This is a cozy place on grey days and has outdoor seating in beautiful weather…read more With an interesting menu and great drink options, you'll have lots to choose from. High end dining and professional but friendly service make for an enjoyable evening (As Bowdoin parents, it's a short pretty walk to campus and you might spot a polar bear working there!)

High prices, low quality, poor service. The decor and ambience are coupled with prices that lead…read moreone to believe this is a high end establishment. Breakfast this weekend proved otherwise. Go to impress parents or similar if you are a college student. For quality and price, based on our experience, would not do again. Overcooked eggs, grudging portions, mix and match plateware that just confounds (bacon and eggs in a bowl - really? but only for one person in the party?). The menu is also misleading. The fabled "hash of the day" turned out to be just a pile of ordinary unremarkable overcooked and unseasoned home fries. The same side everyone else had for free, but costing some part of the wallet-stretching $21 in the context of the all-in "165" breakfast - two overcooked over-easy eggs (no seasoning), a slice of thin sourdough bread cut in two, a pile of indifferent home fries and two of the smallest pieces of bacon you can imagine. $8-12 in any self-respecting diner in the country, and typically made with far more care and flavor. When asked how plain ordinary home fries were a "hash of the day" when they were also unmentioned sides for other dishes, the waitress shrugged and said "it's a KIND of hash. We call that hash here." Touche. Should have asked more questions. And the toast is a single piece of seemingly storebought sourdough bread cut in half (no evidence here, just disappointment being expressed). No substitution, no extras. Pretty much no butter, either. Another member of the party had the blueberry pancakes, Thick and heavy, and unremarkable, once again. Any diner does it better - for half the price. Timing was a serious issue too. The dining room was somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 full. 3-4 tables in other words. Still took well over 45 minutes to get food. Watched 2 pairs of other diners come, order, eat, pay and leave as we waited, Food came cool with no explanation or apology for the long wait. Small complaints perhaps, but at this price, they are making bold claims and utterly failing to match up. Breakfast should be a lay-up for places like this. The ingredients cost almost nothing and the work involved is strictly short-order, simple, fast-turn work in a relatively uncrowded dining room. No reason to go light on ingredients or on flavors. Breakfast is an easy meal to wow in aplace like this, and New England has traditions to uphold - and yet the establishment clearly did not see the point in putting in the effort to match their prices, decor, or location. The capper was watching the tables cleared by a surly teenager in stained board shorts and stained tshirt and sneakers with unwashed hair in a beautiful dining room. The young man clomped in and would withdraw 1-2 plates at a time before stomping out, taking over ten minutes to clear a single table. Overpriced and under-quality. It's for tourists. Beautiful building, though.

Nice arcade. Small but enjoyable. The unlimited play for an hour was perfect, we enjoyed very much.read more

The bar service was amazing, Cindy was professional and went above and beyond ! I really…read moreappreciate it. It could not have gone better.

Fantastic gourmet shop to grab key things you need for entertaining: wine, cheese, salami, &…read morehousemade dips for your charcuterie, the tastiest crispy chips. Don't miss the frozen case featuring Afterglow ice cream sandwiches made in Maine. People will fight over the Classic sweet cream between brown butter chocolate chip cookies. The restaurant no longer has regular hours. But their Wiener Wednesdays featuring inventive hot dogs, along w/ curated pop-ups are not to be missed. They're really community-minded, so great local stop.

If only I lived closer... I'd be at Vessel & Vine ALL. THE. TIME…read more I've been a huge fan of this wine store for years. It's got so much character, and the people running it are some of the nicest humans ever. I don't think I've ever left without a smile on my face, or without a bottle (or two) of something new and interesting. Their selection is incredible; not just wine, but also vermouths, Campari, and even pasta and bread?! Like, what don't they do? And the vibes??! Perfection. In the winter, it gives a mix of Scandinavia and Spain, and I'm so here for it. Oh, and they have a full wine bar with pours and bites. Just go... you'll thank me later.

