Received a message several hours before our reservation that they had shut down due to unforeseen circumstances. I'll only beg to differ in that you could see it coming for a long time. Someone in our party had a gift certificate that we were going to use before they closed down. Go figure.
Marion
Walking into the Rudder, the stiffkey-blue like panelled walls and paint and gorgeous long bar immediately felt cosy and Rocky Neck complimentary. The lighting was dim and sophisticated, a fire creating warmth and ambiance in the corner. We sat in the main dining room. We walked into the restaurant on entering and waited for the host. When he appeared, he asked us to walk back to the entrance door to check our reservation. I thought that was odd and not very polite! Our entrees were delicious- crab cakes, a Bibb salad and friend clams. When our main course arrived, our entree plates hadn't been removed. The young boy just looked at us and left them down on the table haphazardly. He had an attitude and wasn't client focused. The pepper and salt mill didn't work. I had a salmon Niçoise salad which was served with a blob of mashed potato on top. I didn't touch that! There were no anchovies or black olives as served with a traditional salade niçoise and perhaps they were short of green beans as there were hardly any. Cherry tomatoes do not belong on a salade niçoise. Removing plates before everyone at the table is finished eating, is an American practice I cannot understand and was not appreciated by my European friends! The chocolate mousse was delicious. This could be classy but the service needs attention as does the salmon. Almost.
Ray
Been to Gloucester multiple times and have been to 10 or so restaurants in the area. Looking forward to a memorable up-scale dinner at the Rudder. Totally disappointed. Worst dining experience ever. Ordered the "Crispy Duck" entree. What I got was the "Rubber Duck", Have ordered Duck in other places and enjoyed it. Seemed that this Duck was most likely pre-cooked and frozen or refrigerated and then re-heated for service. Skin was definitely NOT crispy but rubbery. The duck meat was very dry and stringy. For a $42 meal, it was horrible and only accompanied by a "smear" of whipped parsnips and nothing else. For $42, I would expect at least a few seasonal vegetables , some string beans or maybe a small side salad. My wife ordered the grilled halibut at $38. Also very disappointing. It was overcooked and dry, accompanied by a watery version of ratatouille. Dinner started with a few tiny disappointing bread "knots". In short, it was the most expensive meal we had in Gloucester and the worst experience. DO NOT WASTE YOUR $$ AT THE RUDDER, lots of better places to eat for less $$.
GiGi
The ambience is great The service was wonderful There was a special 2 for 1 lobster. They were large Only $22 such a great deal. I had a glass of Bouchée that was divine. Lobster doesn't tell me if the chef is great so I have to go back for a regular meal. I hope the restaurant is successful. It's wonderful to have somewhere to go that's local.
Patricia
Seated waterfront as per our request. Attentive service throughout meal. Cocktails were elegant. Had shrimp cocktail and double lobster special. Bread fresh with exquisite olives for dipping and butter drizzled with agave. Relaxed. Wonderful.
julee
Although the food was of high quality and very tasty, the portions were incredibly small. The covered porch was very loud and one could not hear their fellow diner across the table.
Amanda
The food was good most of the portions were very small for the price except for the duck- The duck meal was really good but had no veggies on it- Basically eating a large portion of Duck on a bone (filled the entire plate) The management seemed very disorganized and the wait staff confused- It took almost 30 mins to receive our drinks. Once we got our drinks we didn't get to put in our oder for over 40 mins AND we didn't get served for 45 mins after we ordered- Not sure what was happening this evening...definitely disappointed.
Virginia
The is as perfect as waterfront dining can be, perfect service (thanks again Clarissa, please excuse our spelling), a talented bartender, wonderful menu and spectacular food. Clama, oysters even chicken memorable!
Top 5 worst dining experiences of my life. Barbara Lynch would close this place herself if she saw what was served to us and how. This shouldn't have her name attached to it whatsoever. After waiting 45 minutes, both the chowder and butter soup served barely warm. Another 90, yes 90, minutes go by with no service whatsoever, other than the melted ice we had in an empty glass from our original drink order. Then the entrees... Steak Frittes, with fries which my wife clearly explained she couldn't have due to a gluten allergy. The fried clams were just a bowl of unseasoned breading with warm tartar sauce ladled of the top. Please... season your food chef, for the love of god season your food. The manager comped our meal at least, but 2+ hours of my life I'll never get back. Maybe tomorrow I'll find seafood on the north shore's fishing capitol worth eating.
