The Leavitt Theatre — Restaurant in Ogunquit

I would give 0 stars if I could.

Me and my friends(a group of four 21 and 22 year old women) received a recommendation to visit this establishment. We each ordered a drink, and our server asked if she could take our IDs back to someone in the back. We all have CT IDs, as we are all high school friends from the same town. Two of our IDs were horizontal, and two were still vertical. They are all Real IDs and none are expired. We were understanding of this, and encouraged her to follow the steps that she was required to do.

After a long time, our server came back to us and told us she could not serve us since our IDs did not look real. We asked what was wrong about them and were given no specific details. We tried to respectfully argue our case and ensure her our IDs were real. I had my military ID on me as well, and showed that as a secondary form of identification. My friends asked if they could show copies of a passport and any other proof that they are of age. The server said that they could not accept those as identification. We asked if they tried scanning our IDs, and she told us the two vertical ones didn’t scan. We were confused by this, as our IDs are real and have always “passed” scanning. In fact, they had been scanned at a different bar 1 hour prior. Our server was very apologetic and brought down my military ID to her boss. Now, none of us had our IDs.

A bit later, she returned to our table with my two IDs and said that I could be served, but none of my other friends could be. She said my CT ID was not suspicious, but all of the other three were (a combination of vertical and horizontal IDs). We found this weird, because my ID looks identical to the other horizontal ID in the group (since they are both REAL). She then brought up the fact that their management could call the police over to scan the remaining IDs since they were “friends with the cops”. (We were confused by this because we were originally told that the IDs didn’t scan. We later found out they did not have a scanner, and lied had about our IDs not scanning). We asked our server to call the police and scan our IDs, and she left.

After waiting for a while, two of my friends returned downstairs to see what was happening, and also check on their IDs (which, at this point, had been taken for a long time). They were reminded that the police could be called to scan their IDs. My friends encouraged this, given that their IDs were 100% real. Instead of calling the police like they threatened, they just handed my friends their IDs back.

My friends returned to our table and waited they for a while. At this point, it was a matter of principle (and it was also raining outside so we didn’t want to leave). We were confused with what was going on and waited for a bit to see if the so-called police or our server would arrive. Shocker- neither did. So, we decided we would rather walk out into a literal thunderstorm than spend another moment there.

This is a serious issue that this establishment should address. I can imagine that there are plenty of CT natives coming here in the summer, as it is only a few hours away from our hometown. I also understand that CT is a commonly faked ID, but no one fakes vertical IDs (which were two of the so-called “suspicious IDs”). We should not be expected to carry two forms of identification on ourselves, and establishments should be expected to tell the difference between a fake and real ID - especially from a nearby state.

I understand the importance of ensuring minors are not served, but I do not understand taking our IDs for extended periods of time, giving us no status updates or any resolution to the problem, and being completely disrespectful while we remained calm and patient. Our server was very apologetic to us, but the man who held our IDs and claimed they were fake was not. We obviously will not be coming back, and we encourage you to learn how to correctly...

My friends and I are on our college grad trip here. We all are from the same town in Connecticut; thus, having Connecticut IDs. We just had a lovely meal and drinks at the Patio and got recommended to go here because it’s “magical” inside. Big mistake. No magic there. Only rude and terrible service. Our server had to take our IDs to her boss to make sure they were real, which we were understandable about because it is her job. Her boss claimed that the two vertical IDs and two horizontal IDs were fake. The only fake thing is that statement. We told them to scan our IDs because they are real. She mentioned her boss is friends with the police and he can call them over real quick to scan them, so we asked her to do so. She never came back and we were just waiting like sitting ducks. Two of us then went down to talk to him and he said he would call the police to scan them. When we said yes, he just handed back the IDs. We go back to our seats and still no service. Frankly, unacceptable. Overall, this falls upon the “man in charge’s” responsibility. All the other workers seemed nervous around him. He never tried to fix the problem and gave us attitude. Therefore, we left. We didn’t want to pay a place that cannot treat their customers with respect and basic human decency. I am very shocked as never would have thought this would occur to my friends and I. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle a misunderstanding and clearly the “boss” needs a lesson in customer service. Keep in mind, it was pouring rain outside. We rather walk out in the rain than stay at a place that was so dismissive and rude. 0/10 would recommend. We came in looking for a good time and all we got is aggravation and annoyance. For a place running for over 100 years, maybe invest in an ID scanner, as you clearly need help...

Though we didn't visit the theater, the attached restaurant was beautiful if not near-perfection. The impeccable vibe is Gatsby meets cozy New England whimsical rustic. Though the menu is not expansive, you can tell each item has been carefully selected and prepared with great craftsmanship. The food was scrumptious, with a lot of modern/upscale takes on comfort food, and without a whiff of pretension. The seasonal house cocktail was delectable (try it in Fall! Had some sort of walnut liqueur, I think?) Our server was so attentive and helpful, taking perfect care of us while also giving enough space for a fantastic discussion. And how could you NOT have a fantastic discussion when you're surrounded by such a magical aesthetic?! Had my dearest not grown antsy after 90 glorious minutes basking in the restaurant's glow (apparently some of our paramours prefer to change up their locales on a date while some of us find a dreamboat of a restaurant like this and take up near-permanent residency), we would have been a 3rd round of drinks in and I might have proposed. IT'S THAT WONDERFUL HERE.