Kennebec Tavern Restaurant & Marina

Came here with a group of friends and the seafood was so good and fresh! Also, the fries here are amazing. One person in our party did have a gluten allergy and the kitchen did a great job accommodating. Just keep in mind they do not have separate fryers, for anyone who can’t have gluten. The view of the river was the cherry on top and I definitely recommend coming here! Don’t skip the blueberry pie for dessert.

The Maine Seafood Experience We Came For! When we planned our trip to Maine, we had one thing at the top of our list—fresh lobster and authentic New England seafood—and this spot absolutely delivered! We kicked off our meal with drinks: a classic Painkiller cocktail and an Allagash White beer—both perfect for a sunny day by the water. From there, we ordered the crab cakes and clam chowder to start. The crab cakes were honestly some of the crabbiest we’ve ever had—in the best way! Packed with so much real crab meat, it barely seemed like there was anything else holding them together. The chowder was thinner in consistency than what we’re used to, but the flavor was spot on—rich, savory, and full of that briny, coastal taste we love. For our entrées, we went straight for the lobster. I had the hot lobster roll, and wow—it was overflowing with lobster meat. It might just be the most lobster I’ve ever had in a roll. Sweet, tender, and buttery—perfection! My husband ordered the seafood pot pie, which came with a flaky golden crust hiding an entire lobster claw along with more lobster and haddock inside. Rich, hearty, and delicious. We enjoyed our meal sitting outside by the water, soaking up the sunshine and coastal vibes. This was exactly the kind of seafood experience we came to Maine for—fresh, flavorful, and unforgettable.

Great atmosphere, nice and bright with wonderful riverside views. The fish and chips were quite a shock for $24.00. Small chicken nuggets pieces with a mediocre batter. The clam chowder was fair and more watery than I am use to. The Rubens was good.

Not a bad place. Decent menu. Food was above average. Would recommend a visit if in the area. Nice location. Lots of seating. Outdoor seating on the river.

This little gem located in small downtown Bath was amazing. Our waitress was very friendly, and quick. My mid-sized lunch party (8 people. 7 adults 1 under 3 years old) sat out on the patio and enjoyed the sights and smells of the water. The food was great. I really couldn't have asked for a better seat or dining experience....

I tried this local place and I have to say it was just strange. I ordered these duck wontons with a blueberry sauce - and It Was Strange. I did not finish these, although the presentation was pretty.

Great place on the water in Bath. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. Food was great and the view was too.

The southwest black bean burger was super dry I think because they neglected to toast the bun with any butter or at all, the flavor was good though. I was mostly disappointed with the old/gross fruit that was served to me in my side fruit cup, especially for the upscale prices and menu they offer.

The Host and outstanding waiter Mike made this an enjoyable meal! That said, the food was a departure from our old memories of the Tavern. The Calamari tasted great, but the membranes were not removed from the rings.... The haddock chowder tasted good, but was absent any significant pieces of fish, and finally, the fish and chips consisted of 5 small thin tail sections unfit for entree portions. An easy fix as the location, atmosphere and staff make this a great place to visit!

We visited during our recent tour de Maine. It was a sweltering day and we opted to try the patio with a good breeze coming in off the water. We ordered drinks & small salads. My BFF and I opted for the margarita. It was good, not great! I've had a hard time finding just the perfect scratch margarita of late. This still did the trick. My salad was the beet & apple salad. I ordered the fried haddock on the side, not knowing if I even liked haddock. I did! It was light, flaky, cooked well, not too breaded. The beet & apple salad was fresh & delicious. Patio has great water views, and was a cool place to sit even in the summer heat. There were plenty of seats outdoors with umbrellas.

To start: my server was great, if overwhelmed. The location right on the Kennebec river should be awesome... But the badly dated deck outside and the docks are a bit of an eyesore. To the food: one drink and a mother's day bacon wrapped scallop appetizer was a hefty $28. The scallops had undercooked bacon and were in a super sweet sauce- even extra lemons couldn't rescue it. Bottom line- that dish lacked any subtlety. I'd suggest choosing another spot in town, despite the obvious appeal of the river location.

