Savory Maine

I had the burger and Jon had the Haddock all organic & locally harvested from farm, forest and seas of Maine. What a wonderful meal.

Fish and beers were good. Haddock chowder was okay. corn chowder was good. A little pricey for what you get, but I would eat here again. salad was good too

Pleasantly surprised by this charmingly different restaurant. Inside dining area is very open (it’s an old converted one time church, also once was a school) Outside seating has several tables overlooking the Damariscotta River. There is also an elevated inside table with a very nice view of the river as well
The salad was excellent, with a very tasty light vinaigrette dressing. I’m not sure what all was in it — but it was different and very good. Haddock chowder was also quite tasty
Finnan Haddie was awesome. Though I admit I have never had this dish anywhere before, so have nothing to compare it to, it was so good that I would go back just for that. My wife had the Gnocchi, which she thought was flavorful, but maybe a bit over cooked
Would rate this restaurant a 3.75 — 4.00. Way better than average, worth the trip

Excellent, fresh food and great service. Lovely back deck and the place is spotless and comfortable. Thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Savory Maine and I will be back!

This is our go-​to place for good food when we’re in Damariscotta. The town has some great dining, but this is a true gem. Its location ever-​so-​slightly off the main road keeps it a hidden gem from tourists. If you are visiting and want real food, please visit Savory Maine.
I’ve eaten here a handful of times, and every visit has been memorable. The dining room is beautiful — but, if the weather is good — sit outside on the back deck overlooking the water.
Their menu is very clear about ingredients, and the chef is willing to accommodate special diets.

This place is worth the stop for the Haddock chowder alone. It is the best fish chowder we’ve ever had, and we’ve eaten a lot of it. But all the food we ate was delicious, fresh, local and organic. I would never have thought It a good idea to put whole grain flour in a biscuit, but theirs were so good I bought a bag to take home (along with two quarts of chowder to go). The dining room is pretty, and features art from local painters. The night we ate there, there was also live music, and everyone eating spontaneously erupted in a sing along. But it’s actually a very quiet, unusual spot, in a converted church. It feels less like a restaurant, and more like the dining room of a friend.

Stopped in for lunch with mom today. Neither of us had been here before and were starving. We met Grace at the door and she welcomed us right in to the coolly designed interior.
All of the lunch offerings (all homemade) sounded delicious. My mom went with a root vegetable quiche with a side of carrot/​craisin slaw. I had the oyster mushroom quiche with roasted potatoes as a side. Mom had organic white tea while I enjoyed a glass of prosecco.
The quiches were delicious — made with all fresh and local ingredients and full of big flavor. The carrot/​craisin slaw was the perfect mix of sweet and crunchy and the roasted potatoes didn’t stand a chance against me.
For dessert, mom had strawberry rhubarb crisp with whipped cream and I had chocolate mousse. It was the perfect ending to a lovely meal.
I’ll definitely stop in the next time I’m in the area. I could hear another table of guests raving about the soup and homemade biscuits and look forward to trying those. If you’re nearby, stop in!
While we waited for lunch, we checked out a gorgeous exhibit of photos on the walls that where taken by Kelly P. Brook — just stunning shots from Africa that benefit the Lincoln County Shelter. It’s so nice to see local businesses and artists supporting each other!

We had lunch on a Sunday … around 1:30. I thought the portions were reasonable, especially for organic ingredients. I had Fish Chowder … mild but delicious with a super little biscuit. Also had Spinach/​Onion Quiche which was very flavorful, nice texture and quite large portion. The side of Roasted Root Vegetables was a little salty but good. I had water, very thirsty that day, and the waitress kept, discreetly, filling my glass. My dining companion had Finnan Haddie which she was very pleased with … had nice sauce, potatoes and diced hard boiled egg on top with a side of kimchi, good. She had a beer. We had the Maple Flan for dessert. Very good, perfect texture and light maple flavor.
I thought the space had a clean, quiet, serene way about it. My friend thought it was cold. It is a shame that you can’t really see out the windows … they are high in the room and just show the roofs and sides of other buildings. Interesting art on the walls … nearly made up for the lack of view … a good solution to the buildings architecture. The window facing the harbor has an extensive stairway zigzagging back and forth, too bad.
Would I go back? There are so many great places in Damariscotta. Yes, especially if I were looking for fresh ‘clean’ organic food in a peaceful setting.

