This has been a Wells landmark for years. The food is pretty good and the prices are reasonable. I tried the Lobster Mac & Cheese, very good! Cheese was not to overpowering and had some nice chunks of lobster. The fried seafood is also very good. Portion sizes are a pretty good size. My only complaint is that it can be very loud. It's sometimes hard too hear the person talking at the table with you. Nice views of the ocean as well. read more

This place is awesome! The seafood is super fresh! The waitstaff is helpful and friendly! We had sword fish and haddock sandwiches! The lobster stew was delish!!!! Highly recommend this place!!!! read more

I have been twice and sat in the bar area both times. The service has been attentive, and the food is pretty decent. I had the shrimp and scallops my husband had the seafood platter, the seafood was fresh. We also split the stuffed mushrooms, which had a nice flavor and the seafood stuffing was great. Good to know they have a free valet on weekend nights, because it is so busy, it's good to have a few bucks on hand to tip. read more

Dinner tonight at Billy's Chowder House in Wells, Maine, was great! From the convenient valet parking to the delicious food choices and courteous, efficient service, everything was super. My ten-year old grandson claimed service at Billy's the best! I'd say he was right and would give Delaney give stars too! See you again soon! read more

I had broiled haddock, Cole slaw and a baked potato. I absolutely loved the broiled haddock! It was moist, tender and full of flavor! The service was great as well! I highly recommend this place! read more

One of the best places to eat in Maine! Very friendly staff and atmosphere. I ordered the chicken Mac and cheese and it was excellent and a very generous portion! Will definitely be going back! read more

Billy's Chowder House - Seafood Near Me - Wells, Maine

Just had drinks! Was a fun bar atmosphere for a Saturday afternoon that wasn't quite a beach day. The view from the bar overlooking the marsh is awesome. Great, local beers on tap. Excited to go back and try their food! read more

I've gone here many times before, the service and food were more then exceptional. But tonight when going here with my family, the food was either dry and overcooked or cold and tasted like it was old. The service was completely wrong and slow as we waited for about two hours for all the food to arrive, even with all of the problems we continued on having fun and I personally went up to the waitress reassuring her that it wasn't her fault about the food and was going to give her a good tip of $50 since the problems were mostly with the food. But all of a sudden the owner burst into the area where are table was and berated us about how we harassed the waitress so much about the food and was crying for the passed thirty minutes. which I mind you we told her politely about the problems with the food and we saw her coming in and out of the area we were at, serving other people during that thirty minutes. He continued to demine us to the point that others stared at us like we were the ones at fault while he was the one to start the scene. We were mortified since everything was going smoothly and we were having fun to only be ruined by the actual owner of this place being absolutely aggressive only hearing one side of the story. We were continuously being polite asking for the bill to just leave but he continued to degrade me and my whole family. While we were leaving all we seen was all the waitresses starting to line up all the way to the exit, staring at us hatefully. Today you lost a very valuable costumer I hope your happy, I know I am since there are much better places then here. read more

The delivery was excellent. Ordering was easy and went very smoothly. The fries and onion rings were outstanding and the burger was good as well. We ordered a baked haddock and a salmon, and they were awful. My friend complained on the salmon, but I just thought it might be a fluke, but my haddock seasoning tasted horrible, so I tried her salmon and it was barely edible. I threw out the haddock. I wonder if they had a different chef tonight. I would only order friend food from there. read more

Absolutely fabulous scallop appetizer! I'm hooked and will be coming back just for these. I had the lazy man's lobster and sweet potato fries. Interesting combination and expected a better choice of accoutrements. This and the TV's playing sports are the only negatives. Will have to check them out a second time to see if it is worth the drive from Cape Elizabeth. The waitress was super friendly and didn't hover around. I also received a frequent diner's card and will def use it in the future. read more

