At Harbourside Lobstermania, two popular entrees are Lobstermania dinner, front, a specialty of the house (baked lobster with scallop and shrimp stuffing) and baked seafood platter.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

EAST GREENWICH — One of the joys of summertime dining in Rhode Island is taking a seat at a waterside table, watching the boats sail the bay and chowing down on a couple of stuffies, a cup of chowder and a lobster ... or fish and chips ... or baked stuffed sole ... or fried clams ... or ... well, you get the picture.

We hadn’t been to the Harbourside Lobstermania in some time and decided on a warm weekday evening that sitting at a table overlooking Greenwich Cove, with boats bobbing in the water, gulls soaring overhead and a lobster on a plate, would be just the ticket.

One of the last times I’d visited the restaurant was with friends who pulled their sailboat alongside the dock that’s reserved for boaters and then took a seat at the open dockside dining area, all the while basking in the glow of envious glances from other diners. No such grand entrance this time. But, boaters can still dock for free to dine at the Harbourside Lobstermania, which looks pretty much as it has for its 37 years.

This is one of those long-standing Rhode Island restaurants which has grown into an institution over the years, becoming a dining tradition for lots of regulars who know they can always count on good, well-prepared if uncomplicated food at reasonable prices, served with a take-your-breath-away view.

The Harbourside was everything I’d remembered it to be and actually more. True, there’s nothing startling about the extensive menu — fish and chips, fried clams, fried scallops, a baked seafood platter; shrimp, either fried or baked stuffed, and, of course, several lobster dishes. But everything we were served was fresh and prepared with obvious care that made it far from ordinary. (There also are several steak and chicken dishes on the menu.)

We chose the upstairs dining room which, as a sign says at the stairway, is worth taking the walk up. Truth in advertising there. Long and expansive, every table offers post card views of Greenwich Cove from the huge picture windows on three sides of the room. Occasionally motorboats or sailboats pulled in after sailing Narragansett Bay, joining the throng of docked craft already bobbing gently in the water. Opposite, the tall trees of Goddard Memorial Park made for a restful backdrop. Our window table overlooked the flat roof of the outside dining deck below and seagulls, flying by from time to time, had obviously used the spot as their own restaurant judging by the number of smashed shells lying atop it. (There’s also a smaller recessed dining area at the top of the stairs to the left for overflow crowds. The downstairs dining room has a similar menu, though heavier on sandwiches, with slightly smaller portions and prices. There’s also nightly entertainment.)

We’d already ordered summer drinks, a frozen Mudslide and a frozen Margarita ($7 each) when I looked down at my placemat to see — yipes! — a scattering of crumbs. We hadn’t been served bread, or anything for that matter. When we were seated, the hostess had removed two of the four placemats on the table as well as the extra water glasses and silverware. We noticed that when two people at a nearby table left, it was immediately cleared, wiped down and fixed with fresh placemats, silverware, glasses and napkins. Our waitress couldn’t explain the crumbs as she swept them away and replaced the placemat, saying that we were the first people to sit at this table all evening. So what happened? We’ll never know. Perhaps it was the Phantom Diner.

It seemed like a wobbly start, but we’d already ordered drinks and so felt somewhat obliged to stay. And, we were very glad we did. Everything afterwards was near perfect. Even the iffy service at the start — with long stretches when our server was nowhere to be seen — improved as the evening wore on as she proved to be both cheerful and accommodating.

The cocktails were perfectly mixed and, if you prefer your drinks sweet, go for the Mudslide which is a mix of ice cream, coffee liqueur, Irish cream and vodka. My Margarita was served in a tall glass rather than a traditional Margarita glass, yet despite all the chopped ice, more than an hour and a half later it was still potent right down to the bottom.

One doesn’t often find marinated snail salad ($8.95) on a restaurant menu and so we couldn’t resist. It was a generous portion. Besides the thin chewy-tender slices of the whelk, a marine snail, there were sliced black olives, julienne carrots and slices of celery, red onion, red cabbage and red pepper, all served on a bed of shredded lettuce with four medium-hot pepperoncini on the side. It was an excellent dish, the dressing mild and not oily, with only a light touch of vinegar.

