KENNEBUNKPORT — The Boathouse Restaurant, the newest dining venue of the Kennebunkport Resort Collection, is now open with an innovative menu developed under the leadership of Executive Chef John Shaw.

 The restaurant, located on the Kennebunk River and steps from Dock Square, has also been redesigned to reflect vibrant “maritime chic” interiors that celebrate the surrounding water views and Maine-centric menu that includes a dedicated Lobster Bar.

“We’re thrilled to unveil the new restaurant just as the summer seasons kicks-off for both the community and visitors,” said Tim Harrington, founding partner and creative director of KRC. “The restaurant’s design concept perfectly highlights Chef Shaw’s creative and approachable menu of fresh-caught seafood and locally inspired dishes.”

Shaw, a Kennebunk native who spent seven years at The Tides Beach Club, unveils a menu fashioned as “classically Maine” focusing on fresh seafood favorites sprinkled with his signature flourishes and Asian influences. True to Kennebunkport’s coastal location, the Lobster Bar serves chilled Maine lobster tail, Maine lobster tacos, Maine oysters, scallop crudo, and more fresh-from-the-ocean delicacies.

Maine lobster is featured throughout the menu in the classic lobster roll, inventive lobster spring rolls, and the Lobster in the Rough: a whole lobster with sides of chowder, mussels and corn. The local haddock sandwich, “Oysters Kennebunkport,” and buffalo fried shrimp round out more sophisticated entrees like the grilled rib eye, seared shrimp and scallops, and pan-seared halibut “chowder.”  

Other featured “turf” dishes include the half-pound Angus burger, a house-roasted turkey club sandwich, Thai steak and noodle salad, and BBQ chicken under a brick with bacon and chipotle cream corn.

Chef Shaw has sourced much of the products and ingredients from local purveyors including lettuce greens and seasonal veggies from Laughing Stock Farm in Freeport, ME; Flying Goat Farm’s farmstead cheese made from Nubian goats’ milk in southern Maine; and mushrooms locally foraged by Tibbetts Mushroom Company in Scarborough, Maine.

With a happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, the two bars in the restaurant feature a sophisticated menu of hand-crafted cocktails, along with five Maine and New England beers on rotating tap as well as a thoughtfully curated wine list.

The cocktail list includes Rosé & Shine, a concoction of Aperol, granny smith apple, sparkling rosé, and rosemary. The light and bright Cape Porpoise Cooler features vodka, blueberry chamomile syrup, elder flower liqueur, cucumber shrub and soda.

The restaurant, serving lunch and dinner daily from noon to 9 p.m. and is located in The Boathouse Waterfront Hotel at 21 Ocean Ave. in Kennebunkport.

The Boathouse Restaurant has a chic, maritime-inspired atmosphere that subtly blends the seafaring sensibility of Southern Maine with more rustic details among a fresh color palette of grays and crisp white, polished woods, pops of nautically-themed Ralph Lauren fabric, and subway-tiled accent walls. The redesign of both the indoor and outdoor dining areas has created a more spirited social seating and vibrant bar spaces.

The front bar, main bar and new Lobster Bar feature a mix of  white subway tile and shiplap boards, with white quartz bar tops crafted from Maine marble and granite. Lining the bar to create a rustic yet modern texture are open shelves made from wood with wrought iron accents used to display a variety of cocktail, wine and beer glasses. Also behind the Lobster Bar is navy blue tile work in the shape of Maine with a heart locating Kennebunkport, hand-crafted by Distinctive Tile in Kennebunk.

The centerpiece of the main dining room is a custom-built, high-top farmhouse table that accommodates 10 diners, with a statement chandelier above that blends modern brass with industrial, hand-wrapped rope fashioned into a large nautical knot. The surrounding seating is made from polished oak-wood tabletops and chairs with black metal legs featuring decorative gold rivets.

Customized corner booths and banquettes, upholstered in blue Ralph Lauren fabric with abstract white and red, were created for guests’ comfort and privacy. Window seats with built-in cocktail tables offer intimate seating with gorgeous water views.

The lobby of The Boathouse Waterfront Hotel was also updated during the redesign with vintage wicker couches, pendant lights, and artwork by Christopher Becker featuring lobster boats on the Kennebunkport harbor.

For more about the hotel visit www.boathouseme.com; for more information on the KRC portfolio of restaurants and hotels, visit www.kennebunkportresortcollection.com.