The Rudder

My wife and I went there last night and had a horrible experience. First, they had no record of our reservation, but no real problem as we were seated quickly. But the food was terrible. My wife ordered the monkfish which she had to send back because it was burned on top and inedible inside. It was taken off the bill, but we decided to just leave. I ordered the shrimp and «lobster» scampi which contained lots of garlic, overcooked shrimp, and while I looked, no lobster at all. The waitress was nice and polite but had too many tables. I saw at least 3 other meals being returned from other tables as well. We used to like this place, but no more. Too bad, it is a nice location.

Hidden gem in Gloucester! The salmon was incredibly flavorful… the chicken parm was so fresh and delicious — something I didn’t expect at a coastal primarily seafood spot! Atmosphere is warm and inviting, hostess and waitress were great. I would definitely make this a regular spot to visit when going to Gloucester!

Scratch it off the list. We used to like coming to the Rudder once or twice a summer. Not anymore. We had an 8:00 reservation. No-​one acknowledged us at the host station for at least 10 minutes. We were not seated until 8:30. Our overworked waitress told us that if we ordered salad and dinner they would most likely come out together. We said that if that happened we would not want the salad. Then, with a half empty restaurant, she came back and told us they were out of the special I ordered. We asked for more bread and she said it was in the oven. When we asked again, she said they were out of bread. Food did not arrive until close to 10. Fish that was supposed to come with lobster mashed potatoes came with French fries with no explanation. When we asked, we were told they were out of mashed potatoes. Fish was not edible. We had to ask several times for water. This restaurant appears to be on it’s way out.

First there is no parking at all. Reservations were made and arrived and name was totally slaughtered. Not even close. Waited for a good half hour in a corner. Totally ignored by bartender, even when we asked for 2 drinks. We had to keep asking hostess (who has no idea what was going on) if our table was ready. We finally got our table 45 minutes later after we dogged her for it. Waitress was pleasant and tried her best but it was another 45 at least before we had our food. In the end food was good but overall would not go back. Bathroom was a total disaster paper/​garbage all over. And the kicker to the night was as we drove out cook was outside going off about customers and the night.

I came here the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend and my friend and I got here right as they opened at 4. It was a wonderful choice! We were seated right next to the dock and enjoyed the breeze and warm weather.
We shared a bottle of Jen-​Luc Colombo Rose and it was quite delicious. I didn’t expect the wine to be as delicious as it was!
For appetizers we had Ciopinno (with no shrimp, a request they easily processed) and fried banana peppers stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto. The Ciopinno was delicious and so fresh. I would 100% re-​order that dish. Even when we were done with the dish we kept dipping our bread in the sauce. The fried banana peppers were good, but I don’t think I would try them again. The portion was quite large for just the two of us and the banana pepper got to be too much after eating two of them.
We split the salmon entrée and it was amazing. Seafood at its best. The salmon flaked immediately with the fork and paired so well with the mashed potatoes and the veggies.
The service was excellent. We had a young lady who was excited to be back for the summer season. I can see that this place is quite popular… but it doesn’t have the tourist swarm like downtown Gloucester. I would get here early to make sure you can park in the ship year and get a primo seat by the dock.

Avoid. Service is dreadful … the waitresses have way too many tables and just run. they do not provide service. we were here for 2+ hours for dinner and i doubt the waitress spent 2 minutes with us total. we waited and waited for the waitress to come to the table, waited and waited for beers, waited and waited some more for entrees. we were brought the wrong beer. the sanitation at the raw bar is gross … one of the guys was running his hands through his hair and then shucking oysters, no gloves. prices are high for mediocre food. a lot of meals are served in cake pans, which is odd. i’ve given this place a couple of tries and will never return. it’s a shame because they have a great location.