Good food, great look, nice staff.... But they tend to be a bit slow....if you are patient and not terribly hungry, you won't mind the long wait for servers to come by or to actually get your food....

My husband chose here for our 43rd anniversary, and it was OK. I had heard that they had flooding issues recently and there was some water damage around the windows, but the rest of the restaurant was in very good shape and looked very nice. The nautical theme was not overdone. The Clam Chowder was very tasty and creamy. My husband liked the Haddock Chowder. The host and server were both very nice and helpful. The entrees were disappointing, especially given $30 each! My steak was well cooked and seasoned just, but putting a rib eye steak fried in butter on top of sauted spinach just adds grease to grease. The fries were cold, not crisp, and had very little parmesan. My husband said the potato cakes were OK, but I thought they were very under seasoned. His scallops were overcooked, and the seaweed salad was very spicy. I certainly could have done without the loud and active drunk at the bar. All in all, we will probably not go back.

Ok I was a little apprehensive due to several comments and the low rating but I'm up for a little risk taking and I am so glad I am cause best chicken sandwich I've had in awhile and by far ask for a side of the Sriracha ranch sauce to eat with everything holy cow so good!!! Wife got the fish pockets and by far a ton of food for the price, she couldn't finish it!! Also couldn't keep her out of my sriracha ranch dipping sauce!! Definitely will be coming back and yes you can see they are still doing some workto the flooding recently but everything was clean and the service was great and speedy!!

Nice location situated on the small marina along the historic Kennebec River in Bath Maine. Service was terrific because our friendly waitress was knowledgeable about the menu options and let us know immediately what was not available, rather than tell us after we made a menu choice. Our dinner companion ordered something I would never consider for myself. She ordered the Haddock Rueben sandwich. Yes! With sauerkraut! She loved it! We were able to enjoy dining under the patio canopy overlooking the river. Will definitely return when we are visiting Bath.

I just don't understand the negative reviews here. My wife and I spent a lovely evening at the Kennebec Tavern. Erik provided professional and friendly service throughout the evening. Chef David French prepared two fabulous meals for us. Let me say that I just wanted a nice Salmon dinner. Nothing fancy. I asked Erik and Chef French delivered a great meal. If you had a bad experience here I suggest you go back, ask for Erik, talk to the staff and have a great experience.

Came here for some apps and drinks. Good clam chowder and amazing spinach salad with blueberries and strawberries. Sat at the bar for a few drinks and Tate the bartender was great! It was around 8:15 and as you know everything in Maine closes early and we did not feel rushed at all and they close at 9. Nice, warm and cozy place, we'll be back!

Great atmosphere, after the flood! Food was great, but when ordering a seafood platter, there was not enough, for the huge price . The server was great, beyond nice.My wife's meal was enough, but dwarfs, my meal.

Delicious traditional lobster roll. Beautiful spot on the river. Enjoyed the breeze and spacious outdoor seating.

We had been looking for dinner that would be on the water, unfortunately we were looking on a night when all of the ocean front places were closed. We elected to try the Kennebec Tavern for a couple of reasons - open for early dinner & on the river. It was great! We walked in and the hostess (manager?) let us know that we were more than welcome, but there might be a short wait as they had just come off a busy lunch and needed to get their servers food. My reply? "get us a drink and all is good" and they did! Our server was Erik and he was great. Their draft beer system was down, but that did not affect my martini - and, frankly, I appreciated the transparency of letting us know. Loved to be able to sit on the deck - we watched boats leave from the dock and we tried to figure out how awesome it would be when the lights went on. I had fried haddock - very generous and lightly fried. I had convinced one of our visitors from the west coast to try it and he was very pleased! Wayne tried "fish pockets" it was a pita stuff with fried haddock and Thai peanut coleslaw and avocado chili sauce. Onion rings and FF were good - but we totally focused on the fish!

I don't know what people are complaining about. The service and food here were above and beyond! I had a great experience at this restaurant! Love that it's on the water too!

