Jonathan’s Ogunquit

We attended Jonathan’s for our Thanksgiving lunch. We were staying in the area and needed somewhere to eat. We made reservations at Jonathan’s despite the mixed reviews on Unilocal,BIG MISTAKE. We were seated very efficiently and the people on the door were nice enough however it was all downhill from there. We ordered a bottle of wine, way over priced at $ 24 for a half bottle when the full bottle runs at around $ 15 in stores. We were then brought a dish and told it was «compliments of the chef». It was 2 pieces of carrots, celery, black olives and some very bitter cranberry sauce. What is that? am I supposed to dip olives in the cranberry sauce. Compliments of the chef seemed odd as it was not cooked and raw olives and cranberry sauce don’t seem to mix to be. I then ordered stuffed mushrooms, which were just cheese in mushrooms put under the broiler, again over priced at $ 11. My husband had the lobster chowder which was cold and bland. We then both had the Turkey dinner. The turkey was clearly not carved from an actual Turkey as all pieces were exactly uniform in size. The entire plate was just bland and a letdown with a $ 20 price tag. We were so disappointed with our Thanksgiving lunch we will not returning to Jonathan’s the next time we visit Ogunquit.

Our waiter was Norman and he was fantastic. We had ribeye wood grilled steaks and house Pinot noir. We were very pleased. The chipmunks in the outdoor garden were an added bonus.

Jonathan’s is now open for lunch. I went today, and it was terrific. The menu is great and reasonably priced. On the waiter’s recommendation, I tried the pulled pork sandwich. It was excellent as were the French fries I ordered to go with it. I would be very happy to go back and try some of the other delicious sounding things on the menu.

It was hard to find anything in Ogunquet that was vegan. Johnathan’s was able to make two entrees vegan by request and were very accommodating about it. My boyfriend loved the raw oysters.

We decided to sit at the bar instead of the table we reserved, that was our first mistake. The bar was fairly busy and the bartender was taking care of the bar and the tables in the bar area, so he appeared very busy. There was another bartender that was only handling the service bar. So, we waited after we sat down, got our drinks and waited to order our starters: the seafood chowder and the lobster bisque, both were very good. Then, we waited for the bartender to finally come back to take our order. We ordered the stuffed Haddock and the Jaeger Schnitzel (the main reason we came here). The Jaeger Schnitzel was excellent and the Haddock was good, although it gave me severe indigestion an hour later. So, overall the food was very good, but the service was nonexistent. The bartender never cam by to check on us or ask how everything was. What really topped it off, I mentioned to the bartender that he seemed pretty busy and his response was that it wasn’t busy at all. Holy crap, what would the service level been had it been busy. Also, there was a duo playing jazz in the bar area and they were exceptional.

Maybe I would have given a rating of 3 stars but for the price… over $ 98 per person. Now on to the food; the lobster bisque was really bad (I didn’t eat it but my friend did) and upon hearing a comment from us about the lack of (none) lobster, our waiter commented «sometimes you get some, sometimes you don’t,» I felt we may be in trouble. The main course was a very expensive pasta dish that did have some nice seafood in it but the pasta itself was so overcooked it was mushy. What restaurant can’t cook an al dente pasta? As this was my first meal in Ogunquit, I was leery of what was in store for the rest of the weekend but let me assure you that there are much better restaurants with pricing that you’d expect for the quality of their food.

Great meal. We were going to the play at the Ogunquit Playhouse and got caught in all the traffic. Found this nearby gem. Prompt service and good food. Really enjoyed the bisque and deserves a very good review with 4 stars.

My wife and I went here to see the comedienne, Paula Poundstone. She was great, but Jonathan’s was not. In order to get two seats together, I had to also purchase the dinner option ($ 25 per ticket). I also had to purchase the dessert/​drink option ($ 14 per ticket). A $ 37 seat then turned into a $ 76 ticket and with a nice service charge — $ 83 per ticket. There was no air conditioning and we each got one watered down drink during an hour and a half show. For dinner, there was a very limited menu with no bread as we waited 45 minutes for our food. Food was pretty good, but there really wasn’t a lot of concern about the uncomfortable temperature or our wait.
We loved Paula Poundstone, but we would really look elsewhere before we came back to Jonathan’s.

Inept service, slow, clumsy… and mediocre food. Took my family there and told the waiter that we had only an hour, hour and 15 for dinner. It took him 10 minutes to come back to take a drink order (it was not that crowded in the restaurant). He brought water for two of the five people at the table. The drinks came one at a time over the course of another 15 minutes. THEN he took a food order. The food took over a half hour to come out, and when it did only three entrees appeared (the blandest and worst lobster roll in Ogunquit)… then the fourth… and the fifth after the rest of us had been eating for ten minutes. Waiter got the dessert orders wrong. In short, everything that could have gone wrong with the service and the expediting in the kitchen did. And the food was the equivalent of wedding banquet food.
In Ogunquit there is SO much great food and excellent restaurants. I would never recommend Jonathan’s.

Visited Olgunquit with my wife at the end of May 2015 for lobster special dinners. Dinners of two lobsters was very well worth the price. We shared a lettuce wedge with blue cheese and it was ok. Service was very good. Lobsters were not spit open to easily eat. Our waitress was very helpful and offered to have the kitchen split them for us. Nice menu and we would return.