Irish bars - where the Guinness flows like milk and honey and the crash of broken glass hitting the…read morefloor gets a "heeey" with glasses raised - the beautiful brogue compliments and politeness (es) male bartenders with a welcoming smile and in-depth knowledge of the Irish golfers and soccer teams - but that's not here at all. I'm hanging on to the hope that my 4 stars will not have to be updated as the scales of bar justice can only tip downward hence forth. Perhaps I have a false sense of self - but I'm a freakin great customer - I spend hundreds of dollars a month on eating, drinking and making Merry at the midcoast Maine bars - y'all business owners better take notice of me and respect the badge, my writing power and my posse - cause I'll turn you out if I must. And when beady eyes behind the bar set upon me, they're not saying"welcome back valued customer" they're saying "it's him again" the concentric circles, the common center must not be broken with new faces and new money - Be the region between the two concentric circles - I think it's called annulus, be that, not an assulus. The folks at the bar are quite the opposite, they're friendly and engaging- one guy was dancing to live music, caulking around the AC while drinking drafts and discussing Him Morrison with me as I sat alone in a dark corner. This is what Irish bars are - just gotta inform the barmaid- only one, the other is quite nice - and the big guy - I'm betting a shit of Jamison that he's the owner- always running around the back, cooking up great meals - try his Steak and Cheese, the twelve inch pizza which beady eye called "fourteen" - duh - is $9.00 and big guys got a heavy topping hand, smothering that pie with the pepperoni that does that high heat trigger shaped twist - like a tulip pedal holding the little droplets of oil inside.

I went on a Monday evening, about 7:00, because there were so few restaurants open. What a…read moredisappointment! We wanted dinner. The bartender said we could order food even though it was really slow and the band had stopped playing. We ordered cheese steaks sandwiches. We asked what came with the sandwiches and we were told tater tots. It took almost 40 minutes to get our food. We had to wait about 5 minutes for the ketchup and there were no tater tots. We got a bag of chips and were told they were out of the tater tots and French fries. No respectable Irish bar would not be able to serve fries or some form of potato with a meal. The bar had about 10 people in the bar and they were all pretty drunk. It is not a fun pub but a place with some sad drunks.

Beautiful space, historic solid building with high ceilings, stately almost Euro feel. Kind of a…read moreclassy-hip vibe. One of the relatively rare spaces which combines coffee/morning feel with nighttime cocktail refuge in one big room. You could chill and read or work on laptop and yet it also can be a more low key nightlifey hang at night. Excellent menu of select food items and fantastic drinks. The breakfast sandwich I got on Portuguese roll was well prepared and one of the best deals I think in Greater Portland area (please don't raise the prices cause I wrote that!). Their lattes and what not are superb. They have live jazz on Sundays during brunch time. It feels like a little slice of Portland or Cambridge MA or (name your much larger cool city) in the middle of Brunswick. I'm a fan!

We came here during my bachelorette weekend and, at first, had a wonderful experience. Our server…read morewas friendly, attentive, and even surprised us with a complimentary glass of bubbly when we paid our tab after two drinks. It was such a thoughtful gesture, and we left with a great impression. We decided to check out the bar across the street, but it wasn't our vibe, so we called it a night and walked back to The Abbey. Their patio was empty and well lit so we decided to sit there while we waited for our Uber. Our server immediately came out and told us they were closed and that we couldn't sit on the patio, promptly closing the door and shutting the light out on us. While disappointing, we understood. The part that left such a bad taste in our mouths happened next. As a group of young women, we were standing outside when a group of loud, rowdy men across the street started making us uncomfortable. We genuinely felt unsafe. We went back inside and politely asked if we could wait indoors for our Uber, explaining that we didn't feel safe outside. Instead of showing any concern, the bartender looked at us and said, "Oh, that bachelorette party? No." The bar was still full of customers, and we weren't asking to order more drinks or stay all night. We simply wanted a safe place to wait a few minutes for our ride. After how warm and welcoming they had been earlier, the complete lack of compassion in that moment was shocking. Customer service isn't just about being friendly when you're serving drinks. It's also about treating people with basic human decency when they tell you they feel unsafe. Unfortunately, our final memory of The Abbey wasn't the complimentary champagne or the great service at the beginning of the night. It was realizing that, when it actually mattered, our safety wasn't important to them.

