Holbrooks Wharf Lobster

We have been spending summers in Maine for 20 years. The simple lobster dinner at Holbrook’s was by far the best I’ve ever had. My group also had the lobster quesadillas and several side dishes. The food was spectacular! The setting outside watching the harbor was perfect. Highly recommended!

Food is decent, just what you expect from picnic table dining on Orr’s Island. A few important things to note:
*Yelp lists ‘beer and wine available’…not true. Just soda etc. We saw multiple parties BYOB.
*We ate around 7:30 or so in mid August… the mosquitos were so bad I was dancing in my seat to keep them away. My host, Maine native, said he had only been there during the day, and the bugs were a non issue. We live in Vermont, we know bugs, but this swarm was oppressive and pretty much ruined any chance of staying on to enjoy the view of the water.

always come here at least once on our yearly trip to maine. we go by boat from the casco harbor in small point to holbrooks. delicious food at good prices. best fried haddock sandwich you’ll ever have. tend not to get anything else. and a great view of cundys harbor and surrounding casco bay.

Just had dinner at Holbrooks Wharf. While it is not fancy, this is the place to go to get down and dirty with a lobster. It was the tenderest and most succulent lobster I had in a long time and I make it a point to have lobster at least once a day when I am in Maine. Been here for four days and this lobster was GOOD, served with delicious corn on the cob as well. Pete was kind enough to crack the lobster for me so that made life sooooo much easier since it is hard for me to do this anymore. My husband was not very hungry so he had the ginger carrot soup. Not so good. Tasted vinegary for some reason. He ended this meal with blueberry cobbler. It was so full of juicy blueberries and delicious pastry. Do not miss Holbrooks if you are near Brunswick, Curdy Beach area

The food is delicious and fast and the view is amazing. The lobster quesadilla was a surprisingly well done twist on traditional seafood.

DO NOT EAT HERE!!! My family of four went here while on vacation and were more than dissatisfied. My husband got food poisoning so severe we had to go to the hospital. Two others were sick and spent the remainder of the vacation in the hotel. He had the special, «lobster quesadilla» my daughter had the crab roll and the other two had lobster. The service was definitely nothing spectacular or welcoming, the food was alright and the prices are appropriate for the location. All of these things could have been overlooked had my husband not become so gravely ill. We have contacted the local health department and will be going from there. This was a tragic situation that could have been prevented had they take any pride in the food they served.

Enjoyed a very nice dinner here. My wife’s lobster roll was perfectly dressed with just a touch of mayo and plenty of sweet lobster. Only criticism is that the roll was not grilled; not sure if that was an oversight or policy. The fried clams were excellent and the service pleasant and efficient. I would definitely recommend.

This was the party of 6 average that ranged from a 2 for the fish taco and a 5 for the lobster. This is a way out of they way place that is on the pricey side. For what we paid, I am certain we could have saved on gas and had something in downtown Freeport. Not a place I see visiting again or suggesting someone to try.

Lobster Quesadilla is the best I’ve ever had. Nice outdoor seating

Holbrook’s is exactly what you want from a lobster shack. Friendly service, local catches, and a great view. We started with a extremely generous portion of steamers that were perfect. I opted for the fish tacos that were delicious. Very well seasoned and cooked great. I went with a group of friends, so got to try a lot. My friends got the lobster quesadilla and said it was the best thing on the table. I argue the steamers were. The clam chowder was also a big hit. Unfortunately, the fish and chips missed the mark.
All and all great weekend lunch spot. I would definitely go back!

After reading an article on Holbrooks in the TImes Record, my husband and I decided to give it a try on a lovely August evening. The setting is indeed lovely and quiet and we wished the food was as good as the view.
We shared a cup of lobster stew which, for $ 4 was an obvious bargain. It was okay… mostly buttery milky broth with a sufficient amount of lobster meat. Nothing fancy or thick and creamy.
I read about the fish tacos made with blackened haddock and was anxious to give them a try. Very disappointing. The corn tortillas weren’t soft and steamed as are most fish tacos I’ve had at other places. They tasted chewy as though they had been set on the flat top a little too long. The fish and coleslaw inside the tacos were good but it was topped with a chunky salsa with way too much raw onion. We had a choice of fries or onion rings so I chose fries. Terrible. I complained about them on the way out. They were the thin, frozen fries and had been overdone to the point that they were dried out and pretty tasteless.
My husband had a crab salad wrap. The crab was pretty good but too much raw onion in the wrap. He ordered onion rings for $ 1 extra. They were fair — mostly just too greasy and overfried, medium-​dark brown like my fries. The wrap came with a side of coleslaw that wasn’t crunchy. That indicates to me it wasn’t very fresh.
How I wish the food lived up to the expectation set forth in the news article because it’s a good location not far from Cooks Corner in Brunswick. It shouldn’t take much more effort to produce food that is tastes really good instead of producing mediocre food that you couldn’t recommend.

