The Back Eddy — Restaurant in Westport

We thought we would stop by a local seafood restaurant coming back from Gooseberry Island and stopped by this restaurant. We called ahead and easily made a reservation. The very young staff and wait staff were very attentive and friendly once we arrived . And the atmosphere and location were very nice. We arrived very close to opening and were seated next to an unopened window. The servers were gracious. I ordered mussels in a spicy Asian coconut sauce. Very good. Mussels were tender. And the toasted bread that came with it was fresh. My meal was filling and satisfying. I like spicy food. And the mix of coconut milk and hot chilies seemed right As we waited for our drinks and food the place started to fill up. The place became noisy. Very noisy. I ordered the crab cakes as they were a special for the day. They were tiny. About quarter size. Six of them for $18. They were filled mostly with bread crumbs with little crab. I wish I had not ordered them. I asked about ordering their baked beans to find that the beans contained pork and bacon. I passed on the beans. My partner ordered the small portion of fish and chips. She said that the fish was delicious and cooked very well. They don’t do substitutions for sides with meals. So if you don’t like the way they prepare a side dish your only option is to not order the side that comes with the meal. They don’t reduce the price for not ordering a side that is not appealing. The bill came to close to $80. As we finished our meal, the place continued to fill up and became even noisier. The late afternoon sun came through the unopened window. And our table space became hot and very poorly ventilated. Wish we had eaten outside. I think that would have been a better experience. I mentioned the very young wait staff as most of the table servers seemed to be high school age. Overall I enjoyed the mussels but not the noise. Will try another place next time as the noise was just too much. Nearly $40 per person for what we had seemed on the expensive side. And if you are looking for vegetarian or even vegan seafood options this is not the place. Putting pork and bacon in beans ruins the baked beans. I eat seafood occasionally but not meat. Their seafood menu contained pork and steak. I never understood why a seafood restaurant would offer pork and steak except as an option to non seafood people. But to their credit there was no chicken or hamburgers on their menu. I don’t remember a salad option on their menu either. So mixed reviews. So so food and a noisy...

2 people for lunch which was 2 mediocre entress, one very small appetizer, bowl of soup (canned clams, not fresh) and 2 sodas was $80. It's a big deal to substitute a side (look at the "fine print" on the back of the menu). The cornbread was cold, and putting a wedge of watermelon on the plate was a nice touch, but not if that kind of garnish warrants an.over $10 difference between a pork sandwich and a pork platter.

The steak appetizer we got was not described as a cold appetizer and it came out so fast you knew it was sitting in the fridge, especially because some.of the "slaw" it's served with was turning brown. Waitresses looked miserable, I felt terrible for them, they were being hovered over by either a manager or the owner. Whoever this guy was, he was more interested in being a boss than he was with checking on customer satisfaction. Maybe 2 other tables had people at them.

I always keep in mind that when I go to a restaurant I'm not just paying for a meal - I'm paying for service, no mess to clean up, and the costs associated with owning a business. I'm not naive to waterfront location playing a part in the prices of the food here, I just hope whoever prices this stuff out learns that matching atmosphere, attitudes and service as well as quality food and customer service are what makes a place successful.

This place is nothing to write home about and preys on the fact that there are tourists and hungry...

Basically decent for a tourist trap, not some place I would go anymore by choice.

I used to live in Dartmouth and have been coming here now and then for decades since they were Moby Dick's, the last 10 years I might have only come once a year but have been several times recently for business and other reasons.

This once was a very good place, the best in the area at one time. It has gone downhill year after year for the last several years. Now they get by on their past reputation and location.

The menu is nothing special, the food quality is just average lately, sometimes not even that, the portions small, and the prices large. Scallops in bacon were 7 bucks each, yes 28 bucks for 4. Fish and chips were 19 bucks for a little piece that was bone dry with burnt fries. 32 bucks for a boiled lobster is excessive, that was a 1 1/.2 pound lobster that wholesaled for 6 bucks at the time in New Bedford, and 9 bucks retail. They sell farm raised salmon, yuck. They charged extra for bread one time.

Service has really taken a dive as well, the waitress was just rude and not very professional. She argued with an elderly couple that wanted to shut a window because they were cold...wth?

By the way to the person who commented on burgers, the time I went to The French Laundry they had burgers on the menu.... Pretty much every high end place has...