01The Dockhouse
Twenty-two feet from the working dock, with a working hearth, a single long window facing west, and a door that opens onto the slips. The Dockhouse seats thirty-eight for a sit-down dinner, twelve for a reception, and one couple for the question they've been saving since spring.
Fridays & Saturdays typically book nine to twelve months out. Weeknight and Sunday windows are usually open within sixty days.
02The Room Itself
Four things that are true of every Dockhouse evening, regardless of who's at the table.
One long family table, four rounds of eight, a U-shape for a presentation-style dinner — the room rearranges around your event, not the other way around. Standing reception capacity is 48.
The wood-fired hearth installed in 2017 throws real heat into the room by the time the first coat comes off. A small detail that makes a February proposal feel like one.
The harbor at sunset, unobstructed. We do not hang signage, art, or televisions in this room. The view is the room's only wallpaper.
The slip-and-dine program: pull up to our transient dock, radio us on Channel 9, and we meet you at the gate. No valet, no parking map — just the sound of your lines being made fast.
03Occasions
The room has hosted roughly four hundred private evenings since 2017. These are the three that account for most of them.
Anniversaries & proposals
Two-top at the window, the hearth already lit, a single carafe of something Margaret picked. The kitchen sends a six-course tasting on the chef's discretion — you don't choose, you trust. We've staged forty-one proposals in this room and we still haven't repeated the same dessert twice.
Family celebrations
Birthdays, confirmations, the once-a-decade reunion when cousins finally end up in the same room. Family-style service means platters land in the middle and people pass things. Grandparents hear the grandchildren. The room holds the noise well.
Local business & client entertaining
Retreat dinners, partner thank-yous, the close after a long negotiation. The Dockhouse reads as private without reading as formal — U-shape seating, AV screen on request, a printed menu card per cover with your company name if you'd like. Bills route to a single folio, gratuity handled separately.
04A note from a past host
"We'd been married forty-one years and never had a dinner that felt like ours. Margaret closed the kitchen for ninety minutes, the fireplace was already going, and the only sounds were the boats outside and my wife laughing at something I can't remember. Six courses. Nobody rushed us. They didn't clear a plate until she put her fork down. I think about that night more than I should."
05Layouts
The room is 38 by 22 feet, with the hearth on the north wall and the window on the west. Most hosts pick one of these four arrangements — or some honest hybrid of two.
A — One long table
Up to 38 seats. The default for family celebrations and full-room buyouts. Family-style service, platters in the middle.
B — Four rounds of eight
32 seats. The most common choice for client entertaining and milestone birthdays where guests want their own table.
C — U-shape, presentation style
12–24 seats with a screen at the open end. Built for retreats, partner dinners, and the rare keynote that ends with oysters.
D — Standing reception
Up to 48 standing, 12 seated. Six passed canapés, four raw-bar stations, two hours of service. Most popular for engagement parties.
06Arrival
The Dockhouse is at 14 Wharf Lane, on the same pier as the main dining room. Most guests drive; a meaningful minority arrive by boat — and for those guests, the evening starts about fifteen minutes earlier, on the water.
Validated parking is one block north at the Wharf Lane Garage (entrance on Bridge Street). We're happy to comp your guests' parking on the folio, or to arrange a single reserved spot for the host of the evening.
Our transient dock accepts vessels up to 65 feet on a first-call basis. Radio us on Channel 9 when you're fifteen minutes out and a steward will meet you at the gate with dock lines. The $25-per-cover slip-and-dine credit applies to any guest who arrives by water, and the bartender will have a porch cocktail waiting on the dock if you'd like.
The earliest we seat the Dockhouse is 4:30pm (a November ask, mostly). The latest is 9:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday through Thursday we're flexible to 10:30pm. The room is yours for three hours from the seated start time; we don't run a last-call on private evenings.
07Inquiry
We reply to every Dockhouse inquiry within one business day, usually the same afternoon. There's no fee to hold a date while we work out the menu.