This being Rhode Island, we couldn’t bypass stuffed quahogs ($9.95). Two large clamshells held a hefty portion of not-too-bread-y herbed stuffing which had a good seaside flavor thanks to actual pieces of clam that could be seen in the fixings.

Both the New England clam chowder and the quahog chowder ($3.25 each for a cup) were, as the menu had promised, “loaded with clams.” My quahog chowder (in other states called “Rhode Island chowder”) was a clear, fragrant broth with hand-cut diced potatoes and herbs. The rich clam chowder also had the potatoes, but different herbs and a smooth, not overly creamy base.

A trip to the salad bar was included with entrée orders. There was nothing out of the ordinary — shredded greens, spinach, sliced green peppers and cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, macaroni, etc., plus bread, rolls, croutons and bacon bits on the side along with a selection of dressings. After I’d snared the last pickled beet, we felt the salad bar could use some refreshing. Not long afterwards, a waiter added more vegetables.

Lobsters come four ways at the Harbourside — boiled, baked with a seasoned cracker crumb stuffing, in a lobster salad roll and the Lobstermania signature dish ($24.95 this night), which is what my lobster-loving dining companion had to try since it has been served here for more than three decades.

It was quite spectacular looking, a baked beauty that was listed as 1 1/4 pounds, but looked a bit larger, with fat claws, lots of tail meat and a deliciously rich, buttery stuffing, a mix of cracker crumbs, Chablis, good-sized pieces of scallops and small shrimp. On the side, a tasty baked potato and a small bowl of broccoli topped with a melted cheese sauce.

My baked seafood platter ($23.95) arrived in a chrome serving dish. There were a pair of mushrooms topped with a scallop and shrimp stuffing that was the same as the Lobstermania’s lobster stuffing; also a pair of robust clams casino with the same stuffing plus a slice of bacon for a smoky touch. The scallops had been baked to perfection — large and moist and tender. Ditto the stuffed filet of sole which had a light shrimp stuffing, topped with a sweet lobster sauce. The lone large baked stuffed shrimp was delicious with its rich shrimp stuffing. The menu promised lobster meat as well and I was surprised at the generous portion of tail and claw meat on the dish. On the side: the cheesy broccoli and deliciously crisp French fries.

There are several desserts, but the only one made in Harbourside’s kitchen is a grapenut pudding ($4) that was a custard-like soft brick topped with whipped cream and the grapenuts, of course, although they weren’t as crunchy as expected.

The mud pie ($6), made by the Warwick Ice Cream Co. according to Vickie Brisco of the management team, was an extremely rich and delicious large slice with a bottom-to-sides cookie crust that had been filled with coffee ice cream and layers of chocolate fudge. Its decadent chocolate sauce topping gleamed like patent leather. I’d dare you to finish one slice, but because I had been seduced by all that chocolate and kept digging into the dessert, on second thought I think one should order two of them. Perhaps we will on our next visit when we need a pick-me-up on a summer evening.BILL OF FARE

Dinner for two at Harbourside Lobstermania might look something like this:

Margarita…$7.00

Mudslide…$7.00

Snail salad…$8.95

Quahog chowder…$3.25

Clam chowder…$3.25

Lobstermania dinner…$24.95

Baked seafood platter…$23.95

Mud pie…$6.00

Total food and drink…$84.35

Tax…$6.75

Tip…$17.00

Total bill…$108.10

Harbourside Lobstermania, 38 Water St., East Greenwich. (401) 884-6363. www.harboursideri.com. Casual. Handicapped accessible to downstairs dining room. Reservations. Children’s seats. AE, MC, V, DIS, DC. Parking lot and free valet parking. Downstairs open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, to midnight Fri. and Sat.; upstairs open 5 to 10 p.m. Mon. to Sat.; 4 to 10 p.m. Sun. Appetizers $3.25 to $11.95. Entrees $14.95 to $24.95; downstairs menu slightly less expensive; smaller portions menu and early bird specials also available. Wines are $5 to $7.50 by the glass; $18 to $39 for a bottle.

More, please! This restaurant’s menu, and recent reviews and menus: projo.com/food

mjanuson@projo.com