Bartley's Dockside Dining

Simply, the best. I miss it. Lobster Stew by the fireplace with a glass of wine.
Homemade Blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream an coffee for dessert.

While we were driving down route 9, looking for a place to have dinner in Kennebunkport, this was one of the few restaurants with easily accessible free parking spots (for diners) available right out front when every other place seemed to have little to no parking. We were immediately greeted and seated upon entering, and we received stellar service at 5pm on a Tuesday evening as one of only two tables dining.

We looked to the specials for a suggestion on what to have for dinner and I ended up selecting the lobster mac & cheese. Made with penne pasta, cheddar, gorgonzola, with fresh lobster and breadcrumbs sprinkled on top, it was a filling and flavorful dish. I was also pleasantly surprised to receive soft wheat dinner rolls and a caesar salad, which weren't listed as part of the special, but definitely added value to the meal. Everything arrived fresh and was very flavorful. Prices are what you'd expect in Kennebunkport, but not as high as others.

The atmosphere is slightly dated, but comfortable and casual enough that your sandy shorts and windblown hair won't offend anyone. There's outside picnic style seating in the front, air-conditioned seating inside, and outdoor dockside seating in the back, as well as a small bar inside.

I had the famous blueberry pie as well (made most famous by it's choice for dessert on Bush Air Force One flights) but unlike other reviewers, mine had a perfectly flaky and flavorful crust. The blueberry mixture inside is laced with cinnamon, which is what really makes the pie unique and flavorful. I didn't know it was served with ice cream on top, but I didn't mind, as the blueberries spilling out of the pie made for a nice vanilla ice cream topping.

I'm glad I didn't look at the other Yelp reviews before dining here, especially since I had a really nice experience and excellent service. The overall experience was definitely A-OK, and as for the blueberry pie- yay, I'm a fan!

This place was remarkably "not very good." I am a huge fan of baked stuffed lobsters and they advertise theirs as if it's a specialty, so I wanted to try them. I shouldn't have bothered. The stuffing in the lobster was odd and the claws were undercooked. The rest of the meal was equally "not very good." Specifically, the Asiago cheese bread was not worth eating, and the Caesar salad was not really a Caesar salad. It was mixed lettuces with romaine and iceberg, carrots, red cabbage, out-of-the-box croutons and didn't have any Parmesan cheese. The baked potato was overcooked and washed-out tasting. How hard is it to cook a baked potato?

The so-called view was terrible, and the restaurant was even a bit smelly.

Please do yourself a favor and skip this place. There are so many restaurants that are so much better!

Two stars for the really good clam roll. Another for the quick, friendly service and warm room (it was pouring down rain and cold outside).
Stars off for:
1. Bathrooms that smelled like urine
2. Floppy French fries
3. Only three offerings of tips on the smart-phone credit card app, with waitress hovering as you select the lowest offered(18%), and not cool that it is calculated on the total including tax. Pay cash instead so you can control the amount

Unfortunately we were starving, was offseason (day before Thanksgiving), and clam shack was closed.

We will explore other places next time we roll through.

The 4 stars are strictly for the dinners 7 of us enjoyed. This is not "tourist trap food".

But be warned, it's right on the main drag/ corner next to the Clam Shack/ river is directly adjacent to restaurant & it's in dire need of updating, a thorough cleaning/purging/organizing!

Fisherman's platter was huge, fried delicately & fresh & delicious! Excellent Lobster "stew" which is far better than their lobster bisque. Lobster dinner was steamed- tender, sweet & a solid deal w the extras.

Desserts are decadent & portions can easy be shared. service was friendly & prompt.

There were 2 local families dining there that evening and they raved about the onion strings- which were thin, crunchy, spiced nicely& not greasy.

I really hope they invest in a serious make over so that the interior appropriately represents & mirrors the delish food that comes out of their kitchen.

Terrible. We've been there many times before heading in and out of Maine. It's never been fabulous but okay and I kinda liked the old time no fuss vibe. Never again. We stopped in for lunch. There were maybe 10 other tables in use, so not a very busy lunchtime. we ordered 2 clam rolls. There were at least 5 or 6 waiters and a manager on the floor as well as the owner. After 30 minutes our waiter assured us food would be right out (slow but not terrible) after 45 minutes she came over to say kitchen was really backed up. Other tables had come and gone. We were still waiting. We said if we couldn't get our food we'd have to leave. She came back 5 minutes later with a check for the coffee and tea we'd ordered.

