51 Wharf Restaurant

Dislike! Server wasn’t familiar with the menu (he had to look at the menu for nearly every order he took), the food took forever, the lobster roll was beyond drowning in mayo and extremely over cooked, and the crab cakes just fell apart and had a very odd flavor.
Two of my friends ordered lobster rolls and were told sides were al la carte, which they opted to pass on. Then their dinner came out with fries and when they were charged for them were told «the computer wouldn’t allow me to order your sandwiches without fries.»
Overall, extremely disappointed. Don’t bother going to dinner here. I’m taking bets that this place will be closed by the end of the season.

If you’re looking to loiter, come to this restaurant. It wasn’t until we got up and got our own menus is when our waitress finally acknowledged us.

I’m not sure why other reviewers disliked the place. We had a great experience and even though it was pricey I thought the food was fresh, creatively prepared and absolutely delicious.

Nice service… Shared a lobster roll packed with meat… Only complaint was that the lobster was not fresh, should be drained way more (I felt like I was eating water lobster) f.f. were delicious ! Would go back.

I gave this restaurant a 1 star only because I could not give it a 0 or a negative number. Had dinner here on a Sunday night. The fact that my guest and I were the only people in the restaurant should have been a sign that the food is not all that great. I ordered the lobster risotto. This meal was the worst meal I have ever eaten in ANY restaurant. The meal was bland, tasteless, and COLD. If I had my eyes closed, I could swear that I was eating cold oatmeal. I had asked for black pepper and grated cheese. The server just plopped the pepper grind/​mill on my table, and did not offer to grind it over my dish. Then, we asked for some bread. She served us bread that was cold. When I asked her why the bread was ICE COLD, she said that «Sundays are not busy, so I took some bread that was prepared the previous day from the refrigerator.» We asked her to heat up the bread, which she took back to the kitchen. When she brought it back, the bread was still COLD — not to mention, it was stale and tasteless. This was absolutely the WORST meal I have EVER eaten. Lastly, I ordered the house chardonnay. This, too, was of very poor quality. Thoroughly disappointed by this experience.

Had dinner here Sat night before delivering kids to camp in ME. Thought the food was fair, not outstanding. Service was average, not outstanding. Asked the waiter to describe a few of the beer choices, and he couldn’t. Son had a great pasta dish and they were able to leave out the clams, as per his request. My baked stuffed lobster was mildly warm, and the stuffing rather dull, mostly just bread crumbs. Great location just off the water, but lots of other good choices to try next time.

Per my previous review, we were still hungry after our meal at the tasty but overpriced Clam Shack in Kennebunkport. Enter in 51 Wharf who claims to have the biggest lobster roll in Portland. While I don’t know if this is the truth, they certainly packed a lot into that little roll providing us with ¾ of a pounds of sweet claw and tail meat. It was $ 19.95 and while there were no sides it was enough and we finally walked away with bellies full of Maine lobster to sustain us on our 9 hour drive home.
We were there for dinner hour. There are not a ton of seats but it was still early so we had the place to ourselves. I am assuming that after a certain hour this place turns into a club but, alas, my 5 year old isn’t much of clubber so we decided not to stay that long. (That was a joke… please don’t report me)

Food was good. Wait staff was good. Overall, a good restaurant, but nothing that makes you go «Wow!»
I thought the fish and chips were much better than the salmon dinner. Mashed potatoes were better than the red skinned potatoes (as long as you like gorgonzola in your mashed ‘taters). Beer and wine are no cause for complaints.
Would maybe go there again, but there are so many restaurants in the area that I’d probably rather try others first before coming back.

We really enjoyed our dinner at 51 Wharf. We sat outside and enjoyed the crowds meandering by on Wharf Street. The hostess and waitstaff were very friendly.
The mussels were awesome. The sauces was a delicious mix of white wine, garlic, tomatoes and sausage. They rivaled some of the better mussels I have had. The lobster roll was pretty good and the mushroom ravioli was decent. I would return for drinks and appetizers, but might do dinner somewhere else next time I visit Portland. It also seems like fun place to go for a night out.

Undoubtedly the best fried Calamari we have EVER had. It was served in a wine glass and was delicious. Every time we have fried calamari, we always compare it to the what we ate here and it never measures up. This was the best! unfortunately, the goat cheese spinach salad was not too good.