When we re-opened our Wells vacation home for the season, I couldn’t wait to try the Merriland Farm Cafe for dinner. As I wrote in an earlier Merriland Farm Cafe review, the hidden gem is considered one of Wells’ best restaurants for breakfast. Yet, their dinner menu seemed just as mouth-watering and I was eager to see if it also deserved kudos.
Merriland Farm’s dinner menu was brimming with so many delicious sounding options it was difficult to not to go overboard. We wanted to order one of each appetizer and entre – and there were at least 35 different seafood, chicken, steak, pasta and sandwich choices! Instead we decided to try scallops served two ways – beer battered and Carbonara.
The beer battered scallops were good, but my husband thought the coating was a little heavy and they had used frozen vegetables in the side dish. Our daughter ordered chicken tenders from the children’s menu. They were made with the same batter (which she describes as Chinese restaurant-style) and the potion was large enough to feed a grown man. The scallops Carbonara was excellent, but I’m glad our place at Seagull Inn and Condominiums includes use of a gym! It was very rich and the serving was huge.
We thought the unique salad dressings, such as basil vinaigrette for example, were a refreshing departure from typical options. Although tempting, we were too full to try dessert.
The service was very friendly, but a bit slow. We attribute that to the time of year. It was Saturday night in April and there were only 3 other parties in the restaurant. On quiet nights like that, servers tend to have a more relaxed approach and engage in lengthier conversations with regulars. The service was great during our 4 other visits.
Net-Net: Our first dinner visit didn’t live up to the high (and possibly unfair) expectations that were set by our breakfast experiences, but we will go back and definitely recommend it. Merriland Farm Café’s food, service and atmosphere are better than 90% of the other restaurants in Wells, ME.
Merriland Farm Cafe
591 Coles Hill Road
Wells, Maine 04090
Phone: (207) 646-5040
Web Site: http://merrilandfarmcafe.com/
Wells Vacation Rental 