I write this review only after trying to give this business a chance to respond to my direct e-mail from their web-site. It's been 5 days now so I will write... I have had better food at a carnival concession stand. 4 OF US TOGETHER went here on a recommend from a acquaintance of ours. WE WERE ALL DISAPPOINTED...Food took fore-ever!!!!!! Okay, fried clams? No, breaded something fried with tuns of grit. The fish and chips, now how can you do this wrong???? The fish was under cooked, the fries had obviously been re-fried, the cole slaw served with this dish was TASTELESS...along with the fish. The Chowder, tasteless, I agree with Reggie on 04/21/2012. The Baked Chicken BBQ, dry, tasteless and rubbery, could not finish. The worst of all, the rolls brought to the table looked like some kind of cheap roll you get a grocery store, could not eat them. Everyone's french fries were super greasy and tasted re-fried. OUR MEAL WAS WELL OVER $100.00. When we got to the hotel room that night, two of us were ill. Our server was great, she could see we were not thrilled. We tipped her well. It was not her fault the food was sub-par... Definitively a Pub atmosphere. read more

Dirty napkins and silverware. Green carpet with matching tables circa 1979. Ewwwww..won't be back. read more

Billy's Chowder House - Dirty napkins - Seafood Near Me - Wells, Maine

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Sorry but my standards are rather high when I'm paying these prices. Not really a fair rating considering we ordered to go. But nonetheless necessary The lazy man lobster was tiny!!!! And expensive I ordered half haddock and half clams strips. Fish and chips for my wife had 4 little fish sticks... And I ordered the food and told the lady I was going to hannafords around the corner and how long would it take.??they were very busy.. I said I would be 15 min she said that twofold be ok. When I got back she said ""the food was ready before I left!!""" .??? What? Fast good....no.. I just told her I had to go to hannafords and the food was ready before I left?? That's weird and stupid.....so of coarse all my food was soggy and room temp in the 15min it took me to get to hannafords and back to the restaurant .. Chowder was good truelly made from scratch. Well seasoned ,! Don't order to go! Good food should be eaten once served read more

We have been coming to Billy's for over 30 years when our children were at USM. We vacationed at Moody beach for all of those years and Billies was always one of our favorite spots. Last night we were actually able to get in at a decent time. The food as always was wonderful ....service however not so good When we placed our drink order which were three glasses of wine she asked did we want them now or should she serve them with our meal???seriously?? Waitress got the appetizer wrong. Brought our salad with the entree (as a former restauranteur, a real no-no) one of the entrées was wrong and never brought the rolls. There was no offer of dessert or coffee... Not that we could eat another morsel, but she should have asked. However this will not deter us from returning to Billies it still is one of our favorites read more

I had heard great things about Billy's so my family and I were excited to try it! Sadly i was very disappointed with the outcome. Our service was not good at all. She seemed annoyed with the fact we were not sure what to order yet and when we asked for another drink she never brought it. My boyfriend asked for rice with his dinner and they gave him fries. The waitress never came back over to the table and we had to wait around for the check for quite a while. They food was ok but no better than other Places we have tried in the area and it seemed to have higher prices. I would not Billy's again. read more

I came for the raves on the clam chowder and was disappointed. It is very buttery and tasty! The lobster roll was average, nothing mind blowing but certainly not distasteful. Server were very nice and attentive. This place gets full quick being so close the the beach hotels so plan accordingly! read more

Food is very good, service not so much. It sucks that bar staff never acknowledges you. 3 behind bar talking amongst themselves. Had to flag someone down to get a drink, ask for menu, order food, get another drink. Makes it difficult to want to come back. How about you cater to me rather than new have to do all the leg work. We drove from Portsmouth for this. Personality matters behind the bar and we got zero off that read more

Our waitress tonight was Kristy, she was excellent! Amazing clam strips. Love this place. Mind blowing to me that anyone would give it less than 5 stars! read more

Atmosphere was great. Food was delicious. Secily , our server could not be any nicer. Her recommendations were on point . We really enjoyed our experience. Can't wait to go back. read more

Very disappointing experience. My wife ordered scallops. Small porion of scallops for the price. Food was mediocre. My daughter ordered a kids portion of mac and cheese and they served her the kind you get in the supermarket. and had the nerve to charge us $7.50 for it. read more

