Farnsworth Cocktail Bar in downtown Waterville provides the perfect dining experience for those interested in stepping outside of their comfort zone.

Housed in a 100-year-old former bank, complete with the original vault visible behind the bar, the small venue that seats between three and four dozen with a small yet serene patio, offers seafood and “southern inspired” fare that would not be out of place in much larger city. 

The menu is small and one can order almost everything on the menu in two visits, although new dishes are added every so often depending on what is fresh and available. Most items are shareable, all have spectacular presentation, and both of this writer’s visits were marked by an ability to order four or five things over cocktails for a reasonable price, which added an exciting element of variety.

The pimento cheese chip dip ($8) was definitely unexpected. When one mentions dip, I think of a thick cream cheese base in which you can stand a chip up. This one was tangy, tasteful, and a little sour but thin and runny, which caught my dining partner and myself off guard.

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Serving it with flavored kettle chips was also an interesting choice but it kind of grows on you over time, especially when paired with one of the restaurant’s “signature cocktails” (the crazy lemon dayz, $12, was a well presented choice). 

Seafood is clearly the restaurant’s bread and butter.

The number of oyster preparations are among the first thing that catch the eye when looking at the menu.

For the more adventurous, the half dozen oysters ($16.50) provide the chance to try three different varieties of the mollusks raw and on the half shell. Though some varieties were more flavorful than others, all tasted fresh and were excellent when garnished with cocktail sauce and horseradish.

But the House Love oysters ($3 each), provide a more accessible entry point for those looking to partake without braving their previously mentioned counterparts. These are served baked with a lovely topping of sourdough bread crumbs, parmesan and garlic butter, that especially with a squeeze of lemon, offsets the fishiness of the oyster very well.

The New Orleans BBQ shrimp ($35) is said to be the restaurant’s signature dish and it did not disappoint.

It was cooked and served with shell on, which I had not seen before, but I think that preparation led to the most buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, lobster-like shrimp I have ever tasted.

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It would require peeling in most cases but the shell clearly retains and pockets the sauce within, allowing it to seep in and cook the shrimp just right. 

It pairs well with the provided grilled lemon and the specially-made and bottled house serrano sauce which elevates the dish to new heights of taste and experience.

The shrimp is also served with two hunks of sourdough that are perfect for soaking up the buttery, savory, hot sauce-tinged BBQ sauce the shrimp comes in.

The house double cheeseburger ($13) which appears on the menu as a classic alternative option, also lives up to billing. Seemingly just a cheeseburger, beneath a toasted bun lies a wondrous, near perfect creation.

The meat is soft and barely a patty, but again melts in the perfect way. 

Served with a mayo-y secret “burger sauce,” along with onion and a pickle, the only thing missing is some fries (it comes just by itself), but even so my dining companion on our second visit described the sandwich as one of the best of its kind he has ever had.

And of the potential side dishes, in this case the cheddar cauliflower soup ($10), goes with the sandwich very well.

Other items on the menu, but not tried, include a crawfish étouffée ($26), a shrimp salad sandwich ($18), and a prime bar filet ($40).

Farnsworth is a place of contrasts: burgers and oysters, fancy and casual, elevated cuisine, and quaint downtown Waterville. There is truly something for everyone here.  

First Published October 12, 2023, 1:00 p.m.