The Upper Deck - Craft Beer - Terrace/Outdoor Dining - Lobster Rolls - Burgers — Restaurant in Southwest Harbor

We passed this restaurant en route to the cottage we were renting in Bass Harbor. The view looked incredible so we immediately said let’s go there tonight. Our host had recommended Thurston’s another restaurant in the area. And that should have been a clue there was a reason host never mentioned Upper Deck. We were seated right away but also immediately in the midst of drama. Another guest was demanding to talk to the manager because they had waited over an hour for food, therefore were missing a scheduled event in their plans and loudly upset. We stayed, naively optimistic that it was an innocent error. We ordered, our drinks arrived in a normal expected time. Then we sat for an hour. During which time, waitress never returned to table but other guests either grumbled or also exploded yelling, left without paying for drinks that had been brought but furious no food or service since. It was only a little more than half full, plenty of empty tables. But we kept hearing short staffed, a cook called out, no apologies but bear with us. We finally see our waitress and request refills. Next we see out the window the waitress is walking down the street away from the restaurant. We thought she quit due to the chaos and angry customers. But 15 min later she returned. So again, we said we were still waiting on refills and when would our food be out? It had been 1 hour and 15 min since ordering. She mumbles ‘oh drinks’ and turns as if to go get the drinks but instead walks out front door again and walks down the street. We then tell another waiter our scenario, very calmly and he says he’ll take care of it. We didn’t see him again. 15 min later the original waitress comes to table to say I thought you left, so I threw away your order. We had changed tables upon arrival because of the sun. The waitress brought the drinks to the new table so she was aware of the switch. Many other customers had stormed out but we never even left table to use restroom. We sat the entire time so it made no sense why she threw our order out. No apology either just matter of fact. We paid for the one round of drinks brought in the hour and a half we sat and left disappointed tired and hungry. Still trying to let it roll, counting blessings, in Maine, great view, must have been bad day… however next day we talk to our host and learn it was not a one time mishap. Other than the view, nothing else to recommend. Guests constantly have terrible experiences. The attitude of waitress seemed beyond apathetic but could be awful management- who knows. But to the owner, be better, figure it out. Peak season Every other restaurant just as busy but had good service, some wait times but none closing in on 2 hours and never delivering food. Something is seriously...

I'd like to preface this by sharing that I've never written a negative review about a business online. However, tonight's experience was not handled well by the manager and so I feel that people - especially people with kids - should steer far away. We arrived at 6:00 and told it was a 45 minute wait for an outdoor table. No problem, except that our cell phones didn't have great service so we were concerned that our party of 4 (plus an under 2 year old) wouldn't receive the call and needed to keep checking in. No big deal though - we were sat about 30 minutes after the time we were quoted, around 7:15. As soon as the waiter came over to our table, we placed our order including chips & a fish bites appetizer for our toddler.. so probably around 7:25 now as the staff were very busy. We also noticed that a 3-top who came in much later than us and seated two tables away were finishing their meal at this time. 8:00 rolls around and the server finally checks back in with us, and I'm desperately asking for the chips or something for my child to eat. We finally get the chips, which are literally just tortilla chips and a ramekin of salsa - these couldn't have taken more than a minute to throw on a plate. 8:30 rolls around... no food, no other apps, no one checking in. Our friends decide to leave, as they are locals and get up at 4:00 for work. At 8:45 I go find the server and tell him we need to go, that our friends have left, and could their order be canceled and our food that we ordered over an hour ago please be boxed up. At 9:00 the waiter appears with all of our food... including the food of our friends who left. The waiter has the manager come speak with us, and tell us they were slammed tonight and therefore no discount and we needed to pay in full. We paid over $150 tonight for chips & salsa and bland take-out - including take-out for our friends who left. We were also charged for a chowder & dessert that wasn't even in our bag, which we didn't realize at the time. We were so frustrated and needed to get our child back that we didn't want to spend more time. My toddler had tortilla chips and a chocolate milk for dinner. Had communication been better or had the manager even checked in on us then I could see paying full price - but this was poor customer service and poor food....

After having had lobsters and various seafood for a few days around Bar Harbor, my family decided it's time to satisfy a different part of our palate. Stopped at this restaurant as there are not too many options around the proximity of SouthWest Harbor. Fortunately the food exceeded expectation and then some.

Drawn by the words 'grass fed beef' on the menu, we ordered El Diablo and Mexicali burgers, medium rare. In my experience, usually only elite level restaurants were able to cook burgers to order. My expectation was tempered given the modest price point, for a supposedly tourist location. Surprisingly, the burgers came out just right!! While these are not the best burgers I have ever had, I would not hesitate to say that the burgers are well worth the price charged. The beef tasted fresh and tender. The fixings fused with the beef to give distinct flavors. Even the fries are enjoyable as the cut is not too thick nor too thin and the batter is crisp and flavourful.

The spicy chicken wings are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

The bowls of Clam 'Chowdah' are decent. Not ladled with cream like typically found in so many places. There are plenty of clams to be found. The only shortcoming is a tad too salty.

So the food we ordered get a solid four stars. What made this a five stars experience are:

The waiter (Kattrick ) - Even though we only ordered water as drinks, he provided excellent service comparable to the level I experienced in four $$$$ restaurants

The view - We sat on the deck overlooking the marina. It was a sunny day and it was simply beautiful.

Entertainment - Toward the end of our meal, a lady came onto the deck and started singing.

By the way, the steamed clams ordered by the table next to us look amazing.

We were there on 9/27/18 (Thu). The waiter told us the restaurant will be closed for winter. If you are in that neck of the woods,...