Tucked into a corner of Georgetown’s Robinhood Marine Center, past a maze of industrial-looking buildings that make a driver think, “Did I get those directions right?” sits The Osprey on the edge of Robinhood Cove. While the parking lot license plates generally span the full map of New England, the restaurant represents the best of Maine’s casual, high-quality seasonal dining.

Open only during tourist season, the main dining room is fine, but ask for a seat on the enclosed porch if available. Amid blond timber walls and local map-topped tables, the windows offer a Maine summer harbor view of sailboats bobbing against blue sky and water. Like those languid sailboats, nothing about The Osprey’s space feels forced — the friendly staff is helpful without hovering.

The Osprey brought on a new chef this year, and the menu, I was told by the server, is a product of this hire. Menu design is tougher than it looks, and creating a series of food offerings that include both the expected and the unique is no easy task. A kitchen must capitalize on the Maine experience without lapsing into boredom and repetition.

Happily, The Osprey’s menu shows a subtle and thoughtful hand, and I applaud the creator’s vision. Substantial, local, interesting and accessible seem to be the kitchen’s guiding principles.

First, seared scallops in lobster nage with fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus ($24). Nage, or “a la nage,” translates to “swimming,” and the preparation technique is all about the sauce. In this case, the scallops — big ones — were seared to a caramel brown and floated artfully atop a savory lobster sauce. A small handful of tender potatoes and a fan of asparagus complemented the scallops in both flavor and presentation.

Bravo also to The Osprey’s crab linguine ($21) with Maine crab, asparagus, spring peas, lemon, Parmesan and bread crumbs. Served as a large portion in a large bowl, the meal had no heavy, thick pasta sensibility. Instead, it was a light but substantial treat, capitalizing on the delicate blend of crisp vegetables and an abundance of tasty Maine crab meat.

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My favorite item though, was The Osprey’s salmon BLT ($12) and its ability to elevate the humble sandwich from a quick pub-style pick-up into a meal worth anticipating.

The high-quality, impossibly lean smoked bacon and tender salmon filet might be expected, but the expertly fried green tomatoes (if I closed my eyes, these tasted straight off a Southern table) and the tangy lemon aoli were not. The bacon, tangy green tomato with a crispy coating, smooth salmon and citrus aoli all combined to make a sandwich experience worth remembering.

The same happy surprise came in the form of romaine salad ($6), served deconstructed with a mammoth heart of romaine placed beside three paper-thin anchovy filets, a few briny kalamata olives and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Drizzled with a Caesar dressing, this is a salt lover’s salad.

When The Osprey menu gets creative, it soars. For standards? Not so much.

While I recognize that lobster rolls are, largely, a matter of individual taste and preference, The Osprey’s version offered too little lobster meat mixed with too much mayonnaise for my taste. Add a too-soft roll and watery cole slaw, and I cannot endorse it. Not because it is inherently foul, just because there are so many other wonderful menu items.

For example, mussels ($10) arrived in a tomato-based sauce with bacon slivers (the same applewood-smoked as the BLT, I suspect), and its smoky tomato-based sensibilities made it seem almost like barbecue sauce.

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I was not expecting to love these barbecue mussels, but I absolutely did.

Desserts rotate, and if it’s available, order the brownie. The Osprey slices its thin, with two slivers, pound cake-style, set on top of a caramel pool sprinkled with almonds and topped with fresh strawberries and cream.

The peanut brittle cheesecake is also a fantastic choice, with its chocolate cookie crust, fudge coating and rich peanut butter filling.

Wines are available by the glass in the $7 to $8 range, with bottles at $23 to $40. The wine list is meant to be accessible, but it does have a few nice surprises.

The Michel Lynch sauvignon blanc was one of them. For a hot summer day with a variety of foods to sample, this inexpensive general-purpose wine complemented nearly all the table’s flavors and textures.

For a non-alcoholic alternative, The Osprey brews its own unsweetened iced tea, and that too yielded a lovely experience.

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Friendly service, an interesting menu, wines to suit most tastes and a view that tourists travel great distances to see. Add some good company, and a meal at The Osprey makes for a Maine summer afternoon or evening to remember.

Hurry to The Osprey, though, because like its avian namesake, its menu is only in Maine for the briefest of seasons.

Shonna Milliken Humphrey is a Maine freelance writer and author of the novel “Show Me Good Land.”

 


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