I’m sorry, Blackwater, because this is not going to be pretty. But it’s not my fault that you’re not really trying. So, here we go…

Let’s start with the positive:

First, accolades for creating such a comfortable and inviting space. The Blackwater Grill is located on the outskirts of Salem, NH in an old house. They have a formal dining room and a less formal bar space with a fireplace and more tables for diners.  We sat at the bar. I’d forgotten what a pleasant room this is with warm yellow walls, a brick fireplace, large windows and a shiny copper backsplash behind the bar. Also noteworthy is a large deck that is great for dining al fresco in warmer months.

We started with cocktails — a Manhattan for Mr. Rabbit and a gin Gimlet for me. These are our go-to cocktails in spots where we don’t have a lot of confidence in the bar (i.e. where there is no fresh citrus on display), as these drinks are relatively easy to execute. Blackwater indeed did a fine job with both.

Also worth mentioning was our barkeep and server. She was knowledgeable about the menu, efficient, attentive, and very amiable… so thumbs up on service, an area were so many restaurants go wrong.

But we also have to talk about the food, and this is where the bad news comes in. BG is under new management, but the menu remains largely the same as before this switch. It’s one of those little-bit-of-everything menus that reads much like many of the other chain restaurants so ubiquitous in Salem (TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, 99, etc.). Sadly, Blackwater’s kitchen does little to distinguish it from such culinary mediocrity. 

I ordered from the appetizer menu — a shrimp cocktail and a Greek salad. Note that soups and salads are not listed on the dinner menu, but they have several varieties if you ask your server. This is a bit annoying, and makes the menu read as if there are next to no health conscious options.  My crustaceans clearly came from a bag in the freezer and they tasted tired. The cocktail sauce needed more heat and would have tasted much fresher revved up with some horseradish. As it was, it tasted like grocery-store ketchup-y sauce, and I expect that’s exactly what it was.

My salad was generous on the lettuce, but needed some cucumber to be a very convincing Greek salad and BG was parsimonious with the cheese, which was just as well since it was a bland, inauthentic excuse for feta. The dressing was also a disappointment, an overly gloopy vinaigrette which I also suspect also came from pre-fab vat.

Mr. Rabbit’s “Greek tragedy” pasta was, well, just that. The serving was generous, with a good amount of seafood (scallops and shrimp), spinach, olives, tomato, and a cheesy sauce (including chunks of the feta which precipitated my earlier complaint). It looked a bit gelatinous and it tasted much as it looked.

We were delighted to find that most desserts are made in-house. After some deliberation we chose the pecan square with ice cream (I wanted the chocolate peppermint cake, but made a concession). Unfortunately, the house-made square was overwhelmed with a mound of fixin’s… vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. This sundae-like confection was delicious in that TGI Friday’s kind of way, but not actually very good.

We noticed toward the end of the meal that we did not get a bread basket (other diners did), and while we didn’t really need the carbs, this kind of oversight always irks me (thus a slight demerit on otherwise excellent service).

Blackwater Grill, you offer a setting and a level of warmth and service that sets you apart, but your food is simply not very good. The kitchen relies on too many low quality, pre-fab ingredients… your food suffers for this laziness and so does your clientele. Moreover, we think food has actually gone downhill since our last visit (when it was still under previous management). I want to sing higher praises but the only thing that separates your food from the chains is that it’s not as good. Overall: disappointing (actually, downright bad).

www.theblackwatergrill.com

Posted on January 30th, 2009 by rabbit
Filed under: New England, Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized