The Landing, New Hope, PA

After walking around Doylestown on Friday night, I was craving the simple experience of eating somewhere with a water view. Aaron mentioned a restaurant he knew in New Hope that had a terrace overlooking the Delaware River, and our plans for Saturday night began to materialize.



After the usual, somewhat difficult task of finding parking in New Hope, we arrived at the restaurant around 7:30pm. The terrace was large with a well-positioned bar that took advantage of the view. There was a 30 minute wait for a table so we made our way to the bar where some very friendly patrons opened up an area for us to take a seat. We requested a "water table", which are tables for two lining the railing directly overlooking the river. This request seemed nothing out of the ordinary to the hostess; in fact, we got the idea from someone else already in-line. Sitting at the bar, gazing over the river, we eyed up the "water tables" and were very pleased with ourselves and our decision to request one.

However, the perspective was slightly different once we were actually seated at the table. At eye level with the wood railing, I couldn't help but notice that they were covered in dirt and spider webs. Another thing we couldn't see or hear from the bar, was the river bank below the terrace. It was full of ducks and geese. It may sound cute, but a number of patrons were throwing food over the railing to the birds below which resulted in screaming, fighting, running and general pandemonium amongst the wildlife. While it was slightly amusing to watch the spider build its web and catch insects, it was not at all amusing to watch the river wildlife reduced to this ridiculous dance with the human species dining above them.

For our appetizers we ordered the Fried Calamari with cilantro-lime mayo and spicy tomato sauce for dipping, and the steamed mussels in corona with chorizo sausage, corn and cilantro. The calamari was over-cooked and the breading lacked any flavor and did not add anything to the dish. The two accompanying sauces were also lacking in seasoning and flavor. The spicy tomato sauce was bland, without any spicy nuisances to tease the palate. The cilantro-line mayo was slightly better, but still forgettable. The mussels were quite good and the chorizo sausage was a rewarding addition to the dish. The broth was a yummie combination of ocean flavors and crisp summer tones.

For our entrees, Aaron went with the Lobster Ravioli with shaved manchego cheese, while I selected the sauteed Atlantic Salmon with Chiptole Orange sauce. Aaron was quite pleased with the Ravioli but I thought the dish was too heavy on the sauce and the presentation looked more like a pasta soup than a refined dish of ravioli. The salmon was well-cooked but in this case the sauce was actually a glaze, and while good, was quite sweet and none of the spice of the chiptole came through. Overall, it did not quite meet my expectations, based on the menu description.

Would we go there again? Maybe. The nice thing about the Landing, is that the menu covers a wide-range of prices. While our entrees were 18.95 and 25.95 respectively, I think if we visited again, we would be better served to order a less substantial sandwich and sit away from the water so as not to have to experience the dirty railing, trash laden retaining wall and horde of degraded wildlife fighting for table scraps below. The Landing would be better served if they would take a broom to the railing before opening, clean the trash up from their retaining wall and encourage patrons to observe nature and its wildlife - not engage with it by inducing a feeding spectacle.