Rockland Café

WOW!!!A feel-good local favorite, I’m so glad that out of all of the great restaurants on Main Street I chose “Rockland Cafe”, I had read some reviews about it before I came to town and was swayed by some of creative offerings on their menu like their Reuben Sandwich made with a fish filet 🐠 (!), Seafood Lasagna and their Homemade Fish Cake which is a reason to travel to Rockland, Maine! It was a cross between a Potato 🥔 Latke/Pancake and a Puerto Rican 🇵🇷 Bacalaito - it’s delicious!!!! A must try with some lemon 🍋 wedges (skip the tartar sauce). I don’t recall my server’s name but she had a fun personality and told me how much she loves her job. I watched how customer after customer were all greeted by name because this is a local spot that has a loyal fan club! I would have loved to have tried many more items such as their many dessert pies - apple, blueberry, peanut butter and chocolate but I didn’t have room in my stomach! I write about food professionally and can say that this place serves everything with love. Keep it up!!!

I’m not really sure which thing to talk about first because it was all so good! I ordered the seafood chowder and it was amazing. Great flavor in the soup, and the seafood was cooked really well. It had seafood flavor but there was no over cooked or overly fishy odor. The broth was delicious and had lots of spices in it giving it a wonderful aroma and flavor. After I devoured that, I ordered the broccoli and shrimp fettuccini Alfredo. It came with a side salad that was simple but good. The ranch was normal ranch, nothing really spectacular. The dish on the other hand was out of this world. Every one of the almost 50 seeming shrimp in the was cooked perfectly. There was so much cheese in the sauce every bite was better than the one previous. The broccoli was cooked perfect too. The garlic bread was buttery, seasoned, and crispy. Back to the sauce. I’m not sure how they made it, but I’m going to try and figure it out. It was a thick, creamy, cheesy Alfredo sauce. It was the best Alfredo sauce I’ve ever had in my life. They had a good selection of bottled beer on hand as well, to complement anyone’s preference. As another side note, the food came out super fast. I ordered a soup and a beer and went to my car to get my phone. I was back in probably two minutes and my soup and drink were already there. I finished the soup, had salad, and probably a minute later my dish was in front of me. Will definitely go back. They did have no breakfast advertised at this time due to staffing. I didn’t ask when it would be back.

I'm sad to have to leave a less than 5 star this visit from yesterday, but it's in all honesty. Anyone and everyone who knows me has to listen to me rave about every visit I make to the Cafe... Rockland Cafe is my favorite go-to every time I get to the area, and I've been going for over 15 years now, multiple times a year, and I often do day trips from north of Syracuse NY just because coastal Maine is my happy place and my source of regaining my sanity when my soul is tired. Rockland Cafe is an essential part of those trips and I'm NEVER disappointed. However, I brought my 11 year old autistic grandson who has very limited food tolerance, as well as my 39 year old son, and chicken tenders is something my grandson will eat. I always get the scallops because they are OUTSTANDING! I an NEVER disappointed! My grandson was so excited when he saw Buffalo chicken tenders on the menu and he only wanted those with fries (btw, their fries are amazing, as well as their onion rings!) My son and I ordered our scallops because, well, what scallops lover can even think of going to Rockland Cafe and not get them?! They just make my New England heart so happy (yes, I'm born and raised in New England, an unwilling and temporary transplant to central NY). We took our order to go so we could sit by the beautiful harbor. While my son and I relished our amazing scallops, my grandson picked up his first chicken tender with a huge wrinkle on his face and said it was really soggy. He took a small bite and gagged because of the texture. My son went to try it because he wanted to see if it was really that bad (and he eats everything not nailed down) , said its gross, just way too soggy and just mush. So that was a total bust. But seriously, stick to their seafood and you'll never be disappointed! I'll still be back every time, because they never disappoint in the seafood department. They're chowder are to die for as well. I absolutely pains me to take off points from this review, but just don't order those tenders.

You go here for seafood - and a lot of it. My wife had the double lobster and I had a fish basket. She really enjoyed the lobster. I felt the fish basket was just “ok”. I would not get it again. I expected small pieces of fried fish like in the photo but it was just a slab of fish with very little batter. The French fries were good as was the coleslaw.

Dropped by for lunch. Service here is basic. Don’t expect bells and whistles. But the food is phenomenal. I’ve never had a lobster roll in anything other than the usual toasted hot dog shaped bun. This one came in a roll! It felt more meaty than the usual and I enjoyed the lobster meat to bun ratio. The seafood stew was also amazing. It’s all seafood. Clams, lobster, shrimp, scallop, etc. no potatoes....wow. I want some more of this!! Best I’ve ever had!