My Place by the Sea

View is Fantastic but that is an easy nice review you already know.
Pros:
–Food is delicious
Cons:
–The waiter said I couldn’t have bread as extra because it’s only at night. wtf.
–We ordered a bottle of white wine for 4ppl, the waiter asked right away if we wanted an extra one for later. wtf.
–The bottle of white wine arrived 30min later so the wine could be cooled in the meantime he said. wtf.
–No draft Beer. For being located near a few Breweries. this is not the best…
*Poor Service*

It honestly wasn’t that good… You definitely pay for your view (which is gorgeous) but that’s about it. The restaurant itself is beautiful and in a great location but that’s all. Food was eh and service lacking. We made reservations and were seated promptly (the hostess was very nice and welcoming) and it took like 10 minutes for the waiter to even acknowledge us. When he finally did he took our drink order and served them to us 15 minutes later (15 minutes seems a tad excessive for 2 drinks in my opinion). We ordered the mussels for an appetizer… they were ok but messy, probably wouldn’t have as messy if the server had given us side plates but whatever, I was hoping to spill butter sauce on my new shirt. Next course I ordered the seafood quesadilla and my husband ordered a steak. Both were not good. He ordered his steak medrare and it came out with a slight pink center… that’s med well in most places and the potatoes were bland. The quesadilla had shrimp in it… And the shrimp weren’t deveined… all of them had that unappetizing black line down the center of them! GROSS and inedible! I didn’t eat it and the waiter after a bit asked if he could remove my plate. No questions asked about why the dish was 95% of the way uneaten. (I’m a server, if I go to a table and the guest hasn’t touched their food, common sense kicks in and I will ask if something is not to their liking). He honestly couldn’t be bothered with us though… He seemed completely disinterested in his job and it definitely showed in his «service» or lack there of. Basically over all it was a total waste of $ 150 and we won’t be back.

The lobster tacos are out of this world! Beautiful setting on the sea. Worth a trip! We were here on a day when a young violin player was here. Heavenly.

Enjoyed late lunch on a Monday and we ate on the deck overlooking the harbor. We had the good fortune to be seated by Kathy and had a nice chat.
The clam chowder was so creamy with bits of smoky bacon and diced new potatoes. They weren’t stingy with the clams and it was delicious. The chef crostini salad was a lightly dressed garden salad that had lobster salad, tuna nicoise and a lovely crab cake, each on a buttered and toasted baguette slice. Everything was seasoned perfectly and the crab cake had a light crispy breading on it that was not overpowering. I’m sure this place gets crazy in the summer so I’m glad we could try it at a quieter time. A bit on the more expensive side but it was worth it.

We sat on the outside tables, not the upper deck. After looking over the lunch menu decided on just having a drink and moving on somewhere else for lunch. The menu was nothing special, even the specials were boring. We had two bloody’s w/tito’s which were pretty bland. Almost tasted like plain tomato juice with horseradish and no vodka. Used the very guarded bathroom before we left. Don’t know what was up with that lol.

The view is all the money for new england standards… food was poorly executed though. Got a burger and a chicken sandwich baguette. Burger was tasteless and chicken had fish taste. I guess it’s our fault for going to a sea food town and not getting seafood. I could stay all day though looking at the ocean…

The only restaurant in New England to serve burgers made of frozen meat cutlet. Was so surprised. Did not expect to get a McDonald’s quality burger in an upscale pricey restaurant surrounded by local farms with fresh meats. Will never come back.

It was the only place open out of season. They serve alcohol and lobster so it was a win for us. The food was good but incredibly expensive. The service was a bit frosty. Pro tip ask the market price items for lobster. Oyster and Taco Lobsters

We had lunch here on a nice spring day and everything about it left us with good thoughts. The waiter was great, the outdoor table with beautiful views, a personal loaf of hot homemade bread along with a very nice salad made the somewhat expensive price well worth it.

Pros:
On the water, nice views.
Nice menu with good food.
Cons:
You pay for the view.
During the winter months offerings and service can be spotty.
I liked it though, would still go back.

I don’t know how it is in the summer, but the only thing this place had going for it was that … well, that it was the only open restaurant. Apparently, Rockport closes up for the winter. They lost their liquor license (no wine, no byob — they did try to make it better by comping up sparking apple cider), it was VERY cold (what no heat?), expensive, ¹⁄₃ of the menu was not available, tacky vinyl table cloths. If they want to charge these prices ($ 30-​$ 35 entrees), they need to ramp up their game in other ways. That said, the shrimp cocktail was amazing — perfect cocktail sauce & shrimp were huge. Chowder was above par.

Okay, such a mixed bag here. Beautiful place, beautiful view. Intimate seating, and top notch, I mean fabulous, waiter service. The staff was amazing!
I had the barbecued scallops for dinner and (yay) they were cooked perfectly (it’s so easy to over cook a scallop!) but (ick) were covered with a barbecue sauce that seemed mostly comprised of ketchup. Just not what I expected for a $ 30 dish.
While we were there, seated upstairs in a room with four or five tables, some doofus attempting to impress his date started swearing loud and long at the bus boy. Finally another diner pointed out that ladies were present and he mellowed but it left the room loud and harsh for the rest of the dinner. To his credit, the busboy was well mannered and behaved well in the face of such an ass, but it was pretty bad atmosphere. And the rooms really echoed. So, in the end, a mixed bag.
Great atmosphere, loud rooms, great view, okay food. great staff.