My husband's fish tacos were the best he's ever had. My shrimp scampi sauce didn't have much flavor, & the shrimp seemed frozen? boiled? but were tasty. I was disappointed with the blueberry shortcake sundae. The shortcake was basically a muffin cut in 4 pieces with a bit of shortcake biscuit flavor. The blueberry ice cream & whipped gream were great. There was a blueberry sauce with bits of blueberries in it. I would have liked some whole Maine blueberries. Service by "Jessie" & the hospitality if the hostess were awesome. read more

Super tasty lobster stew and stuffed mushrooms. Now that we are headed into fall, ask for a table in the dining room and save the window tables in the bar for game night when there's more people as it is chilly. Hats off to very responsive staff who relocated us to a warmer spot and provided top notch service! read more

Marisa, at Billy's chowder house one of the busiest restaurants in Wells is extremely cordial, polite, professional, and down-to-earth! She made our night and we'll definitely be coming back! High-quality and very personable service. Highly recommend! read more

Just had dinner here. Our waitress Marissa was awesome and the food was great! Highly recommend for a great meal!

Me and my family have been coming here for years, and with good reason. Their lobster stew and clam chowder are favorites, but any seafood from here is worthwhile. Their green beans and baked potatoes are, in my opinion, the best sides. Friendly service and a view of the waterfront make this a favorite for families and tourists.. that said, it's best to go during off hours in the summer, otherwise it can get very busy and parking can be sparse. read more

We stop in every time we come to Maine very close to our favorite misty harbor resort. Awesome happy hour. But even better are the incredible friendly efficient bartenders (Jenn, Eileen, Kelly). Never fail to impress us. Food is excellent. Great views of the marsh. read more

To start off the night, I ordered a cup of clam chowder. But to say 'cup' would be an understatement because it was so small I could pour it into a shot glass, not to let alone the fact it was also $6. When I took the first bite, my first impression was that it was very watery. And I don't know if that's just me, but I would consider "award-winning" to be thick. Other than that though, my mussels were fantastic! read more

This restaurant is great. It has a nice atmosphere. I liked the wooden walls and ceilings. The haddock I had was delicious. I will come back here. read more

Had a pretty bad experience our first time here. We were looking for a bar mid afternoon for a simple drink and appetizer. The bar area was packed due to happy hour specials going on. With four people in our party, we found a two person table and were willing to make it work. They had larger tables open in the bar near windows, but signs said to check with waitress before sitting. We checked with the waitress and she said we could sit at the tables and still get drinks and appetizers so we decided to move. After sitting down, a different waitress came over to help us. She noticed the chips we had taken from our other table and asked where we got them. She continued to explain that the chips are for bar patrons only. As she was telling us this, the other waitress swooped in very rudely grabbed the basket of chips, telling us we can't have them if we are sitting at this table. We were all kind of dumbfounded and laughing over what was happening. We just wanted a simple drink! We told our table waitress that we were going to order some appetizers but apparently that wasn't allowed at these tables either. You have to be ordering full dinner. As silly as it seems, we understand that places have rules. It would just be nice if we knew them and they were not so rude about enforcement. Back to our two person table we went, and we got a new basket of chips to boot (which are nothing to brag about). After about 10 min, the two people directly next to us left so we decided to push our two small tables together. This made more room for everyone, including people trying to walk by. Our waitress eventually came by and told us we can't push the tables together because it creates a fire hazard. Again, we all laughed at the craziness of the situation and offered to move them back but she said it was OK this time only. We finished our drinks and left feeling guilty for not being able to do anything right by their rules. This place was on our list to try for dinner but we definitely won't be going back after this experience. It really felt like Billy's was focusing so hard on maximizing the almighty dollar they make that customer service and experience is thrown right out the window. The food may very well be fantastic, but I will never know. read more