Katherine
One of the worst dining experiences I've had. So disappointing! When walking in Barbara Lynchs books are prominently displayed (I already own both). We made a reservation 3 weeks earlier, specifically for the outdoor porch but were seated indoors 40 min after our reservation time. We told the hostess that our reservation was for outdoors and after acknowledging she knew that, she sat another couple with a later reservation at an outdoor table within minutes. Once at a table, we sat, without menus, for 20 minutes without acknowledgment. I had to flag down the waiter at the table next to us. He said there was only one server working (which wasn't true). He and the hostess made lots of excuses for the poor service that night but after reading other reviews, I learned that the poor service that night was not an outlier for the restaurant. I could go on and on. Once we got menus, we were rushed through our meal. The food was good but not excellent or amazing. Barbara Lynch, as the owner and “famous chef”, should make some major changes here!
Food was amazing. Staff was very friendly however it was understaffed so it took a bit longer and a couple of mistakes as far as giving presenting of food, but not great experience.
Elvir
What a terrible experience and what a waste of time. We got there at 8, restaurant was less than half full. First dish we tried to order wasn't available because they had run out of that particular pasta. After ordering, the manager came to inform us that yet another dish wasn't available because they had run out of clams (in a fishing town, of Friday night, they run out of clams...). Ok, one of the dishes made it through, pasta with rabbit , and I wish so bad that it didn't. The dish had zero seasoning in it and pasta was so overcooked and soggy that it was difficult to pick up with a fork. I added salt and pepper on my own but it was still incredible, we took a couple of bites and left the rest of it. Then, finally, it was time for a desert, we ordered panna cotta earlier and I was looking forward to something sweet to wash out horrible soggy pasta taste out of my mouth. The manager comes out to tell us they are out of panna cotta... At least the server was very nice to us
Lloyd
This was our 2nd visit. I had the crispy duck which literally fell off the bones and was excellent. My wife had the brazed pork which was savory, but on the tough side. Service was excellent as usual.
Judith
Just had a birthday dinner for two at the Rudder, August 7, 2024 and the food was unfortunately awful. I went when they first opened and had a very nice meal. That was about a year ago. The two wines by the glass I got, a Shelly and a Sauvignon Blanc. We're both subpar. I got the prosciutto and fig appetizer with blue cheese, and it was an ugly huge pile of prosciutto with a few sliced figs and a smear of blue cheese under the giant pile. The prosciutto was very good, but it was an ugly and unappealing plate and needed something to break up all the meat.. My husband got the clam chowder, which was good. He got the chicken Milanese, which was a shoe leather tough ever so slightly pounded chicken breast, fried in breadcrumbs with some arugula thrown on top. That was it. The chicken was dry and tough . I got the braised rabbit with mustard tagliatelle and the rabbit was tender, the pasta was tough, and it was a little tasteless though compared to my husband‘s chicken it was great! Really disappointing. The staff was lovely, but they were severely understaffed, and a two course meal took 2 1/2 hours.
Just had a birthday dinner for two at the Rudder, August 7, 2024 and the food was unfortunately awful. I went when they first opened and had a very nice meal. That was about a year ago. The two wines by the glass I got, a Shelly and a Sauvignon Blanc. We're both subpar. I got the prosciutto and fig appetizer with blue cheese, and it was an ugly huge pile of prosciutto with a few sliced figs and a smear of blue cheese under the giant pile. The prosciutto was very good, but it was an ugly and unappealing plate and needed something to break up all the meat.. My husband got the clam chowder, which was good. He got the chicken Milanese, which was a shoe leather tough ever so slightly pounded chicken breast, fried in breadcrumbs with some arugula thrown on top. That was it. The chicken was dry and tough . I got the braised rabbit with mustard tagliatelle and the rabbit was tender, the pasta was tough, and it was a little tasteless though compared to my husband‘s chicken it was great! Really disappointing. The staff was lovely, but they were severely understaffed, and a two course meal took 2 1/2 hours.
