Seneca Harbor Station

The view was amazing, but that was about it! Went, on a Saturday night for wife’s 40^th. First, took about a half an hr for our drinks. The clam strips came out blacker than the checkers on the tray liner. My wife ordered a rare prime rib. which came out well done. Then the waiter places it on the tray to go back to the kitchen, goes and waits on another table, and then takes it back, to the kitchen… only to return to say that it could not be rare, to pick another steak. So instead of bringing out a flat iron as asked, a rib eye was brought out .and then charged for it. Luckily, they fixed it and took off an additional $ 6 …gee thanks! My wife received her dinner, «on the fly», when everyone else was ready for dessert! No apology, no manager appearance… nothing! Never again! And who runs out of Mich Ultra? Oh well.

Beautiful view of the lake, we were able to sit outside next to the piers, food took a while, but we were told up front they were a lil behind. we didn’t care! It was relaxing to sit out in the fresh air and sunshine! It was a shame they didn’t have any local craft beers on tap so we had to settle for domestic draft beer. Food was amazing, definitely pricey, but very tasty! Staff was very attentive for being outside they were constantly running back and forth with orders.

The service here was amazing! Very personable waitress! We were seated immediately, no wait. Our drinks and appetizers were brought out within 10 minutes of being seated! We chose the mussels as our appetizer and they were delectable! We had lobster and steak and garlic mashed potatoes, wild rice and shrimp. Everything was so quick and well cooked, we will be back for sure!

Really great food. Don’t get the sangria though. They put no alcohol in it, and it’s $ 26 a pitcher!

The portions were small and not very good. When you pay the $ 2.99 to upgrade for a salad they take away the chips you get with your sandwich which isn’t clear. Not worth the price, would not recommend you try this place. Service was ok. Also don’t bring kids… A kids meal is $ 9.99!

Beautiful view of Seneca Lake. Wish I could say more positive things about this restaurant. The service was terrible, the food was delivered cold and we didn’t get our salad. The waitress neither apologized or offered drinks, dessert or any type of compensation. I wouldnt expect that type of service when our entrées where $ 28. Wouldn’t dine here again or recommend.

The food is what gave this review ⁴⁄₅. The food was quite delicious. I got the mussels and clams appetizer as my entrée and my husband got the filet. Both entrees relied a little too heavily on using butter, but we’re still quite tasty. The dessert we ordered, peanut butter pie, was just eh. They need to hire a dessert chef who can make quality desserts to match their food.
We sat out on the patio, which could be why our service was so bad. The view was beautiful and it was really nice eating out doors. It took about 10 – 15 minutes before my husband got up and got us menus on our own. Then another 10 minutes to order. Once our order was put in, our food came out within an appropriate amount of time. I would recommend that people either sit on the deck to eat (still get a good view) or inside, but not the patio due to the poor service.

After reading the reviews, we were skeptical.
However I am happy we ignored them. Dinner was fantastic. Great service and a wonderful view.

View is very nice… food?.. not the best for the price! Waitress was nice and informative to 1^st time guest.

Super awesome location. Amazing scenery. The food was pretty good, too! Their sangria was amazing and so fresh. Went here for a birthday and the service was fast and they were very friendly. Not very attentive though as it was sort of busy and their were huge parties there. A little bit pricey for what you get, but still yummy!
X’s and O’s!
J

Food is pretty good but really overpriced. They weren’t gross-​looking, like many people here said, but they were definitely not worth the expensive prices… We got Captain’s Broiled Seafood Platter, which was decent, but the crab cake wasn’t very good (doesn’t taste fresh). The dish tasted a bit saltier than it ideally should be. We also got Maui Luau Shrimp & Chicken — the Thai sweet chili sauce was sweet and very delicious! Everything else was average/​decent though. The shrimps from all our dishes didn’t taste very fresh (but not terrible either). I wouldn’t trust this place to get truly «fresh» food (especially crab cakes. Only Maryland has the best crab cakes!).