Visited Billy's 10!years ago and went back hoping for the best. It's still the greatest. Seafood and Lobster Stew is wonderful. Clam Chowder is the best. read more

Came here for my birthday with friends. Jessie was our waitress..friendly, attentive, and she treated us like family. We had shrimp cocktail, steamers and lobster. All were prepared beautifully and tasted great. Apple crisp and brownie sundae with a candle with happy birthday from the staff topped off a unique experience. We will be back... read more

We go to Ogunquit every summer and we always make it a point to drive up the road to Wells for a visit to Billy's! We went this afternoon for buck a shuck - every Wednesday they have $1 oysters and they're always great. My husband and my friend's husband got the lobster roll for their meals, and they were phenomenal! The jumbo lobster rolls were $23 which I think is very reasonable, and they were well worth it - they were packed with lobster! I got the steamers and they were the best I've had in a long time - sweet and delicious. They were $16 for a pound bucket of steamer clams, which I think is very reasonable. My friend got a garden salad and added the crab salad to it. I couldn't get over the amount of crab they gave her! It was a $22 salad, but she definitely got her money's worth! And the crab was very fresh and tasty. She got it with the honey dill dressing which we actually started dipping French fries into - it was that good! The only thing we got that was just "okay" were the stuffed clams. We got them last year and LOVED them, but today I found them to be very greasy and weren't as flavorful as I remembered. They certainly weren't bad though; we ate all of them! My friend's disagreed with me - they thought the clams were great, so maybe my taste buds were just off today. Our server Nicky remembered us from prior visits and is always very attentive and friendly. Highly recommend! And the scenery of the marsh is great, too. read more

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Hadn't been in years. Went this week when we were in Maine. Still the best chowder I ever tasted. The haddock and clam chowder are both fabulous. The setting on the marsh is picturesque. The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable. The only drawback is the traffic in Wells in season. Rt 1 is often a parkunh lot. But it is worth it. Definitely 5 stars. read more

The clam chowder is amazing! The lobster was ok - not sure how you can mess up lobster. The green beans tasted like they were picked that morning! Our server, Felicia, was fun, gave her honest opinion about the food, and was always smiling! I would highly recommend this place! read more

I don't know why the average stars is a 3.5 but in my book this place is a 5. The staff is friendly and informative about the menu, and the drinks ( alcohol kind) are amazing. My husband got the lazy lobster and I got the fried clams both 5 star. Nikki our server was so nice and attentive. Will be back soon! read more

The waitress accurately guided n intense foodie (me!) through the menu to make the best possible choices I'm SO sorry I can't rememer my wonderful waitress' name but she thanked me "for being my salesman" because I passed all of her wonderful reccomendations on to a family at a nearby table!. The clam chowder with the full belly clams was the best I had in all of Maine. The (GENEROUS) side order of fried full belly clams was spectacular. I highly reccomend the "Lazy Man's Lobster"....pure, sweet, (no work) as simple as fresh local perfection gets. I glanced, but couldn't even consider the homemade desserts. Perhaps next time. read more

Overpriced! If you want everything fried it's the place for you. The seafood stuffing was greasy and gross. The serving of haddock in my entree was SMALL. The lobster stew wasn't a stew at all, just kind of a lobster bisque with lobster claw meat in it. The amount of lobster that was in it was really the only thing going for it. read more

Not a bad family style seafood house with excellent views of the marsh just off of Wells Beach. Chowder is very good, service was friendly and above average for this area especially given the busy holiday week (July 3rd and 4th). Mussel's were very good, twin lobster dinner seemed slightly overcooked, lobster rolls were nothing special and were very small for the price compared to some of the take out only places nearby. read more

First time here. Chowder was excellent. Average seafood. One bartender on a Friday night not a good idea.

I've been going to Billy's for as long as I can remember and a visit to southern Maine isn't complete without a Billy's lobster roll. I've never seen so much meat in a lobster roll anywhere else. Billy's also has the best clam chowder! The broth is thinner and buttery with whole clams instead of broth that's too creamy with just the processed chopped clams. read more