Happy to write this review. Went last night and had fabulous service and food. You guys are starting out strong !! Food and service were great. Started at the bar and moved on to a table.
Eggplant Appetizer. Crunchy and yummy!
Chicken Piccata was perfect!
Fishermans platter. Plentiful, hot and fresh
Sushi (kiss the fish and tuna of some sort) all fresh
Shane was server and he was just great considering we are a demanding group, plus they had a full house.
Bravo

We were privileged to be at The Rudder on opening night. Food was fantastic. We started with the mussels and crab cakes. Then enjoyed the scampi and best bolognese we ever had! Service was outstanding. Looking forward to many more trips this season to The Rudder.

If you know what you’re walking into, you will never be disappointed. This place is all about atmosphere. I will, however, say that I recently had the best fried clams of my entire life here over Columbus day weekend. Seriously. Better than Farnham’s, Woodman’s, everybody’s. They were on special, and they were stellar. Went perfectly with a draft beer.

A very decent seafood restaurant that does basics right. I had the catch of the day and it was cooked just right. The service was good and there is a lovely deck in the back of the restaurant.

We were a group of 6… took over 1 hour to get sodas for kids. Soda machine was broken… but please those should be on the house then… yet we got charged.
My wife’s entrée was forgotten… came when everyone was finished… they then negotiated half price for it.
We don’t haggle… Considering that we spent more then $ 350 on dinner I found it cheap to charge for sodas and super late entrée.
Waitress was nice but overworked… food was decent… probably choose different restaurant next time… even though we are annual guests for the last couple of years.

To start off, I think a big problem for me was expectations. The menu looked so enticing, it would have been difficult for them to live up to what I envisioned my meal would be.
Getting to the restaurant was a bit of a challenge (lots of one-​way streets, and it’s located on a very narrow slip, with very limited parking). The place is not much to look at from the outside, I’ll call it «quaint & rustic». They had string/​christmas lights and fake leaves strung across the entire low-​hanging ceiling. The place was very busy and extremely loud. We were seated at a table that didn’t have enough room for the chairs; the person sitting behind my wife kept banging into her chair (drunkenly). Our waitress came over relatively quickly, and as we looked at the menu beforehand, we knew what we were ordering, and placed along with our drink choices. Tables that seated 5+ minutes after us received their drinks, bread & apps before us, which was peculiar. For appetizers, we ordered the Ultimate Meatballs, and stuffed Mushrooms. We both really enjoyed the meatballs, they were delectable. The mushrooms had a good taste, but I’d say the bacon was a bit underdone for our liking (especially because it was so fatty), and between the ingredients it was rather «slimy». If they mixed a bit of breadcrumbs or something in there, I think that may have helped the texture quite a bit. We finished our apps, and about 10 minutes or so later the waitress came out to tell us the meal my wife ordered was no longer available, so she opted for something else. This meant there was a rather long wait between when we ordered, finished our appetizers, and when our meals came out. Because it was so crowded and loud, we were both pretty antsy. We asked for refills on our drinks, and that took quite a while as well. Our meals came out, and we dug in. I ordered salmon, it was cooked nicely, but could have used more glaze/​sauce. The noodles it was on top of were overcooked, and the spring rolls it came with were completely flavorless. The substitution my wife ordered was the artichoke dip (from the appetizer menu). It was loaded with artichoke, as in, there was a hint of cheese in there, with tons of diced artichoke. I leave that part up to personal preference. We both ordered drinks, one of them was a bit bland (Huckleberry Lemonade), the other was a bit too alcohol potent (Rum Rudder) for my liking. Total meal cost with tip, $ 100.
Ambiance — Quaint & Rustic. You get the upper-​middle class feel, a place where locals, or people vacationing may visit. Very crowded (tables very close to one another), and loud.
Service — Was lacking a bit for me, our waitress just had too many tables. They didn’t tell us they were out of my wife’s entrée till we were done with our appetizers, which meant it was going to be a while for that. No partial discount or anything (while not necessary, it would have been nice).
Quality — Metza. I was disappointed with everything on my salmon plate except the salmon itself. As mentioned, the artichoke dip could’ve had a bit more cheese, but that may be personal preference.
Quantity — All portion sizes were spot on
Value — A tad pricey for the dive-​scene that it has going on, but it’s peak season in a somewhat touristy area.
Overall — Too crowded & loud (have I mentioned that?), though that may be what some people are looking for. Some of the courses missed their mark, some issues with our order, the food, and our waitress being stretched thin. A place to check out if you’re in the area (maybe when it’s not quite so busy), but not somewhere I’d personally go out of my way to visit again.

