Boon Island Ales

Went back to BIA three years after our very good initial visit.
They’ve gone downhill.
New location, bigger building. Not a lot of effort went into the décor.
The service was excellent, the food was OK.
I feel like the beer selection got smaller. For a calling itself an ‘Ale House’, not a very good selection of beers.
I’m sad about the change.

Said to be a restaurant by the locals for the locals but survival in wells maine is based on tourists. Limited menu and the fact the name of the restaurant doesn’t live up to its suggestion (an ale house should have more local craft beers and less domestic or not so craft beers) makes me wonder if this place is long term. Food despite the limited menu was decent but this place would benefit from little touches like hand cut fries. There is potential here but the owner/​chef need to be a little more creative and tend a little more to the tourists and part time residents that make this community vibrant!

Enjoyed several app plates and beer. The lobster Mac and cheese was great with a light buttery cheese sauce which complimented the lobster, the shark bites were breaded and fried to perfection and the waffle fries were the best I’ve ever had and the chicken quesadilla was outstanding and a meal in itself. Casual atmosphere and friendly attentive service.

My husband and I both rated our meal a C–
Food came out super slow and we were the only ones eating in the restaurant at the time. Food came out luke-​warm. Chowder was nothing special. It was all just blah. Really wish we’d taken our money elsewhere. Server was friendly.

Stopped in for beer and wings during happy hour. Both were excellent! Atmosphere was cozy and inviting… We were treated like locals from the moment we walked in.

I read so many positive reviews I thought it would be a no-​brainer for a celebratory birthday meal. Everything was subpar from the onion rings to the lackluster lobster mac and cheese. Nice linens and ambiance but that and high prices didn’t deliver quality food.

Service was horrible… food was terrible… owner could have cared less. Our food came out at different times. One of our orders was never put in leaving one of our members without anything to eat and another dish came out cold. When we confronted the owner about this he didn’t offer to do anything to correct this. We ate here on a Saturday night and had over an hour wait only to have all these issues. The owner was also dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt and looked more like a patron of the dive bar down the street. With all of the great restaurants in the Ogunquit/​Wells area we will not be back to this one!!!

An unexpected find with all the busy restaurants in wells. From the outside it looks like a traditional New England fried seafood restaurant. When you walk in it looks very classy and elegant with nice tables and chairs. The service was ok and the food was ok. I got the fish tacos which were fried, was expecting something fresh but still tasty. I also got the baked lobster which was decent but not a lot of lobster. My daughter got the steak tips which were decent And my dad got the chicken gnocchi which was very heavy. .

Ate at BIA this evening. Décor was nice. Booth was terribly uncomfortable. Service was slow and mediocre. Beer (we tried the IPA) was good. Salads had concrete croutons. As for dinner… lobster mac and cheese lacked flavor, presentation was okay. Clam chowder had good flavor but was a bit runny. Chicken caesar dressing was oily, not creamy, croutons hard as rocks. Prime rib was okay. Kid’s menu grilled cheese was the favorite of the table. Won’t be coming back anytime soon to eat, maybe for a beer.

It’s crazy up there during the summer, and we don’t know that many places. We were just driving around, looking for a place, and decided to stop here. Our waitress was awesome, and the prices were reasonable.
Since 95 percent of the food that I eat is a variation of buffalo chicken, I consider myself an expert. This is one of the top two buffalo chicken pizzas I have ever had. AND they make their own blue cheese which is also amazing. Had a couple of their beers, tremendous as well.
You should definitely check this place out, great stuff.

My family and I were in Wells, ME last week on our annual mother-​daughter vacation and stumbled upon BIA on Route 1. My mom retired last year after being a world wide meeting planner for the past 20 years so she has very discerning taste when it comes to food, presentation, service and ambiance. My cousin, aunt and I are also well traveled having worked for the same company (often enjoying the meals my mom hand picked for the meetings we attended). Boon Island is a lovely restaurant. It has a five star feel to it the minute you walk through the door with its richly decorated rooms that also inspire comfort with built in bookcases, bench pillows and seaside inspired decorations. White table clothes and cloth napkins added to the appeal. The food is equally wonderful. We had the $ 15 lobster which came with two sides (we chose baked potato and broccoli), hot, crispy roles, steak tips with asparagus and baked potato, the arugula goat cheese salad, caesar salad and tossed salad (with home made blueberry vinaigrette). The staff was efficient, warm and friendly. There was a bit of a wait one night (we ate there three times — what does that tell you?) and the hostess was very attentive. She served us drinks while we sat on the comfortable leather furniture in the waiting area and kept an eye on the various tables to keep us updated on our wait. The price was more than reasonable given how good the food is. Even the restroom had a special appeal with the raw sugar scrub drenched in eucalyptus scented essential oil. I highly recommend you take a look for yourself! — Kat from MA

