The Chef & The Gardener

I really wanted to love this place as the mission and menu options were very enticing. Many of the best farm to table restaurants are closer to or in Portland and since I’m living in Old Orchard Beach temporarily, I thought this would be a great go-​to spot.
If you aren’t careful you could easily pass the location, it’s tucked away inside a parking lot. Upon entering you walk down a short ramp/​hallway that exudes warmth and your anticipation builds. Once you turn the corner and enter the main dining room you instantly feel the vibe change. I felt like I was in someone’s basement with dank décor.
The hostess/​server has amazing people skills and really knows how to make you feel welcome. I can look past the vibe as long as the service and food are good. I’ve eaten here twice and both times ordered a variety of items in order to give the restaurant a fair shot. Please note, I am pescetarian so my food options are limited.
Here’s what I ordered
Appetizers:
1) Sweet Potato & Quinoa cakes — They were just ok, didn’t have any real depth of flavor or texture.
2) Crispy Corn Waffles with Succotash — We were excited about these and when we tried them that excitement waned. The succotash felt more like a chutney and the waffle sticks were a bit dry.
3) Samosas — These were delicious and our favorite item on the menu.
Entrees:
1) Portobello Wellington — A creative and delicious offering.
2) Roasted Root Vegetable Risotto — I love risotto, I also make my own and have for many years. It’s a delicate process and you have to get it just right. This unfortunately was not risotto, it was a rice dish tossed with a light sauce and cubed root vegetables. Risotto has a thick, creamy texture and usually accomplished with the addition of cheese.
Because of the good service and menu items we enjoyed, I might go back for another try but don’t feel compelled to. It didn’t feel at all like the many other farms to table experiences I’ve had in Maine.

Everything is fresh, some vegan items.
Salads are excellent.
I had scallops over pasta.
No room for dessert, but the looked amazing.
Off season is nice time, less crowds.

Califlour soup was a nice Vegan choice and had the Vegetarian Tortilla without the sour cream. Waitress was very friendly but was not very enlightened about vegan choices, we were able to figure it out for ourselves. She did present us with eye appealing dishes and as we asked to split the tortilla it was nicely delivered on two separate plates and was more then enough for 2 people. Seems the dinner menu may have more choices for vegan dining then the lunch does.

Great service and great food. The best of both I’ve had in the entire state so far! Small spot nice for a small gathering or romantic date. A+ all around!

Don’t be put off by the unusual entrance — the food is a delight, home made and delicious and service is fast and friendly.

found this on Unilocal and the reviews were spot on. Enjoyed the food and service. Don’t let the appearance on the outside fool you.

This hard to find little place looked very questionable from the outside. If I hadn’t read the reviews here on Unilocal I would never have found it let alone tried it. It is tucked behind some other stores and shares an entrance with a nail salon whose signage is WAY larger.
Once inside though it was a great surprise. A cozy atmosphere with a lovely farm to table menu. I had the Italian haddock which was a nice departure from the typical baked, broiled, fried fare one usually has around here. My husband had the beef stroganoff. We started with the lobster spring rolls because it was national lobster day and we felt we had to have something with lobster in it. We were disappointed. They were bland and tasteless and not worth the price.
Service was great. Our waiter was very attentive. We will return.

Just walked in off the street at 647 pm. Only 2 tables were taken. Seven people between the two tables waitress told us it was going to be a 30 min wait.
Now we are sitting in the car and the lady that told us that, comes out to my car and tells me that its all about customer service and that people had reservations. Plenty of tables were open. No one was was waiting Usually most places leave a table or two for walk ins.
She also commented on only having one chef on duty.
Hmm if he can only handle 2 tables maybe he should go back to culinary school.
We felt threatened by a staff member running out at us as I was preparimg to leave. Not a good thing in this day and age.
Really wish we could have dined there, guess they didnt want our business or exposure.

We had a great dinner out back in a cute garden area. The lobster spring rolls were very light and fresh; perfect for a summer evening! We also couldn’t resist the vegetable charcuterie and you shouldn’t either. It was so unique and all the favors went really well together!
I had a salmon special, which was delicious and my date had duck. We both would order these dishes again.
We will be back! Keep up the great work!

Wonderful restaurant tucked away in the outskirts of Saco. My husband is vegan and I am not, so finding a good restaurant to meet our needs is difficult at best. Incredibly tasty food and outstanding service… Wonderful waiter whose name I do not recall (sooo sorry), but Gabe was lovely and welcoming. I don’t generally write reviews but this one needed to be highlighted.

We happened upon this restaurant on our way home from Old Orchard Beach. We were hoping for a casual dining atmosphere as we had our 3 children (12y, 11y & 17mos) with us. We found that it was small and formal but the staff offered us to dine on their patio which was great as it was shaded and our 17 month old could roam around a bit without being distracting to those eating in the dining room. Our waiter, Michael, was awesome! He was able to answer all of our question and was very attentive to our needs without complaint. Our unrefined palates found the food to be good, but not exceptional. We would definitely return if we were in the area and in the mood for another try.

Small place, with a nice cozy atmosphere and delicious food. Definitely will be back.
There service was attentive and friendly. Michael our server was very helpful and led us to make some great decisions on what to eat. Our food came out a bit late, so the owner proactively bought the entire table a round of drinks. We were so surprised and thankful, as at other restaurants you tend to just wait with nothing.
Being a bit meat eater, vegetable «charcuterie» was an odd choice of an app for me, but it wowed with flavor. The smoked brisket with caramelized onions special was a great entrée, however I was underwhelmed with the mixed vegetables and rice pilaf that came with. Good thing there was so much meat, I was not wanting for any more food.
The beverage list is not to be overlooked. There were some great deals on wine, as well as an extensive list of value priced local brews from Maine. And if you are not into the booze, an enticing list of home brewed iced tea including flavors of strawberry and passionfruit.