We ate here last night and I was really happy overall. Our waiter was amazing and took excellent care of us. My mother-in-law ordered the peach salmon and loved it. I ordered the lobster tortellini and it was pretty good. I'm finding I'm not a huge lobster fan, but that's not the restaurant's fault. I've tried it a couple of different ways while visiting Maine and I don't think it's for me. The sauce and noodles were yummy though. My husband ordered the chicken pot pie and it was just bad. It's a non-traditional pot pie w/o the crust and the flavor had a wang to it. The waiter was nice enough to remove it from our bill without us asking. Not his fault we tried something different and didn't like it but he took care of it anyway. I'd definitely go again - top-notch service and I think with a different food choice it would have bene a 5 star.

STAY AWAY! 10/14/24 walked in for lunch and ordered a lite beer from the bartender. older employee buts in "we only have MAINE beer" The bartender proceeded to read off the bottle list and I ordered. she gave me a menu and I asked about the quote "house cured corned beef". nasty older lady empolyee butts in AGIAN and tells me WE DONT HAVE THAT, WE GET IT FROM A DISTRIBUTOR". I began to inquire about the menu which specifically states "house cured" and made the terrible, horrible error of addressing this nasty woman, respectfully as "maam" she looks at me (the customer) and says "don't ever call me that!" I tried to explain that I was reading verbatim from the menu and was confused by her. she then grabs the menu and starts to read it to me and realizes her error. instead of apologizing, she DOUBLES DOWN on her nastiness to me, the customer. the bartender looks apologetic. I leave money plus a tip for the bartender and explain I will not be treated like this, and left my beer. DO NOT waste you hard earned money here with people who will treat you like dirt.

Stopped in for lunch for the first time and so happy I did! This place is packed during the summer and was fortunate it is open during the offseason, so I took advantage. They've got quite a bit going on such as special events throughout the winter as well as a fantastic Sunday brunch I'll be back to enjoy. Service was great and so was the conversation from my bartender. Be sure to stop by and take advantage of this gem!

I last reviewed this restaurant more than 4 years ago. I was grumpy and said I would probably not return. For 4 years, I didn't. But restaurants change, and any restaurant that is still in business after the pandemic deserves another chance. I ate dinner at the bar because that's the best place to hear the staff talking to one another. Alas, the staff were all too busy to stop and talk. Like every other restaurant, they are understaffed, and nobody had time for chit-chat. I had a good meal from the "daily specials" menu, with awesome blueberry pie at the end (please don't tell my doctor that I had dessert, and I promise I only ate half of it.) It is quite possible that the restaurant is under entirely new management. Certainly there is new decor, a new menu, new menu typography, and a certain amount of new art on the walls. And they are still in business; they must be doing something right. They still serve fried parsnips, which are wonderful. Most of my other favorite dishes from long ago (such as a fish Reuben sandwich) are gone, but the parsnips remain. The menu focuses on fresh seafood, which makes perfect sense for a restaurant that has its own dock for fishing boats. Mine was cooked perfectly, and served promptly. I'll be back. The Kennebec Tavern is now back on my list of favorite places.

The challenge with owning a restaurant that's one of the best views of the river is that you NEVER know whether you'll be slammed or not in advance, but a visitor can guess. This is NOT the place to go with a very hungry young or old and frail group at 6 o'clock on a nice summer night-- you will wait just as you would anywhere with a view of the water. They do their best, but slammed is slammed-- by 7:15, it's usually wholly available for the later eaters. We have always found the service to be friendly, helpful, and hardworking, despite the rudeness of some patrons. And sometimes mistakes are made. I'm going to take issue with those who complain about drink prices anywhere in Maine-- Maine restaurant and bar owners pay full retail price for alcohol-- not wholesale-- they have to mark up to cover labor, ingredients, and other overheard. You could have made your own at home for cheaper for sure-- but you wouldn't have been sitting outside on the river watching the bald eagles and sturgeon. Our crew loves the following-- fried haddock, the salads, the fried parsnips (who knew), the fish pockets with the Thai-style slaw, and the wings-- plain or with one of the sauce choices. They also love the draft beer choices and the bloody Marys. Can't say much about the desserts-- mostly ice cream eaters-- but we always enjoy our meals on the water.

