Not all of the ice this February will be on the ponds and lakes - we’re planning an Ice Bar, February 9-11, right here at Natalie’s. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, imagine a bar, carved out of ice. It’s a beautiful, temporary, work of art - yet functional, since it also has a martini luge, making it possible for us to pour your martini right down the luge and into your waiting glass. The Ice Bar is tremendous fun, and just in time for the US National Toboggan Championships down the road at the Camden Snowbowl. Toboggan run in the daytime, party at the Ice Bar at night.

The Ice Bar

February 14 is Valentine’s Day. Every year we celebrate this day of romance with a very special three-course or five-course dinner (a la carte dining is also available). We’ll announce our menu soon, but don’t wait too long to make reservations, we always sell out early. Natalie’s was named New England’s Most Romantic Restaurant. Perhaps it’s the fine wine, or the delicious food, or the cozy red furniture. Whatever it is, we know people like to get engaged - and get married - in our restaurant, so romance is always in the air here.

Natalie's, ready for romance

We hope you’ll join us in February for a romantic dinner or for a drink at the Ice Bar and a fun night out! If you’d like to make a night of it, be sure to check out our variety of packages, we’ve got something for everyone.

At Natalie’s restaurant we celebrate New Year’s Eve with two festive menus: a five course menu that is available at 5 pm and an 8 course menu at 8 p.m. Both of Chef Geoffroy Deconinck’s menus start with an oyster (we will substitute something equally divine if you don’t like oysters) and include options of House Made Salmon Gravlax served with dill, crushed pepper and horseradish cream or a Cauliflower Veloute with saffron, apple and croutons; pumpkin risotto; and for a main course, Butter Poached Halibut accompanied by spinach puree, a medley of rainbow potatoes and Thumbelina carrots or Pan Seared Beef Ribeye, Braised Cheeks, celery root puree, glazed pearl onions and bordelaise sauce. For dessert, both menus offer a traditional New Year’s Eve dessert of Nougat Glace and Exotic Fruits.

The 8 course menu also offers a third course option of House Made Beef Ravioli Tomato with confit, broccolini and Parmesan foam or Pan Seared Sea Scallop with braised endives and preserved winter black truffle, a sixth course of an international cheese plate and for a seventh course, Chocolate Mousse with a berries coulis.

To add to the festivities, guests who dine at Natalie’s on New Year’s Eve are invited to join in the New Year’s Eve party with live music, dancing and hors d’oeuvres as well as a champagne toast at midnight.

Reservations are accepted through opentable.com or give us a call at 207-236-7008. And if you’d like to spend the night, be sure to take a look at our sumptuous two-night New Year’s Eve package at the Camden Harbour Inn.

We hope you will join us to ring in the New Year!

We love Thanksgiving at the Inn. Thanksgiving was a holiday we had only heard about before moving here but it’s a holiday we have since fully embraced. It brings people together for a great meal and sets aside time to say thanks for everything, so what isn’t to love? We were especially proud to have been named to America’s Best Online for places to enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner.

Our Thanksgiving menu is a real show stopper with turkey (of course) and a few special items too. We hope you agree!

Thanksgiving Day 2011
Natalie’s

Executive Chef Geoffroy Deconinck
Maitre ‘D/Sommelier Alejandro Marchesini

Amuse-Bouche
Chicken Curry on a Papadum
Celery Remoulade
Mushroom a la Grecque

First Course
Wild Mushroom Soup, Pumpkin Seeds, Scallion, Croutons, Wild Local Mushrooms
Or
Sea Scallops on a Thin Crust, Leek Fondue and Caviar Sauce

Second Course
Pumpkin Ravioli, Brown Butter, Roasted Capers and Sage Foam

Third Course
Halibut, Crushed Jerusalem Artichokes, Salsifis, Leeks and Syrah Sauce
Or
Turkey Two Ways: Roasted Breast and Legs Ballotine, Cranberry Marmalade, Root
Vegetables and Butternut Squash puree
Or Vegetarian option:
Assiette Gourmande of Vegetables: Celeriac, Squash, Carrot, Salsifis, Turnip, Celery,
Pearl onion, Cauliflower and Potato Gnocchi

Fourth Course
Cheese Degustation

Fifth Course
Assiette Trilogy:
Vanilla-Cinnamon Crème Brulee, Pumpkin Ice Cream Sundae,
Mini Apple Tart Tatin

Tasting menu Seventy-Eight
Wine Pairing Sixty-Seven
This menu is subject to change. Give us a call, 800-236-4266.

