This evening we dined at Mainely Brews Restaurant & Brewhouse. Situated at the north end of Main Street in Downtown Waterville, Mainely Brews serves patrons from 11 AM to 1AM every day with pub-style food that, I believe, is a cut above the competition.
The Atmosphere
Their restaurant is located in the lower level of Waterville’s historic Post Office building. They have a charming and spacious dining area with a unique rounded wall on the north side of the restaurant.
A standout feature of the space is the warm, exposed brick. Even the curved wall was of genuine brick construction. I’m a sucker for this style of architecture.
There are custom-built booths which contour the curved wall to maximize space, with various other dining- and pub-height tables around the area. To the south end of the restaurant, there’s a stage where they host live music. Flanking the stage to the east is a pool table, a fully stocked bar, and up to 17 different beers on tap.
They have a jukebox where any patron has their pick of the upcoming tracks. The music selection on offer this evening was from the 2000’s era. As a child of the late 80’s and a proud millennial, I very much appreciated the music from my adolescence including Avril Lavigne, Creed, Fall Out Boy, and more. There was also some Lynyrd Skynyrd in the mix, for some reason. I guess that’s what you get with a jukebox, huh?
As we arrived around 5:45 PM, a sign on the wall said “Please Wait to be Seated.” We stood at the hostess podium for a moment.
From across the bar, however, the hostess said, “seat yourself anywhere, hun.” There were only three occupied tables which meant the the bar was more than half empty. That was okay with me, though. It gave us our pick of the place.
The Staff
We chose one of the booths on the perimeter of the tavern. The hostess approached with menus and filled small glasses with water. Shortly thereafter a cheerful waitress named Hannah introduced herself and asked, “Can I get you anything else to drink besides water?”
Neither Emily nor I like soft drinks or alcohol, so we said, “We’ll stick with water.”
Hannah replied, “Well, I’ll be sure to get you some bigger glasses of water, then.”
Not only did Hannah deliver pint glasses with water (and straws), but the entire waitstaff were wonderfully attentive! Hannah checked in on us several times and the hostess refilled our water multiple times over the course of the meal. This is a practice that I wish more restaurants would adopt as I regularly consume several glasses of water during a meal.
The Food
We examined the menu for a few minutes. I was debating between the Lemon Chicken Skillet entree from the specials menu and the Chicken Parmesan. I opted for the Chicken Parm since lemon often doesn’t agree with my stomach.
We ordered our food at around 6:00 and our plates reached us at 6:22 which was a little slower than usual.
The Chicken Parmesan was delicious. The linguine was perfectly al dente. The sauce was thick and a little heavy on the oregano. It wasn’t bad, just notable. I ordered the fried chicken and it was, in my opinion, the best part of the meal. The chicken was crispy and juicy, smothered in Parmesan, mozzarella cheese and marinara—just the way I like it!
It came with a slice of garlic bread (which was superb). My only complaint about it? There wasn’t enough!
Emily ordered the Mainely Mac N’ Cheese with Fried BBQ chicken. Emily’s review: “It was really good!” I tried a bite and I concur. The pairing of the cheese with the sweet (I want to say honey) BBQ sauce was an intriguing contrast.
After the main course, we ordered dessert at around 6:40. It on the table within 5 min.
Now, while I'm a designer by trade and care deeply about both function and form… when it comes to food, I'm fairly utilitarian. To say that I don't care about a meal’s presentation would be an understatement.
However, I was impressed by the way the peanut butter pie was plated. A narrow slice of creamy, peanut buttery pie with chocolate graham cracker crust drizzled in both chocolate and peanut butter sauce. It got me excited.
If you can’t tell from our previous posts, I absolutely love peanut butter! I was quite pleased with this pie. It had the consistency of a whipped cheesecake. And perhaps it was the fact that the sauce from my entree was so savory, but my dessert was exceptionally sweet.
The Price
For two entrees and two desserts, the price came in at around $55. When you factor the quality of our meals, the portion sizes, and the incredible service, I'd say that's a good deal. Plus, the atmosphere at Mainely Brews Restaurant & Brewhouse is always top-notch and I've yet to find a more welcoming pub in the state.
All-in-all, Mainely Brews is one of our favorite places to eat in Kennebec County!