So I've come into this restaurant a few times now and I've been equally disappointed each time. The location itself is beautiful but that does not make up for the overly priced food that could have been made better at Applebees or any other large chain restaurant. The manager or the owner came across as harsh, condescending, and just generally unconcerned with how the patrons of her restaurant were enjoying their time there. I've been to nearly every restaurant in Bath and this one was by far the worst time and time again. If this is how the restaurant is ran day to day, I'm not sure how they're able to stay in business. It's really a shame because the location would be perfect for a well ran business.

Go for the scenery from the great deck along the river. As to the food - meh. Our chowders were barely warm. It's blueberry season here in Maine yet the blueberries found in the blueberry/strawberry/burrata salad were devoid of any flavor. Also should have opted for a different salad dressing as the strawberry-balsamic dressing that comes with the salad was off-putting. We only go here when we can sit outside because that is the best part of the experience.

Awful experience. Clam chowder was Luke warm, wings tasted old. The fryer oil tasted outdated so everything tasted nasty. Ordered fried shrimp and instead received micro shrimp and tons of old batter. Fries tasted like vinegar. My husband ordered the fish and chips and received inch size nuggets of fish and it cost two dollars more then another guests fried haddock. Doesn't make sense. The worst part was the awful taste of everything because of the old oil. Nobody would help the situation or even offer a remedy to the horrible food. Don't dare talk to Jess the bartender. She escalated the situation by yelling at my husband instead of trying to make the situation better. We will be contacting the owner and bbb because this is. Or how you treat paying guests. This was the worst experience we have ever had in a restaurant. To top it off, as my husband was talking to the bartender/manager, someone grabbed his plate of food from the bar counter and threw it away so he couldn't even take his meal that he was stuck paying for. Not right. Everything about this place is awful!

Fantastic!!! Food, view and service perfection. Lovely evening. Tomato soup is amazing.

Had reservations for our group. Table wasn't ready. Took a while for our server once we were seated. Beers were warm. Scallops in the Seafood Platter wreaked and tasted ammonia. Rice in the Salmon dish was raw. Others at the table tried it and agreed. Couldn't taste ANY alcohol in the drinks. For what restaurants are charging these days we expect much better. Won't go back, many other places to choose from.

Visiting Bath for the day and stopped in for lunch. The staff was very attentive to us as soon as we walked in the door. There is a sign at the hostess stand asking for patience as they rebuild their staff and the menu was limited. The limited menu had plenty of options and we likely wouldn't have been the wiser if it wasn't posted. We ordered the lobster and crab rolls. Both rolls were well portioned and delicious. Overall, service was excellent. Our server Devin exemplified great service. He was friendly, personable and attentive.

Crab Roll near the hotel for dinner. Clam chowder wasn't my favorite ever, but was ok.

They have a big banner out front saying "now open." There is a big table outside and other tables outside to eat. There is also a tent outside with more tables there to eat at. It's got water to view from the outdoor seating. And where there is water, it's been my experience that it's windy. And it's windy here. I went in with my emotional support dog (I have a doctor's note , and I have Complex PTSD) and they told me it's Maine's state law not to have owners eat OUTSIDE when they have dogs, unless it's a service dog. This can't be true because yesterday, I ate at another very nice Lobster house INSIDE (granted, by the back door; it was FREEZING outside and the staff took pity on me) with my dogs. I am visiting from Virginia and trying to experience a LOT of Maine while I am here for only 3 days. The place I am renting told me specifically not to leave my dogs there if I am not there, because it bothers the neighbors if they bark and howl. That's fine, I take them everywhere I can, anyway. Also, sometimes I will leave them in the car and go eat in a restaurant, but these people lied to me (I feel lied to), and acted like they are superior to me, and while the weather is super nice and my dogs would be fine in the car, I am Yelping about this rather than leaving them here to go back inside and spend tons of money on food. I am also a big tipper. I am a former waitress and I tip very well. Oh well. A note - my dogs are super friendly Spaniels. One is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - he is considered Royalty and would be allowed in the Houses of Parliament in London, England. The other is a very sweet American Cocker Spaniel. They both make friends everywhere they go, so their breed and temperament is not the issue. Clearly, this place wants to be snobby. So, have fun with that. Too bad for their sake that I am a Yelper.