I found this on Unilocal and wanted to dine somewhere that was a little fancier than the pub atmosphere. First of all, this restaurant is off the beaten path which may explain why it was relatively empty for a Friday at 7:30. I loved the atmosphere, the rest of my family weren’t as enthusiastic as I was. Nice menu with great choices. I opted for the diver scallop special with a quinoa sweet potato cake. What a great choice! Scallops were fresh, cooked perfectly and the quinoa cake was heavenly. my husband has the salmon and said it was good but thought my scallops were better. Our waiter was certainly pleasant if not a bit over attentative shared the limoncello cake for dessert and it was light, cool and lemony. I really enjoyed our meal and think this place is a hit!

My husband stopped here on our way back to NH and will definitely be returning! He had the maple steak and it was incredibly flavorful and impeccably cooked. I got the special (scallops with bacon marmalade) and was impressed with the melding of flavors and the party in my mouth:)
Table service by Gabe was refreshing and light. We both highly recommend this farm to table restaurant!

Dinner was delicious. My kids shared the Havana Chicken, my wife had the maple steak, and I ordered the Osso buco. The chicken was ok, the steak is to die for, the osso buco was very good.

I can’t begin to contain my excitement that there is a restaurant with vegan selections, and so close by. The selection is amazing, the service was good and our food delicious. I cannot recommend it enough. We go out a lot and enjoy adventures. I found this place on Unilocal and trusted the reviews, and we were not disappointed. Amybeth Hurst

Talk about a «hidden gem»! I think most people would miss this place, but don’t, this place is AMAZING! There is nothing better than a farm to table menu done well, and at The Chef & the Gardner, they were masters. The menu is creative, having something for the carnivore, vegan or those in between, as well as many gluten free options. They try to use local or Maine based products as much as possible and strive to be earth friendly.
But enough about all that, what you really care about is the food, right? Now that you know you can feel good about what you are eating, dig in! The Vegan Harvest Vegetable Salad is a fun, shoe string cut mix of golden beets, purple turnips, rainbow carrots and parsnips, apples, & spinach, all tossed in a grilled apple dressing. The Bacon, Brie & Pear Grilled Cheese-​yes! I did just say that!, was divine! The perfect blend of crisp, buttery, smokey, creamy, sweet and acidic. Thee blueberry balsamic was a great finishing touch. Duck Breast with a Quince Glaze was delicious. Even the kids Pasta and Sauce was good (they do have a kids menu). The house brewed Blackberry Iced Tea was refreshing and not too sweet.
Save room for dessert! (They have a clean plate club here). The Apple Caramel Cheesecake is rich, creamy autumn on a plate (& gluten free but who would know?). The Nutella Cheesecake (need I say more?) was all that we had hoped-​hazelnutty, chocolatey and RICH! For s lighter but by no means less delicious or flavorful, try the Hazelnut Mousse with Raspberry Buttercream Marjolaine. The mousse and buttercream are both bursting with flavor though light, & nicely balanced with the nutty, delicate, crisp and chewy marjolaine (a chewy meringue).
The service is respectfully friendly, pleasant, and very informative. They know their menu and their wine list. The servers are professional and make the dining experience all the more wonderful.
More sure you dine at The Chef and the Gardner, you will be thrilled you did. They offer lunch, dinner and brunch so you have no excuse. Now go!

My sisters and I are at Sebago Lake for the weekend. We were going to go to another restaurant in the Old Port, but could not get a reservation. We went to
google and found this wonderful restaurant. From the appetizers, to the table
Caesar salad, to all our entrees to the fabulous deserts, we all loved it. There were
6 of us and we just can’t stop talking about how good it was. It def tasted like from
the garden to the table and the spices and herbs challenged your taste buds.
Simply delicious. Can’t wait to go there again!!!

I wish I did not have to write this review…
Although hard to find, we were hoping this was going to be a gem of a restaurant. We started with the virgin mojito which tasted like ginger ale with one mint leaf on top. We proceeded to the special goat cheese onion tart which looked hot and delicious, but tasted greasy and flavorless. We shared a Caesar salad which was fine, but unfortunately our waitress brought the soup the salad and the entrée at the same time. The soup had to be sent back, as it was cold, and the entrée, a Shrimp lime cilantro dish was greasy, soggy and on top of over cooked pasta. The owners, a husband and wife team couldn’t have been more wonderful to talk with, and once inside, the place was charming. Unfortunately, the food and service are just not adequate.

I have never had such a great meal. We got the grilled cheese appetizer. It had a balsamic glaze on the plate which complemented the grilled brie cheese and apples and blueberries in the sandwich. The appetizer definitely got us started off for a great meal.
I got the chicken sausage sauté and my boyfriend got the coffee and chipotle crusted steak. My meal was hearty and even though it looked small, it was very filling. The steak was a larger dish with potatoes and veggies side dish. All the herbs were from the garden they grow on site and most ingredients are locally grown which was nice to see. Everything was amazing and very delicious.
For dessert we had a puff pastry with ice cream in the center and hot sauce all over it. It was a very good ending to a very good meal. Overall, I could not have enjoyed this night more.