The Puddle Dock Restaurant — Restaurant in Portsmouth

We have dined here 3 times now and to say the least, this was by far the worst and has progressively been worse each time.

We expected it to be busy given a holiday weekend and every other restaurant was sold out but Puddle Dock had almost every table empty. We noticed they hadn’t changed the menu in over a year so we split a salad and entree because nothing seemed appetizing. We had a perfect view of the kitchen and the owner should truly be ashamed about who runs the kitchen. The Executive Chef was leaning over the pass on his phone the entire service. Whenever food was ready to be sent out he would put his phone down and immediately garnish the food without washing his hands. Studies show that phones are as dirty as a bathroom and here he is sprinkling cheese and finishing food in-between answering texts. He then proceeded to pull an ice cream cone out of some freezer and eat it while, again, garnishing food! To me that is extremely unhygienic. Not to mention I have a severe gluten allergy and doesn’t make me feel confident with him cross contaminating allergens. We then saw the manager take his phone out and just hang out with the chef while the poor table behind us just sat there wondering when someone would take their order.

The manager ended up swinging by ouro table at the end and we asked if the chef always acted like this and his response was “he’s impossible to control“ and ”there is a sink back there”… poor answer as someone who should be following all food safe guidelines and he did not wash his hands once. I can only imagine what else happens in that kitchen.

3 times to strike out and we...

I'm old enough to remember the original namsake on State Street just before the bridge--a biker bar as I remember. Anyhow, this place shares nothing with the original and that's great. A novelty for Portsmouth restaurants, they actually have their own parking lot! That started the evening off great for us. Inside is a charming tavernesque decor that fits well with Strawberry Banke and the building. The menu is, as described, a take-off on traditional colonial dishes--local seafoods and farm items. We started with the yorkshire pudding--excellent. Our drinks were well made but they insist on serving martinis in those Marie Antoinette style champagne glasses...and they were half full. C'mon guys, it's a traditional American restaurant. Give me a big old martini in a real martini glass for that price. The service was prompt, friendly and attentive. Anyhow, lots on the menu to like. I had the duck and ordered it medium rare--it was tasty but came out well done. Disappointing. My wife had the halibut special and it looked like the last piece they had (at 6:30)--tiny triangle like the tail end. It was flavorful but not worth the price. Dessert menu looked good so we had the strawberry rhubarb parfait. Excellent. Really, the only disappointment was the kinda pricey menu and the skimpy special and how my duck came out. Going to go back in the winter in hopes they have that big...

They're not looking so good so far. We made a reservation for 7pm, were told to sit at the bar and wait for a table to be ready, even though there are visibly tables to accommodate us on the second floor. We were told to sit at the crowded bar, even though we didn't want to, we were told to do this several times. Once the specific table we had to wait for was available, the hostess got very close and personal with my future husband. Pressing her body up against him and making him very uncomfortable. We've been sitting now for 25 minutes, and haven't been asked what we'd like to eat. We came here hungry almost 45 minutes ago now. We've spoken to the manager twice now, she's been less then helpful, and condescending. It's a shame we find this place on open table, their recommendations are usually soo good.

The rest of this review will be mostly positive, I just have to write it.

The only reason I put 5 stars is because there's a chef in there working him tail off, and making some great food. The owner gave us a visit as well with some champaign to celebrate our occasion. We did make him aware of the issues we were having, and pretty much just got a confirmation that she's power tripping. I hope they improve, but we will...