A friend gave us a gift certificate for Christmas. Finally used it in Labor Day! Visited the Tavern multiple times in the past. Knew they had good Reubens. It was the worst Reuben I have ever had! Will not be returnin. M.D

Beautiful day to have a beverage & lunch water side. It was busy so great having businesses come back after a tough year. Food was flavorful and the salad was fabulous... no iceberg lettuce lots of veggies!!! House Chardonnay was good as well!

Service here (Host, not waitress) is slow and combative. Host takes forever to seat every table, so there is a line outside, like an exclusive Vegas club....and it's not even half full...took 15 minutes to get seated, with two parties ahead of us...not surprisingly, it's for sale...if it wasn't on the Kennebec, it would have gone out of business years ago...food here is a solid B-, which is a huge upgrade over actually getting to your your table, which shouldn't be this hard...

Food was mediocre when you order fish and chips you do not expect fish nuggets especially for 22 dollars. The seafood platter contained 3 scallops 4!clams and five 5 fish nuggets for 34 dollars. The outdoor seating was nice inside not so. Waitstaff was okay but not memorable. I would go back for drinks on the deck but not for the food.

Food was OK. Crab Roll too Juicy. Fish Stew was really good(Plenty of fish). However the Pineapple cheese cake was questionable. Out of two beers I tried to order. Had to settle for another IPA. Service was excellent. New waitress but was very attentive and pleasant. Very concerned about our impressions. Ambience was what you would expect for a restaurant by the Kennebec. Nice views despite the weather.

We've been to the Kennebec tavern twice. Both times disappointed. Food is just so..so... my clam chowder was luke warm. No one to greet us. We sat at table near the bar. When no one came over with menus or water so I went to the bar. Took several minutes before bartender noticed me, there was only one other person. Music was loud. When I received food I had to get his attention to receive dinner ware. No apparent manager. Unprofessional young kids. Whose in charge here? Wait staff busy shaking their booties to loud music. We did get there later in the evening in off season but I don't consider that an excuse. Save your loot buy a good pizza and great bottle of wine somewhere and sit at home. I guess it's a place for away people in the summer.

The management apparently didn't take a class in hospitality 101. We asked to sit outside with our dogs and they refused us saying it is against state laws yet we quickly found two other restaurants that said dogs are fine. We can't comment on the food because we never got that far. The ambience (view) can't be beat but everyone we encountered seemed to go out of their way to be unpleasant. Maybe as the season goes on they will develop a cadence where they don't automatically accuse a prospective customer of being rude when all we asked were a series of questions trying to figure out a way to have them accommodate us - not realizing that they could have cared less. We had come by boat. Our wives and children were incredulous when, after we realized it was best to go elsewhere, the older man (probably the manager) dropped a couple of FBombs asking us to move faster to cast off. It was a short run down to Southport where we are now having a wonderful lunch with the dogs enjoying other pups at the next table.

It's back! The food and service had to be cut back for COVID, which we know because we always have dinner their our first night here. This year's menu was interesting, varied, and delicious--I particularly enjoyed the green vegetable curry soup and the perfectly fried seafood assortment. I was also happy to see cider on tap, which I drink whenever I find it. I'm happy to see the Tavern is back on its feet.

Great location and service. Had the Kennebunc burger and it was great. Devin my server is one positive guy. I like it. Great spot, great food and great service. Don't miss it.

Don't be fooled by happy hour prices. If you order the nachos with meat the nachos are half off but the thinly applied beef is not!!! Do only the slim pickings for wine

We have been regulars here for years, but will never return. Food is still "good enough" and the water views can't be beat. The service was great but the manager is down right combative! Eat here if you want to spend good money to be abused.

Lobster roll. A lot of lobster meat. The bun was soft. It was very salty and had No other taste. The lobster stew was salty and not much meat. Service was good and tentative.

Busting there xxx to serve you. Short of help. We waited and we're happy with the results. Fish and chips as good as we have ever had. Lots of food and friendly service. Sit outside on the water,

Like other reviewers here, the hour long wait for food ruined the entire experience. Every staff person explained up front that we need to bear with them because it is hard to find help with COVID. My wife and I are understanding of that but, 20 minutes to get a water or drink seems like they just don't care. After 50 minutes we decided to leave Unfed because the tables on either side had arrived after us got their food. So, beautiful setting by river but, deplorable service and the COVID excuse doesn't quite cut it.

