Muddy Rudder - Yarmouth, Maine

Logo of the Muddy Rudder
Cropped from a photo of their menu.

My wife visited the Muddy Rudder long ago – in the 80s for sure, probably in the late 70s sometime after it opened back in 1976. I’ve seen it many times, as I cruised by on Interstate 295. It looked somewhat upscale but we were doing a late lunch, so it shouldn’t be too bad. We had been in Freeport, visiting L. L. Bean, and doing other shopping and instead of hopping back on the Interstate to head home, we decided to head down Route 1 and check out the Muddy Rudder in Yarmouth.

View outside from our table
looking out at the Cousins River

We were greeted by a very friendly staff member who led us to a nice table with a view of the Cousins River. We were near the door, but it was somewhat cool outside, so there was almost no traffic of people going in and out. The view was quite nice.

For an "upscale" place, the menu was quite reasonable. Seafood ranged from $18 to $26. Two four-ounce filets were only $25 and the Steak Oscar was only $27.00 -- reasonable for a upscale dining establishment. We didn’t see onion rings on the appetizer menu but we did notice that several dinner options included onion rings. We asked the waitress about it and she indicated that yes, they’d be happy to do an order of onion rings for us. We were pretty sure that the table was hungry so we ordered some for the table.

Awesome Onion Rings
The Muddy Rudder

The onion rings were excellent. They came in a cute little basket with other rings overflowing onto the plate. Very nice presentation and they tasted great -- not greasy and they had an excellent breading to onion ratio. They really should have their onion rings on their appetizer menu. When you are there, be sure to ask for them special. They are worth it.

We weren't there for a big dinner, rather just a late lunch so we ordered sandwiches. My wife had the chicken sandwich. It consisted of chicken with “apple, cranberry and walnut chutney, brie, and mixed greens served on a telera roll.” Neither of us knew what a telera roll was, but it sounded artisan and good. She also ordered the coleslaw as her side.

Chicken sandwich with coleslaw
Muddy Rudder - Yarmouth, ME

Her sandwich was really good. The chicken was cooked nicely and still moist. She loved the chutney. The telera roll, which is kind of like a baguette that is made roundish rather than long, was delicious. The coleslaw was savory and not sweet which is the way we like it. Excellent!

I don’t get fish much at home so I ordered the fish sandwich, “lightly breaded haddock, coleslaw, lettuce, tomato and onion-- served with remoulade sauce.” With it, I ordered the sweet potato fries.

Again, presentation means a lot and the sandwich was presented nicely. I had to lift my bun up to see what kind it was. The fish was cooked perfectly – moist slightly separating itself from the breading. It was really good. The fries came with a dipping sauce that was very tasty. It made an excellent mean and had nice portions. I was impressed.

Fish sandwich with sweet potato fried
Muddy Rudder - Yarmouth, ME

Our server, Rosalind, was excellent. She was friendly, a helpful when we ordered, brought things in a timely order, and paced the meal nicely. Not only did she freshen our “water with lemon” when the water was getting low, she also brought additional lemon for our use. Nice touch I wish more places did.

• Ambiance: 4 (Cloth napkins, nice views, well lit – would have been a 5 if they had tablecloths.)
• Food: 5 (Great onion rings, chicken sandwich, fish sandwich, coleslaw, sweet potato fries – Everything way above average.) 
• Service: 5 (Server was attentive without being overbearing.  Didn’t rush us yet paced the meal nicely.)
• Price: 5 (Lunch was only a little over $12 each including the appetizer but not including drinks)
• Value: 5 (For lunch I don’t know of many places nicer, more civilized, with better prices.

We will definitely be back.  In the meantime, I’ll be looking for reasons to be in Yarmouth at lunchtime.