My husband and I ventured here after dropping our daughter off for her first semester at USM. Service was fabulous! Food was fantastic! Will definitely be back for Parents Weekend. read more

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Be careful for this place. They don't temp check their broiled fish. I was served raw haddock. I flipped the fish over and the pieces at the bottom were pink and cold. They didn't charge me but I still don't trust their kitchen. Beware. read more

Went there today and two of us got the lobster. It was awful, either overcooked or old and reheated in the microwave. It seems like some corners are being cut in what used to be a nice restaurant. read more

Good, but not great.

Great service! On site owners very nice and friendly. Aware of details and big picture. No trills atmosphere and setting. Been there several times and never had a bad meal or experience. read more

This place deserves 0 stars. They tried to serve us spoiled seafood and when we politely told our waitress that the fried clam strips were no good we were greeted by a very angry man whom stood there yelling that it was fresh and decided to pick one off of my father in-laws plate and proceeded to yell that they were fresh. One no they were not fresh (my husband is a cook for over 20 years and we are native Mainers) they were definitely spoiled. The chicken sandwich I ordered was over cooked and dried, the tomato's on top were brown in the middle and slimy. Btw I ordered it with no veggies. After my husband politely refusing to eat the clams he got even angrier and yelled at us to "not to eat anything and to get the hell out of his restaurant" at this point I said very calmly "ok we are leaving, bo worries and not issues, if you wanna serve bad food to your customers that's your choice we are fine with leaving and not eating it." As we were walking out the door I was talking to my husband because I was shocked and completely embarrassed as the restaurant was pretty full with customers I made the statement like wow I can't believe that just happened when all of a sudden I hear get the fuck out of my restaurant now. At this time my family was already halfway out of the door we couldn't move fast enough due to others coming and going at the same time. Not only was he very angry and intimidating but also thought I'd was a good idea to put his hand on me to try and shove me out. I'm the end I was very shocked, appalled and overall upset to the point that I broke down outside having a very bad anxiety attack. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. Bad food and terrible customer service. Believe me when I say it's Maine there are 100's of other restaurants that you can go to, get good food and wonderful customer service. As a mail of fact I'll even recommend my favorite place to go.....BECKY's DINER. Great food, fresh, good prices and amazing people. If your ever coming to Maine trust me it's worth it to skip Ocean Garden Restaurant and just come to Portland to Becky's I promise you won't regrets it. read more

The owner is very rude and obnoxious. He sits at the bar and gets drunk and pics on customers very unprofessional.

Spent $50 on my lunch and half of it was sour. This is the second time I have ate there and my food has been sour. What is up with that? I don't know if they push "use by" dates on ingredients or what but my lobster stew and mashed potatoes were uneatable. Perhaps the milk went bad? Surprised I didn't get sick. Dark haired waitress in the tavern also made a rude comment. Your job is customer service....as in servicing the customer. After paying as much as I did, You would think basic condiments would automatically come with my meal. Not in her eyes. Maybe service isn't your thing. read more

Third time in a row rude service, over cooked and over seasoned food! Was made to feel rushed. Very difficult to get staff attention for basic things like refills and condiments. read more

Decided to go out to dinner with my wife, this Friday evening at Ocean Gardens restaurant in Gorham, Maine. Upon arriving later than usual for dinner we found the place packed, however was seated pretty quickly. Once seated and our drink orders already underway, we ordered the crab cake appetizer which was fantastic and the highlights of the evening experience. For dinner, I ordered lasagna and my wife chose the Haddock Florintine. Both meals were significant in size and loaded with cheese with my lasagna coming with a delicious garlic breadstick and a trip to the salad bar. My wife's meal came with a side, she chose mashed potato with gravy, and a trip to the salad bar as well. The salad bar had it's basic salad items and we both took notice of the freshness of all the veggies, especially the lettuce. We could have chosen one of the specialty items like baked beans or pasta salad, but we didn't sticking to the regular salad items. It would have been nice to have had some mushrooms, however that really is a personal preference and didn't take away from my experience one bit. The host was very nice and our waiter was pleasant as well. We did have to wait a bit to place our order and for our check, but my wife and I had no plans after dinner, so the time was spent in cheerful conversation. The owner, Mike, was on the floor and greeted several old friends and it would have added to our experience had he checked in at our table. Both my wife and I were annoyed by a fly that constantly flew around our heads and food and one fly can raise havic with a couple trying to have a conversation. I just wanted it dead! Overall, a spectacular experience with tremendous portion sizes and a place my wife and I will surely go to again! Kudos to Ocean Garden! read more