We were on my "bucket list" trip to the New England states and first stopped in Portland but should have come here! Got in to Bath late evening and went there from the recommendation of the desk clerk from the Hampton across the street. We just wanted a cocktail and munchies. The waitress was nice and friendly. Also seemed like most of people there were locals and regulars. We decided that we'd like to come back the next day for lunch and we weren't disappointed! The food was great and we also had the same waitress from the night before. Can't remember her name but she was from upstate New York, a very nice lady . The view from inside by the window was great but sorry it was too cold to eat outside. Totally recommend and this will be a definite destination for another trip!

Went to lunch here today, no kids menu listed so our server (who didn't give her name, but was a heavy set dark haired lady) told the kids items to us. We ordered chicken tenders for our toddler then asked for a side of fries to come out as soon as they could get them out, because he was hungry. She said no problem and she got the fries out quickly. But then when the food came she didn't bring our sons food and when asked about it she said we never ordered it. Then continued to argue with us about it. Everyone at our table even said we ordered and she continued to say we were all wrong. We talked to the owner who was also hostile with us. Our whole group heard the order. I'm in the service industry and if a guest, even if I knew they were wrong, was that persistent about being right, I'd just apologize and fix the problem. Because word of mouth is huge and you always want your GUESTS to leave happy. To the best of your ability you do what you can to help or fix their problem, even if that means swallowing your pride. Because that one person will tell their friends about how bad it was and about 60% of those people won't even bother going to find out for themselves. And those people will tell other people about how bad they heard the service was and more people won't go. Ultimately hurts the business and the jobs of people who care and do their jobs well. This place should definitely think about retraining their staff on how to deal with these situations, because this was an embarrassment to the industry.

They deserve less than 1 star but I suppose I'm still alive after eating there so they get at least 1 star. All the food was terrible and way overpriced. Avoid this place like the plague.

The food was very and the service was friendly and good. We sat out side it was very clean and nice

We had a wonderful dinner here when visiting Bath the other day. So great to sit on the water and enjoy the Maine seafood and cocktails! We will be back again before we leave Maine.

I randomly chose this place when visiting Brunswick on a business trip. Everything was outstanding. I had the chili, jalapeño cornbread and crab cake sandwich with fries. I was pleasantly surprised. Kristina the waitress was the best! Honest and spot on with recommendations. I truly enjoyed coming here.

There are two reasons to eat here: 1. You want to be near the water with great views in Bath. 2. Other places are booked. I have had some really bad meals here over the years and some palatable ones. The service is usually friendly, although not very knowledgable about the menu, and sometimes staff can get a little frustrated if you insist on waiting for an outdoor table. I stick to the salads usually which are safe but boring; although avoid the crispy greek salad unless you want everything deep fried on your plate! The place deserves three stars for the location.

We ate here with no wait. Service was excellent and the food was excellent. We had the clam chowder, which was delicious. I had the haddock sandwich and she had the fish and chips, and again, all delicious and large servings. Our waiter was prompt and very friendly. Zero complaints, excellent dining experience and meal.

UPDATE: NEW CHEF!!! Now that there is a new chef, this place has improved immensely. We've had several meals here of late, and each one was excellent. The burger with smoked Gouda was amazing, and chillin' with nachos and a dirty martini on the icey river was awesome. Now if they could just get taller bar stools;) Old review: The food is good, but nothing to write home about. The atmosphere is non existent, and the staff didn't go out of their way. The glasses all had lipstick on them and the silverware was not clean. The uppity couple next to us kept giving me dirty looks every time my haddock sandwich crumbled apart and mayo dripped down down my hand. I was tempted to put my napkin under my chin like a bib for effect. No wonder the locals call it, 'the wrinkle room' or 'the old folks home.' Definitely caters to out of staters and the... older crowd. Mediocrity at its finest. Go to Maxwells instead. Better food, better atmosphere, nicer staff, better prices, and clean dishes!