First off– excellent meal! Probably one of the best we have had in Ogunquit.
We decided to go upon recommendation of a friend.
We were not going to order too much, because we had a rather large breakfast and good-​sized lunch. We started with a glass of wine, reasonably priced.
Both were quite good. I especially liked my French red wine by the glass.
We did not order appetizers, however the waitress brought potato garlic soup, complements of the chef. We both thought that was delightful. The soup was delicious. The bread was also very good.
I ordered a special — penne pasta with shrimp,
pesto, pecans. It was very flavorful. However, while there were five shrimp, they were not as large as I had expected. The pecans did not seem to be too prevalent but it might have been that they were incorporated into the sauce for flavor. Although vegetables did not come with my dinner, the waitress brought them — green beans cooked perfectly, and butternut squash. Again — a little touch that meant a lot and added to the meal
My husband ordered fillet mignon. His meal came with vegetables and mashed potatoes. The filet was was cooked just as he ordered, medium. I had a small bite — it was delicious and so tender.
Since we were trying to be good, after a not so good calorie ridden day, we did not order dessert. However, I had the dessert coffee with butter scotch schnapps, Kahlúa, and Bailey’s. Like that was calorie free??? No matter — it was a great way to finish the meal.
The wait staff could not have been more attentive, polite, and caring. We had a great experience and highly recommend it.
The total, with tax, was $ 100.

I attended my cousin’s wedding here in the upstairs function room which was beautiful. While dinner was being served my toddler started to act up so I took her over to the back of the room. I was told by a member of the staff to «get out of the way.» I looked at her and said I was a server for 13 years and never, ever have said that to anyone, ever. She was clearly embarrassed and over apologized for the situation making it more difficult to deal with my toddler. She told me she didn’t want us to get hit with hot food, which had already been served and came from a different door. 2 words, «excuse me.» Or perhaps, «May I suggest another area for you?» Dinner was great and the room was beautiful.

How this place has three and a half stars I just don’t understand. Don’t go here. Ever.

This is a true tourist trap. We came Thursday night for the Prime Rib special. We both ordered it. We received two tough pieces of meat which were loaded with fat. Even with the excellent steak knife they provided we could hardly cut them. The waitress never came to ask us how it was. When she finally came to clear the table, all she asked was «How are we doing here?» When I responded that the meat was very tough, she said «Hmmph» and grabbed the plate and ran away. I feel they knew the meal was poor quality and that is why they never asked.

My boyfriend and I had our Thanksgiving Dinner here and it was great. We were promptly seated at our table (not a minute after our reservation time). Once seated, we were given a small mason jar of delicious, homemade pickles. Our drink orders were brought to the table right away and she took our order. We didn’t have to wait long for our appetizers or any part of our meal. We enjoyed dinner so much, we ordered dessert. I would definitely come back (when the weather gets warmer).

Loved the restaurant. I have been here every year of the past 6 years. The dress code has become more casual. We dressed up but there were other guests dressed in jeans and a t-​shirt. The service was slow. Took about 45 minutes to get our food. The food is excellent. We got the twin lobsters and Maine Seafood pasta. Both were excellent. The wedge salad was ok nothing special. We also had the mojitos and were delicious. Strongly recommend just get here early if you have tickets to the playhouse. We arrived at 6:00 pm and left at 7:30.

We had dinner at Jonathan’s before Mary Poppins at the Ogunquit Playhouse. I had read mixed reviews, but was very pleasantly surprised!
The service was great — no delay issues at all. We arrived at 6pm and were finished by 7:15pm (including dessert), plenty of time to get to the playhouse for a cocktail before the show.
We had the Poached Lobster and Stuffed Haddock both were amazing. The Poached Lobster was the best lobster dinner I had in Ogunquit. Gotta love it when the shells and butter are already done for you!
I was only surprised that the atmosphere was pretty casual. We expected more formal/​romantic décor given the prices. There was a whole tour bus group dining in jeans/​t-​shirts when we were there. Not that we cared — but we were slightly over-​dressed in casual dresses incomparison and it wasn’t the romantic dining atmosphere we’d anticipated.

Dinner and a comedy show
My wife and I went to Jonathan’s for dinner and a show and what a perfect date night. I had the NY steak with a garlic butter sauce and fries. Cooked exactly as ordered and seasoned perfectly. My wife had the very fresh salmon also cooked as ordered and seasoned deliciously.
Service was via a waitress tag team system and orders were placed by wait staff via iPads.
Compliments of the chef was a zucchini kale soup which was amazing!
For dessert we had the chocolate mousse and it was beyond amazing.
The place is a little on the higher price point end, atmosphere is lively and restaurant is casual. Definitely recommend it especially when comedian Bob Marley is in town.
Bob was very very funny and you should check him out as well
Pictures are accurate

If you’re planning to eat at Jonathan’s before theater at the Ogunquit Playhouse you’d better plan to eat at 5pm or else you’ll be going without dinner as did we and a number of other couples tonight.
We were seated at 6:20 and left without having eaten at 7:45 so we could get to the Ogunquit Playhouse in time to park and get to our seats. By 7pm it started to become apparent that there was no hope that we’d ever see our food. Nothing was coming out of the kitchen to anyone’s table. The dining room was desperately short staffed and clearly the kitchen was just as poorly managed.
I can’t comment on the food because we never got any. The host apologized to everyone who didn’t get their meals. Fat lot of good an apology does when your stomach is growling and your blood sugar is nosediving thru a 3 hour theater show.
Jonathan’s is a bitter disappointment. Cannot recommend it. And as local residents four of us have now removed it from our list of places we will patronize.

Had a great meal with my wife before an Ogunquit Playhouse performance. As my wife is vegetarian she ordered the veggie option which was very creative and delicious. Also, unlike some of the other reviews we had no difficulty making an 8 o’clock show with a 6:15 reservation. Also, no automatic service charge with a party of 2.