Both manager and owner had avoided noticing that we'd been there so long without being served . on the way out I told the manager how very disappointed we were. Do you think he apologized? Not a chance! He told me the printer was broken which meant the kitchen wasn't receiving orders. Really... .. A hands on manager could have solved that crisis It would have taken some initiative, but I'm pretty sure the snafu could have been handled quickly had he tried. He was aggressively rude and dismissive

So a total of 55 minutes in all invested, start to finish and no food. I did speak to the owner on the way out. She tried to blame the waitress. I am a waitress from way back...once a waitress always a waitress, so that did not sit well with me. We had a flight to catch so here we are, heading to Logan airport with hungry tummies and lots of regret over that lost hour. And no, we didn't pay for the tea or coffee although we were billed for it.

One star because I had to.....

The owner or manager of this place is a horrible, awful shrew of a woman and I encourage everyone to always avoid this place so that she never makes a nickel.

I was in Kennebunkport for a wedding this past weekend and the town was really cool, the weather was great, people were friendly and there are great bars/restaurants all over town. This place is an exception. I'd give them the lowest rating possible and I never even stepped in the door.

We pulled in to their driveway to let someone out and immediately a woman was at the window asking if we were staying or going and pointing out her ridiculous $15 an hour parking rate. We said we were leaving and as we were waiting for traffic to clear and not pull directly into oncoming traffic, this beast of a woman is screaming at our car telling us to roll up our windows and get out. We were there for probably 90 seconds total and the parking lot was totally empty. It was bizarre and unpleasant to say the least.

If she's an owner she has no idea how to run a business, if she's an employee she should be fired. Her behavior was the lone ugly spot in an otherwise lovely little vacation town. With so many other great places to eat and drink available, there's no reason to ever visit this place and risk meeting the wicked witch of Kennebunkport. Seriously lady, have a glass of wine, breathe and chill out or else you're going to die early.

After hearing rave reviews about the blueberry pie, I came here expecting much more than a soggy, rubbery crust floating in a watery mix of (admittedly) local blueberries. The service was charming, delicious local beer came in generous glasses, and the fried haddock and chips I had were decent ... but with the Clam Shack next door charging the same ridiculous prices for utter fish & chip perfection, I found it hard to stomach this place.

(A tip about Pie: Go to Pie in the Sky Bakery on Cape Neddick instead. It's worth the drive.)

The fact that this place occupies such a prime space in Kennebunkport is rather unfortunate. Went with 2 other people, and there were only a couple other people eating here, so not busy at all. It took our food (2 salads and a turkey sandwich) more than a half hour. When the food (mercifully) got to us, it was dreadful. It's pretty difficult to make a salad with chicken taste badly, but this place managed to do it.

I'll also echo the sentiments of others about the owner. She walked around to the tables, not to check on how the food was, but to attempt to sell deserts. Then, she took a seat next to the sidewalk and started yelling to the people walking on the street to come eat at the restaurant. Not a good look, lady.

Pretty disappointing experience in an otherwise enchanting town.

Three star food at best, and one star service at best. Do not go here if you are in a rush. Food took forever to come out, took forever to order, and took forever to settle up the check.

Per the recommendations of friends, I went with the lobster bisque. While there was a good amount of lobster in it, I thought the price was a bit steep at $20 for a bowl (and a small-ish bowl at that). Obviously, this price is based on when lobster prices were much higher, but in 2013??? Kind of highway robbery if you ask me. Had a bloody Mary to go with it, and it was just ok. And at one point, we were told that they ran out of straws, which was a bit odd, though they did appear later on so crisis averted. There's something that's just not right if you can't drink the bloody Mary without a straw. Not all that great of a drink to boot.

Service was extremely slow. I was in town for Christmas Prelude and it appeared that there were only 2 or 3 waitresses for the joint. Clearly, Mrs. B could have stepped up and had additional staff on hand to keep things moving more efficiently. It's not like the Christmas Prelude just sneaked up on you. One of the charms was having Mrs. B come around with her "homemade" blueberry pie, putting the sales pitch on while we were waiting for our food. A few of us bakers noticed that the pie crust seemed a bit perfect for homemade, but we took the bait and ordered it. Blueberry filling was excellent, but it was definitely store-bought and/or frozen crust.

Given all the dining options around, I'll take my wallet elsewhere.