Before I get into the issues we experienced, I will say that we had a great night. Our server was…read morefantastic, the space is beautiful, and some of the food was tasty. The issues were glaring though. We arrived early for a group reservation of 10 and started at the bar. The service was very slow and we got the sense that the bartender was frustrated that we showed up early with the idea to have a cocktail before our reservation. Bar service continued to be painstakingly slow throughout the night. The restaurant was somehow out of several of their menu options (despite the restaurant not being busy on a weekend day). Not the end of the world, but it left us asking some questions. The major issues really arose when our entree courses were served. They had somehow ran out of french fries, and you could see that in the portion size of the frites in our steak frites (the picture included in our review was our plate -- we had BY FAR the most fries out of those at the table who ordered steak frites). And they ran out of steak - one of the people at our party who ordered steak frites was served a hamburger (which isn't even on the menu). Overall, I thought that we overpaid for the food and if it wasn't for the good company at our dinner - I would have been very frustrated.

Not by any means bad, but so many flaws and so far below my high expectations from other reviews…read morethat my 2 star rating is appropriate, though it gives me no pleasure to do so. I have no issues with my waitress, Brianna or any of the other staff I interacted with. And, while the food certainly sounds interesting on the menu, it doesn't translate to tasty, attractive plates and this needs attention desperately. The menu is very small, all fitting easily on one page. There were no specials. My appetizer was the best thing of the meal, Roasted Cauliflower, with fava cream, roasted almonds, fresno puree, mint oil, and duck crackling. The plating was attractive. I liked the subtly minted fava cream (think hummus), the cauliflower florets tender and sweet from the roasting. But the mint leaves were whole (should have been julienned), the almonds didn't seem particularly roasted, and as for duck cracklings? I forgot they were even there until I reread the menu this morning while writing this review. There were 5 specialty cocktails listed on a card on the table. My Water Street Ol' Fashioned was made with Knob Creek bourbon, Liqueur 43, maple, honey, burnt orange. It wasn't sufficiently chilled. But the flavor was good, it seemed strong enough, and the cherry was of high quality; perhaps Luxardo. The wine list included some unusual selections, including an ice wine from Ontario by the glass, which I had with dessert and enjoyed. My entree was - there's really no other way to put it - a disaster. Braised Lamb: charred eggplant, blistered red pepper, polenta cake, mint gremolata. First impression: what incredibly sloppy plating! Everything piled onto one side of the plate, stray crumbs on the other side. Like somebody tripped but caught themself on the way to delivering it. This was not a cohesive dish. It was a collection of ingredients. The meat lacked flavor (what was it braised in - water?) and was divided into two odd-shaped chunks. The eggplant was chewy and sour, not noticeably charred as described. The greens (pea greens?) were a tangled mass off to one side, uncut and difficult to eat. Even with these flaws it might have been saved by a flavorful sauce to bring it together but there wasn't any. I would have added salt but there was none on the table and I didn't bother to ask. I hoped maybe they could redeem themselves with a good dessert. Sadly this was not to be. Just 4 things on the menu, none of them sounding very interesting. I should have just settled on the Affogato - hard to get this wrong. Instead, and untypically for me I chose the Chocolate Pot de Creme, unimaginatively described "... strawberry jam, vanilla granola." Like chocolate pudding out of a box (or how I remember it, being over 50 years since I've had it). The granola? Literally like they opened a box of cereal and dumped some on top. The jam unmemorable but it added contrasts in sweetness. Some whipped cream and maybe chopped mint would have been welcome additions. They had the audacity to list "Bread & Butter" in their small plates section. Described as "warm bread, lemon chive butter." How unimaginative! And while it is unfortunately getting more common to charge for bread, I believe strongly that table bread should be free. Always. Some good things too. The main dining room and bar are beautiful, with an uncluttered, modern look mixed with country touches like a farm table adorned with some wine bottles and potted plants, a worn oriental rug beneath. Knick-knack shelves on the walls, painted vines on the walls. Mostly soft jazz playing for music. But the long and thin layout is a drawback because no table gets good views, especially on the porch. I could have faced the outside windows with a view of the parking lot or the open windows to the inside, where I sat, where my views were cut off by large plastic plants. Really the best place to sit is at the very attractive bar. Where, by all means if you're staying at the hotel have some drinks and a snack, but I suggest you seek other alternatives for dining.

