Views are stunning, food’s a treat at The Ramp

This week’s suggestion is offered with extreme reluctance … because this is from one of the staff’s best-kept, favorite, special-secret spots: The Ramp in Kennebunkport.

More specifically, this pub is in the village of Cape Porpoise, which is a destination unto itself and quite different from downtown Kennebunkport’s Dock Square.

The Ramp would get the highest rating even if the food here stank, because the view, the location, the spirit and the kind service make it a must visit.

The pub and the elegant restaurant upstairs, Pier 77, look out on Cape Porpoise harbor, its undeveloped islands, lobster boats and stunning Goat Island Lighthouse.

All of that said, Chef Peter Morency’s stuff is great. Morency’s touch on seafood and his wildly popular hamburger (of all things in a fishing harbor) are a treat.

This time of year, with the summer crowd gone, more of the locals return to enjoy the pub’s popular sirloin hamburger ($10); homemade clam chowder ($4.50 a cup; $6.50 a bowl); and Pete’s crazy pulled-pork sandwich ($9).

Even the salads here taste gourmet, with the Caesar ($8), spinach salad ($8) and the green salad ($8) all offered with toppings of chicken (an extra $4), prawns or salmon (an extra $6 each). Morency is from New Bedford, Mass., and a lifelong Celtics and Boston sports fan. So the tiny Ramp pub has sports paraphernalia all over its wooden walls alongside the nautical gear. There are also pro sports signatures on jerseys – even on the walls.

The pub seats just 28, including 10 at the bar, but it’s worth the wait – and in the summer people do wait here, sometimes for more than an hour.

“We sell 70 lobster rolls a day in the summer,” Morency said. Lucky for us Mainers, The Ramp is open year-round, and Morency rarely takes a break.

Take note, The Ramp is out of the way, just like the tiny harbor village where it’s located, and many struggle to find it. But once you get there, you can understand why Kennebunkport diners love it so much.

The Ramp feels, sounds and looks like it’s on the water. “We wanted to put in a wrap-around deck, but they wouldn’t let us,” Morency said.

The Features staff of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram anonymously samples meals for about $7.

The Ramp