J’s Oyster — Restaurant in Portland

I don’t ever post reviews but my experience at this restaurant was the worst. I went with my mother because of the food reviews and info about the menu that was available. We went at about 6:30pm on a Thursday so it was pretty busy and they gave us an estimate of a 20min wait which was fine.

We got seated at an outside table facing the water with a decent breeze in about 30min. Again, wait time was expected since it was at dinner time.

It took us 45 minutes to get our order taken, the waitress forgot our drinks (just waters) and it took another 15min for that. We got served our clam chowder and appetizer salad, but we’re not provided any utensils so we sat for another 20min to even eat our food. The clam chowder was okay and the salad was just a simple house salad that they served with a plastic packet of dressing.

We eventually got the small bucket of clams we ordered with butter and broth. The clams were ice cold and so gritty and sandy they were inedible. We got the seafood bouillabaisse which was also luke warm at best. The pasta was overcooked, and the seafood again was mediocre. Then we were served another cup of chowder by mistake. We told this to the waitress and she said it wouldn’t be reflected on the bill.

We also noticed that the table right next to us also got orders that were wrong with lots of missing items.

The side of corn on the cob was the best thing we ate. And that was undercooked and cold.

I’m so disappointed with my experience here. I saw all the good reviews and was looking forward to it. I would absolutely not recommend this restaurant to anyone. It is not worth the wait or money. I might as well have gotten some frozen premade seafood from Walmart - at least it...

If you are looking for the worst lobster roll in Maine, this is your place! Their rolls taste like stale disappointment.

I haven’t left a restaurant this disappointed in a while. We came to Maine for a family food tour and this was the first place we stopped. The reviews were good but I’m not sure how, the owners must have a lot of friends and family.

The lobster rolls were plain, bland, rubbery and dry. For the “plain” comment, places sell plain lobster rolls but the standard is a coating in butter, mayo or other light fat. If you’re going to sell it totally plain you should tell people. You should also have top quality, fresh lobster and buns since those are the only two ingredients. Both were just so so. The lobster portion was anemic and dry. It tasted like someone picked the lobster the day before and put it in the fridge overnight. The meat in these roles had a dry rubbery texture devoid of flavor. The bread was also so so. The buns were definitely from the low-end section of the grocery store. We got much better rolls the in the following days. These were both the worst and most expensive rolls on our trip. I’ve had better lobster rolls in Denver, 1200 miles from the nearest ocean.

Another at our table also ordered a lobster roll and it looked the same as my disappointing thing. It wasn’t just the rolls either. Another at our table had shrimp scampi that I sampled after she complained. It was far and away the most bland version of that dish I have ever had.

All of this would be fine but the check was much higher than the quality of the food warranted. Service was good. The restaurant was clean and nice but it was just one star food at a...

My wife, a Portland native, and I were excited to have a rare date afternoon yesterday, around 3:30 PM, and chose J's Oyster for our meal. Upon arrival, the host was very kind and seated us promptly at a table outside, which was a great start.

Unfortunately, that's where the positive experience ended. For a full 20 minutes, we were completely ignored by the servers and staff. Tables directly next to us were being tended to, but not a single person acknowledged our presence, offered water, or even made eye contact. We patiently waited, hoping someone would eventually come to our table, but it never happened.

After 15 minutes, we agreed to give it another five. When that time passed without any acknowledgment, we sadly gathered our menus, placed them back, and left to find another place to eat.

We spend a good chunk of our time every year in Portland. I have always been impressed by the show of courteously of people here. This experience at J's Oyster, however, was a stark and pretty disheartening contrast.

We were really looking forward to enjoying some oysters and drinks, and to leave so utterly disappointed was truly a letdown.

While the initial greeting was pleasant, the complete lack of service that followed made for a very frustrating and memorable experience for all the wrong reasons. We hope this feedback helps the management address the issue, as we wouldn't want others to experience the same disappointment. Given our experience, we will unfortunately not...