Amazing atmosphere. Great cocktails. Had a delicious brunch, we loved it so much we went back for dinner!

We live in Biddeford and have visited the restaurant a handful of times since it opened. Unfortunately, we haven't yet had a great dining experience. For the price point, that's an expensive disappointment. Last evening we treated my folks to a night in the Lincoln and dinner at Batson for my Dad's 70th birthday. Guests of the hotel are supposed to be given priority seating, yet we still waited nearly an hour to be seated (on a Tuesday in early May). There were plenty of empty tables. It's apparent that they are understaffed and disorganized. Furthermore, the staff is inexperienced. Our waitress was pleasant, but I had to ask her to clear our empty plates and it was difficult to get attention if we wanted to order another appetizer or drink. The food is inconsistent in flavor, presentation, and temperature. One of the cocktails ordered was missing an ingredient and needed to be sent back. When made correctly, it was nice, but the menu is completely overpriced. The decor and ambiance are lovely, and that's the only real draw. The host last night was incredibly sassy and rude. He acted as if he was doing us a favor even taking our name for a table. When he delivered our menus and water he was actually hostile, practically slamming the waters down. The worst part was that at the end of evening he was literally telling guests (a little after 9pm) to leave the restaurant because they were closed. None of the patrons were overstaying their welcome. This guy just wanted to go home. Left a pretty bad taste, bad enough that I felt compelled to write this review. read more

Wow! 40 minutes just to receive a drink, we had ordered 1 beer after that and the beer came before we even received our meal, which came about 50 minutes after we got there! My lobster dish with biscuits and gravy had, I kid you not, 5 tiny pieces of lobster for a price tag of $32! It's a shame, the place is gorgeous! We really wanted to love this place but unfortunately won't be returning! read more

Three of us decided to try there new location for brunch. Hotel space was lovely and gave off a wonderful vibe. Restaurant itself was well decorated and gave you a very cozy feel despite its large size. They only seat entire parties which I respect with well run establishments. When our party was complete we were seated with one menu to share among the three of us. Not to worry, we had our phones and could use the online menu. Unfortunately the menu online for this location differs from the given to one of us, which caused some confusion. We placed our drink and food order at the same time with a very friendly server. It took 40 minutes to receive our drinks. The food was out before our beverages. Out of the three, one beverage was glaringly wrong. The mimosa was missing orange juice. Our food was looked lovely. Two of us ordered the avocado toast. The menu doesn't mention that it comes with an egg. We both ordered it with an egg. When it arrived, we had extra eggs next to our toast that had a poached egg as well. The server did not mention to us that this was a potential ordering error. The toast itself was tasty but would have been better if it were served with warm eggs. All of the eggs, including the extras were served at room temperature. When we mentioned the extra egg snafu the staff smiled and said they would take care of it, but nothing was resolved. This place has potential, but a pretty face doesn't make up for disorder inside. read more

I don't usually share reviews but Batson River is not good, the food is was no where near what it should be especially for the price, flavorless. The server, horrible John was his name (only found out because I had to ask someone his name) and he was all around nasty no personality. I tried to find a manager after to discuss my unsatisfactory experience but could not find one not surprised because no one even checked on us the whole time. The place is beautiful but maybe more effort should be put into taking care of the guest and the food, hopefully I can come back but not looking like it's worth my time. read more

Thumbs down on our first visit to Batsons in Biddeford. Ordered 3 drinks (2 beers and 1 cocktail) After waiting "1 hour" for drinks that we never got, we left. We won't be back anytime soon!! read more

I was stunned by the beautiful holiday decorations in the lobby, bar area and restaurant at the Lincoln. The BATSON River brewery and restaurant was beautiful and comfortable. It really put us in a holiday mood. We arrived early so we had no wait ,but by the time we left ,6:30, there was a small line. Service was good, food was excellent and atmosphere was five stars! My only complaint is that there are several throw rugs in the restaurant. While they look nice they are a hazard. I tripped on one that wasn't laying flat and one of the wait staff tripped on one and well. As I said,my only complaint. We can't wait to return to this wonderful addition to the city of Biddeford, where I grew up and am excited about seeing flourish. read more

Batson River Brewing & Distilling - Biddeford - Distilleries Near Me - Biddeford, Maine

See all

I'm confused why this place is getting better reviews. Is it bc of the drink prices - they're on the menu so if you don't want to spend that don't order one. We stopped here on our trek from Philadelphia and waht a great gem. The hotel is gorgeous. The restaurant is super kid friendly. The food was perfect and fresh. You could taste the ingredients in the salad. The tacos were hot and when the waiter mixed up my sons order was quick to replace it. Drink presentation was spot on. Yes it's pricey but it's an indulgence. Kids loved the game room in the back as well. Def suggest this place. read more