All organic from local area. Great food and service. Just off the Main Street, hidden secret. Must stop in.

Excellent food and wonderful service. Highly recommended. The décor is unusual as this was a converted church.

This is the second time I have eaten at Savory Maine. The last time was a year or so ago and I was disappointed. I agreed to go again because my daughter had not eaten there and I wanted to give it a second chance.
Like last time, the service was poor. The waitress mumbled, had little personality, was not attentive. The tiny glasses of water were tepid, not cold at all. I ordered herbal tea. When the pot of water was empty, I was never offered another.
The portions are tiny, expensive and bland. I wanted the smoked haddock with veggies to start. They were out of the haddock. The salad was boring. Just spinach, tiny and expensive. The tempeh loaf was smooshy and flavorless. The Ratatouille vegetables were pretty good, but amounted to about 4 tablespoons. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Don’t waste your time or money. Expensive, small portions, bad service, slow, excuses.

My wife, daughter (18), son (9) and I had delicious meals here on 8÷17÷13. My wife had the baked haddock special, our kids the gnocchi and I the grass-​fed beef meatloaf. For dessert my wife and daughter shared a chocolate mousse and my son and I, a salted caramel sorbet. All of our meals were very fresh and tasty (with no disagreeable aftertaste hours later). On first sight the dining room felt a little formal, with it’s beautiful woodwork, and neatly-​arranged cloth napkins and silverware. However, we soon felt very at home. However everything else was very relaxing — we just happened to be sitting in a beautiful room! The Service was relaxed, but attentive, and the music was very soothing to match. The chef/​owner visited our table after our meals… she clearly enjoyed making it as much as we enjoyed eating it. This is my first posting on Unilocal… I was inspired to write it because the food was so good, but business was slow for mild Saturday night, while others in the area had a wait. It was such a nice departure from the typical restaurant in a tourist town. I hope people support this restaurant so we can enjoy it again when we return next summer!

Had dinner here on a slow summer evening during the week. This is a very attractive and clean restaurant, with the option of outdoor seating, but I think they need to work on a few things. When we arrived, I was excited to have so many vegan and vegetarian options as well as some meat for my husband.
First the service is slow and iffy and they tell you up front that you will be waiting for your food because they don’t use a microwave, etc. Meanwhile, we also found we the service to be scattered and we had to wait for things like utensils, or that second pot of hot water for tea or the check. And there were only about 3 other tables being served, so I am not sure what that was all about. There seemed to be one wait staff for the restaurant and she also bused the tables, but there also seemed to be two cooks downstairs.
Much to my disappointment and those at the other tables around us, they were out of several of the dishes, because «we have been busy» and «we make everything from scratch». I think this sort of reflects the overall lack of something here… experience and planning maybe?
Having read about small portion sizes, I ordered the bowl of soup (instead of the cup), which was huge, and quite bland for being a «curry» vegetable soup. My husband ordered the shrimp and veggie dip which he said was tasty, but tiny. I had the tempeh meatloaf which was a pretty tiny serving (and I am a small person); even the side veggies were small and the potatoes that came with the meal were pretty dry. The bisquit with the soup was tiny but tasty and the bread served was good, not great.
My husband ordered the «filet mignon»; I was surprised by the cut and he said it was really a tenderloin. He said it was cooked well, the texture and moisture were good but it had no seasoning and was really lacking in flavor. He was very disappointed.
All of their deserts are made with maple syrup or honey. Much to the disappointment of the table next to us, I ordered the last slice of gingerbread cake. I don’t eat sweets but a few times/​year and this was almost overly sweetly (though the waitress told us their sweets were minimally sweet). The portion was huge on this, particularly in contrast to the smallness of the meal.
There was a solo acoustic guitar player inside, and the room was really quite loud and «booming» with the music. We were glad to sit outside and we had a nice chat with the folks sitting at the table next to ours.
So, though we are fairly local, I am not sure if we will come back. I am hopeful that they work on menu availability, service, and portion sizes versus cost, because the basic concept is worthwhile.

I have to agree, super small portions for the price. Very expensive. However, very tasty. I love the organic stuff and they make good coffee. The atmosphere is great and I do hope they stay in business.
Hubby had eggs over easy, which were medium, he had sausage links, which were beef not pork so the consistency is different. He also had a gluten free biscuit that he liked alot.
I had a buckwheat pancake, fried egg and local bacon. The bacon was really good.
The egg was ok but salty and i don’t salt my food. Good pancake.
Again, small portions for the price. They need to be more realistic in price to lure more folks. I think this place deserves another chance for those who gave it a mediocre rating.

