First the plusses: The food, for the most part is better than just good. The prices are acceptable but not particularly much less than some better maintained fancier facilities, the wait staff is very nice (but overworked, which did not affect how quickly we were seated or got our food or answering questions, but it was a perception which made us a bit uncomfortable). Most of our dishes were very good (more of this later). The soup, freshly made, was excellent, the fries (although pre-frozen) were crisp, brown, not soaked in oil and hot, the cole slaw was very good, the roast beef so good I saw our friend scraping the plate for more sauce!, the steak done as asked and well seasoned. I ordered the lobster roll dinner; at $20 was a good price but not necessarily "cheap", especially if it wasn't anything to write home about. The English muffin (what happened to a well toasted roll?) was sodden in so much butter it could barely be held and when you did your fingers got so greasy you had to put it down. It was not empty but not "chock full of lobster meat" and most of the pieces were thin and stringy. The additional seasoning, while not "bad", was odd as all one needs on a good lobster roll is lobster, lemon...and butter. There was no lemon on the plate. I would not order this again when we return, which we will do. My husband had the soft shell crabs and said it was "okay" but too lemony (!...maybe he got mine?)...or something else on the plate had it and that was off putting. Neither of these issues will keep us from returning. It's got "potential" and the folks who work in the place are very nice.
The negatives? It's a tiny facility and the entrance is not particularly bright, appealing or clean with a dark, paint on outside is peeling, the covered entrance has a dirty looking mat, old signs on the door and first impressions are that's it's a diner gone to seed! The booths are not bad (though in need of updating) but small, the tables with chairs are small two-seaters with straight hard seats and backs--- wooden chairsm which can be pushed together for more people that can fit in the smaller booths. There was another group of about 10 folks who were enjoying their meal and whenever any one laughed loudly it was impossible to hear the person sitting next to you...soon the room filled up (we went early) and it became very noisy, the music, although not loud, only added to the din.
Dinner overall was reasonable, food was mostly pretty good, people were nice...we'll go back, forewarned. Must try the roast beef! It's got a good reputation for some delicious dishes and you have to go expecting it not to be an elegant dining experience, but satisfying never-the-less. read more