Wow, the best mussels we’ve ever had. The perfect cross between a casual English pub and delicious farm to table food. Everything we ordered was amazing. Can’t wait to come back and try more.
Brett Dunton
5 star what else can I say!!!
Isabel K
the food is delicious, but the atmosphere is even better! a quiet spot w a friendly staff that feels somewhat upscale with that small town homey vibe.
Samantha T Trullo
First timer!! I highly recommend the grilled pork belly, it is literally the best meal I’ve had in a long time…. The presentation is beautiful and the portions are great. Other than the amazing food, the atmosphere is so cozy—the type of cozy where you don’t even want to leave….. I love this place and I can’t wait to return.
Amy Vacchina
We enjoyed an excellent dinner there recently. The food was on point, and the service was outstanding. Our server was very knowledgeable about the menu and had helpful notes and suggestions. Overall, an enjoyable experience.
Emily DelPadre
Great service and wonderful staff. Hamburgers are delicious, and oysters are the best around the Cape Ann area. Would love to see this restaurant take off and become a “go to” fixture in Gloucester.
Warren Wuerthner
Loved the vibe here, service was friendly, and the food and drinks were very good. Do yourself a favor and if you’re looking for dinner and/or a couple drinks and check this place out. They serve locally sourced ingredients in a very welcoming and warm environment, and I found the open kitchen concept enjoyable. We plan to return here regularly. Great place!!Getting into the detail, there were a couple areas that could use improvement, but this is really getting persnickety and has more to do with my expectation of quality at the prices being charged. Tips for going from very good to absolutely great:Drinks: had the garden gimlet - excellent! Decent portion size and flavor was balanced. One of the best cocktails I’ve had in awhile. Only critique would be - add a larger sprig of rosemary. Would benefit from the additional aromatics.Food:We started with the scallop ceviche - delicious - this is what fresh seafood should be, but portion size is quite small for the price. Felt like it should be double the portion, or half the price.Mussels - GREAT flavor, and bread was nice with it. The sauce it comes with had amazing flavor - it just needed more sauce.Burger - excellent beef. Flavor was wonderful. Beef under salted and could have used more sauce. At the price ($16 with cheese), serving with standard chips was a disappointment. Would have expected fries or homemade chips at least. Pickle was not good - needs to be pickled longer and with more spices. If I could get just the burger or have served with smashed potatoes I would do that.Smashed potatoes - tasty, but significantly under salted. Could have been great and was after we added salt.Desserts:Strawberry / blueberry / rhubarb crumble - great flavor - very good! Needs more crumble.Sand dollar ice cream sandwich - Perfect! Balance of chocolate cookie flavor and texture and ice cream was great. Recommended.Service:Friendly and welcoming. Just need a little more attentiveness to do things like fill waters and ask about drink refills etc.Environment:As mentioned - loved the feel of the place. Only critique is avoid sitting near the hallway in the back - there was a bit of a smell coming out, which needs to be addressed by management. Only an issue if you’re sitting right near the hallway.Overall, we found this to be among the top 2 food/drink we’ve had in the area. This restaurant is now on our short list and we will be returning regularly. Do yourself a favor and enjoy a meal or a drink here.
Joe Arnao
Stepped back in time when we entered and were pleasantly surprised by the menu and quality of our server, Samantha. The dishes on the menu are eclectic and properly prepared. A small but attractive menu offers flavors from all over the Mediterranean.Cocktails were creative and executed very well. The wine list is short and non of the five of us knew a single bottle. It made for an interesting tasting to find what worked for us and we were all very satisfied.The blended soup of NE Clam Chowder and Italian Fish Stew was a treat. Steaks, fish, raw bar and all are worth a visit.Looking forward to our next visit.
John McKenna
First time back since COVID food and service were excellent
Breanna Jackson
I’m so glad my favorite clam chowder spot is back!
Great to see this historic spot reopen! Looks exactly like the old Pub. Food is just as delicious! I had the burger and chips. The lunch menu is small. I wish they would bring back the kebobs and chicken wings from the previous ownership.
Lauren Sottile
Tasty clam chowder, delicious burger (I order medium well & my partner medium rare, and it is not often restaurants will cook those at the same time while both to our liking, but they did! + I love the slightly toasted bun & "special sauce"), and cozy atmosphere reminiscent of it's previous life as Halibut Point. I ate everything too fast before I could remember to take a picture
Melanie Murray-Brown
Went to The Howard Blackburn for dinner with my family. Amazing, beautifully prepared fresh food. Fantastic staff! Can't wait to head back.