The location is amazing and it is unfortunate the food does not compare with the view this place has.
To start we ordered their world famous NE Clam Chowder and it was pretty good. Flavor was nice though the broth was a little chalky/​gritty for my taste. I personally prefer a thinner broth. Overall though it was a decent cup of chowder.
I also ordered the bacon-​wrapped scallop appetizer and it was not good at all. It was definitely frozen and because of that the scallops had a very mushy consistency and didn’t have very good flavor. They were also WAY over-​priced.
My wife ordered the pizza appetizer and that is definitely not an appetizer for a single person. It was quite large but it too was not very good. The sauce was way too chunky and it had very little flavor. Just a very flat taste.
One of our other guests ordered a crostini but I don’t believe the chef knows what a crostini is because it came out on a huge piece of bread with an unappealing fresca topping that basically looked like green and white mush. The taste was bland as well.
I really just don’t understand how a chef can let unseasoned food go out their kitchen.

When I was looking for a place to eat I saw this place and wanted to try it. When I walked in the door I was immediately greeted by the bartender, he was very friendly. He found the hostess who looked less than thrilled that I was there. She then proceeded to tell me she didn’t know where the menus where. Seriously? I had to wait for the manager to come to hand it to me. Then instead of seating me I just got a blank stare from the hostess. I asked her she was thinking of seating me and she rolled her eyes at me. That was it for me. I walked out after thanking the bartender for being polite. If you can’t handle customer service then don’t work at a restaurant!!!

I’m going to go ahead and be generous here (and yes, I consider ³⁄₅ stars generous), because my mother and I had dinner here and she loved her meal… while I was really «blah» about my food and various parts of the experience.
Because I knew we were going for dinner, as well as how many people come to Watkins Glen during this time of year to spend time near the lake, I called ahead to make reservations. The woman who answered the phone told me they didn’t take reservations for parties under 8, but they will add my info to their «wait list» so there wouldn’t be a wait for a table once we got there. I’m not convinced there’s even a difference between the two, but I tell her that’s fine and request a table outside in the shade (for what it’s worth, the deck has more shade… comparatively…but the patio tables with umbrellas are closer to the water and any live music if/​when it’s being played).
We arrive (after having to hunt down parking, which is… well, pretty unpleasant) and are seated quickly. The older gentleman helping to initially seat people was an absolute, total sweetheart (he even came back to our table later to tell my mother more about the red wine special, a local pinot noir, when she didn’t really know how to answer questions about it). I’d consider him a highlight of our visit, honestly.
After a few minutes, our waitress comes over to take our drink order. I ask about order a glass of prosecco, which is apparently not an option. They have prosecco, but the restaurant doesn’t want to sell anything bubbly unless it’s by the bottle. I get the hesitation to sell by the glass (the restaurant is generally afraid the bubbles will go flat or expensive bottles will be wasted due to few orders), but prosecco and mimosa-​style drinks would be an easy sell during the toasty days of summer, and especially for brunch! My mother asks our waitress, Mary, if they make mimosas though and Mary hesitates for a minute before saying she’ll put in the order. I’m confused by this and figure something must be off… but I’ll give Mary the benefit of the doubt; that said, it isn’t long until Mary comes back with a mojito. Oops! My mother sends it back.
My mother does end up ordering a glass of the red wine special for that night though (I had ordered a basic riesling), and we order our appetizers — mussels for me, steamed clams for my mother. We also order our meals, with my mother ordering the Broiled Seafood Platter. I end up ordering the Seafood Pasta Bianco, a linguine pasta with seafood and covered in an alfredo sauce.
The speed of service is fine, and it isn’t long before our apps come out. My mother really enjoyed her steamed clams, and my mussels were ultimately fine… though the broth at the bottom of the bowl could certainly have ended up with more seasoning. I also ended up with some cracked mussels too, so some shell bits were all over the place. Not the most pleasant thing ever.
The main courses come out after we’re done with our apps and my mother is thrilled with her variety of seafood (though I can’t say it looked all that appetizing to me, with things kinda thrown onto the plate — and, if it were me, I surely would have wanted a crispier outside to my crab cake). My pasta bianco is… fine? I mean, it lacked seasoning… that’s for sure. The alfredo sauce was paste-​like in consistency. It just tasted «blah,» that’s all. We continued our meals and just enjoyed the breeze coming in from the water though.
TL;DR Maybe I’ve been spoiled by some of my great meals from travels all around, but this fell very flat to me. The setting is great for a hot summer day, but the food doesn’t stand out at all. I’m just not sure what other options in the Watkins Glen-​area provide a better array if you’re craving seafood.

