This newly reopened restaurant is located in Bunker's Harbor, Maine, just a few short miles from Winter Harbor, which is on the eastern side of Frenchman's Bay from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.
Upside: this place has a spectacular view of Bunker's Harbor and the Gulf of Maine beyond. The handful of colorful lobster boats bobbing in the water just a few short meters away is also a bonus to be sure. Service is attentive without being overly so and there is a genuine effort to be a bit upscale, that is to provide a level of service commensurate with what the management assumes are the expectations of their client base.
Downside: Menu very limited. Only three seafood dishes on the entree (plat) side: lobster dinner, haddock and scallops; two beef dishes, no pork and just one chicken/sausage pasta dish and no veggie entree. I had the lobster app, which was really just a lobster chowder, that is pieces of lobster meat in a cream base. It was tasty but one would have expected nothing less since they market it as fresh picked locally. The other two at the table ordered the Caesar salad, which was basically romaine lettuce with what was thought to be a homemade dressing. The bread brought to the table was a generic foccacia, quite doughy and devoid of much flavor, probably baked off premises far, far away and then finished off in the oven at the restaurant (fairly typical today).
The food was in general mediocre. Three of us had the haddock, which was unfortunately overcooked and tasteless. (It shouldn't have been brought to the table.) We had to ask for something, anything to put on it but which frankly didn't help much at that stage. There was little effort made to rectify this situation -- in fact in such a small dining establishment we were surprised that the manager did not come to the table to express her concern about the food. Not good.
The accompanying foccacia stuffing was pretty good but basic while the green beans were a bit on the al dente side. (Just for the record I prefer my vegetables that way but these could have used a couple more minutes of blanching.)
The wine list is pedestrian, although as noted below the pricing we thought quite good. There was no effort made to assist the novice in matching wine with dinner. We noticed only one sparkling wine on the list, a prosecco for $19, a good value and a wise choice for most folks just wanting a little bubbly. However, it would have been nice to offer a champagne as well, or even a high-end sparkler from California. Anyway, we ordered a Sancerre, which was just right for our dinner, and I thought another good value at $34. curiously the glasses for the white wine were brought out chilled like beer mugs, and the wine was way too cold.
The following incident is, I think, indicative of how so many restaurants operate here in the US, even up-market ones: a group of five at a nearby table had ordered a red wine follow-up to their sparkling wine, and soon afterwards we saw the maitre d' walk over with fresh glasses and a decanter. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but unless I missed something there was nothing on the wine list that called for decanting. In any event the fellow proceeded to simply open the bottle and dump, literally, dump the contents into the decanter. It was of course all for "show" and made very little enological sense. It was not only an indicator of the fact that these folks know less about wine apparently than they should, but ultimately it was an insult to the intelligence of the customer.
After the meal we discovered that only the typical brown boiled water was available for coffee; and no digestifs and no dessert wines. Speaking of desserts there was no ice cream apparently, and the few desserts offered were fairly typical ("flourless gateau" for example). We were informed that the desserts were made “in-house,” except for the lemon meringue pie. Our waitress informed us that they got the pie from Sysco! Whoa!
I want to emphasize that the restaurant has only been open for barely ten days so one should bear that in mind when reading my review. Still, there are some serious concerns that need to be addressed, particularly in the area of food/wine integration, food preparation and general customer service.
I'd like to hear what you think.
2 comments:
Bunkers Wharf, I would agree with your comments about the 2007 season. On the note just to give you a little insight though the owner Bill Osgood was out with illness for the whole 2007 season. Hes back this year and the life and high standards have come back with him. I have been dining there for six years, I have been three times already this 2008 season. I would have to say the bread is baked fresh everyday, my husband and I have gone over many times and bought a loaf and it is made right on site. The menu is about the same but the fresh fish that they buy off the boats everyday you cant go wrong there. They did get a new chef this year who has been cooking for 22 years great guy, comes to tables to make sure the guest are happy. As far as the desserts oh my word you have to see the dessert tray they take to the tables they have 6-10 differnt desserts daily. They are all made by Bunkers own pastry Chef that has won gold medals all over the united states. I had her make a dessert for a family get together and wow.. my family is still talking about that dessert. I think that if you went back this year you would be happy with the place the views, food, desserts, great drinks also the service is wonderful. Over all one to visit in my book. I go as much as I can for the few months they are open. You cant beat a setting like they have on the water with that view!! I hope you will go and re-visit my all time favorite little place in Bunkers Harbor Maine.
Haddock should never, never be overcooked or tasteless, particularly in Maine. Other than that,anyone looking for a good California wine or complaining about the doneness of green beans in Bunker Harbor, Maine should stay in wherever he is from and keep his opinions private, for heaven sakes.
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