BREAKWATER — Restaurant in Stonington

Would have been 5 stars except for the parking. The lot is crowded, & when we went there an obnoxious woman in a red car stole our space, loudly proclaiming her entitlement. "She's lying" said some people leaving the restaurant. Unfortunately I wasn't the driver, who conceded the spot and went off the property to look for another.

Now for the good things, which are pretty much everything. This is a busy restaurant full of people, but spacious enough so you aren't aware of their presence when at your table. There's also outdoor patio seating by the water. The sun is pretty intense there in the late afternoon, but there are some table umbrellas. We sat indoors at a table with a view of the water & the patio.

Our server was good-natured & professional. If I remembered her name I'd give a shoutout here. This is a seafood restaurant, with a large fresh shellfish menu. When asked if the scallops were fresh, our server pointed to a fishing boat moored about 40 feet from the restaurant, saying they just arrived. Our host asked if they were dry, & her answer was yes. New knowledge for me, too! Dry scallops are caught, then the boat turns around and brings them in to be prepared. Wet scallops are immersed in brine, the boat continues to get more scallops. All are preserved in brine until the fishing boat returns.

I ordered scallops, prawns, lobster and asparagus baked au gratin. It was delicious! The cheese was not overwhelming, the breadcrumbs baked on top weren't soggy, the asparagus was tender, and the shellfish was perfection. Moist, tender, and flavorful. I don't remember what my dining companions had, but they were similarly impressed by their choices. Even the vegetarian was happy with their selection. So often vegetarian meals at non-vegetarian restaurants are simply side dishes with expanded portions, uninspired. Not here. The vegetarian was as satisfied as the rest of us.

The wine selection is vast, satisfying our oenophile. The mixed drinks, with the exception of my mojito, were a little on the sweet side. That's not usually a problem for me, but a companion exchanged her margarita for a less sweet grapefruit cocktail. Despite the quality of the dinner, the meals weren't expensive. If I didn't live 3000 miles away, I would dine...

My husband and I were looking forward to enjoying a seafood dinner on our last night in the Mystic area. We read the reviews and were sure that this would be a great experience. How disappointing! The location of the restaurant is picture perfect, but sadly, we left before having dinner. Upon arrival we stood at the hostess desk waiting to be seated. After some time, we were told by two different members of the waitstaff, while they were walking past us, that someone would be with us. At first we assumed that the host/hostess had stepped away to seat other guests inside, which was understandable since there were plenty of open tables in the outdoor seating area and no one else waiting. However, we stood waiting another 10 minutes before being greeted halfheartedly. Preferring indoor seating, we were taken to an empty indoor dining area away from the bar area where other customers were seated. There we sat having enough time to read the entire menu, make our selections, and then have small talk, mostly about how the people of all of the other restaurants, museums, and stores we had visited while in the Mystic area had been so warm and friendly as opposed to this establishment. I became disheartened as we tried to be optimistic in hopes that the service would be better, but that would not be the case. Out of frustration, my husband finally asked one of the servers if anyone was going to at least take our drink orders. He then asked the young man for a beer and was told that he was just about to bring us water. My husband asked if he could just have a beer. The response from the young man seemed to be that of nothing less than irritation and aggravation. It was at that point that we decided to leave. There was no way that we could justify patronizing a place of business that made us feel as though we could and would not be valued as customers. I will not speculate as to why we were treated so poorly, but I truly hoped that in this day and age the reason would not be an...

Breakwater – Stonington, Connecticut

After a sun-kissed day in Watch Hill, toes in the sand, salt in the air, we thought we’d cap off the weekend with a charming dinner by the water at Breakwater in Stonington. The setting was perfect: scenic wharf, gentle breeze, and—miracle of miracles—street parking within walking distance. We were even seated right away at 4:45 p.m. on a busy summer Sunday. It felt like the stars had aligned. Spoiler: they had not.

The first crack in the façade came quickly. My companion inquired about the rosé sangria, which arrived tasting like liquid cotton candy. She swapped it for a dirty martini. We ordered cod tacos (three plain fish only, one fully loaded and battered fried), a Caesar wedge, and three shrimp cocktail. Not exactly a culinary riddle.

Forty-five minutes later, our server explained that the kitchen was “slow tonight,” as if this was somehow an adorable quirk rather than a red flag. Another fifteen minutes passed before food began trickling out. The first two tacos were wrong. Back they went. The replacements? Still wrong. We sighed, accepted them, and moved on. The final two tacos—brace yourself—were wrong again. At that point, I simply performed amateur surgery with my fork, scraping off the intruders.

Our server apologized, promised to send the manager (a mythical creature we never saw), and offered to comp dessert for both of us. Fine. We accepted. The bill arrived—with both desserts charged in full. By then we’d wasted nearly two hours, racked up a $135 tab, and still had a two-hour drive home. We paid just to escape.

A restaurant can survive slow service. It can survive the occasional mix-up. But a cascade of mistakes, an absentee manager, and billing us for the apology dessert? That’s the culinary equivalent of a ship taking on water and the crew asking if you’d like to buy a bucket.

In short: Breakwater broke the evening. We...