We went to lunch at Watkins Glen’s Seneca Harbor Station after spending a couple of hours up the road at The Windmill. My first time at SHS and I enjoyed myself, particularly with the outdoor seating. Most people who dined outdoors chose the tables with umbrellas closer to the water. We sat on the porch where we were assured of total shade and a gentle breeze. Our porch table was right next to the railing and as soon as we were seated, I noticed a small bird dropping on the railing by the table. Little things like that nag at me! I eventually asked our waiter (Rolland) if he would please remove it. He did so, willingly and discreetly. I didn’t get a look at much of the inside of SHS, just the bathroom which could stand cleaning and updating.
We started our meal with cups of clam chowder. Very good except too salty for me. My dining companion suggested that I like very little salt so maybe it was more noticeable to me. But, we’ve eaten at many restaurants and SHS (and The Montage just outside of Watkins Glen) tend to be heavy handed on the salt. A problem when you’re trying to limit your sodium intake. I’ve got to get a backbone and return things that are over-​salted.
My turkey panini was delicious and my dining companion liked his seafood platter so much that he took home his leftovers. All in all, Seneca Harbor Station was «A-​OK» (thus the three stars). Not enough to draw me back anytime soon, if at all.

We had lobster and shrimp dip app, crab cake Caesar salad, fish and chips, kids pasta and meatballs. We thought it was good and service was pretty good. We came in middle of afternoon 2:30−4pm. So it wasn’t real busy. View is pretty.

Very good meals and excellent view of the lake. Friendly staff and service. Close to Watkins Glen.

The food was good, and the view of the harbor was beautiful but the open room was extremely noisy. It was themed and well decorated so inviting, but the echoing was overwhelming. The service was very slow for our table but the manager was quick to comp desert or a round of drinks for our table. Server was very sweet and attentive during our wait.

What a great meal. I had the salmon with the lobster sauce mashed potatoes and a
dining partner had the Pasta with shrimp and mussels clams in a red sauce. They give you this wonderful loaf of bread with garlic and butter hot. We enjoyed a glass of the Glenora Chardonnay with our meal. Restaurant was pretty busy, so we were served very quickly. There was a bus group there… Spectacular view of Seneca lake and the harbor area. Beautiful views of fall foliage. We were staying in Mansfield Pennsylvania with very limited food choices and decided to stop here on our way back from the wineries.

I don’t know why I keep punishing myself with this place. Probably because of that damned outdoor deck overlooking Seneca Lake. It makes you THINK you’re going to have a great experience. But that just never happens.
This place is all kinds of meh. Dirty glasses, dirty plates, cheap silverware, food served on Corelle Ware. I’m positive the seafood is all frozen. Poor presentation all around. Please see my attached picture (entitled «Slop.jpg») of our lobster and shrimp dip appetizer that we ordered yesterday. I am convinced it doubles as a soup on the lunch menu during the week. Gross! Oily, soupy dip with the oddest looking yellow toast that will shred the roof of your mouth upon your first bite.
I give this place two stars for the view from the deck and the pickles. Yes, the pickles. The ones that are served on the side of your main dish. They are perfection.
I’m done with this place. Done!