Cozy unique ambiance, yummy fries and great beers. Love the vibe and staff are friendly while giving privacy

Worse bar service we've ever had. There were a total of 6 people seated at the bar. It took us almost 5 minutes to get a menu. We waited while 4 bartenders chatted at the end of the bar. We ordered 2 beers and 2 soft pretzels. It took us 30 minutes to get the pretzels. There was no acknowledgement of the delay. The bartender never checked on us. Someone from the kitchen eventually came out to ask if we had received our food. We have had excellent service at Batson River in Kennebunkport and Portland so the experience at the Biddeford location was a surprise and disappointment. read more

Great spot with a really cool atmosphere. The food is good, but not great. Service was very friendly and prompt.

We went to this restaurant the other night to have dinner. Upon walking into the the Lincoln Hotel in which where the restaurant is located was amazing. The decor is something to see it's very inviting as you enter the lobby and the Bar off to the side. As you walk down the staircase where the restaurant is located you walk past windows where you can see most of the restaurant. Once again the restaurant's decor is very appealing and appears to be up scale. I very excited to sit and have dinner. We were met by very a pleasant hostess and had no trouble getting a table for six. We were immediately met by a server and handed a one sided menu and she took our drink orders. For this restaurant to be such a nice place the choice of food was a very big disappointment. It appears to be just a few appetizers, pizza and burger choices. What a shame this could be a great place to come for fine dining but they are serving Pub food. A place that looks like this with the decor and atmosphere it would be a great steakhouse or steak and seafood. What a disappointment. Will not go back unless they change their quality and kind of food for dinner. read more

Been to their other place in Wells and loved it. We never got in this one due to the parking is quite a walk . All signs say permit parking only and you have to actually park in a parking garage and walk over. I'm sure the place is beautiful and great food etc but super inconvenient for parking read more

While the atmosphere is very cool inside the food and drinks are a disappointment. The pizza was average but for the price there are many other places that serve better. I would avoid the blueberry crisp unless warm blueberry soup is what you're after. And a heads up on the drinks, they charge separate for the tonic in your gin and tonic... understandable if you get an individual bespoke bottle of tonic to accompany your drink. This was not the case a pint glass G&T was 18.00. read more

Top notch food and atmosphere. Would never expect this high level experience in Biddeford Maine

The food was good. The staff was very disjointed regarding prices etc. we were given three different prices for taco Tuesday prices. $9 per taco. $9 for two tacos. Then the food runner said two tacos $12. Ordered two tacos, got 4 tacos. read more

Host there are rude and look depressed. Beautiful place to get food poisoning. Bland food

I was hesitant to take my party here based on the mixed reviews, but I'm so glad we checked it out anyway! The service was great; very attentive, and on top of everything, not "JV" level as some prior reviews claimed. They gave us some great appetizer and dinner recommendations too, which we ended up LOVING. We were blown away at how good the food tasted, and my gin drink was absolutely superb! The ambiance is an immaculate bonus and for our portion sizes and quality of the meal, the price definitely seemed reasonable and fair, not too expensive. All in all, so thankful we ignored the negative reviews and decided to check it out for ourselves. Highly recommend. read more

This one star is for the atmosphere only. It is a beautiful hotel and restaurant. However, the lack of attentiveness, urgency and customer care was at an all time low. The hostess was completely unfriendly and rolled her eyes at us several times. We were told it would be a half hour wait and they texted when we were upstairs two minutes later. When they sat us down, they put us at a booth that was meant for four people, but we were a party of 5. We waited 15 minutes for a waitress to greet us and another 25 minutes for our drinks to come. We were planning to have dinner here, but we decided to cash out and go elsewhere for dinner. Very disappointed. read more

Went during happy hour, no wait and the waiter, Julie, was able to grab my drink within minutes. She even recommended the burrata as an appetizer, which was amazing. The Homegrown Pale Ale paired perfectly with the burrata and margherita pizza that I got as my Entree. Was a dope place with great vibes and music, give it a try! read more

Drinks and location is great but the customer service and food is definitely lacking. Out of all the Batson River locations the Biddeford location does not seem to have their system and processes in place quite yet. We waited an hour for food which came out cold and everything seemed to be an inconvenience to the staff. Very disappointed in this visit and will only be visiting the other Batson locations that are worth the money and time. read more