Very disappointed !!!
I got fried clams they were over cooked very tough/​dried/​hard to chew $ 17.00 and I can honestly say they were the worst fried clams I ever ate.
They other person I went with had the haddock it was soggy/​mushy. I took a bite of his and actually spit it out in the napkin.
I have never written a review and complained about the food anywhere but I was so disappointed that I just felt the need to let people know. THUMBS DOWN :-(

We got here at least once a wk in the summer on our boat. Love this place. You can take your own beer and wine and the setting is quintessential Maine. Right on the dock and the prices can’t be beat. Each year they lease out the restaurant and this year 2012 it is Gilmores from Bath. Expanded menu and all the classic fried foods of Maine of course. You can get fresh lobster too with all the trimmings. I will say the food is consistent during the week but on the weekends I think they get slammed with business and can be hit or miss but for the most part they are a great value and great Maine cuisine.

Wow. This is a classical, beautiful Maine wharf view at its best. They now take credit cards, which is a big plus. Lots of items on the menu, which is unusual for a lobster pound. Be advised that even a short line takes a while, as half the people have no idea what they want to order, despite staring at the 8 foot menu. Anyway, once you order, the service is very polite (although I didn’t see anyone over 17 working there). The seating is all outside, although some is covered, and the view of the harbor and boats are awesome. A great breeze (bring a windbreaker, even in summer) cools everything down.
Now for the food: mixed feelings, but overall a decent experience. The steamed lobster and steamed clams were great, but the fried Maine shrimp was almost all batter — and totally overcooked. Honestly, in the pint of shrimp there were maybe 6 shrimp; we kept «opening» the batter balls to find no shrimp, just clumps of fried batter. That’s weak. They also forgot to give us water to rinse the clams and lobster in (sand, roe, etc), but we just let that slide. A big complaint was that they fill the sodas in bulk (tiny cups sitting with melting ice and coke), so that they are all watery and tasteless. That’s just lazy; fill the sodas when I order them, not a dozen at once, sitting on the ledge. And how about cups larger than preschool?
Final opinion: The views are amazing and the lobster tasty enough; but they can be a real top notch place with some tweaks.

So if I could have given this place 4.5 stars I would have — but that half star would just be for side dishes so 5 it is!
I had the lobster dinner which came with corn — best lobster of my life! So sweet and tender — it was gone so fast mom didn’t even get a bite! And the corn was really sweet. It was missing the boiled potatoes which was a little sad for me being a potato loving gal.
Mom got the scallop dinner. The scallops were fried but the batter was oh so light. The scallops were tender, fresh and sweet — and there we so very many oh them — I had to help her finish. The coleslaw was great but the french fries were very disappointing.
Overall — it was great! My idea of a good lobster dinner requires that there be water passing under my feet and sure enough as the name suggests we sat on the wharf.
Make a trip to Holbrooks — you wont regret it.

If you are looking for an authentic «Coast of Maine» no-​frills meal, go here. Not fancy or pretentious, just lobstah and fried seafood like you imagine it would be.
Bring your own.

Beautiful spot in the heart of Cundy’s Harbor. Three sizes of lobster roll, with a sizable large at $ 16 in June of ’08. The restaurant and adjacent general store are supported by a land trust to keep them alive. It is a worthy cause for a gorgeous working harbor. They don’t serve liquor, but you can walk to the general store (20 steps) and grab a bottle of wine or some beer and BYOB on the wharf. The general store has Fin du Monde trappist ale– amazing with a crab roll.
This place is a classic that not only deserves a drive a few miles south from Cook’s Corner, but a few bucks in the «Keep Holbrooks Working.» donation jars you’ll see around.
Forget Estes or Cooks, head down to Cundy’s Harbor
Holbrooks is in the top 5!