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Cape Arundel Inn
(207) 967-2125
208 Ocean Avenue, P.O. Box 530A
Kennebunkport
www.capearundelinn.com
Hospitality-Wonderful service, with an emphasis on cordiality
Open March through New Year's Eve at 5:30 for dinner, daily in the summer; closed Monday off-season
Entrées $24 to $34
Reservations recommended
The dinners here rival the quality of the beautiful view.
The dining room of the Cape Arundel Inn has incorporated what was once a porch, filling two walls with windows that seem to float above the blue expanse of ocean just across narrow Shore Road. Walls paneled with cream beaded board warm the room and sustain the inn's traditional atmosphere, where the very good waiter we had served us generous pieces of butter with silver tongs shaped like a chicken's feet. Tired of olive oil, I loved the butter on my bread.
We had the best table in the house, in the southern corner at the window, and watched the sea and a rising moon with pleasure, noting the lights coming on in the house at Walker's Point where George H. W. Bush and his wife live.
The crabcakes took up our pleased attention a moment later, crisp and sweet with a little sautéed onion and red pepper and a squiggle of creamy rémoulade. The bottle of Pouilly-Fume my companion chose made a pleasant contrast. The list itself started out in both red and white categories with some high-priced wines, and settled into a good selection priced between $30 and $40.
Another visit two years later, when I encountered the same polished service and superb meals, brought an encounter with the same waiter, one of several who have worked for years with owner Jack Nahil, here since 1997.
Broiled swordfish steak with roasted tomato salsa ($32) came from a very fresh fish, to make the best piece of swordfish I'd had in years.
My friend's duck "duo," duck leg confit and a grilled duck breast in a raspberry honey demi-glace, was another work of excellence, just like a rack of lamb ($35) with gamey intensity, accompanied by fried parsnips and garlic mashed potatoes.
The sautéed Maine lobster and wild mushrooms in a whiskey and herb beurre blanc looked spectacular at a nearby table, in a lobster shell. Filet mignon with blue cheese, wasabi vinaigrette, and garlic whipped potato was also on the menu ($34).
The profiterole with French vanilla gelato, Amaretto chocolate sauce, and whipped cream made me want to proclaim, as I hereby do, "We have a winner!" We should have ordered two.
This restaurant deserves to be called romantic, with the meals shedding love, the shaded candles glowing around the room, and the conversation and piano just noisy enough for us all to feel very much alive.