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I'm giving Ocean Garden Restaurant five stars because it is exactly what it should be. It's not known for innovative cuisine, american twists on ethnic dishes, re-imaginings of classics promulgated by Julia Child. It is a country-town restaurant and bar. Its specials always consist of several lobsters and steamed clams. It specializes in such fare. It offers a salad bar that often comes with any entree one chooses. Prices are inexpensive and the food is great. I've gone here with my mother and father and aunts and uncles on many occasions, usually one of their birthdays. It's fun and the waitresses are sweet, helpful and their sentences are always punctuated with 'honey!' or 'sweetheart!' If you find yourself in the neighborhood, stop in and enjoy the lobsters and steamers. And the down-country hospitality! read more

Weirdest experience at a restaurant! We arrived at 11:28 and were seated and told they'd stopped serving breakfast. No problem, we felt more like lunch anyway. Oh, but one problem...they don't start taking lunch orders until noon. So we're welcome to sit there drinking water for half an hour, and then we can order lunch. Uh, no. read more

Perfectly done lobster with just the simple fixings. Great place for a family meal - good simple food, no airs or pretenses and good value. Stick to the steamed lobster or steamers for the best experience IMHO. read more

We came for dinner on a Saturday night and were not disappointed. Every single bite was delicious--salad, soup, entree, and dessert! Ingredients are fresh and flavors are well-developed. Great kids menu options, too, which was a bonus for our young daughter. The atmosphere is friendly and casual. Overall, this restaurant provides high-quality food (and a full bar) at a very reasonable price. We will definitely come back again. read more

I'm not a big fan of lobster but if you are, this is the place to go. The food is cheap and good. I had their special honey baked haddock ($12) which included the soup/salad bar, choice of potato and vegetable. The baked haddock was good and the honey glazing was a nice touch. Their soup and salad bar was pretty basic but was a nice bonus to have with your meal. Their soup was cream of broccoli which was a bit salty for my taste but was still very good. I had a taste of the lobster which was fine. Service was good and the setting was pleasant like dining in someone's country living room. read more

Came with friends and family tonight. None of the food was great, and it ranged from fine to awful. I had the broiled haddock, and that was fine, just really heavy on the stomach. The burger my friend got was burnt, even though he asked for medium rare. The steak was overlooked (should have been medium), and the "fresh" salad was a sad lump of lettuce drowned in ranch. Extra star for the fries, which were fine. At least half of us felt sick to our stomachs after eating here. If you want a good seafood place or any place, this should never be your first option. read more

Not a fan at all. High prices. Mediocre food. Made me wish Gordon Ramsey was available to turn this place around. I had basic spaghetti with meatballs/sweet Italian sausage ( they ran out of meatballs at 4:30 on a Friday evening) they provided a large enough portion, but the sauce was scorched, the meatball did not have much flavor and the sweet Italian sausage tasted like one would imagine wallpaper paste would taste. It did not even taste like meat. This was our first visit and we will not go back again. read more

Kind of hard to describe. It's a world away from San Francisco. The deal can't be beat - 3 large lobsters, a big salad bar and soup for $24.99. It's a bit cray cray. The place is like Cracker Barrel, meets Ponderosa, and has a love child with Red Lobster, if Red Lobster were delicious. The place was cleaner than j expected and you get a total locals vibe. The lobsters were damn good. Overall, we were very pleased and got a slice of loca culture! read more

Can't thank the owners and staff enough for all they did today. After my mother's sudden passing, I called Mike about having a celebration of life at their restaurant. Although hesitant as it was late on a Saturday afternoon, he agreed to do the event We did simple finger foods, and all was done to perfection. The food was delicious and the staff was very attentive to our needs. We will be back! read more