Wow, the best mussels we’ve ever had. The perfect cross between a casual English pub and delicious farm to table food. Everything we ordered was amazing. Can’t wait to come back and try more.
5 star what else can I say!!!
the food is delicious, but the atmosphere is even better! a quiet spot w a friendly staff that feels somewhat upscale with that small town homey vibe.
First timer!! I highly recommend the grilled pork belly, it is literally the best meal I’ve had in a long time…. The presentation is beautiful and the portions are great. Other than the amazing food, the atmosphere is so cozy—the type of cozy where you don’t even want to leave….. I love this place and I can’t wait to return.
We enjoyed an excellent dinner there recently. The food was on point, and the service was outstanding. Our server was very knowledgeable about the menu and had helpful notes and suggestions. Overall, an enjoyable experience.
Great service and wonderful staff. Hamburgers are delicious, and oysters are the best around the Cape Ann area. Would love to see this restaurant take off and become a “go to” fixture in Gloucester.
Loved the vibe here, service was friendly, and the food and drinks were very good. Do yourself a favor and if you’re looking for dinner and/or a couple drinks and check this place out. They serve locally sourced ingredients in a very welcoming and warm environment, and I found the open kitchen concept enjoyable. We plan to return here regularly. Great place!!Getting into the detail, there were a couple areas that could use improvement, but this is really getting persnickety and has more to do with my expectation of quality at the prices being charged. Tips for going from very good to absolutely great:Drinks: had the garden gimlet - excellent! Decent portion size and flavor was balanced. One of the best cocktails I’ve had in awhile. Only critique would be - add a larger sprig of rosemary. Would benefit from the additional aromatics.Food:We started with the scallop ceviche - delicious - this is what fresh seafood should be, but portion size is quite small for the price. Felt like it should be double the portion, or half the price.Mussels - GREAT flavor, and bread was nice with it. The sauce it comes with had amazing flavor - it just needed more sauce.Burger - excellent beef. Flavor was wonderful. Beef under salted and could have used more sauce. At the price ($16 with cheese), serving with standard chips was a disappointment. Would have expected fries or homemade chips at least. Pickle was not good - needs to be pickled longer and with more spices. If I could get just the burger or have served with smashed potatoes I would do that.Smashed potatoes - tasty, but significantly under salted. Could have been great and was after we added salt.Desserts:Strawberry / blueberry / rhubarb crumble - great flavor - very good! Needs more crumble.Sand dollar ice cream sandwich - Perfect! Balance of chocolate cookie flavor and texture and ice cream was great. Recommended.Service:Friendly and welcoming. Just need a little more attentiveness to do things like fill waters and ask about drink refills etc.Environment:As mentioned - loved the feel of the place. Only critique is avoid sitting near the hallway in the back - there was a bit of a smell coming out, which needs to be addressed by management. Only an issue if you’re sitting right near the hallway.Overall, we found this to be among the top 2 food/drink we’ve had in the area. This restaurant is now on our short list and we will be returning regularly. Do yourself a favor and enjoy a meal or a drink here.
Stepped back in time when we entered and were pleasantly surprised by the menu and quality of our server, Samantha. The dishes on the menu are eclectic and properly prepared. A small but attractive menu offers flavors from all over the Mediterranean.Cocktails were creative and executed very well. The wine list is short and non of the five of us knew a single bottle. It made for an interesting tasting to find what worked for us and we were all very satisfied.The blended soup of NE Clam Chowder and Italian Fish Stew was a treat. Steaks, fish, raw bar and all are worth a visit.Looking forward to our next visit.
First time back since COVID food and service were excellent
I’m so glad my favorite clam chowder spot is back!
Restaurantji Recommends
It is a great place!
Great to see this historic spot reopen! Looks exactly like the old Pub. Food is just as delicious! I had the burger and chips. The lunch menu is small. I wish they would bring back the kebobs and chicken wings from the previous ownership.
Tasty clam chowder, delicious burger (I order medium well & my partner medium rare, and it is not often restaurants will cook those at the same time while both to our liking, but they did! + I love the slightly toasted bun & "special sauce"), and cozy atmosphere reminiscent of it's previous life as Halibut Point. I ate everything too fast before I could remember to take a picture
Went to The Howard Blackburn for dinner with my family. Amazing, beautifully prepared fresh food. Fantastic staff! Can't wait to head back.
Great to have it back. Tasty lunch
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