Treehouse Seaside Grill — Restaurant in Winter Harbor

We were very excited to try this place. Menu looked great, food options were enticing, and the signature cocktail list looked like fun additions to a great meal. Unfortunately we didn't further than our salad apps. The strawberry martini had been advertised with muddled mint and strawberries with lemongrass but came out tasting like pure vodka with a splash of strawberry margarita mix. No mint to be found, no strawberries other than one on the rim. Blueberry mojito was relatively good but also did not have muddled mint or blueberries. 3 solid blueberries and one mint sprig made it a decent enough beverage. 2 pieces of bread made it to the table that seemed to have been sitting some time and starting to go stale. Cold and hard on the outside, slightly softer inside. Butter came with the bread but had seemingly come out of the fridge moments earlier. Not easy to spread on bread but the bread was hard enough that it helped. I'd love to comment on the entree's but our server took our drink and appetizer order and didn't return until 3/4 through the apps. Granted we had not been ready to order entrees initially, but the lengthy delay in returning to collect our order made us not want to place that order. Upon her check in of how our apps were, she briefly asked how they were and walked away just as I was about to answer and let her know the strawberry drink wasn't drinkable, and that we were ready to order. We continued to sit for some time watching other tables place orders, receive their drinks and apps, and continue on with their meal. We still had not had a chance to place our entree order as it seemed our server was a bit busy behind the bar chatting with coworkers and making drinks for other folks. Finally, after we'd spent another 15 minutes waiting, she returned. Apps had been gone for some time so we were left with water and nothing else to keep us busy while we waited for entrees as I've always done in my own food service career. She asked if we were ready to order to which I replied that the drink wasn't very good as it tasted of pure vodka, but on top of that we were finished with our visit and ready for the check. She came back with the check and then left for another 10 minutes before returning to collect payment. She did wish us a good night at the end, but it was an empty gesture. No apologies for the service issues, no comments on the drink, and no plan to ask a manager or other team member to drop by and check in. Even though I didn't drink the drink and offered up my dissatisfaction, there was no attempt to remedy the situation or even remove the drink. Had there been any attempt to connect with us on the issues I would have continued to dine and order food but it seemed as though we were getting in the way of her evening behind the bar and with other patrons. I did leave a 10% tip for Amie against my initial thought of leaving nothing at all but it's not within me. I do hope that a conversation can be had and that no other patrons have this experience. Maybe it was an off night, maybe it was a rough day, maybe she was not feeling it, but we have to feel it on the outside for...

We spotted this absolutely picturesque little restaurant as we arrived into Winter Harbor on our way to the Schoodic Campground. After checking in and setting up, our thoughts turned to dinner and we both looked at each other and said “how about that Treehouse place on the way in?” And it was a go.

We arrived around 6:45 without a reservation, and it took some time for the hostess to determine if she’d be able to seat us. She was kindness itself, but we were confused as it seemed like her first day. We were seated with a lovely view, the waitress took our drink orders, and then again, we waited. And waited. The whole time we’re trying to figure out what on earth is going on. She came back a few times and apologized for the “backup at the bar”. Then my companion finally said “hey, what’s going on? Were you just not expecting this many people or something?” (It was fairly full but not overly so) and she said “oh, it’s our first day so we’re working things out still”. And let me say the whole time she had been kindness itself. But when she said that, the penny dropped. All became clear. So with that new perspective, we relaxed. Our drinks came. The strawberry martini was indeed made with fresh strawberries. The Old Sport (a dirty martini) did indeed have hand stuffed Roquefort olives. Divine. I ordered the miso salmon and my partner had the haddock, which was done Mediterranean style with olives and peppers. The food was amazing, the drinks were pretty on point. I will say I had 3 strawberry martinis and they weren’t consistently the same but they were consistently delicious. Again, everyone throughout the entire experience was kind, helpful, and welcoming. So except for the delays in the beginning of the meal, which I’m sure will shake out once they have practice, it was a perfect welcome to Maine. Having just arrived, and not knowing it was their first night open, and not having had a reservation, I feel pretty lucky to have had the experience. All in all, a special night out. I wish them much success, and with the setting, the great atmosphere, the wonderful food and drinks, I suspect people will come from near and far to experience it. Next time, I’ll be sure to book a reservation. Well in advance. Best of luck! Thank you for a...

We were excited to try this restaurant because the reviews and the menu looked great. The interior is nice with an open kitchen so it all looked really promising. Unfortunately the food was mostly a let down. I ordered mussels for a starter and I couldn't eat them because they were full of grit. This was the first time I've ever had to send food back to the kitchen and I've been to a lot of restaurants. Unfortunately, our server told us that's how mussels are served in Maine -- I honestly don't know if that's true or not, but I don't get why someone would pay $22 for mussels that are filled with sand and shells when it's so simple to purge the mussels before cooking them (I'm from Ireland and I've never had gritty mussels from a restaurant. They are usually farmed or purged if they're wild mussels).

We were very hungry after a long day traveling and it wasn't a great start to the meal. I was hoping my scallop main wouldn't also have sand in it, and luckily it didn't. The scallops tasted great and the beurre blanc was really good too. Unfortunately, the portion size was very small. I had about 5 scallops and 5 baby potatoes (that need more seasoning and were a bit undercooked) and a few pieces of asparagus for $36. I left the restaurant still hungry and disappointed that the quality of the food didn't match what I'd expect at this price-point.

The last straw for us was the mocktails. We don't drink so we were told the cocktails on the menu could be made into mocktails. We went for the blueberry mojitos and they were pretty tasteless (I guess it needs the rum!). That was no big deal until we got the bill and realised we had been charged full price of $13 each even though they didn't have alcohol in them. $13 for a small glass of ice, soda water and blueberry juice is pushing it. We didn't bother to complain because I had already asked to have the mussels removed from the bill.

I see from other reviews that the staff are new... I think they have the foundations to be a really good restaurant, great building, menu and location by the water, but the kitchen and waiting staff need to iron out all the important details if they're going to charge upmarket prices. I wish them the...