Received a message several hours before our reservation that they had shut down due to unforeseen circumstances. I'll only beg to differ in that you could see it coming for a long time. Someone in our party had a gift certificate that we were going to use before they closed down. Go figure.
Walking into the Rudder, the stiffkey-blue like panelled walls and paint and gorgeous long bar immediately felt cosy and Rocky Neck complimentary. The lighting was dim and sophisticated, a fire creating warmth and ambiance in the corner. We sat in the main dining room. We walked into the restaurant on entering and waited for the host. When he appeared, he asked us to walk back to the entrance door to check our reservation. I thought that was odd and not very polite! Our entrees were delicious- crab cakes, a Bibb salad and friend clams. When our main course arrived, our entree plates hadn't been removed. The young boy just looked at us and left them down on the table haphazardly. He had an attitude and wasn't client focused. The pepper and salt mill didn't work. I had a salmon Niçoise salad which was served with a blob of mashed potato on top. I didn't touch that! There were no anchovies or black olives as served with a traditional salade niçoise and perhaps they were short of green beans as there were hardly any. Cherry tomatoes do not belong on a salade niçoise. Removing plates before everyone at the table is finished eating, is an American practice I cannot understand and was not appreciated by my European friends! The chocolate mousse was delicious. This could be classy but the service needs attention as does the salmon. Almost.
Been to Gloucester multiple times and have been to 10 or so restaurants in the area. Looking forward to a memorable up-scale dinner at the Rudder. Totally disappointed. Worst dining experience ever. Ordered the "Crispy Duck" entree. What I got was the "Rubber Duck", Have ordered Duck in other places and enjoyed it. Seemed that this Duck was most likely pre-cooked and frozen or refrigerated and then re-heated for service. Skin was definitely NOT crispy but rubbery. The duck meat was very dry and stringy. For a $42 meal, it was horrible and only accompanied by a "smear" of whipped parsnips and nothing else. For $42, I would expect at least a few seasonal vegetables , some string beans or maybe a small side salad. My wife ordered the grilled halibut at $38. Also very disappointing. It was overcooked and dry, accompanied by a watery version of ratatouille. Dinner started with a few tiny disappointing bread "knots". In short, it was the most expensive meal we had in Gloucester and the worst experience. DO NOT WASTE YOUR $$ AT THE RUDDER, lots of better places to eat for less $$.
The ambience is great The service was wonderful There was a special 2 for 1 lobster. They were large Only $22 such a great deal. I had a glass of Bouchée that was divine. Lobster doesn't tell me if the chef is great so I have to go back for a regular meal. I hope the restaurant is successful. It's wonderful to have somewhere to go that's local.
Seated waterfront as per our request. Attentive service throughout meal. Cocktails were elegant. Had shrimp cocktail and double lobster special. Bread fresh with exquisite olives for dipping and butter drizzled with agave. Relaxed. Wonderful.
Although the food was of high quality and very tasty, the portions were incredibly small. The covered porch was very loud and one could not hear their fellow diner across the table.
The food was good most of the portions were very small for the price except for the duck- The duck meal was really good but had no veggies on it- Basically eating a large portion of Duck on a bone (filled the entire plate) The management seemed very disorganized and the wait staff confused- It took almost 30 mins to receive our drinks. Once we got our drinks we didn't get to put in our oder for over 40 mins AND we didn't get served for 45 mins after we ordered- Not sure what was happening this evening...definitely disappointed.
The is as perfect as waterfront dining can be, perfect service (thanks again Clarissa, please excuse our spelling), a talented bartender, wonderful menu and spectacular food. Clama, oysters even chicken memorable!
Top 5 worst dining experiences of my life. Barbara Lynch would close this place herself if she saw what was served to us and how. This shouldn't have her name attached to it whatsoever. After waiting 45 minutes, both the chowder and butter soup served barely warm. Another 90, yes 90, minutes go by with no service whatsoever, other than the melted ice we had in an empty glass from our original drink order. Then the entrees... Steak Frittes, with fries which my wife clearly explained she couldn't have due to a gluten allergy. The fried clams were just a bowl of unseasoned breading with warm tartar sauce ladled of the top. Please... season your food chef, for the love of god season your food. The manager comped our meal at least, but 2+ hours of my life I'll never get back. Maybe tomorrow I'll find seafood on the north shore's fishing capitol worth eating.