Dreadful meal here — chicken was dried out, vegetables wilted, and the pasta — which the waitress simply could not pronounce correctly — looked like something out of a science fiction film. Glad to say — will not be going back.

I was really looking forward to my meal at Savory Maine today. If only because, at this time of year, in Damariscotta, it is somewhat difficult to find a place that takes the time or makes the effort to be open for lunch on a Monday. So when we found that Savory was open we figured that they must be energetic about their food (at the very least).
We walked into the front door. Very beautiful building. Obvious effort has been made. The building used to be a church in a previous life, and the owner has re-​purposed the pews to good effect. Nicely laid out. Not too crowded, as we were the only two diners. The waitress took a few minutes to come up from the kitchen downstairs and greet us. We’ll let that slide. And there was an awkward moment where we weren’t sure if we should seat ourselves or if she would seat us. We finally sat and the waitress brought us our water and told us the ‘soup of the day and quiche’ choices. 3 of each. Which sounds great. This is a Monday. Never ever. Ever have the fish on Monday. One soup was a mixed fish stew. And one of the quiches was a lobster quiche. Granted, this is Damariscotta, the fish could be fresh.
The lunch menus were rather vague. I don’t like guessing what I will be spending on my beverages. ($ 3.00 for lemonade is quite the surprise!) For that matter. If, for instance, you don’t list your beverages, a customer is going to assume that you carry the standards (Coke/​Pepsi). When I asked for a Coke the waitress very sheepishly said «Oh. We don’t have anything like that.» Then proceeded to list of the very limited selection of drinks they do carry. I understand that the plan is for organic, and Maine. There are MANY more options then simply Honey Lemonade and Milk. If that’s it. Figure out another plan. At least put some ice in the lemonade.
We placed our order. I opted for a BLT. My friend opted for one of the quiches. An apple/​cheese/​caramelized onion combo. These both came with a side option. Which we had to ask about. These «side options» were another thing that tripped me up a bit. There were a few good options, potato salad, roasted beets, tossed salad. Then she said apple sauce and cranberry sauce. Those are not sides. Those are condiments. I don’t care how AMAZING your apple sauce or cranberry sauce is. It is not something that you serve to an adult as a main part of their meal. Unless you’re in a diner. Not cool. Somewhat of a cope-​out. Simply just don’t offer them. Just stick with the top three. I opted for the tossed salad. Which is what the Waitress said. Tossed salad.
Our Lunches came. My BLT was surprisingly small considering it was 8.95. And a BLT is very simple which is why I ordered it. Simple. And I know there is very good Bacon from the farms here in Maine. There were 3 very thin slices on my sandwich. Not cool. In fact. After two bites, I realized that not only was there hardly any bacon, but the chef had also given me the ‘dead’ end of the loaf. So I had one stale slice of bread that had been toasted and one good slice. Three slices of bacon, 4 or 5 slices of tomato, greens, and mayo. The «tossed» salad? More of the mixed greens from my sandwich tossed in their house dressing. A very good dressing I will say. But nothing else in the salad. No diced onion, no tomato, no peppers. Tossed salad apparently means dressed greens.
The portions were on the Very Small side. Even for lunch. I come from this world. I understand food cost. This was overpriced for what we got in quality/​quantity. The service did not help. It was very blah. My friend was done with her lunch before the waitress even appeared to ask if everything was ok. And we weren’t eating in any sort of rush. I deliberately took my time. She didn’t ask me if my food was ok until I was 2/​3rds done with my sandwich. As she was walking by the table. We were the only ones in the restaurant.
Overall. Not a great experience. The food was not worth the money. I have very little patience with lazy service. And that’s what it felt like. I understand it’s a slow time of year. I know it’s hard when we’re the only ones in the restaurant. When we left, she did not acknowledge our departure. Did not say good-​by, thank you or anything. Which was rather rude in my book. And left me with a bit of an off feeling. Sort of like, Sorry to have bothered you.
Hopefully they can fix the issues they seem to have with understanding how people view food cost vs. what they’re giving. Saving money by serving the dead end of a loaf will actually cost them in the long run.

I went there for breakfast with 3 others. The food tasted good but portions were real small. The service was adequate. Very pricey for what you get even considering that it is local and organic.