Best Restaurants in Bar Harbor, Maine

Here are the best restaurants in Bar Harbor, Maine! Similar to Newport, Rhode Island, Bar Harbor is kind of a foodie town, and we didn’t have any bad meals during our 5 days in Maine. We tried every blueberry dessert we could and ate plenty of seafood.

It may have been due to the pandemic labor shortage, but many of these restaurants were closed Sundays, Mondays, and/or Tuesdays, so double-check the hours before you go!

BEST COFFEE

Choco-Latte – must order: Mexican hot chocolate
choco-lattecafe.com // @choco.latte.cafe // 4 stars on Yelp

There are no chain restaurants in downtown Bar Harbor, so don’t expect to get your morning coffee at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. We went to Choco Latte on the second day of our trip and it became our first stop every morning. Many people have this same routine, so you’ll most likely find a line around 8:15am, but it usually moves fast. There’s an area of the counter inside for online pick up orders if you don’t want to wait. The café has plenty of seating, and there’s free wifi, and I saw several people working on their laptops.

I tried the Mexican Hot Chocolate (yum with spices), the White Hot Chocolate (yum and sweet), and the Horchata (yum and thick) which was listed under the hot drinks, but it’s served cold. It was more like a smoothie consistency and really filled me up like a meal. We also tried the breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant. Overall, a great way to start the day!

BEST LUNCH

Mainely Meats – must order: any meat
atlanticbrewing.com/mainly-meat-bbq // Mainely Meat on Facebook // 4 stars on Yelp

After a week and a half of seafood, this was one of my favorite meals in Bar Harbor! We played mini-golf at Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf and saw Mainely Meats across the street. We realized it was closed on Tuesdays, but after a quick Google search, we were happy to find that its sister location was just a few miles further up the road attached to the Atlantic Brewing Company and was open every day!

There’s plenty of free parking in their gravel lot on Knox Road. We got there right at 11:30am when it opened and were the third party in line. I only saw outdoor seating. Tables started filling up really fast, and they were short-staffed, but our food came within 10ish mins of ordering!

We got the blueberry cider which wasn’t super sweet or blueberry-forward, but we still enjoyed it. I didn’t get very good photos, but trust me the food was great! The ribs were AMAZING. The meat fell right off the bone and the half rack was a great appetizer for the three of us. We also got the pulled pork sandwich and the Cubano and they were sooo good! Even the bread alone was buttery and yummy. The potato salad side was very potato-heavy and needed some barbecue sauce for flavor.

Each table had a big bottle of brown sweet barbecue sauce and orange spicy sauce which tasted like Tabasco sauce. We mixed both sauces on everything and it was delicious! We had friendly service and I wish we had more time to come back again to try the sampler!

Side Street Café – must order: mac and cheese
sidestreetbarharbor.com // @sidestreetbarharbor // 4 stars on Yelp

This is one of the most popular restaurants in downtown Bar Harbor and while we came for dinner, I think it would be a fun lunch spot. We got there on a Sunday at 6:30pm and definitely thought we’d have to wait because it was busy, but we were seated immediately!

For an appetizer, there were signature mac and cheeses, but we built our own with bacon and onions. So good!! We only got the half size for $10.95, but it was huge! We’re glad we didn’t get the full-size portion since there were only three of us. We also got margaritas, and you can get it with less simple syrup so they won’t be too sweet.

For dinner, you should definitely get something with lobster. I got the Haddock Sandwich and my dad got the Grilled Halibut, and neither of them were great. However, the Lobster Melt was yummy, and the chips that came with the sandwiches were a nice alternative to French fries!

We ended the meal with Blueberry Pie, and it was terrific! You can order it hot or cold, so we got it hot with a scoop of ice cream. Service all night was very quick, and we were in and out within an hour.

BEST DINNER

Havana – must order: Chicken
havanamaine.com // @havanamaine // 4 stars on Yelp

Great service & food!! Havana is one of the only fancier restaurants in the main Bar Harbor downtown area, with white tablecloths and all. However, since it’s Bar Harbor, no one was super dressed up. We had tried to make a dinner reservation for Havana a few weeks before and were unable to get one. We walked in on Saturday at 5:20pm just to see if they had a table, and luckily they did! If we had come at 5:45pm, the hostess said she would’ve just told us to go to Parilla, which is their outside bar/tapas restaurant on the patio. Parilla is casual and has a whole different menu and doesn’t take reservations.

