. The slap in the face though came when the host, who blatantly greeted friends with hugs, quickly served drinks for a pair of them before my cocktail after the 10 minutes I had already been waiting and rushed them to a spot somewhere in the restaurant. This didn’t go unnoticed, because I did react when he served them which prompted the host to go behind the bar mix up my drink.

I rather enjoyed my cocktail but felt slighted by the treatment and opted to just leave. The lack of consideration for me just soured my desire to patron this establishment.

Was it my attire, my appearance, or my smile? I do not know, but what was clear was that my business was...

There are not enough good things to say about this restaurant!! From the moment we were seated, we were treated amazingly by all of the staff. The server was very attentive and knowledgeable. We were given a cozy corner table for the 3 of us. We were given water and ample time to look over the menu. The server answered all of our questions about the menu (there were lots of unique AND interesting ingredients on the menu). We ordered deviled eggs to start. So delicate and delicious in 2 different styles. Next, lamb meatballs with a pomegranate and yogurt sauce. Next, the Coquilles St Jacques (our favorite). A decadent combination of scallops, mushrooms, and pancetta served with a popover to mop up the sauce!! We shared the warm spinach salad, the pork loin with cranberries & pistachios w/ charred cabbage & the bacon wrapped trout ( with strong notes of sage). All of the dishes were bursting with flavor and outstanding. It is safe to say we will be back hungry for more! Thank you for a...