Foster’s Clambakes and Catering

Poor service! This is s catering company that could not serve a party of 20 in a timely manor. We called a couple days ahead and made sure we were before the rush. Food was not what you would expect. The staff was freindly if that helps.

My family comes here once a year and the food is great. However the last time we came the cashier was very rude and unprofessional. Basically I ordered lobster bisque but instead got clam chowder (which is $ 1 less expensive). I brought this issue up to the server and said I’d like to get lobster bisque. We were requested to produce the receipt while in the middle of eating as if to prove I did indeed order lobster bisque. Then the cashier brought the bisque with her order receipt and said in a snippy manner «just so you know the order says you ordered clam chowder». She obviously misheard my original order or entered it in incorrectly. That isn’t the point though– she came off as rude and is if being right (which she wasn’t) was more important than getting my order correctly. I would have been fine paying an extra dollar. Myself and my family were surprised by this level of service as we have never received this kind of service at any restaurant which is a shame because the food at Fosters is great.

We were here for a wedding rehearsal dinner and it was AMAZING.
They start out with Clam chowder which was unbelievable. Next is some steamers, the mussels were good, but many of the clams were not opened. DO NOT eat the unopened clams. They will make you sick and I know someone who was sick from them. It is not Fosters Fault though :)
The main meal was a full lobster, potatoes, corn (husk still on which is the best way) and a baked onion.
Overall fantastic especially for the event. The bartender was great and we had a wonderful meal.

I consider myself a fried clam and lobster roll expert and these were the BEST fried clams and lobster rolls I have EVER had. The woman helping us was so patient and kind, we had my 20 month old, 9 year old, and 95 year old grandmother with us.
I’d drive back to Maine from NYC just to go here again!

As a native land-​locked girl planning a semi-​destination East Coast themed wedding, I wanted to go all out and make sure our wedding was unforgettable and fun for everyone who made the trip. I won’t go in to how many emails, phone calls and visits our venue search included, but I will say that I was SO relieved in SO many ways to finally find Foster’s. The staff was fun and receptive from the very start. My husband and I still lived in Minnesota at the time of planning which could have made it difficult to plan but Foster’s was accommodating every step of the way. Beth was amazing and thought of EVERYTHING.
The day of the wedding went very smooth and I could tell that the staff at Foster’s knew what they were doing and took great care in making our guests comfortable and happy. Beth did a wonderful job with the decorations, too, and showed her creativity and ingenuity.
Now for the most important part: The food. From the first hors d’œuvre passed my way (a steak skewer) to the last red potato (not to forget the oh-​so-​sweet corn on the cob and the lobster itself), I was one very happy bride! The food was delicious and cooked to perfection! Thanks all for making my wedding day one my husband and I will never forget! See you for our one year anniversary!

Fosters recently catered our clambake wedding… It was AMAZING. From the planning process all year both Michelle and Beth were helpful, thoughtful and efficient. At the wedding, the food was ridiculously good and the staff was on it. We couldn’t be happier. I am so happy with our choice and so were our guests:)

Ok so just to start off I was expecting more right off the bat as I had checked out their website prior to making a reservation for their clambake for my party of five.
When I called for the reservation the person who I spoke to said that I didn’t need to make the reservation until the day before. Well, thinking to myself now that I am on the phone with you let’s just do it now. Well, she had other ideas and told me to call back the day before. Why the total blow off about the reservation. Be a good student and take the reservation, OMG… really. So I have to make 2 calls to make my reservation. This should have been a red flag. But being a nice guy I did as she told me to do and called again the day before. That call went much better then the first and she actually took my reservation. However Fosters doesn’t offer to pay ahead for the clambake.
So here we are moving to the day of the reservation. I meet my party at the restaurant and enter the building, it was a bit confusing as there was no greeter/​hostess at the entrance of the clambake. Many young teenagers running around cleaning and moving tables around. After a minuet or two one of the waitstaff greeted us and told us were our reservation was seated, and explained where the drink stations and bar were located.
She came back a few minuets later and asked us to pay for the clambake at the bar, seemed strange to me to pay in advance… another red flag?. we asked about the bill breakdown as we weren’t sure about the tip, the waitress had no idea and said she would ask, came back with a price plus a «administrative fee» so I was thinking to myself what in the world is that??? she later came back with a different answer that made more sense. can you say, knowledge is key? not impressed with waitstaff knowledge.
Oh and did I mention the entertainment as a one man band singing a mixed bag of nursery rhymes? oh my, as an entertainment professional I was laughing in my seat. But i guess the entertainment wasn’t for the general public but for a private party in the rear. They should have moved the speakers in that direction as It was a bit loud torwars our table and it made conversation a bit hard.
Next the atmosphere, nice, somewhat clean, but very much a paper plate place, so be prepared. Way too hot, many fans about but really, invest in Air conditioning, its well worth the price and will take the humidity out of the place as it was very noticeable.
The drink station, small, no ice when we got there for out drinks, but it was brought out later, but melted very quickly in the small cups they offered. Another suggestion, replace the cups with something bigger and add a ice machine at the drink station. All sodas were at the cash bar, so be prepared for that.
Dinner, very typical for a clambake. Lobster a bit small for the price. Corn should have been shucked, as it was grilled and required shucking after the fact, bring your toothpicks… lol
asked for additional rolls and got «hard as rock» overcooked rolls with desert 20 minuets late. Note to Fosters, don’t serve hard as rock rolls.
Desert rocked, very good, could have had more.
Waitress overcompensated by visiting our table very often, and even offered additional chowder, thanks for that.
Overall, had better for less elsewhere. Will not be returning.

