A Kennebunkport legend charts a delicious course.

By Colin W. Sargent

July/August 2019 | view story as .pfd

You haven’t tied up in the Kennebunks until you dine at Arundel Wharf Restaurant, front and center on the sparkling Kennebunk River.

We slip in during a breezy summer evening and are glad to be welcomed by the signature fireplace. The hand-adzed beams here are showstoppers. So are the panoramic views of the river, its yachts, and its legends–including the ancient Ropewalk next door (now home to Arundel Yacht Club), where nautical lines were faked (instead of coiled) and measured to outfit our yare 18th- and 19th-century ocean vessels.

Looking for a party? There’s a covered deck here with a bar where everyone’s having a blast. Suddenly you’re on the S.S. America, and Anything Goes.

I’m here for the swordfish. I dreamed of their signature version when I was stationed in the Indian Ocean as a Navy pilot. Thank God, you can come home again.

We start with a Kennebunkport Martini ($10.50). It’s a neat twist to use champagne instead of vermouth–not too sweet. Another lucky choice is a bottle of Steele “Rat’s Reserve” pinot noir from Santa Barbara, California ($42). Locals prize this special blend because it’s designed every year by Kennebunkport wine executive Paul Carr, who returned to Goose Rocks Beach after blending wines with the big guys out west.

We devour today’s salad of roasted pistachios, onions, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes, feta cheese, and baby greens–delicious with a lemon vinaigrette ($13). The fried calamari ($14) is a home run (perfect with the Rat’s Reserve)–the batter light, the banana peppers spot-on. I make the pretense of sharing them, but they’re all mine!

For entrees, we’re hooked by tonight’s Pan Roasted Halibut special ($28)–a lovely creation by chef Heidi Busset–with heirloom tomatoes and intriguing with a vinegar-based tomato sauce. The green beans and mashed potatoes with skins are deeply satisfying. This restaurant isn’t just an old friend–it’s an old friend with something interesting to say! The halibut is exquisite, mouthwatering, falls off the fork. As for the Sword ($26), it’s the perfect cut you dream about, memorably grilled, so tasty it makes you sentimental. Is it possible to be nostalgic for the future? We ponder our next visit as we share black coffee and Maine Blueberry Pie à la Mode ($8.25). 

Arundel Wharf Restaurant, 43 Ocean Ave, Kennebunkport. Open daily, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. 967-3444.