Went back here for a charity bowling event to support the Brunswick Downtown Association. We made…read moredinner reservations prior to our scheduled time to bowl. The place was absolutely mobbed with people and I was not quite sure how we were going to have time to eat prior to bowling. Our waitress (and it kills me that I can't remember her name) was fantastic. She recognized the urgency of our situation and worked at lightning speed to get us our meal and then followed up with us numerous times as we moved to the bowling event. She was absolutely perfect! The food was excellent. Bowling was a blast..... candle pin bowling is so much more difficult than it looks, though! About half way through our game, our lane experienced a fatal mechanical problem. This bowling alley is an historic gem and the machinery that runs the lanes is definitely "old school". Ownership was very accommodating and gave us a gift certificate to come back and bowl again another time. These guys definitely have a winning combination here.... good food, great service and a genuine commitment to its success. Well done!! Can't wait to go back,

Place does not fill up at 6. pretty lit not gonna lie, but didnt want to false advertise. Also no…read morebar fights. Sad.

Good price flights. Beer was decent. Sat outside on a hot day and enjoyed watching the fish jumping…read moreout of the water. Tried the jackfruit chili and really liked that. I never had anything any good substitute since switching to a plant based diet. And will highly suggest trying it it

The beer was great! I had the hazelnut porter. Yum!! (Can you say that about a beer?!)…read more The food was fair and our server fun and personable. I'd stop again.

Very disappointing. The photos on the menu are nothing like what we got. The chicken tenders were…read morenot crispy. The fries while were of good portion were not completely cooked nor were they crispy but on the soggy side. The Philly steak was ok but on an 8 inch roll instead of a 12 inch. And the onion rings again were good but also soggy. On the whole I would almost think they were cooked and then left under a heat lamp. Very unlikely we will go back again. If I had to describe the place it is a dump wishing it was a dive

Decent food when you're hungry enough like we were. Menu on their website: https://railroadpub.comread more

Today was a day for all the standard Thai comfort foods. Tom Yum soup was some of the best I've…read moreever had. Spring rolls were yummy, and the Pad Thai perfectly hit the spot. You can see the soup was so good, I finished it before I remembered to snap a photo! As I was the only person in the restaurant at the time, service was always available - and why this place wasn't packed is beyond me! They're currently remodeling the space, but still open, so maybe that scared away some people? Let's just say they missed out. Definitely recommend, definitely will come back.

I walked in behind another woman who was picking up a DoorDash order and stood behind her because I…read morewas also there to pick up an order. While I was waiting in line to let the staff know I was picking up a DoorDash, they told me, "Go sit. We just told you it'll be done in a little while." I explained, "That was the other woman. I also have a DoorDash pickup for a different customer. The order is for ____." They rolled their eyes and pulled the curtain shut with obvious annoyance, as if it were somehow my fault that I had another pickup order. I've gotten food from here before. It was okay, nothing worth raving about, but the staff has been consistently rude every time I come in to pick up an order. They stare at you like you're a problem or like you're somehow invading their space. Honestly, I don't understand the attitude. Do you not want customers, or business? I really don't understand the logic behind treating people who are literally there to pay for (overpriced) food with such obvious annoyance. Basic courtesy goes a long way. In addition, the woman who walked in before me waited 15 minutes, AFTER I left, to pick up the order she was there for, and we had been sitting inside for at least 15 minutes to pick up the ord. (I parked across the street waiting for an order)