Thanks to the other reviewers. What a very pleasant discovery for us. This is the place to have fresh tasty good-sized Maine lobsters. Warm friendly service. The soup and salad bar did not disappoint as well. read more

My wife found this gem on a TripAdvisor. So we are n Maine and it's lobster season and every restaurant in downtown Portland has at least 2 hour wait (Columbus Day weekend). So we drive for 20 minutes and get 3 lobsters and a salad bar for a VERY, VERY affordable price (not sure I can mention it here, as it changes daily). The only reason I've ordered a Triple dinner was because I thought that for that price lobsters would be tiny. I was wrong. 3 monsters were on my plate. Fellow yelpers, this is the place to go! read more

I can't speak to other items on the menu. I have frequented this restaurant quite a bit over a 14 year span and eaten one thing: the triple lobster special. Can't beat it. For $24.95 and salad and soup. Dear Lord! I really love this place and visit every time I come to Maine. Wonderful service and a comfortable environment to have lobster. Did I say three for $24.95? Yahoo. read more

I love this place! They are great and the quality of their food never varies, it's all delicious! Try their lobster stew, or for that matter the lobster pie. I have a friend who drives up from Boston just for that, cause it's chock full of tender meat and loaded with flavor :) and, you have to try their lasagna, oh so good, and great sized portion, too! But, don't go until you've been there for Sunday breakfast, OMG, chocolate German pancake, or a delicious hash benedict, or just sausage and eggs. But, you just *have*to have their hollandaise sauce, it's so rich and creamy, you will never want anyone else's, lol! So, what are you waiting for? ! read more

Good seafood and fried food at an affordable price. 10 bucks for a sandwich plus unlimited access to salad bread and the soup of the day. Definitely worth checking it out for lunch. read more

A pretty mean Veggie Benedict. Huge portions. I went on a Saturday, mid morning and the place was packed. Great service at the bar.

Great home style cooking in an atmosphere that is comfortable and relaxing. Food is delicious and the staff is very friendly.

Great place for lobster. I had twin lobsters and salad bar for $16! The lobster was excellent. The service was very good. The salad bar was pretty basic, but adequate. I will definitely go back. read more

We were bored and riving around and stumbled on this place. It was packed which was an indicator that it was good but also the only real sit down option in Gorham. I have to say that the food was good. Maine comfort food. From Shepherd's Pie to Baked stuffed Haddock.. I had the stuffed haddock which was cooked fine and tasty. read more

We were tired of Maine tourist traffic and the smart phone showed massive jams in downtown Portland. Yelp showed a 5 star place just 10 minutes west of our hotel. Perfect! This is where the locals eat-- no pretensions -- two lobsters with butter, fried clams and fabulous salad bar. Thanks for a perfect meal without looking for parking! read more

What a great restaurant! The food was phenomenal, my husband had seafood Alfredo chock full of shrimp, lobster and scallops. I had a grilled ribeye with garlic butter cooked perfectly medium-rare. The salad bar was fresh and plentiful. And we had their onion rings for an appetizer. They were golden crispy delicious. Our server Becca was knowledgeable about menu items and had a great sense of humor. The prices were quite reasonable, I wish I could have tried dessert but I was too full. I recommend Ocean Gardens very highly! read more

This place is good. The service was a bit slow, but I think it was just our waitress. They have a self serve salad bar that includes mac salad/coleslaw/ warmed bread. My hubby got the 3 lobster dinner and enjoyed it. I got chicken broccoli ziti & it was just okay. We've been a couple times over the years. We may or may not go back when in the area. read more

I just really like this place. Real people, real fresh food, reasonable prices. Breakfast portions are almost too big, but most wouldn't complain. Unassuming appearance from the road. Solid place. read more