November in Maine is accompanied by crisp ocean breezes, we can almost smell snow in the air. It won’t be long before the snow begins to fall (in fact, we had some snow just last night!), making Camden one of the most picturesque spots anywhere.

The fireplace in the lounge is ready to warm you up, and some of our rooms have fireplaces too, so no matter where you are you can find a cozy spot to relax and enjoy yourself. Our mixologist is also an expert at creating warming cocktails, with or without alcohol, perfect for fall weather.

And if you already have plans for Thanksgiving, Christmas is just around the corner, we’ll have a great Christmas Day Dinner Menu to share soon too as well as some nice packages if you are planning to stay overnight.

See you soon!

Raymond and Oscar

These days of warmth and sunshine are an especially great time to be a Chef because it means that gardens are bursting at the seams with fresh produce. At Natalie’s, we source locally whenever we can, and in the summer the kitchen takes advantage of all the wonderful flavors available.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources can tell you exactly when your favorite seafood is in season. Luckily for those in Maine, lobster is in season all year round. Especially lucky is that summer – right now – is the season for soft shell (or new shell) lobster, which many believe is a sweeter lobster.

Not many in other parts of the world know that lobsters shed their hard shells as they outgrow them. This time of year is a treat for people visiting (or living) in Maine; no one else will get to experience the soft shell lobster because they are so tender at this stage they do not survive long-distance transportation, unlike hard-shell lobsters.

This is an especially great time to come to Natalie’s and experience our Four Course Lobster Tasting Menu. It changes daily and elevates lobster to new culinary heights. You may enjoy your meal on our porch overlooking the harbor while you watch the lobster boats and sail boats go by, or dine in the luxurious comfort of the dining room in the Camden Harbour Inn.

Curious about what else you might find at markets or in our restaurant these days? The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association offers some really useful information about what’s seasonal during each month of the year. What are farmers harvesting throughout the summer?

-    Berries and stone fruits, including blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, and peaches are in season at various points throughout the summer. You can also find cucumbers, peppers, peas, summer squash, melons and tomatoes.

-    Hearty vegetables, such as beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, eggplant, onions, and potatoes are widely available. There is also broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, radishes, turnips.

-    Aromatics, such as celery, fennel, garlic, leeks, scallions, shallots, and herbs are in season. So, too, are greens of all shapes and sizes: lettuces, kale, chard, bok choy, mustard greens, arugula, beet greens, and so many others.

If you’re planning a visit to Camden, we hope you’ll visit us at Natalie’s for some amazing preparations of Maine’s finest local ingredients.

Bon Appetit!

We hope you’ll join us in welcoming our new Restaurant Manager and sommelier at Natalie’s!

Alex, the new sommelier and restaurant manager.

Alejandro (Alex) Marchesini joins us in Midcoast Maine by way of Boston’s best, followed by an enviable epicurean tasting tour of California, Argentina, and Italy. He was trained at Boston University’s School of Hospitality, where he specialized in everything wine, and went through their rigorous Sommelier certification program.

Wine is something we take seriously at the Camden Harbour Inn and at Natalie’s. Wine can make or break a meal, a weekend, or an entire vacation, and we take pride in offering the best with your room, your dinner, or any time of day.

Alex understands this; he is a trained, experienced, and talented Sommelier, with an in-depth knowledge of and passion for fine wine and liquor. His years of professional experience in luxury hotels and fine dining (such as Scampo at the Liberty Hotel and Locke-Ober) as well as his training and hands-on experience have made him a true connoisseur.

Whether it’s three-Euro carafes of homemade red wine in Greece or Single Malt Scotch from the highlands, a drink is a manifestation of a place, a people, and a culture.

A perfectly curated wine list can bring a menu to heights never possible by a chef alone. And for this we are eminently grateful and thrilled to welcome Alejandro into the family.

Please say hello when you see him.

We’ve just introduced a new summer menu celebrating summer’s bounty and highlighting the flavors and ingredients of summer in Maine in each dish.

Maine summer for many starts with strawberries in June, continuing with raspberries and blueberries and moving on to plums and even peaches in August; tomatoes, sweet late-summer corn, cucumbers, peppers, squash, lettuces and greens all make an appearance, too. Of course we also have our fair share of local cheeses, meats, and fish. Maine chefs are presented with this irresistible temptation all summer long; lucky us.

Our new menu stays true to Chef Geoffroy Deconinck’s classic French roots while infusing influences as disparate as the Far East and Down East. Enjoy our menu on the porch overlooking the harbor and the village of Camden, or relax in luxury in our comfortable dining room.

