The Oar House — Restaurant in Portsmouth

A Locals view - Everything Wrong with Customer Service

The Oar House “Deck,” is a dismal example of incompetence in customer service. If you are considering having drinks or a fast bite here before a Harbor Cruise or even if you are dining at this establishment, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.

Service: The service was an utter disaster. The hostess/wait staff were insufferable, with attitudes that could sour milk. We arrived with three adults and two kids and intended to have a drink before departing on a Harbor Cruise (next door). The “Deck” was empty, with only two of about fifteen tables occupied. We ordered one drink and tried to sit at a railing table to enjoy the view while I ordered the rest of us soda or a cocktail. Although a party of five, only three of us were seated while the two others stood. Despite the empty “Deck” and our planned brief stay, the staff insisted repeatedly we could not sit there and had to move somewhere else. Their reasoning was that the table was reserved for another server (made no sense given the circumstance). After several attempts to explain we would be gone in ten minutes and we were enjoying the view, they insisted we either move or leave the premises.

This was the rudest customer service I have ever encountered. I expressed my frustration to the bartender, who generally oversees wait staff in such areas. He agreed that moving us seemed unreasonable but declined to intervene. We eventually left, but not before making it clear their poor customer service/conflict resolution skills were completely unacceptable.

Management’s Response: Textbook example of ignoring customer feedback. He showed no interest in hearing our side of the story. His indifference was matched only by his incompetence in handling customer complaints. No apology, no attempt to resolve the situation—just a dismissive shrug with a finishing “Don’t come back then” was his salutation.

Our brief and miserable experience marred an otherwise wonderful afternoon. There are many far better places in Portsmouth, NH, to eat, drink, and gather.

A note post owner response: Your "Owner" reply shows the Oars true colors. Again, we were three adults with two middle school children, and you grossly exaggerated our party's behavior. Until confronted repeatedly by the waitstaff for trying to remain at the table (there is no fire lane at a table) and possibly using a second table if our out-of-town adult guests showed up (that would make 7), we were quite respectful of the establishment. You had no issue entering the waiting area of the Harbor Cruise line to chew me out as a paying customer there in front of other patrons.

Hint for the "Owner": Don't berate and treat your clientele on Google Reviews with the same attitude of hostility either * (i.e. if you can't dispute the facts, resort to personal attacks).

For the Harbor Cruise - no problems - two of our party were running late. The captain held off 5min on departure to allow them to board. Tipped crew $60 - very appreciative. I will follow up with them to confirm any complaints against our party since you have spoken on their behalf (bad form). They were very excited to have us onboard, have our purchases, and our gratuities.

As a local of Portsmouth, I advise folks to avoid the same plight and treatment and go somewhere else.

a Local

Other reviewers: Genius 555 - I was met with resistance and rude service. Miranda - Our waiter was immediately rude to us when we sat down, so we did not order cocktails. This angered our server, and he made fun of us for asking for water. I've been to the Oar House in the past and had an alright experience, but sadly it was not up my expectations. Emily - when my husband tried to express his frustration, she (Manager) literally walked away while he was talking. Luther Weigle - The oar house does not deserve to have a restaurant in Portsmouth. Cole - Rude experience with the manager. Incredibly unprofessional and patronizing....

We had 8:45 reservations and arrived aprx 8:54 (reservation page stated they hold your spot for 15 minutes).  Upon entering there was a very angry man with glasses behind the hostess podium. He said "are you the walked in to a mean guy behind the podium- ?? Posibly the manager. He started with "are u the reservations?"  Us:"yes", "well come on in we close at 9 and its 3 minutes to 9 so we need to get your orders in" 😯 If I hadn't had my heart set on their $40 dish... we would have left.  Big mistake that was.  The girl "Tracy" was our waitress. Not pleasant and very gruff. I think we infringed on their closing by making a late reservation. It went very fast...drinks, what ya havin'?  Our food came out and she stood there and said umm excuse me as she was holding our dishes because our bread plates were in her way.  We had the huge round corner table that could very well have accommodated our 2 dinners. The food was fantastic as always.   She came by once more to offer my husband another "canned Corona".  He dosen't like canned beer and she never said it was canned until we saw her pour it the glass. We didn't get any appetizers like we always do because we were so rushed and rudely told they need to close at 9. They shouldn't offer late reservations. They shouldn't promote themselves for  "late night dining" as they do. After you tag yourself there when on facebook a screen pops up and late night dining,  casual, heathly options, fine dining, large portions etc... come on. I couldn't finish my dish and she came back and asked if I was done and I said yes and she left with my plate.  She never asked if I wanted it wrapped. She never wrapped my dish. She returned with bill and we paid.  Walking out she never said goodbye to us , but she did to the couple that was at the bar.  All 4 times we have been there we are given a wet warmed hand towel in a plate.  She never did so I left with fishy hands from cracking the lobster and shellfish.  I didn't dare ask where the...

Expectations were high and quickly let down.

Ultimately, I would classify this restaurant as the ultimate tourist trap. It was even recommended by the Inn we stayed at so you can imagine we had some higher level of expectation. The ambiance is most of the 3 stars along with the "inside only" cocktails. We arrived and were quickly seated as the dining room was half full (or half empty). It seemed that only one waiter was serving that evening who kept saying it was busier than usual (with half of the tables full) which might have been the clue we needed to determine it wasn't a local favorite. The cocktails were pretty good though we only tried a few. I highly recommend the Gibson for those martini fans. We ordered clams and oysters which were small but very good. We then ordered what the waiter highly recommended, the stuffed lobster. The cornbread filling did not seem fresh and was more in line with something I might feed a dog. The lobster had no seasoning or salt and was very bland. The contents of the lobster and the claw were very small and certainly not 1.5 lbs as advertised. The food service was quick but ultimately the wait staff struggled to keep up, no fault of his own but simply due to being understaffed.

The next day the weather was much better and knowing that the drinks were the highlight we thought we would try the waterfront seating for drinks. The music was more in line with a Miami beach and the drink menu wasn't far behind. The staff resembled in manner and wear what you might expect from a drug smuggler from Liam Neeson's "Taken". I also consider myself a great tipper and they use the electronic mobile pay devices on which the only tip options are 20, 22, and 25. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

If you're only in town for a couple nights, it's a pass from...