Damariscotta Lake Farm Restaurant

Temporarily living close by and thought that there weren’t any good restaurants in the area. Boy, were we wrong. This place is a hidden gem. Came in last night and had great service and a delicious meal. For appetizers we had bacon wrapped scallops that were cooked perfectly and lobster stew. The lobster stew while it had an insane amount of succulent lobster meat lacked a little pizazz. For entrees, I had the special, 3 cheese stuffed chicken parmigiana with garlic bread and fresh cut fries and Jack had the ribeye with baked potato and cole slaw. The chicken was so moist and flavorful and the ribeye was cooked a perfect medium rare and seasoned just right. We were far too full for desert.
One downside was that during the winter months they do not accept credit cards to keep their costs down, however, the hostess directed us to an ATM about a ½ mile down the road. We will be back for sure.

I was in Jefferson in September for a wedding and the Damariscotta Lake Farm is where majority of our dining took place and where most of the guests stayed.
Pete and Darlene (the owners) are just wonderful. Very friendly, kind people. They took care of everything!
There is not much going on in the little town of Jefferson so I would say this place put it on the map. If you are looking for some great food, quiet bed and breakfast, beautiful lake and some friendly locals to socialize with definitely come here. Can’t wait to go back!

Damariscotta Lake Farm Restaurant has been open for business three years now. They are the only restaurant in the little town of Jefferson, Maine. The restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere and is clean. The owner Pete and his wife are very nice and the wait staff is attentive — for the most part (more on that in a minute). The menu is somewhat limited, but the food is tasty, and presented nicely. On food alone I would rate this restaurant a solid B+. We’ve eaten there several times.
The reason for my low score on my overall review is that the restaurant is mismanaged. Although they’ve been in business for three years, they operate like they’ve only been open for three months. If you want satisfying dining experience at Damariscotta Lake Farm Restaurant Do Not go on a Saturday nite after 7:00 in the summer or on any holiday weekend. Remember, they are the only restaurant in town and have demonstrated over and over they can not handle on onslaught of customers. When they are busy, the wait staff run around completely frazzled. On these nights, it is rare that your waitress will come and ask if you need a refill on your drink. On nights like this, there is usually a long wait for your food to arrive. One holiday weekend I made reservations. when we arrived, the place was mobbed and we had to wait almost a half hour to be seated and that was with a reservation. There were many patrons sitting at their tables «camping» after they had already finished their meals, and it appeared as though the wait staff did not know the subtle hints you give to customers when there are people waiting to be seated. They do not manage their inventory well. We’ve gone several times only to sit down and have the waitress run down a list of menu items that they are out of. On our last visit we were told they were out of salad. Lettuce? Pete the owner always comes around and says the same thing, «Sorry folks, we just got slaughtered with customers tonight.» The personal apology from the owner is appreciated, but after three years in business, management should know that on holiday weekends and Saturday nights in the summer you are going to get a crowd, so order your inventory accordingly and manage table turnover so that patrons who make reservations can be seated when tHey arrive. I feel bad for the wait staff, it is not their fault, all these issues are a management issues that detract from the dining experience.
We will continue to eat at Damariscotta Lake Farm Restaurant. They are the only restaurant in town, and we want them to stay in business. However, after our last experience there, we decided we will stay away on Saturday nights and holiday weekends. If you want a relaxing meal in a lovely atmosphere go to Damariscotta Lake Farm Restaurant on a Thursday night. That’s what we’re going to do from now on. The issues I raised above can all be rectified. If they are, Damariscotta Lake Farm Restaurant can become a great place to go any day of the week.