Fleur Cuisine Harborside - Rockport — Restaurant in Rockport

TWO GREAT MEALS IN ONE MEMORABLE DAY! AMAZING SERVICE! On October 30 my husband and I had a wonderful lunch at Fleur Cuisine in the town of Rockport within the Cape Ann area of New England. As first time visitors from San Francisco, we had been searching for truly great New England seafood with a beautiful water view from our table. Having fallen prey on the previous day to the undeserved reputation of another popular fish restaurant that seems to be currently coasting with a wobble on its long history, we decided to give this newer establishment with great reviews a try. We are so happy that we did so! The most exciting news was that the clam chowder was to die for (finally!) as it SHOULD be on the Connecticut coast- right? Everything else about our meal was great, but best of all was our gem of a waiter. Joseph was both very kind and informative. He Iistened well to our input about our preferences and used this to inform his helpful suggestions for our choices. Joseph was also very attentive throughout our lunch, and our meal was well timed and perfectly served. But most amazing of all was Joseph’s above and beyond effort to make sure we didn’t get a parking ticket while enjoying Fleur Cuisine! At one point during our meal, Joseph asked us on which side of the adjacent parking lot we had parked. When we told him, he told us that there was some not very obvious signage restricting that side of the lot to area residents only. We had, indeed, missed the signage! My husband left immediately to move the car, all of us hoping that he would find no ticket and could find a space on the other side of the now well filled lot. Incredibly, Joseph also went to the parking lot, noticed a local worker that he knows leaving a space and asked her if she could help make sure my husband got her space!!!! So my husband avoided a hefty ticket AND got a legal parking space in one fell swoop thanks to Joseph. Even now, back in California, several days later, remembering Joseph’s incredible act of kindness and extra effort towards us, as well as being such a big help to his employer through this above and beyond gesture, moves me emotionally. We did, of course, tip Joseph well, but immediately wished we had left a bigger above and beyond gift truly reflecting our gratitude, and so vowed then and there to leave a review telling all what a gem this gentleman is in so very many ways, all of which make the world a better place. In the evening of that same day we returned to Fleur Cuisine for dinner. We knew and regretted that Joseph would not be on shift that night. But our Charissa did not disappoint us. She was charming and fun, efficient, kind and informative. We remain grateful for this happy memory. Again our meal was excellent. The clam chowder, chock full of clams and wonderful flavors and texture, was a must have repeat at Cape Ann’s best newcomer to the seafood scene. Fleur Cuisine is, indeed, helping the Cape Ann area to deserve its lovely seaside location and reputation for bringing the sea to the table with excellence. We hope that whoever had the good judgement to hire Joseph and Charissa continues to provide Fleur Cuisine with the staff that this truly excellent restaurant deserves and that travelers like us need...

It was 6:45 when the four of us asked for outdoor seating at Fleur's. They said it would be 45 minutes. We were seated at 8:00. The service and kitchen were slow. After ordering our food, it took at least 45 minutes to get our appetizer and well over an hour to get our main meal. My husband and I ordered the mozzarella caprese appetizer to split, which we often order in restaurants. The caprese was good until I bit into a very hot jalapeno or habanero, something they didn't mention in the description. I do not do hot. I started guzzling water and asked the waitress for the one thing I knew would help cut the heat - bread. She said they didn't have bread, so I asked about crackers, anything to put a physical barrier between the heat and my burning tongue. She said they had nothing of the sort, so she offered blueberries to ease the burn. Okay. Our neighboring diner ordered bread a few minutes later, and the waitress brought out a roll. I didn't think to ask for a roll. They do, after all, make sandwiches.

Now, on to the entree. My husband and I often split meals. As we get older, we eat less. We asked about the portion size of the fish, which seemed small until she spread her fingers to a height of about three inches. It came with mashed potatoes and spinach, with the fish topped with lemon garlic butter. I am allergic to garlic, so we asked for lemon butter only. No problem, she said. Sometime after finishing our appetizer and about an hour after ordering, she informed us that the mashed potatoes were garlic mashed potatoes and that they would substitute the potatoes with asparagus. I asked if she could give us the potatoes (my husband is not allergic to garlic) and also give us the asparagus. She said no. We get our meal. The sea bass was nowhere near three inches thick. When we split the fish, we each had a portion that could fit, at most, into a quarter cup. No kidding! It was a dismal portion for even one person! The spinach was barely noticeable. The asparagus serving was an okay portion. Still hungry, we ordered a rum cake with ice cream on top. Excellent.

Would I go back? NO. If the waitress had brought me a roll, if she had informed us that the mashed potatoes had garlic when we ordered, if she had the courtesy to serve the mashed potatoes and the asparagus with our meal, and had given us a realistic idea of the portion size of the fish, I would consider going back. But I would never order the sea bass. The guests we took out had good portions of food. The sea bass was a joke, as was...

I understand I'm an "outlier" here. There are a LOT of very very highly rated reviews. This will not be one of them. This was our first time at Fleur and having seen the rest of the reviews we were excited! We arrived early and were seated. It then took about 10 minutes to get someone to take our drink orders. This became a theme. The service is slow. OK, maybe that's just the style and we should expect a "relaxed" pace. We can adjust. We ordered 3 martinis and a mixed drink. The mixed drink seemed fine, but the martinis were laughable. About 2 oz each. With diminutive olives and a bunch of ice floating on the top. Clearly these guys had no idea how to make a martini. Strike 2. (I can adjust to a relaxed service schedule, but bad martinis - no way) The coconut shrimp were passable, about what you'd expect from a defrosted grocery store pre-made ap. The mussels were uninspired to say the least. Three thin slices of linguica sausage and a non-descript red sauce with some soggy bread that had not been suitably toasted. My meal was actually OK, if somewhat small - I ordered the pineapple stuffed with rice and shrimp. My wife and her friend's salmon were similarly small portions, with a meager shrimp adorning the small piece of fish. Moreover, the fish was incredibly salty. The final course was a disappointing creme brulee. It looked like it had come right out of the freezer via the microwave. There was no "crackle" to the crust. It was tasty enough, but certainly not an experience to write home about. That was the problem -- had this been a $40 per person experience, I might think about going back to give it another try, but at $100 per person, this should be a perfect experience the first time. Perhaps we just caught them on a bad day, but everything from the drinks, to the entree's to the deserts disappointed. At the prices we paid, we certainly will not...