Boon Island Ales hosted our company Christmas party of 25 guests. The owner was a pleasure to work with, she worked within our budget and made the whole experience easy. The room was beautifully set up and the food was perfect. Everyone enjoyed the evening. I highly recommend Boon Island Ales.

Uppity. Lack of variety on the menu. Staff not so friendly. Service not so great. Bleh.

Lobster stew was excellent! Tuna with wasabi also great. We ate like kings and drank a great IPA. I’ve been to the old location. This new menu is by far superior. I will be back. I got lucky with this just caught sea bass. The owner is a class act.

BIA is a fantastic meal. If you like good value and fresh food this is your place. I love a place where you know the locals come to get their food. The big eye tuna I had was soo good I said something to the waitress. The owner came over and mentioned that they just got it that day and they try and feature whatever is freshest from the market. He said that he will be getting mahi mahi this weekend and they are going to blacken it. — sounds really good. Again, if you like a nice place that is comfortable to get good drink and fresh food then you should try this place.

First got here thinking it’d be a nice place to check out. Heard that they had some nice micro brews. Arrived and got seated quickly. That’s about as good as the trip was. The service wasn’t great and the staff was just weird. Got booted from the joint early even though it was still open. Bar closed early and just felt as if the staff wanted us to just go home. I understand there is a closing time but let people know that before arriving so we could choose to maybe go elsewhere.

We have been here 4 times and it has gone down hill to an all time low. Last night was the worst. My wife ordered scotch we were told they we out of that brand but we have this brand so she said OK. when the bill arrived we were charged $ 18.00 the idiot bartender (male) negelected to inform us it was an 18 year scotch. We have ordered pizza twice first time it was a true artisen thin crust pie last night it was packaged crust simi cooked. we were told they got rid of the pizza oven and did change the dough. My burger came with the ends of an under ripe tomato and cold BBQ toping… We live in the area and have many winter options in the area to go out for dinner. I will say they did take the pizza off the bill as they should have never served it. We can thank Kalhe for that she is the shinning star at this eatery.

Wow we got lucky with BIA.
We started at a different restaurant but when the host told me the wait was 90mins, that is never worth it. I called BIA and the not only didn’t have a wait but were willing to make reservations for a party of 4.
Until they remodel outside DO NOT JUDGE THIS PLACE BY THE EXTERIOR. The dinning area is inviting very nice, and newly done.
Our wait staff was very happy to have us she made some personal recommendations when we asked, and moved effectively to make sure we were happy.
While waiting for a meals, the owner came around to each table to offer fresh sea bass he caught that very day. It was so fresh just writing this makes my mouth water thinking about it.
Our meals were well prepared, the right amount on each plate for a meal, and presented very nicely.
We will return and would recommend to anyone. As with most of my posts, older kid friendly, but don’t wreck someone else meal with a screaming 2 year old. Find someplace else or go very early please.

Boon Island Ales has a good selection of beer. They have craft beers on tap and their nut brown ale is pretty darn good. The bartenders were friendly, were the local patrons. I didn’t try the food but the dining area looked pretty nice. They close at 11PM Saturday nights (weird!) but it’s still a nice, relaxing place to have a good beer at.

I really wanted to love this place. Owners seem lovely and the parking lot is full. Think I would give it another try perhaps on a weeknight or maybe even off season. Food is reasonable but service has some kinks that need to be worked out.
Cons:
1. we made a reservation for 630 on a saturday night and were not seated until 720.
2. dining room feels cramped and is very loud.
3. Ordered pizza for my 3 year old which came out COVERED in parsley. She did not eat a bite. When server asked why I told him but it never came off the bill. Two other kids meals also covered in parsley.
4. We saw other tables being offered bread which we never received.
5. Very limited waiting area inside altho there are seats outside.
Pros:
1. Owner apologized for delay in seating and gave us a free appetizer once we sat down.
2. Food wasn’t bad once it came.