We stumbled upon this place after visiting the lighthouse and overall appreciated the fast-casual…read moresetting, although the ordering process was a little confusing. We walked in, were seated outside, and then were told we needed to get back up and go inside to order. I think the concept could flow better by simply offering menus, allowing guests to seat themselves, and then having them order and pay when they're ready.
That said, the woman who greeted and seated us was extremely friendly, knew the menu well, and was very helpful.
We kept things simple and ordered the steamed mussels and the warm lobster roll.
The mussels were definitely the highlight. For a straightforward preparation of wine, garlic, lemon and onion, I thought they were executed pretty well. The broth was flavorful and we really enjoyed them. There were two unopened mussels in the batch, though, which really should have been caught and removed before the dish reached the table.
A few relatively easy changes could make the mussels even better. The vessel looks cool and gives the impression they were steamed right in it, but it's much too deep for the quantity of mussels. You end up reaching way down into the container to get the mussels and especially to get into that broth with the toast. A shallower vessel with a tapered side and lid would make the dish much easier and more enjoyable to eat.
I'd also reduce the broth just a little further and finish it with a touch more butter. It was flavorful, but slightly loose, and a little more reduction would give that broth more body.
And please give people more bread! We received one small piece of toasted bread for a batch of mussels being shared by two people. The broth left at the bottom--with all that garlic, wine and flavor--is arguably one of the best parts of eating mussels. Another piece or two of bread probably costs pennies and would dramatically improve the experience.
Overall, though, the mussels were a good dish.
The warm lobster roll was much more disappointing. The roll itself was beautifully toasted on the outside, and the lobster tasted fresh and good. The problem was simply the amount of lobster compared with the size of the roll. It didn't come close to filling it.
There was also a substantial amount of lettuce underneath the lobster, which just felt like unnecessary filler. At one point it seemed like nearly half the sandwich was lettuce. With a lobster roll, I'd much rather pay more and receive a properly filled roll than pay less and essentially eat a lot of toasted bread and lettuce with some lobster on top.
I honestly wish more seafood restaurants would offer lobster rolls by portion size--2 oz, 4 oz, 6 oz, etc.--and price them accordingly. Then customers understand exactly what they're paying for and can choose the experience they want.
The lobster itself tasted good, so this wasn't a quality issue as much as portion size and perceived value. A little noticeable butter on the lobster or some drawn butter on the side would also have been a nice addition.
So overall, some very good things here. Friendly staff, a setting we enjoyed, nicely toasted bread, fresh lobster, and a genuinely good batch of mussels. But the lobster roll needs a much better lobster-to-bread ratio, and a few small execution changes with the mussels could make an already good dish noticeably better.
