Venues in Augusta, Maine

Eli the chef was excellent. He prepared the entire restaurant patrons entrées that night and did it pleasantly and skillfully. We sat at the “bar”in back which wasn’t romantic or scenic since the windows faced the river and it was the official”kitchen” area and there were cooking items on the seals of windows so couldn’t see out that but well the chef made it all worthwhile with his excellent delicious dishes and we left completely satisfied. If you want a date night table ask when you reserve.

Took my partner here to surprise him with somewhere new, and it was a pleasant surprise for us both! The food was fresh and tasty! We tried the four course meal, and I would say itbwas fine dining, without getting too out of touch! The portions were all well sized, and the flavors were easy to recognize and not overdone. The menu changes regularly, as they prefer to cook local foods as they are in season, so it always feels like a new adventure whenever you go! It was more of a comfy atmosphere than romantic, but we both went home with full bellies and had a great time! A little more expensive, but worth every penny! Definitely planning to go again!

Nice place to grab a quick drink and have some wood fired pizza. Topping selection was quite unique and we had trouble deciding. Settled on the Bond Street pizza which was delicious. Would come back again to try the others.

All five stars for this niche pizza place. The Cushnoc brews, of course, are super. Our server was so nice and friendly, they all were. The pizza was top notch, awesome sauce. We had a split os Meatza and Capital City - highly recommend them both.

The Gin mill is up the 23 stairs above Riverside Bar and Grill on Water Street. I ordered "sexy wings" and would like to show an image of what were hands down some of the best wings I've had. Alas, they were inhaled before I had the sense about me to photograph them in their glory. Assume they looked as great as they tasted. With a full bar, hot pub food, and a memorable atmosphere of the early 1900s architecture, I highly recommend checking out The Gin Mill. You'll be glad you did.

Karla, need I say more? A pub is gauged on the bartender and Karla makes this place feel like Cheers. This was a treat to find and I would recommend to anyone.

We try to go here weekly. New chef/staff in the kitchen last year and since then the food is amazing and so is the service! If you’re looking for a tropical drink, ask for jacks love potion! It’s like a rum runner except with whiskey, my new fave drink. My fave food is the Mac n cheese any version! Have had nachos, tacos and wings all great! It’s no a large place so we try to skip Thursday karaoke when it’s very busy. But if that’s your thing go have a drink some food and belt one out! Wish they were open more days! Photo of the chef and my fave bar tenders.

The food was great. The drinks were great. We asked the bartender to make us a fruity drink. She did just that and it was very impressive! We helped her name it the four amigos. Which translates to the four friends! Great service!

The Worst Dining Experience I Have Ever Had I don’t usually leave negative reviews, but my experience at Otto’s on the River was so disappointing that I feel obligated to share. This restaurant is rated highly on TripAdvisor, which is why I chose to try it, but based on my visit, that ranking is completely undeserved. We started with the crab dip, which was a disaster. It didn’t taste like crab at all — just an overwhelming amount of cheese with no real seafood flavor. The scallops wrapped in bacon were equally disappointing: the scallops had no flavor, and the bacon was overcooked, fatty, and unpleasant to eat. For the main course, I ordered the seafood scampi and specifically asked to substitute fettuccine for angel hair pasta. When my plate arrived, it was still angel hair, which I do not like. The dish itself was even worse than the pasta mistake. It was served more like a bowl of watery soup than a scampi, and the amount of seafood was shockingly small. What little seafood there was had been chopped into tiny, unappetizing pieces, making the entire dish both unappealing and unsatisfying. The service didn’t improve the situation either. My request for a simple pasta substitution was ignored, and there was no effort to correct the mistake. On top of that, the dining environment itself was unpleasant — there were flies inside the restaurant that actually landed on my hand and on my food. That is not only disgusting but completely unacceptable in any restaurant, let alone one that claims to be among the best in the area. I travel extensively for work and have eaten at countless restaurants across the country, and I can honestly say this was the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. I left hungry, frustrated, and feeling like I had wasted both my time and money. This restaurant should not be ranked as the number one restaurant on TripAdvisor. That is completely misleading, and I strongly urge anyone considering dining here to look elsewhere. Do not go to Otto’s on the River — you will regret it.

I enjoyed my business lunch at Otto’s. I had the lobster stew and a lobster roll. The stew was very tasty and fresh. The lobster roll was a half of a lobster tail on a French roll. We were cheerfully served by Gretchen who had an amazing smile.

Brickyard Hollow Brewing Company In Augusta, Maine Came across this place while trying to find a place for lunch when we were traveling and was drawn to a picture of blueberry pizza. Checked out their menu and they have lots of different options for toppings! I was even happier when I noticed you can do half & half pizzas......so we tried 4 different pizzas! First pizza was half peaches, basalmic reduction, goat cheese and basil. The 2nd half was the Maine blueberry, rosemary ricotta, roasted shallot and lemon zest. Second pizza was half smoked BBQ Pulled pork, Fujitsu apple, red onion. The second half was chicken, bacon, ranch. These were all so surprisingly delicious. My sons favorite was the BBQ Pulled Pork one as he typically orders meat lovers. I could not decide on a favorite. The blueberry was a mild taste, where the peach had sweetness. The BBQ Pulled Pork was very flavorful and the chicken bacon was surprisingly good, I thought it would be my least favorite because i dont care for ranch. Service was good and it wasnt too long for the pizzas, but a slight wait between the 2 being served. It's a good thing we were sharing, so it wasnt a bother for us. Would definitely recommend and will for sure go back when we get down there again. The place was clean.

This place has a great atmosphere and vibe. Perfect for the people who are waiting for their other half while they are shopping. The crispy pork bowl is incredible, one of the best burgers I’ve had (Maple Bacon Burger) and Pizza is perfect. The staff really have pride in their work and the business too. Went twice this week and will definitely be back.

My boyfriend and I heard about a special they were doing, it was a poutine breakfast. It was amazing, the brown gravy was so flavorful and rich. It was a really good price for the size of the dish, which was huge. The wait staff was super sweet and attentive, overall it was a great experience!

The food wasn't too bad, calamari was a bit chewy but otherwise delicious. The steak was cooked wonderful but the asparagus was undercooked and still very crunchy, they offered to switch it out but I didn't like any of the other dishes they had. They say us in the very back of the restaurant where there was one other family with a very rambunctious child, kind of ruined date night. Otherwise not bad.