A good friend and I went to Ocean Gardens last night. Our dinner was fine, the service however was terrible. I asked for a condement..after nearly 15 minutes I had to get it myself. I called our server for a cocktale she took the order and walked off..I asked her if she could see another person at the table..she took his order reluctantly. the server made us wait for everything. Including the check. Upon leaving I spoke to the manager who could have cared less. He said they were busy..i responded, because you have more are customers supposed to have less. I walked to the door he rushed to get to it first opened it for me and with his substantial belly pushed me out the door. Conclusion...I believe they thought two men dining together were a couple and were expresing disaproval. read more

Great food...not so great management. I witnessed the owner/manager verbally abusing what appeared to be staff. I don't believe he saw that I was there, and I quickly left. The language and tone he used were shocking, and I will never go back. read more

I came to dinner this past Monday night with a couple friends, it was lightly snowing out. We walked in and sat down in the lounge and Barb came to our table and told us all the specials and took our drink order. After she left, a young awkward manager came over and told us they were closing early but the way he said it, made us feel really uncomfortable. Barb came back and told us again they were closing early. We had been there for almost 10 minutes at this point and still didn't have drinks but had been told twice they were closing early. As restaurant workers we have all been there and if immediately had been told this, we would have put our order in immediately. I understand closing early due to weather, but it was 7:30, they close at 8:00 anyways, What was the point? They turned away a family, but let 2 randoms come in and sit at the bar and still tell them they were closing early... It was 8:00 at this point. With all that said, we put our order in and Barb was nice enough to make us salads (they had already put it away,) offer us the soup of the day, and made the rest of our meal quite enjoyable. My only other complaints, she did forget my friends glass of wine, and we ordered chilled jumbo shrimp, and they were room temperature. Not appetizing. I will come back to try this place again because the majority of the food was delicious and the prices were very reasonable. read more

Steamers were fresh, beer was cold, staff was friendly and engaging. I would go here again.

We had family in from the south and they wanted lobster, we called here to ask if they had lobster before we came. They told us yes they had plenty! We went, and asked the hostess when we arrived to triple check and she said yes we have lobster. We got a table and sat down, we ordered drinks and tried to get comfy but the tables are quite close. when we went to order, my cousin ordered the triple lobster and the waitress told us they were out of lobster for the night. We got up and left to go to Dimillos, that's what we get for straying from our usual. I tried it again with my boyfriend one morning because he lives close and we had a new red headed waitress, who was SO sweet and polite! She ended up making a mistake and her boss yelled at her right in front of us, we felt so bad! We didn't even care because of how minor it was: we didn't get bacon in our omelette so she brought it as a side and my boyfriend loved his. I was appalled and disappointed in the way the staff was openly treated and the food just isn't worth it. You want lobster, go to dimillos in the old port not a dive bar in Gorham. read more

If you like lobster at very reasonable prices ,Ocean Gardens is the place .Unlike hundreds of Maine restaurants on Rt1 or Portland that charge tourists big dollars for lobsters ,Ocean Gardens does not .A 20 min drive from Portland this restaurant has a big sign and is set back from the road .A bright cheery restaurant with a menu sign on the wall .Lobsters in 2010 where $21.95 for 3 $16.95 for 2 ,depending on availability I have gotten lobsters well over a pound .There is a free salad bar and soup pot ,nothing to write home about but will fill your hunger pangs while you wait for your lobster.With your lobster you get fresh soft rolls with butter .I usually take home one lobster in a doggy bag to make lobster rolls on another day .Ocean Gardens also has clam plates ,steamers ,fish dinners etc ,it is also frequented by seniors (who knows better than seniors what a good deal is?)So you have a choice ,pay $15-$21 for 1 lobster along Rt1 or along Commercial St or drive to Goreham and get 2 or 3 lobsters for the same price .I forgot to mention Ocean Gardens besides being a restaurant is a lobster pound .Good eating! read more

The awful paint color now represents the inside. I've witnessed the owner making his employees cry it's an awfully uncomfortable environment and the tables are too close together. The food is average and so not worth the claustrophobia. Definitely not coming back here. read more

Service was very good. The fried clams were mushy. A great big ball of fleshy fried blob. I ate one clam, spit it into my napkin, not even close to fresh. Ok so yes it was spoiled. The haddock was flavorless. We have been here several times and each time say "let's give it another try". No more. read more