Ship Lantern Inn — Restaurant in Town of Marlborough

My Family and I just left the ship in celebration of my mother's birthday. This place did not live up to the prior experiences we've had. We have been long time customers of the Ship and were exited to come back for a sepcial occasion. The meal was 300$ after tip and that was with them comping my drink and we did not get dessert.

I ordered the Lobster and Crab Rissoto. It was so undercooked it was crunchy. After two bites I flagged down a random waitress (serving is done "team style") and told her It was inedible. Additionally, that same rice was served with my mother's braised short rib.The server took my meal and offered me a replacement or to have it remade, I said remade was fine. She came back a few minutes later and informed me that the dish would be over the same rice, and if I wanted it over something else like angle hair, I said that was fine. After enough time had passed that my party had finished their meals, I got my own again. It was better. My issue is, they did not stop serving the undercooked rice. I saw several plates come out with risotto on them and frankly it was extremely disappointing. I understand it can be hard to pivot on something that's a staple for dinner but that was a GIANT disservice to the customers.

Secondly, I am extremely upset with cheap scheme they were running. Upon being read the "specials" we were informed of a pesto buratta and "that there was only one of those left". We ordered it because it sounded very appealing, NOT because there was "only one left". They processed to tell evey other table after us that there was "only one buratta left". Frankly it is an insult. In an establishment that is supposedly upholding a reputation from 1925, and prior to this was known for its ambiance, impeccable cuisine and services.

To be clear, aside from the risotto issue the food was okay, but just okay. However, the environment was mediocre. Children running around and screaming, kicking the tables to point of shaking the glasses and silverware. That isnt necessarily the restaurants fault, this comment is more so people understand that the environment has certainly changed in recent years.

Only MY drink was taken off the bill. 2 stars because 3 was too high and 2.5 wasn't an option.

We will not...

After many lovely experiences, we just had a horrendous experience and will never be returning. An older couple (who had a bit too much to drink) yelled at us and our children while we were all eating outside. We chose to eat outside knowing our children are noisy and messy, but we have done so many times before both here and elsewhere with no issue. After multiple drinks and leaving to smoke a cigarette and return for more drinks, the couple verbally attacked our family, chastising us for our children’s noise and mess. The couple was very loud and aggressive and they made our 2 and 6 year olds cry. They humiliated us and forced us to cancel our dessert and coffee and leave. While we waited for our check, they continued to yell at us. No one on the staff stood up for us and the waitress said “I don’t have to deal with this,” and walked away. The yelling and intoxicated woman told us she knows the owner and would call tomorrow (not sure to what end). They told us they dine there every week. We love this restaurant, and, while we can’t afford to go regularly, we go for all special occasions as we did today (it was my birthday). It felt pretty clear we were not welcome. Not only was no one sympathetic, they just all went inside and left us alone with this couple who yelled at us and humiliated us. Tonight was my birthday dinner and I chose to spend it at one of our favorite restaurants, but after what happened, we will never return. Any families looking to bring children should think twice as it does not feel as though children are welcome as you might get yelled at and shamed away by a regular customer while the staff looks the other way. What a terrible end to my birthday and a lovely relationship with a restaurant we can never...

My girlfriend had passed by the Ship Lantern Inn a few months ago and asked me to look it up. It looked very promising and the ambiance looked great, so we decided to save it for a special occasion. Fast forward a few months and we decide my 29th birthday is just the right kind of special occasion.

As soon as you walk in, you can tell the service here is going to be fantastic. We didn't spend more than 5 seconds inside before we had someone approach us and direct us to our table. We wanted to check the place out so we took turns on between meals to scope it out. Awesome fireplace, a big old ship steering wheel, and a fancy model ship; neat!

We were overwhelmed with great-sounding options. My girlfriend got the meat option cooked medium and a beet salad from the daily special menu, and I went with the packed calabria seafood stew of Maine lobster, Panama shrimp, littleneck clams, and mussels with Capelli d'Angelo, which came with their house salad and special dressing.

The salads were great, particularly the house dressing on the house salad. The beet salad was very sweet. The meat (I believe it was brisket) was cooked perfectly, closer to medium rare than medium which is not a problem for me, and came with a side of mashed potatoes and vegetables. The pasta was just overwhelmingly covered in seafood, which is exactly what I wanted. I thought we would have leftovers but somehow, we took it all down and had the apple crisp for dessert, with a nice candle for my birthday. We didn't tell them it was my birthday, so I'm still scratching my head as to how they knew.

This was a great experience, the waiters were extremely pleasant, and we'll definitely return for the next...