This is my cousin’s experience at this family-​owned haven:
«Arriving at 5 pm ahead of the 7 pm Manhattan Transfer show at the Shalin Liu Performing Art Center, Roy found a convenient spot to park right near the theater as someone pulled out, and we strolled through downtown Rockport in search of a place for dinner. We passed charming shops open for last minute shopping but the restaurants all were closed. We’d just about given up, after walking the rapidly darkening streets for about 30 minutes, when we saw lights in the windows of „My Place by the Sea“ — a restaurant we’d not noticed on our previous visits to Rockport, at the end of a side street down by the water. We were greeted at the door by Barbara Starropoulos, one of the owners, who explained that they were open only to host a staff dinner before closing for the season tonight. But then she paused and said, maybe we can serve you from a limited menu — if you don’t mind sharing the dining room with the staff getting their holiday meal. „It might be a bit noisy“ she warned us. That was fine with us, and we joined two other grateful concert goers she’d admitted a little earlier under these terms. Later, two more tables of two were admitted (including, surprisingly, a couple from Hingham whom we knew – Andy and Margaret Bergsten!)
All of us had been similarly „stranded“ — arriving in Rockport for the Manhattan Transfer concert, and surprised to find all restaurants closed. The limited menu made available for the „unexpected guests“ was astonishingly good, as was the wine – (they apologized that there was just one Chardonnay available as they’d now officially closed for the season). We were all feeling very fortunate that we’d been taken in. We were also surprised and delighted when we were passed samples of multiple yummy appetizer treats that had been prepared for the staff dinner, as we waited for our entrees. Such welcoming hosts, we thought. Then, as we finished our delicious meals and wine, the real Christmas surprise arrived. All of our dinners were on the house! The owners wouldn’t even accept tips for the staff who, along with the owners (Barbara and Kathy Milbury), had cheerily shared the duties of serving the 8 of us – on their night off. „We’ll take care of them,“ Barbara said. „Go enjoy the concert.“ Wow! We’re still smiling at this large helping of Christmas spirit, and look forward to returning in the spring as paying guests at „My Place by the Sea.“ And we’ll look for a way to „pay it forward“ in the near future.»

Bad food and expensive. My husbands burger was so bad he ate my vegetarian noodles. Service was even worst. I wish I didn’t drive in from boston for this. The manager came over at the end when we’re leaving — when asked how everything was, I said «horrible». And the note on my receipt kindly said «don’t seat people if you can’t serve them». She said «oh really, everyone else has had a wonderful time!», walked away and never came back. C’mon now.

Food wasn’t any good. The view from the seats are great but food is not good at all. Also service was very slow. Our First and last time.

My girlfriend and I visited Rockport for a day after several days in Boston. We were so happy with our dinner there, we came for lunch the next day. Our waiter, Scott was always there with everything we needed including a great personality and conversation. The owner, Barbara came over for a very fun chat too.
We checked out the reviews before eating there and were really surprised. This place is really underrated. Starting with the food; the combination of flavors and presentation were wonderful. We enjoyed everything we tried there and was able to do it with a selection of wines that were perfect. Have the mussels. Have the chef’s sampler. Have the Portuguese Stew too!
If you find yourself in Rockport… stop by for sure.

Enjoyed my evening here! Delicious bread, outstanding Portuguese Stew. Grilled fruit summer salad and very nice wine list. Intimate setting, lovely views. Staff were friendly and welcoming. I’d go back anytime!

Went here for drinks and ended up getting the warm squash salad and some clam chowder, because you have to buy food as well due to it being a full-​service lunch place. The chowder was the best we’ve ever had, and the salad was also excellent.

This place have a very impressive view. Just note that if you want to sit just by the sea, you may want to wait for the sun to go down because it gets pretty hot in the summer.

Tried this place for the first time yesterday with my daughter. We were greeted at the door by an unhappy looking young man, and we asked to sit out on the lower deck. We were showed to a cheap plastic table for two, with 2 cheap plastic chairs, a hole in the middle of this tiny table, but no umbrella. The view was beautiful… the best thing about this experience.
Service was extremely slow. Looking around at the other patrons on the deck, it appeared that no one was getting any service, except when their food was finally brought out… but no follow-​ups. There was a weird hush to this place… no one seemed to be having a good time. Don’t get me wrong, quiet is nice… but no one was talking… or smiling. I felt like they’d been scolded for misbehaving.
The wine menu was really pricey, so my daughter and I ordered the least expensive thing: a carafe of their white house wine for $ 17.50. The carafe looked more like ½ a carafe… or smaller. So we tried to make it last a bit. We also asked for water.
It took forever to take our food order… and to come back with it. In the meantime, no one ever checked on us to see if we wanted another drink. Had to wait until our food was served. When the food arrived, my daughter ordered another carafe of wine for herself (about a glass worth) and I ordered a Stella beer, which was served in a can. Oh… I got a glass to put it in, but for a very pricey, fancy restaurant, you’d think they’d have some beer on tap. We also both asked for more water, which NEVER came!!! Fortunately, we had our 2 partially empty bottles of Crystal Geyser water from Market Basket with us, that we used to refill our plastic glasses. And we had to make THAT last.
The food was very good. My daughter got the Fish of the Day entrée which was Salmon with Szechuan Jasmine Rice and Veggies. I got Sliced Chicken on Baguette with Warmed Brie. That came with a side of Cape Cod chips and a bit of salad, all on the same plate.
I still gave the waiter a fantastic tip, trying not to blame him for bad training. But my daughter said I shouldn’t have tipped well… because that’s a reflection of how good the service was.
Although this restaurant is terribly overpriced for what you get, I wouldn’t have minded splurging for a special occasion, as long as we got good service.
The waitstaff needs a LOT more training. I can’t believe we never got more water when we asked for it! With the prices they charge, you shouldn’t have to ask. Your water should always be full, and your waiter should check in every so often to see if you need anything.
If this was just about the taste of the food, I’d give a 3 or 4 star review. But dining out is based on the entire experience. My Place By the Sea has failed splendidly.