7 Best Seafood Restaurants near Rockland

“always top notch. never disappoints“

“Eclipse of the Pearl is a new jewel ? Lovely ambiance and thoughtful/tasteful creative food. Midcoast is privileged to enjoy and share this new restaurant. The owner is caring and meticulous: your appreciation is HIS reward. ?“

“As a born and raised Mainer we have been up and down the coast eating seafood all of our lives. This place is hands down one of the best. Seafood is plentiful as well as the best tasting. I consider myself a scallop conisor, l know a good fried scallop. This place is the best. And the fried clams are just as good. Take it from me you will not go hungry or disappointed.“

“Tried the lobster roll and the stuffed haddock. Both were amazing.“

“Good people, Awesome food, My Favorite place!“

“Our group of 4 had a mixed experience at Sammy's. Perhaps we're to blame for our expectations, but it might be helpful to be better prepared to make sure this place matches your preferences.

First, some attributes that are not for everyone. The vibe is what I'll call funky-disheveled. Plastic table covers, empty wine bottles on the window ledge (deliberate, I hope), yard-sale lighting, and a ceiling fan/light combo from the bottom shelf of a big box store. This might be a curated aesthetic, but I couldn't really tell. It was an interesting vibe, but one which we older folks were not quite expecting. A real eclectic mix of patrons (in a positive way).

The music may have been a playlist or vinyl. We found the music (1960s jazz) to be distinctive and at just the right volume to not be distracting and allow conversation without having to raise a voice.

We were annoyed by the QR code menus. I hadn't seen that in quite a while. A table next to us had to have a large chalkboard brought over where they were struggling with cell phone flash lights to read what was written on the board. Oh well....

We might have gotten unlucky with the server who, while maintaining a pleasant demeanor, was confoundingly unhelpful. It seemed like we were speaking completely different languages. Perhaps we were partly to blame, but after each encounter, we all looked at each other with "what just happened?" expressions.

Despite (I think) telling us how to order so that our plates would be properly sequenced, they were not. I wish we had just been told that plates come out when prepared regardless of what you ordered, so don't wait for everyone else in your party to get their plates before you begin eating. Or don't expect the bread to come out until after you finish your first small plate. Or don't expect your oysters to come out until after you finish your mussels....

Our group of 4 all got the Mezcal Margaritas, which were very disappointing. Coarse salt on the rim, sour-dominated flavor profile, and no smokiness to the alcohol. Either too little mezcal, or we got a splash of tequila instead of mezcal. Since we all got the same drink, perhaps we were unlucky to have ordered the one disappointing cocktail.

OK, now let's get to the food. I thought it was excellent. The mussels were like a ceviche in a citrus, onion and cucumber marinade. I loved it. After a long confusing conversation, we got the brown bread and sourdough. Our server could not communicate the portion sizes when we ordered, but the bread order would properly satisfy two patrons.

The brown bread is excellent, slightly crispy/crunchy in texture (corn meal?), raisins, molasses.. wonderful. I would have eaten every bite put in front of me. Lightly sweet without being cloying. The sourdough was not what we were expecting. Thick slices of tight-crumb moist bread didn't have much hint of fermentation. It is from Brazen Baking in Rockport, and looked nothing like the photo on the online menu.

Get the melon and eel bisque, which was also really good... creative and a delight. The Little Gem salad was also praised. The dozen oysters were not as well chilled as I prefer, but were good.

The eggplant cutlet with trumpet mushrooms was reported to be excellent by my party, although at $32, seems priced high for this entree. My Sammy's Cheeseburger was everything it was described to be, and was very satisfying at an appropriate price point. The swordfish dish ($34) was reported to be very good. The busiati (pasta) dish was very disappointing, lacking flavor. The $27 price is wildly too high for what it is.

So our experience was mixed and could have been better. We wanted to like Sammy's much more than we actually did. But your experience may be vastly different than ours was if you get a different s“

“We had such a great time here! The lobster wontons and crab cakes were amazing! And the drinks so we'll made and reasonably priced! The staff was very friendly and attentive. And we even got to watch a football game! We definitely recommend!“