The Front Porch Restaurant

I've always driven or walked by this place on the way to Perkins Cove and chosen not to try it.  I know it is an alternative lifestyle establishment, although that doesn't scare me away and their is live piano music on the second floor for fun.  I just didn't view it as a fine dining establishment.

So, on encouragement of our friends, some straight and some gay, we decided to go and I'm glad we did.  It was packed and we had to wait 40 minutes for a table but in the lounge upstairs the atmosphere was fantastic, loud but fun with people belting out tunes as the pianist played show tunes.  The drinks were a bit strong for our liking, I know, I bet you don't hear that everyday and the wine selection was subpar at best.  

Dinner on the other hand was unbelievable.  Our waiter, Ken offered that we try the Mac n Cheese as it is known to be the best around.  It is not the type of food we went there for but decided to order an appetizer of it anyway.  I will say, it was the best we've all ever had and there was four of us.  I won't give away their secret but you must try it and it doesn't involve lobster.  I had the AHI Tuna special and my wife had the Lobster risotto and they were both great.

After dinner, we joined other friends of ours upstairs for some singing and just plain ole fun.  We ended up closing the place down.  A great time and highly recommended.  If you are a homo-phobe, you will be uncomfortable here, just a word of warning, other than that, awesome place!!

After several trips to the Ogunquit and many utterances of "Oh, we still haven't been to the Front Porch!" I finally made it! Headed here on the Saturday night of July 4th weekend for drinks and to experience the upstairs piano bar in all of its musical glory. At about 10:15pm, there was already a wait to be let up, so my friend and I popped in to the bar downstairs to grab a drink and kill some time. It was busy but we were able to receive service quickly. About 15 or so minutes later we were summoned upstairs by the "bouncer" (I hesitate to call her that because of the image it conjures, and she was a lovely lady dressed quite nicely!). The upstairs felt like a different (and much more spacious) world! The ACs were on full blast to keep all of the patrons comfortable and singing along to showtunes, The Beatles, and many songs I didn't recognize but seemed to be crowd favorites. I loved the tophat and bowler hat light fixtures over the piano, and it was fun to watch the variety of patrons who were signing along and just enjoying themselves. Ages ranged from those in their mid 20s to much older and, with the exception of a few people who had come straight from the beach (tank tops and board shorts), most were well-dressed and well-behaved. The friendly waiters with adorable piano key bowties were attentive and provided service with a smile. A fun place to visit and a real piece of the Ogunquit night scene.

We ate here on 4th of July.  Our server was fantastic - as were the drinks - so I can't quite recall her name!  We didn't have to wait to be seated since we quickly found a table in the bar.  Our waitress was prompt and had great suggestions for us.  The rum punch packs a punch (pun intended!) and definitely hit the spot after a day on the beach in 90+ degree heat!  

Our appetizers came out quickly - hot lobster and fresh shrimp cocktail - and both were delicious!  The shrimp are $4 each and we ordered 6 to share - well worth the price!  

The only reason I am not giving this restaurant 5 stars is that my fiance ordered the baked haddock and was severely sick the next day.  The restaurant is clean and we are not presuming that anything was necessarily wrong with the preparation, instead we are assuming it was perhaps just a combination of a super hot day and a hot kitchen?  Overall the visit was great - it just wasn't in our plans to be housebound the next day!  (FWIW, I was completely fine and we ate identically that day so we are attributing the sickness to the haddock!).