There was a wedding reception on the evening I was there so no clambake… But that aside, having tanks of live lobster to choose from was also, and they served up some of the most delicious clam chowder ever! Giant pieces of clam and just creamy deliciousness. The fried clams were juicy and I would avoid the lobster bisque, but that aside… gotta come back to a real clam bake next time!

I had heard that the seafood was tops at this restaurant. Was I wrong. Our party went on a Monday night and the restaurant was not crowded. The prices were quite high as compared other seafood restaurants we had gone to in Maine over the week. We ordered the chamber chowder and steamers. I received the wrong order and had to return one of the chowders. One of the chowders were cold. The steamers were fine, but the butter had a grayish tone. Could not be used for dipping the steamers. We did order a couple of beers, which were on the warm side. I did not find the place all that clean. Maybe an off night, but not impressed and will not go back. Save your money.

At Foster’s Downeast Clambake, these guys put on a good show. When it comes to clambakes, no one does it better. Fun, lively atmosphere, with live music, gift shop, and great food.

Foster’s catered our wedding at the beginning of this month. The management that we dealt with was excellent, start to finish. They were prompt in replying to calls and emails and asked all the questions of us that I wouldn’t have thought of myself. Their prices are very reasonable and they worked with us on all sorts of little details that were important to us, like having compostable cups and straws. They even picked up our silverware and napkins from our rental company and rolled them up with lobster bibs for us.
Service throughout the planning stages was exemplary, however, I am giving them three stars for the execution. We had provided them with our numbers: around 90 lobsters, 50 steaks, 10 chickens. When they arrived, it looked like a crew of teenagers with nobody really in-​charge. When they set up their equipment, they discovered that the grill they had brought and were planning to cook 50 steaks on was broken. Broken! Nobody thought to fire it up for ten seconds before loading it in a truck? Their response was to use our rental stove-​top and oven (which we had rented to cook our appetizers) to sear the steaks and finish them in the oven. This is an appropriate method to cook steaks (when you don’t have a grill), but the steaks ended up so horrifically overcooked and grey that our guests started taking lobsters from the buffet instead of the steaks that they ordered and we ran out of lobsters.
To top this off, the kids they had serving the food had to be repeatedly prodded by our guests to clear the tables throughout the course of dinner. Not only this, but after they did get around to clearing the tables they left a mountain of trash bags behind (which they promised to take with them). In my town, the dump is only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, which means I spent the Tuesday after my wedding loading around 20 bags of lobster guts and chicken parts that had been rotting in the sun for three days into the back of a trailer and bringing it to the dump myself.
All that said, in the days following the wedding we were in close contact with the management that had been working with us before the event. They had been told about some of what had gone on by their servers, but certainly not all of it. They immediately *offered* to refund ALL the steaks, including taxes and gratuity, and offered us all the compostable cups and flatware (which we ordered special at an additional cost) for free. So, although the day-​of there were some serious issues, the service we received before and after was excellent, keeping them at 3-​stars.
Moral of the story: stick to lobster when you’re dealing with a lobster-​bake company. All the seafood, including the chowder, was excellent.

This place was great! Lobster was out of this world.

My husband and I had a few hours to hang out in eastern New Hampshire and southeast Maine, so when we came upon this place as a lunch spot we decided to go all out (being from Illinois and all, it’s probably going to be a bit before we get to eat fresh seafood again). We got a lobster roll, a bowl of clam chowder, steamed clams, and a side of corn on the cob. I was not a huge fan of the texture and taste of the lobster roll due to its wetness and sweetness. I kind of wish they would use another type of bread than a hotdog bun. My husband liked it fine so he ate most of it. I thought the clams were delicious, filling, and of course ample, thus that became my main item for the meal. The soup was DELICIOUS as was the corn. If we are ever in the area again we may come back here, but to be honest I am excited to see how its competition stands up.

