Close Harbour Seafood Restaurant & Market — Restaurant in Southington

More Maine Steamers were available so our party of four delved into two orders. A tray of two breads, corn and Ciabatta were brought to the table with water. Nice. Our orders of fried combination platters, fried shrimp and salad and my lobster roll all hit the spot.

After a first visit to a restaurant that's beyond expectations, you look forward to a return trip. We did this twice over the last week and still like the places but not as much. We went back to Close Harbour and learned they no longer can get the Maine Steamers raved about in my first review. Too bad. We ordered steamed mussels and clams to substitute. Two of our party wanted the special stuffed mushroom with pork. I had three raw clams. All were fine. We asked if we could bring the broths home from our shellfish and were told yes, but it took some chasing after and we ended up with a cup of the mussel broth instead of the quart of both we mixed together for them to save.

The kitchen mixed up two combination dinners but when mentioned, they provided each diner with more of what they were missing. The fried onion ring side was really greasy. The regular fries were small and maybe frozen. I had the seafood pot pie. Good variety of seafood. Just didn't hit the mark for me. The three triangles of puff pastry were one too many and didn't seem to be made in house. The creamed base was like how our friend described his clam chowder when pressed about his disappointment - lacking in seasoning. Salads and cocktails are still pleasing. We liked the glass of Sauvignon Blanc (Avra, NZ), as well as the seasonal pumpkin martini.

A friend of ours discovered a fish house with his wife and said we had to try it they enjoyed the food so much. We joined them Memorial Day weekend and it's a true seafood place that fortunately for those not living on the shoreline, is nowhere near the sea. The menu is all from the ocean except for salads, and some fine dinner selections for those who don't want or can't eat fish.

Both appetizers were impressive. The slow roasted sliced beets stuffed with honey goat cheese and sprinkled with crumbled pistachio nuts and balsamic glaze, makes this vegetarian dish as delectable as it is healthy. Hearty and full of flavor.

The steamers here are exceptional. I haven't had a clam cooked this well in ages. Incredibly tender, plump, moist with a sweet natural taste I forgot clams can have when they're this fresh and properly made. Two orders worth and each one was equally perfect. Noting the sweetness, I passed on dipping mine in the melted butter after a few, and just rinsed them in the warm salt water.

My partner and I shared a bowl of lobster bisque with sherry wine. Tasty. There is a good amount of lobster in their bisque. Our two "Ocean Breeze" gin cocktails were well-made drinks.

Our friends had the crab encrusted cod over a pea and onion potato gratin, and a combo platter of Captain Bill's Fried Seafood made up of two whole belly clams and one sea scallops. Both were well prepared.

Hearing the staff was excited the special tonight was soft-shelled crab because they'd never had them there before, I had to order this not having eaten one since a friend's brother sold his soft-shell crab farm. We used to get an ice packed cooler of them sent fresh to us out in CA. My partner never having one, chose the crab, too. He got his fried and I agreed to try mine sautéed with a sauce of wine, butter and lemon. I was taught to cook soft-shells differently from the crab farmer and I preferred his Maryland dredged flour method in a pan to this Chef's version.

Our entrées came with rice with gravy. I omitted the gravy but it worked with the fried crab. Salads came with our meal and the Caesar was more flavorful than the House mostly due to the croutons.

Excellent food overall and including a raw bar, we all look forward to returning. We'd go back just for the steamers! Lunch is served 11-3. Dinner until 9PM. A seafood market next door allows patrons to purchase seafood of their choice and have it prepared in...

I dined here for the first time on June 10, 2023. I ordered lobster Mac and cheese and Nick’s calamari. I found the lobster to be rather dry and over cooked. Nonetheless, I returned here on July 5, 2023 and sat at the bar.(photo attached) I ordered a shrimp basket with a side salad. The waitress offered me bread, which I accepted. The shrimp was out of this world- juicy, lightly battered with a succulent flavor. I forget the name of the drink but it was on the bitter side. It is not something that I would order again, but I gave a shot. The waitress told me that is was pretty popular.

I usually go somewhere else on Fridays with my mom. However, I told her that she had to drive up to me and try this place. She was happy she did! We both ordered the jumbo shrimp with a side salad.

The service was decent, however both my mom and I had to request a refill. An attentive server should not allow a glass to reach empty.

The reason I did not provide five stars is because the hostess told me that she could seat us if we wouldn’t stay past 6:30 p.m., otherwise she would have to see us outside. Although, we had no intentions on staying until 6:30 p.m. given it was only 5:07 p.m., I was taken back, as I was unaware that you needed a reservation or there was a time limit to the seating. Nonetheless, we were out in under 45 minutes.

Just loss my appetite. Updated 10-5-24 Snobby server gave me a dinner menu. I placed my starter order of soup and requested bread. I was told there is a charge for bread during lunch.👀 should I leave and come back after 3:00 p.m.? I left, to never return!

While I’ve eaten here a few times in the past month, after work, the vibe is not the most welcoming. After today, I will not patronize this establishment ever again and most certainly will not recommend it!

A...

Don’t order the Cajun mac & cheese!!! You might get burned and have to deal with the incredibly rude owner. The mac & cheese was served in a scalding hot skillet. When the owner put the skillet down and said “be careful it’s hot” I did not think she meant so hot I would get a severe burn! There wasn’t an oven mitt on the cast iron pan, so when I reach over to grab some fries my arm grazed the pan and I got burned. I told my waiter I wanted a discount and the waiter said yeah I’ll talk to the owner. The owner came over and the first thing she said was “so you burned yourself on the pan after I told you it was hot?!” and was incredibly condescending. She didn’t take any accountability for how dangerous it is to serve something that hot in a cast iron skillet without an oven mitt or any form protection. Imagine if it was a child who touched the pan. She actually wagged her finger at me while saying in a condescending tone “when someone tells you something is really hot you should listen.” I told her she shouldn’t serve items scalding hot to guests and she continued to argue with me until I told her I’m not doing back and forth with you anymore. How unprofessional. She did process the discount and apologized after the fact. To make matters worse, the mac and cheese was too salty. Visit at...