One of the worst dining experiences I've had. So disappointing! When walking in Barbara Lynchs books are prominently displayed (I already own both). We made a reservation 3 weeks earlier, specifically for the outdoor porch but were seated indoors 40 min after our reservation time. We told the hostess that our reservation was for outdoors and after acknowledging she knew that, she sat another couple with a later reservation at an outdoor table within minutes. Once at a table, we sat, without menus, for 20 minutes without acknowledgment. I had to flag down the waiter at the table next to us. He said there was only one server working (which wasn't true). He and the hostess made lots of excuses for the poor service that night but after reading other reviews, I learned that the poor service that night was not an outlier for the restaurant. I could go on and on. Once we got menus, we were rushed through our meal. The food was good but not excellent or amazing. Barbara Lynch, as the owner and “famous chef”, should make some major changes here!
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was amazing. Staff was very friendly however it was understaffed so it took a bit longer and a couple of mistakes as far as giving presenting of food, but not great experience.
What a terrible experience and what a waste of time. We got there at 8, restaurant was less than half full. First dish we tried to order wasn't available because they had run out of that particular pasta. After ordering, the manager came to inform us that yet another dish wasn't available because they had run out of clams (in a fishing town, of Friday night, they run out of clams...). Ok, one of the dishes made it through, pasta with rabbit , and I wish so bad that it didn't. The dish had zero seasoning in it and pasta was so overcooked and soggy that it was difficult to pick up with a fork. I added salt and pepper on my own but it was still incredible, we took a couple of bites and left the rest of it. Then, finally, it was time for a desert, we ordered panna cotta earlier and I was looking forward to something sweet to wash out horrible soggy pasta taste out of my mouth. The manager comes out to tell us they are out of panna cotta... At least the server was very nice to us
This was our 2nd visit. I had the crispy duck which literally fell off the bones and was excellent. My wife had the brazed pork which was savory, but on the tough side. Service was excellent as usual.
Just had a birthday dinner for two at the Rudder, August 7, 2024 and the food was unfortunately awful. I went when they first opened and had a very nice meal. That was about a year ago. The two wines by the glass I got, a Shelly and a Sauvignon Blanc. We're both subpar. I got the prosciutto and fig appetizer with blue cheese, and it was an ugly huge pile of prosciutto with a few sliced figs and a smear of blue cheese under the giant pile. The prosciutto was very good, but it was an ugly and unappealing plate and needed something to break up all the meat.. My husband got the clam chowder, which was good. He got the chicken Milanese, which was a shoe leather tough ever so slightly pounded chicken breast, fried in breadcrumbs with some arugula thrown on top. That was it. The chicken was dry and tough . I got the braised rabbit with mustard tagliatelle and the rabbit was tender, the pasta was tough, and it was a little tasteless though compared to my husband‘s chicken it was great! Really disappointing. The staff was lovely, but they were severely understaffed, and a two course meal took 2 1/2 hours.
Just had a birthday dinner for two at the Rudder, August 7, 2024 and the food was unfortunately awful. I went when they first opened and had a very nice meal. That was about a year ago. The two wines by the glass I got, a Shelly and a Sauvignon Blanc. We're both subpar. I got the prosciutto and fig appetizer with blue cheese, and it was an ugly huge pile of prosciutto with a few sliced figs and a smear of blue cheese under the giant pile. The prosciutto was very good, but it was an ugly and unappealing plate and needed something to break up all the meat.. My husband got the clam chowder, which was good. He got the chicken Milanese, which was a shoe leather tough ever so slightly pounded chicken breast, fried in breadcrumbs with some arugula thrown on top. That was it. The chicken was dry and tough . I got the braised rabbit with mustard tagliatelle and the rabbit was tender, the pasta was tough, and it was a little tasteless though compared to my husband‘s chicken it was great! Really disappointing. The staff was lovely, but they were severely understaffed, and a two course meal took 2 1/2 hours.
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