Otto's on the River

Review summary

1. C

   Casey

   San Francisco

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was so tragically bad. I won’t be back here ever.
   

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2. S

   Sarah

   Greater Boston

   3 reviews

   3.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on October 24, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 5

   The pros: lovely location and decor. Comfortable seating. Engaged owner. Filet mignon was delicious, as were scallops wrapped in bacon. Cons: extremely slow and inept service. I say this as someone who has served in all kinds of restaurants for decades. We simply did not feel taken care of. Escargot was rubbery and bland, bones in the salmon.
   

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3. TO

   TOGOrlando

   Orlando

   52 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   52 reviews

   Dined on October 21, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Amazing find on our way from Bangor to Portland. Stopped for lunch and had amazing oysters and first lobster roll! Cocktails very creative and tasty and service was awesome.
   

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4. J

   John

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 19, 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Not a good experience. Don't waste your time or money.
   

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5. J

   John

   Atlantic Canada

   3 reviews

   2.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on September 27, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   Not a great experience. We were placed directly in front of the kitchen doors, which squeak and thump with every frequent entrance and exit of the staff. We had a reservation although it was made the same evening. The room was loud and there are bright lights everywhere. My spouse is sensitive to light so we asked to be moved to a darker table when we noticed it was available. But we told that wasn’t possible. OK then. Can we cancel the food order? Nope. We’d have to pay for it. Then it took an hour for the food to arrive! It was tasty even though my mushroom dish was absolutely swimming in oil. And we got free chocolate strawberry desserts. Our waiter Willy did follow up on this our requests and was apologetic when we were rebuffed by unseen higher powers. Needless to say if we’re ever back in Augusta we’ll find somewhere else to go. ;)
   

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6. M

   Meredith

   New York City

   16 reviews

   4.0

   16 reviews

   Dined on September 26, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Quiet, cozy and terrific menu selections. Only outdone by our waiter - the owner. How terrific to see the revitalization of Maine’s capital city downtown. Otto’s definitely is an asset to the community
   

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7. R

   Rachel

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on September 23, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   The whole place is lacking identity and trying to be something they are not. No music in the bar area. Service was lacking. The food came well under expectations, especially for the price point. Would not return.
   

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8. B

   Billy

   Greater Boston

   12 reviews

   vip
   1.0

   12 reviews

   Dined on September 21, 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   We had heard good things about Otto's so booked a reservation for dinner during Colby's parent weekend since our daughter is a student there. There were so many problems: 1. I booked through Open Table a month before and then confirmed 2 days before and they still lost our reservation. I had to show proof on my phone that we booked. 2. We were escorted to a table with white linens and when I sat down it was clear the linens were old-- there was a tomato stain on the table near my plate. 3. The menu is VERY expensive-- the entrees are $35 each which is NYC prices-- so I expected that caliber of food. Instead the appetizer (brussel sprouts) had no taste except vinegar, and our two entrees of seafood (one of salmon and one with mixed seafood) were so overcooked that they were hard and rubbery. The pasta was so overcooked that everything was mushy. 4. Our waitress was VERY chatty-- not getting that we wanted to focus on our party, and then disappeared half way through due to family emergency (in the middle of an order) to be replaced with a guy I think was a dishwasher. 5. The room was decorated to be elegant but it was a tacky version of elegant and the room had a disinfectant smell. We paid a lot of money for a meal that should have been half the cost, given how bad the food was. We will not be returning and will let other Colby families know about our experience. It is not okay to charge that much for such mediocre food.
   

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9. R

   Rick

   Cincinnati

   160 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   160 reviews

   Dined on September 21, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great first visit. Really nice wine selection. Fruitti de mare was excellent. Service was very good with cool decor.
   

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10. G

    Gary

    Greater Boston

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on September 20, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4

    Excellent food and drink menu. Unfortunately we were seated near the kitchen and there was a lot of foot traffic and noise. Will definitely return and request a different table. Service was wonderful and all staff friendly and welcoming.
    

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