Try a mesclun salad with local goat cheese (August is Goat Cheese Month) or salmon tartare made with garden-fresh herbs. Or perhaps a grilled local lamb kebab with cumin and feta salad will tempt you? As always, Maine lobster is an option, as is local halibut with chorizo and smoked paprika.

Cucumbers are in season, and we have a refreshing new cucumber gazpacho with cherry tomatoes and mint yogurt. Our oysters will be served with yuzu and cucumber foam. Sweet corn also starts appearing as summer progresses; our Maine lobster is roasted and served with corn puree and sugar snap peas for a true New England summer dining experience. We are also offering a corn risotto with English peas and cherry tomatoes.

For dessert, light, summery flavors abound; try Drambuie and Navan Vanilla Liqueur in your after-dinner coffee (for Smooth Sailing, as they say). Vanilla crème brulee is served with house-made white peach sorbet and rhubarb marmalade, and the French classic Peche Melba is served with house-made vanilla ice cream, shaved almonds and berry sauce.

Throughout the summer, Natalie’s offers the new menu for a la carte dining and 3- and 5- course tasting menus. We also offer the 4-course Lobster Tasting Menu Grand Cru.

No matter your menu choices, our Sommelier Alex Marchesini can suggest the perfect wine for your meal.

We look forward to serving you soon and sharing in summer’s abundance.

Natalie’s Summer Menu
Appetizers

Oysters of the Day

Maine Chilled Fruit De Mer
Daily fresh caught selection of Maine’s bounty

Mesclun Salad
Farm fresh served with cherry tomatoes, local goat cheese, Parmesan baskets and dressed with an Aged Red Wine Vinegar and Mustard

Chilled Cucumber Gazpacho
Summer medley of green peppers, cherry tomatoes, mint yogurt.

Lobster Bisque
Accompanied by a lobster claw tempura seasoned with seaweed salt.

Salmon Tartare
Prepared with herbs from our gardens, a hint of Worcestershire shaved radish, croutons and served
on a bed of cucumber Carpaccio

Local Sea Scallops
Served with Hon-Shimeji mushroom, tomato coriander sauce and baby Bok Choy.

From the Sea
Roasted Maine Lobster
Accompanied by a corn puree, Royal trumpet mushrooms, sugar snaps and micro green salad

Local Halibut
Pan seared served with chorizo, smoked paprika a medley of peppers and broccolini

Scottish Salmon
Pepper crusted with an heirloom tomato ragout, white balsamic vinegar and a bean salad

From the Land
Roasted Duck
Mushroom Risotto, Cherry Marmalade and Celery Leaves

Grilled Local Lamb
Eggplant Caviar, Braised Meat, Kebab, Cumin and Feta Salad

Wagyu Sirloin Beef
Pan seared accompanied by vegetable brochettes, Swiss chard

Desserts
Selection of Sorbets
Daily changing selection of homemade sorbets

Vanilla Crème Brulee
House-made white peach Sorbet and rhubarb marmalade

New York Cheesecake
Almonds, vanilla and raspberry sorbet

Molten Chocolate Cake
Served with homemade vanilla ice-cream

Peche Melba
House-made vanilla ice-cream, shaved almonds and berry sauce

Selection of International Cheeses

Many of us have strong memories of ice cream desserts - sundaes piled high with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, banana splits dripping with goodness. Hot summer days, sticky fingers and smiles.

Executive Chef Geoffroy Deconinck has created an adult version of that memorable ice cream treat, a Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundae. A combination of the banana split and classic sundae, this dessert will make anyone smile. Homemade peanut butter ice cream, caramel sauce, toasted peanuts, roasted bananas (they have a wonderful caramelized surface) and as an added bonus, brownie croutons. We’ve found the brownie croutons to be particularly addictive. These small and crunchy brownie bits have just the right texture to compliment the smooth ice cream and just the right amount of chocolate to add to the peanut butter.

Natalie's Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundae

Next time you are at Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn, release the kid in you (or the kid at the table) and order a Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundae. You’ll be glad you did.

Spring is a foodie’s favorite time of year in Maine; it signals abundance at Farmer’s Markets after a long, cold, potato-ridden winter, it means the promise of more bounty to come, and the excitement of ingredients and techniques old and new; the next big thing and the tried and true.

At Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn

Fiddleheads served at Natalie's at Camden Harbour Inn

we take this seriously, sourcing from local purveyors as much as possible and coordinating our menu offerings to the seasonal availability of ingredients.

Early spring in Maine brings treats like fiddleheads, garlic scapes, ramps, even wild mushrooms. It progresses to asparagus, greens, and lettuces. The cornucopia of Maine-grown produce grows and grows, with its berries and other fruits, apples closing out the harvest through late fall.