Poor Service and Mediocre Food. Won’t come again.
We had dinner at the Rudder this evening. From the get go, everything went wrong. Our server, who was apparently new to the job, knew nothing about the menu and couldn’t even answer the simplest question (such as «What’s on the Chef’s choice pizza?») with any degree of certainty. She never asked what order we wanted our food in (i.e., salads or appetizers first) and as a consequence we waited 1.5 hours to get food and then it ALL came at once. Second, there were numerous problems with our orders. I ordered the «Natural salad» with the dressing on the side; when it came (dressed) I was told it was just oil and lemon, when in fact the menu description said it was served with a «honey apple cider dressing,» which does not sound like oil and lemon but hey, what do I know? I’m only just a stupid (paying) customer, apparently. My salad also was really gritty but I ate it anyway because I was starving by this time. My brother also ordered a salad with blue cheese dressing on the side, only to be given balsamic vinegar on the side instead of the dressing that went with the salad. We asked for red pepper flakes to go on top of the pizza we ordered, and it took 45 minutes to get these (by this time, the pizza, which was mediocre, had been consumed in sheer frustration). After approximately two hours of bad service and mediocre food, we left. The worst part, by far, was the attitude of the waitress and manager, who really didn’t seem to care one bit that the service was extraordinarily slow and the food not what we had ordered. We won’t be back, and we actually live in the area, so let me say to the management at the Rudder: if you want business outside of tourist season, get your act together, please!

What a great place to eat! We didn’t have reservations and it was a busy night. David– who works at the bar saw us standing outside and quickly offered to help us get a table. Not only did he get us a table in less than 15 minutes, but he checked up on us about 3 times! I wish most restaurants would understand the importance of outstanding customer service like David does. The drinks were strong which my boyfriend seemed very happy about :)
Great memories from this place! Thanks so much, David! You made our trip to Gloucester very memorable!

What a classic local joint in the heart of a fisherman’s town! So glad I had a chance to experience a fresh lobster, tuna, and crab. And on (unknowingly) the last day of the season… and much to our surprise, our server, Emma told us that all of their food was half-​price because of the last day of the season celebration. Funny enough, we discovered this after we ordered!
The tuna tartare was piled high with fresh tuna and some guacamole, then on the side fresh ginger, wasabi and soy. The crab cake appetizer is lightly fried with 3 crab-​packed cakes and a little aioli. Seafood this fresh obviously requires very little seasoning as was the case at The Rudder with our menu selections!
Now for the mother load of deliciousness.
2lbs of fresh lobster. Plucked straight from the Atlantic amongst a vivacious crowd of fisherman. I couldn’t have scripted it better. We substituted chilled asparagus instead of fries and coleslaw. An excellent option I might add! Butter, lobster, asparagus. Heaven help me!!! So. Dang. Good!!!
Thank you Rudder for making this a special experience! Can’t wait to come back!

Been here a couple times. The menu is good and the ambiance is great.
The kitchen needs to work on execution. Fried food comes out soggy, and most things I have ordered have been overcooked. E.g. we ordered a burger and a ribeye, both medium-​rare, and the burger was completely charred. The ribeye varied from medium-​well to well-​done. Not really close enough for 33 bucks. My daughter’s scallops were a little overcooked as well.
The steak tips I got were, however, temped about right.
Their mussels were to die for. Their french fries are delicious and actually salted properly. I would love to come here and get everything cooked properly because then it would be worth the pretty high prices.