The girls and I hopped in the car and took a day trip to Maine yesterday. This was quite exciting for me because I had not been up to Maine before.
After an afternoon of playing catch on the beach and resisting shopping at outlet malls, we decided we were hungry. I, being the lobster lover that I am, really, really wanted to actually have a Maine lobster in Maine. However, I was the only one in the group who likes the damn things. In fact only one other girl even liked seafood.
However, we did find this place and it, fortunately, offered a fair selection of «turf» to offset the «surf.» My friends loved their chicken sandwiches and baked beans. Even something simple, like their French fries, are delicious. Their French fries taste the way they used to at Jack in the Box. (Oh wait, you don’t have those here).
I, of course, got a lobster plate. There is a huge tank of live lobsters waiting for your consumption. For a little extra, you can pick your own. (Which I didn’t do… I trusted their judgement). The lobster is a little less expensive than they are in Boston. They can only get so cheap because the lobsters you usually eat are about 7 years old and the fishing process is rather exhausting. Since it was a few dollars less, I upgraded to a 1.5 lb lobster instead of the 1.25 I usually get. This was just right because I’m usually still hungry after a 1.25 pounder. It also comes with two sides and cornbread. Again, the fries are pretty good. Their beens are probably their best side.
The lobster was so fresh and rich. It was most likely the best I’ve ever had. I must say though, if you are the only lobster eater in your party, make your friends wait to order their food. My friends got their meals much earlier than I did and that lead to some really uncomfortable watching once my meal finally arrived. However, since none of them know how to eat a lobster, they were fascinated to watch me take it apart and eat it.
Word of warning though. When you get a lobster in a regular restaurant, they usually do a few starter cracks in the claws and the tails. This not only helps with your own cracking, but it also drains the water out. However, at a setup like this place, they don’t usually do the starter cracks. I feel super bad that I totally squirted a heavy stream of lobster water at one of my friends when I cracked open the claw. Whoops.
This place is apparently quite the event location. I sure couldn’t afford to host a large-​scale clam bake event, but this looks like a fun place for one. They also have a gift shop. I was hoping they would have lobster onesies for my friends’ babies, but they didn’t.

We had our wedding reception at Foster’s. Beth Wilson was amazing, as was all of the staff. Our event was seemless, the food fantastic and it made our wedding day so memorable to us and our guests.
We hope to have an anniversary party with them one day!
Our guests are still raving about the clam chowder and the vegetarian options. The lobster was incredible.
We have a lot of love for Foster’s.

Don’t bother with this old stand-​by. It used to be very good but now is quite poor. On a recent visit, I found they were not serving real melted butter with the lobsters or steamers. Why skimp on this basic? The melted liquid was absolutely tasteless! All the other local restaurants serve real butter, so go somewhere else, because you don’t save any money here. Also, the service was poor, lots of people standing but not rushing to help the customer.

I came here with a group of about 15 theatre friends. We are all doing Carousel and wanted to actually experience a clambake. I will say that overall, everyone enjoyed their meals but nobody walked away, raving about them. For the three of us that are vegetarian, there were 3 salad options a about 6 side dishes that we could get, which is great for a seafood place up in Maine. I ordered the Asian salad and Tabbouleh, which were both very good. There is a ton of seating inside, which I assume is mostly for party purposes. And also some tables to sit outside. This restaurant is definitely casual and not the cleanest either. But the staff were pretty accommodating.

We ate lunch here while driving through Maine. Good lobster rolls and onion rings. Cute gift shop. Friendly staff. Would go back.

Fosters feels like an old time clam stand on steroids. Big barn f a place with a straight forward menu. After spending WAY too much time in traffic on a desperate attempt to get to the beach, we wanted some lunch. Lo and behold, there is Fosters.
Chowder: quite good… rich and satisfying but ended up nibbling on bits o’ grit.
Fried clam roll: Fresh, succulent and delicious. Unfortunately, as opposed to some establishments of this ilk, I thought they were pretty skimpy on the clams. My partner declared Foster’s cole slaw to be among the best he had ever had. This from a man having grown up eating loads of cabbage. I also liked their chunky tartar sauce… heavy on the pickles.
So, I’ve knocked a star off for the mere scattering of oysters… still good food and worth of a downeast nosh.

Dennis and I attended a birthday party for our friend Priscilla’s 80^th Birthday.
Foster’s Clambake was hired to cater the meal for about 50 friends and family members.
We had a wonderful meal of clam chowder, mussels and steamers, lobster with drawn butter, corn on the cob, boiled red potatoes and onions, rolls, and blueberry cake.
The caterer sent 3 young women who did a fantastic job setting up, serving and cleaning up.
Everyone ate well and had a wonderful time at the party.