At Natalie’s we anticipate the influx of these products from our local providers. We look forward to being able to incorporate locally grown and gathered produce during Maine’s short, but abundant, growing and harvesting season. We are lucky enough to be ocean side, with year-round access to fish and other seafood (what would a sea-side restaurant in Maine be without lobster?), but it is the excitement – spring fever, if you will – of early season local produce that really gets us going.

On our menu the bounty of spring is easy to spot in such refreshing dishes as the Carpaccio of Beets with Goat Cheese Panna Cotta, Spring Salad and Balsamic Vinaigrette; Scottish Salmon served with Crusted Yukon Gold, Fiddleheads, Sugar Snaps and a Herb Sabayon; Chilled Carrot Soup, Red Radish, Orange Segments and Lime Zest, and the Asparagus Risotto with Preserved Lemon and Spring Garlic Foam. And that’s just a few of the dishes from our first course section to get you started!

What a wholesome way to welcome the busy season.

We’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day at Natalie’s with a fabulous brunch for just $29 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). Brunch starts at 10 and ends at 2; give us a call (207) 236-7008 for your reservation for a perfectly decadent Sunday treat. The price includes non-alcoholic beverages and our mixologist, Tom Laslavic, has quite a following for his juicy concoctions. Last year we presented “Bon Matin,” a special morning Mother’s Day cocktail, on FOX TV’s Good Day Maine. Refreshing, delicious and fun, remember to order one on Sunday.

Here’s our Mother’s Day Menu:

Carving Station featuring Roasted Chicken Roulade, Herbes de Provence
Eggs Station (eggs any style)

Chauffant dishes:
-Pancakes, Waffles and Blueberry Muffins
-Lemongrass Poached Cod Fish with Coconut Rice
-Sausage, Bacon, Roasted Peppers
-House Made Beef Pastrami and Grilled Bread
-Pommes puree and minced chives
-Spring Vegetables sautéed with Olive oil

Other Choices include:
-Romaine Salad with Caesar dressing
-Viennoiseries, Chocolate Mousse and Lemon Tart
-Fresh Fruit
-House made Granola Parfait
-Assorted Cold Cuts
-Smoked Salmon and Condiments
-European Style Red Bliss Potato Salad, Old Grain Mustard and Hard Boiled Eggs

If you plan to celebrate in the evening we’ll be offering our 3 and 5 course tasting menus as well as our a la carte menu. As always, we also serve a lighter menu at our bar.

The bar opens at 5, reservations are available between 5:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Happy Mother’s Day and Bon Appetit!

Spring is finally here and with it we have introduced a new menu grounded in Executive Chef Geoffroy Deconinck’s classic French training and drawing inspiration from the internationally experienced staff, and especially from the harbor, which connects Camden to the rest of the world with all of its spices and traditions.

Camden Harbor, soon to be filled with boats.

Appetizers on the a la carte menu include a refreshing Carpaccio of Beets with a local goat cheese panna cotta, a colorful and tasty Chilled Carrot Soup with red radish, orange segments and lime zest and a flavorful Shrimp Tempura with exotic fruits, ginger, and sweet and sour dressing.

In an additional nod to the region and the season, Lobster Bisque and Asparagus Risotto with preserved lemon are also featured on the appetizer list.

The main course portion of the menu is separated into two categories, “From the Sea,” and “From the Land,” with offerings that include Halibut with Mustard Crust, Grilled Scottish Salmon, Duo of Local Lamb (braised belly and roasted leg) and Long Island Duck.

The Chef’s Grand Tasting Menu, available nightly, is an excellent option for diners planning to enjoy several courses. This menu is served as a three-course menu for $49 per person or a five-course menu for $78 and dinner guests enjoy an amuse bouche and house made chocolates in addition to Grand Tasting Menu. Select wine pairings are also available; the menu features oysters of the day, options from the a la carte menu and concludes with a selection of cheeses or dessert.

The restaurant’s bar menu is served at the bar or in the comfort of the lounge and features many of the our a la carte menu items in smaller portions. In addition, highlights include the popular Natalie’s Burger, a Hanger Steak and Beef Ravioli. As always, everything is made on the premises, from scratch.

For dessert, we have a selection of homemade sorbet, a Grand Marnier Parfait, Carrot Cake, Molten Chocolate Cake and a Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundae. A selection of International Cheeses is also available.

Natalie’s is open every night of the week, serving dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. For reservations visit opentable.com or call us, (207) 236-7008.

Bon appétit!