For drinks, we started with the Caipirinha, the Mojito, and the Fruitas Tropical (non-alcoholic) which were all great. The complimentary bread basket was an A+ and included warm bread and blueberry cornbread with a white bean spread, some sort of spicy oil, and a yummy herb butter.

The Lobster Cake appetizer was wonderful. While there were only 8 entrees to choose from, we tried 4 of them and they were all incredible. The Grilled Ribeye had incredible flavor, the Seafood Paella had yummy crispy rice and plenty of seafood, the Halibut was tropical and cooked to perfection (not dry at all!), and the Chicken was so tender and tasty and better than any chicken I’ve had in my life!!

The dessert fell a bit short for us. The Mango Creme Brulee barely tasted like mango and the sugar tasted overwhelmingly burnt. The Tres Leches Cake felt a bit too dense and dry. However, the waiter/service and everything else was incredible! There was live music with a cellist and overall, I still think this was a 5-star experience and would highly recommend Havana for a nice dinner in Bar Harbor!

Galyn’s – must order: bacon-wrapped scallops
galynsbarharbor.com // @galynsbarharbor // 4 stars on Yelp

You should make a reservation for Galyn’s if you can! It’s located right next to Geddy’s, which is a more touristy seafood restaurant. We went on a Monday evening around 6:15pm, and there was a 30min wait. The inside of the restaurant looks a bit fancier, but people weren’t too dressed up. We went for a light dinner and just ended up ordering a few appetizers.

We got the Crab Stuffed Mushrooms, Burrata Caprese, New England Clam Chowder, and the Bacon Wrapped Scallops. The caprese was good, but very heavy on the cheese and very light on the tomatoes and basil. The scallops were expensive, but delicious!!

For dessert, we got the Blueberry Apple Crisp with ice cream – yummm. I kind of wish we had gotten a second one, but we probably would’ve been way too full. Overall, we had a wonderful meal, and I wish we had time to go again for a full dinner.

BEST DESSERT

CJ’s Big Dipper – must order: blueberry soft serve
3.5 stars on Yelp

Don’t be fooled by the low Yelp rating. Most bad reviews are due to the fact that it’s cash-only and for some reason people think it’s supposed to have vegan ice cream.

We noticed that all 3 or 4 ice cream places in Bar Harbor have crazy long lines after dinner, so we decided to go after lunch instead. We walked in around 1:15pm on a Sunday and there was only one other couple there. CJ’s looks like a classic ice cream shop with a red and white striped awning, you can’t miss it!

While there were a ton of yummy-sounding ice cream flavors, we all got the blueberry soft serve which was creamy and delicious! I got the blueberry vanilla swirl in a cake cone and that is 100% THE move my friends!

Mount Desert Island Ice Cream – must order: ice cream flight
mdiic.com // @mdiicecream // 4.5 stars on Yelp

Mount Desert serves more artisanal ice cream than the other shops, and there were some interesting flavors. The line gets crazy long on summer nights, so we decided to go after lunch instead and were able to just walk up to the counter!

If you have a group of 3 or 4 people, or you’re super hungry, you definitely need to get the flight! You could get one scoop for like $4.50 or you could get the 4-scoop flight for $9. My parents and I tried the Reverse Root Beer Float, Maine Sea Salt Caramel, Cookies & Sweet Cream, and the Nectarine Prosecco Sorbet. Everything was delicious. They do not offer samples, but I don’t think you can go wrong!

BONUS MAINE DINNER REC:

If you’re road tripping to Bar Harbor from the South, definitely stop at State Lunch in Augusta.

State Lunch – must order: bao buns
statelunch.com // @statelunch // 5 stars on Yelp

I am honestly so confused by what kind of restaurant this is, but it doesn’t matter because it was delicious!! The menu has Asian, Mexican, seafood, and more! We came in on a Friday at 5:30pm without a reservation and were seated right away. They have a couple tables outside and then can probably fit about 30 people inside.

We got some yummy spicy drinks to start. The sriracha chicken wings were good and not spicy at all but I kind of wish they had a kick. For dinner, we ordered 3 pork belly steamed bao buns which were absolutely amazing! The buns were moist and soft and chewy. The pork belly and fillings were also delicious. The Korean kimchi burger was also a hit. And the French fries were well-seasoned and I loved the garlic aioli!! The Shio ramen bowl was good, but pretty salty and nothing super special. For dessert, we got the chocolate chip cookies which came with 3 cookies for $5. They were warm and full of chocolate and we ordered another order of them to go! Overall, State Lunch had a very fun menu and atmosphere with friendly service. I’d highly recommend it!