What has happened to this place??? Since the new owner has taken over it has gone downhill fast. The old crew used to run a tight ship, now the service is lousy and the food quality has gone downhill. We used to be a big fan of the calimari last time we left half a plate full untouched. It was bland, tough, chewy and it looked like the portion size was smaller.
The Waitresses could use some basic training, never reach accross a patrons plate to pour a glass of water, always pick up the glass, pour away from the table, then place the glass back on the table. It will help to prevent spilling water on the table and patron … I changed my rating down to 2 stars and would have went down to 1, but at least they have been offering half off the food bill which makes up for the drop in service and quality a little bit.
I’m willing to give them another chance because it’s summer and I love being on the deck, but if they don’t figure it out soon i won’t be spending any more of my money with them.
FYI the same owner also owns the studio right down the street, that is well known for it’s lousy service. Seems like he may have bitten off more than he can chew …

Talk about fresh! While sitting outside on the deck for dinner I saw a chef walk down on the dock, pull a lobster from a trap, and head back to the kitchen. Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious: eggplant napoleon with buratta, crispy chicken wings, fish and chips, and the trifecta special. All made for a fantastic date night. Minus a star for the slow service, but, to be fair, there wasn’t an empty table in the place.

Really fun place! A friend made reservations for us – which seems to be a MUST here on the weekend. We were told it was an upscale fish shack. The place doesn’t look like much from the outside — a small entrance with stairs going down into what looks like a dark and noisy bar. But once inside and past the bar is a hopping restaurant with a great staff.
Our waitress was AWESOME. I’m sorry I forgot her name, but she is blond, relocated from Florida and told us her story working there for the past five years. Interesting story and great service!
My husband ordered the tuna tartar which was really incredible while I got the ceasar salad which was GREAT! Our friend got the natural salad which was julien-​cut rainbow chard, carrots, and some other veggies and a gorgonzola crumble on top, also really delish.
The place was packed! The tables are all really close together and it’s a bit of a gauntlet to get to and from your table if people have their chairs pushed out a bit. But none of this hindered our waitress who was quick with the drinks and the food! Not sure how many tables she was handling but we definitely felt no lack of service here! My husband mentioned he would have no problem taking the kids here because no one would notice them in this noisy atmosphere. However, I do have to say, it was a good hopping noise, everyone seemed to be having fun.
For dinner I got the monkfish and my husband ordered the baked stuffed sole. He said it was the best he ever had. The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because the entrees were a bit bland and desperately needed seasoning or salt, so the kitchen was a bit off their game. And for entrees all above the $ 20 mark, they should be aware.
Otherwise, a great ambiance at night with little sparkly lights interspersed with some fake ivy all across the ceiling in the back deck. When we went the deck was completely enclosed. Not sure if all the windows open or not. Low lights, some solid draft beers along with a pretty good selection of wine.
Again, the service made the night thanks to our waitress! If you’re lucky, you’ll get her…

Went over the weekend. My first time dining in Gloucester and this place was recommended by a friend. Made reservations a few weeks ago, and wish they had sat us outside since it was so beautiful out, but the inside was pretty also.
I tried a few bites of things, but my favorite app was the muscles. The sauce they were in, I would have had for my meal with a loaf of bread and just slurp up all the sauce. I never want to know what’s in the sauce, because it can’t be good for you, and I’d want to make it all the time.
I had the risotto for dinner, and it was really quite perfect. All the fish was buttery and tender, and risotto flavorful. Very big meal though, I could only eat half, and I’m a chompion. I tried a bit of my sisters scallop dinner with the mascarpone sweet potato. I didn’t care for the purée.
For dessert we ordered the changa, and chocolate lovers to share with our table. Both were fantastic. Nothing out of the ordinary or super fancy, just delicious. Right amount of everything.
Yum! If I’m in the area, I will be back.