Rockland
Primo - Rockland

Primo - Rockland

2 S. Main St. Rockland, ME 04841, 04854-3205, United States

Pasta • Hotels • Italian • Spanish


"The food in Primo is excellent. In Primo we have eaten several times in recent years and both the menu and the food are consistently very creative and well executed. However, the service can be met or miss. This new year's eve, it was more of a miss. This did not seem to be a consequence of being excessively busy, it was not. We were there when it was much more business. We had reservations, and although there were empty tables when we arrived, we wanted to wait in the bar until our table was ready. We sat 30 minutes after our reserved time. The waiting staff is pleasant, but on this occasion does not meet our expectations for the level of service we enjoyed there before and have come to expect prices (our bill was over $300.00 [including a 20% tip] for two without dessert or a bottle of wine). Examples of the less than expected performance obviously contain empty glasses at the edge of the table are not deleted until after several visits on the table are deleted by server/wait staff, no refilling of water glasses by waiting personnel; we did it ourselves, and food (complementary pre-Meal appetizers) on the table of runners without description of what was placed. It seems as if the staff tried, but was not sufficiently trained to provide the level of service that should be provided to make this a truly 1st class experience. Here, too, this seems rather to be a function that you get as anything else. We used to be there and had excellent services. The service was fair, only not what we expect at the calculated prices. Nevertheless, we will come back because the food is good enough to overlook the unconsistent quality of the service, just as often as we would otherwise. It is unlikely that we will return for dinner at the New Year's Eve."

In Good Company

In Good Company

415 Main St, 04841, Rockland, US, United States

Wine • Fish • Cheese • American


"We went into this dinner...the last of our ten day Maine vacation...with high expectations based on reviews we'd seen. Unfortunately, we left pretty disappointed. It was one of those nights where the best thing we had was the wine...a quite lovely young (2018) Joseph Voillot Volnay. In Good Company apparently prides itself in presenting an ever changing menu based on available fresh produce, but the menu we got was frankly very uninteresting. The appetizer section...or Nibbles'...was particularly weak. Considering we're in Rockland Maine and you would think they should have an abundance of fresh seafood at their fingertips, the only seafood option among the frankly boring options like Deviled Eggs, Black Olive Tapenade and Mousse Truffle Pate was a Tuna and Pineapple Poke Crostini, which we unfortunately ordered. The tuna seemed to be very high quality, but the dish was seriously overloaded with sesame oil that overpowered the fish and there was zero pineapple to be found. And the crostini' were so over-toasted and hard they were inedible. However...since we ponied up six bucks for the Bread Olive Oil' tasting, we had some carbs to soak up some of the sesame oil. But about that bread tasting'...I've stopped complaining about having to cough up cash for some bread, but if you've got the stones to ask for $6 for bread and three tiny ramekins of oil, you had damn well better impress the Hell outta your customers. This was not that! We got maybe a quarter of a baguette and a few milliliters of oil. We ate at Primo a few days earlier and their bread course featured three different breads that were truly inspiring...and I don't think they hit my wallet that hard. On to the main courses...it was an equally baffling mix of dishes we didn't get too excited about...a tenderloin with blue cheese butter, a halibut dish (but we had halibut twice this week), some kind of Octoberfest' sausage/wurst thing ? a weird sounding beet and goat cheese risotto......so we both ended up ordering a Coho Salmon with apples and an arugula salad. I know Coho salmon can eat very dry...and this certainly did...but the real kicker was it was tasteless! The apple compote was nice, but overdressed, as was the arugula. Two giant slices of heirloom tomatoes were plopped on the plate...and they tasted OK...but seemed out of place with the dish. Neither of us even tried to finish the salmon. We cut our loses and declined dessert...a decision that was quite easy to make when we saw one of the chefs take a torch to a creme brûlée for about two minutes and turn the sugar on top into something that resembled the ruins of a forest tire! Bottom line, I know these guys are trying hard...we sat at the bar and had a ringside seat to watch the two chefs as they worked very hard...but so many things just landed flat on every dish that it's just impossible to turn my cheek and let it go. I very rarely can't finish an entree. And I almost never complain about restaurant pricing. But tasteless salmon and six dollar bread needs to get called out for what it is."

Claws

Claws

743 Main St, Rockland, ME, 04841, United States

Seafood • American • Sandwiches • North American


"Claws is an institution that you can not miss. As a local to the Midcoast I look forward to when they open for the season and get pretty bummed when it?s the last week and it?s convenient location makes it hard not to stop on a more regular basis whenever I?m driving by. The views are outstanding and it?s an excellent place to wait for the ferry to Vinalhaven or North Haven because you can see the ferry enter the harbor just past the breakwater/lighthouse. The menu is just large enough to have everything you would want, without doing too much. If you?re looking for seafood on the coast this is it. Either boiled or fried, the selection is there. Voted best lobster roll in consecutive years I can understand why (options and amazing quality. This particular visit I took my mom out for a friend haddock sandwich perfectly cooked, delicious batter, not greasy and complimented by a buttery bun and the freshest veg. The lobster Rangoon was 10/10 and I will be getting them more often now that I?ve tasted how incredible they are the dipping sauce was zesty and delicious. Once you order at the window (there is usually a lengthy line so be patient and don?t complain it?s worth the wait to order you can choose your own seating on the deck that is partially covered, but very open air. It?s certainly nice to be able to wait with such an incredible view, and they give you a little toy/plastic lobster with your order on it to give it that fun authentic summer in Maine feel. Highly recommend for everyone of all ages and group size. Food comes out fast, fresh, and staff is very friendly, accommodating and is one of my favorite places in all of Maine. 10/10 ??"