4 Best Restaurants in Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island, Maine

A sign points customers to this tucked-away eatery set back from Mount Desert Street near the Village Green, which is breakfast-only (a change from years past)—the pancakes are quite popular. Opening at 6:30 am to catch the crowds who’ve worked up an appetite savoring sunrise atop Acadia National Park’s Cadillac Mountain, it stays open until 1 pm for those who want breakfast for lunch. Seating is divided about evenly inside and out, making this a great choice for nice summer mornings.

Don't be fooled by this tiny takeout-only joint's no-frills storefront: many praise its lobster rolls as the best around. On summer mornings, the line often stretches around the corner by 10 am as folks come to get lobster rolls as well as wraps, sandwiches, salads, and slices of blueberry pie for outings to Acadia National Park and elsewhere around Mount Desert Island. You can also pick up items for dinner after a day of exploring. 

After enjoying the sunrise atop Acadia National Park's Cadillac Mountain, snuggle into a wooden booth or grab a table at this homey, yellow-walled eatery that opens at 6 am to catch the crowds who flock to the spectacle. Signature items include homemade oatmeal bread, stuffed French toast, and the Great Maine Breakfast, with three eggs, meat, pancakes, and vegetarian baked beans—the tradition here is to eat leftovers from Saturday night's bean supper on Sunday morning. Whatever you order from the extensive breakfast menu, which also includes lobster Benedict and a lobster omelet, the portions will be big.

Known around town simply as “The Colonel’s,” this restaurant serves up traditional fare—everything from lobster rolls and fried seafood plates to burgers and pizza—for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which can be eaten in the dining room, at the bar, or out on the deck (in the warm months). In front, the bakery turns out delicious bread, rolls, croissants, turnovers, and muffins, as well as cookies, cakes, Maine’s famous whoopie pies, and other sumptuous desserts. Try one of the glazed doughnut twists, with or without chocolate drizzled over the top. You can also get an ice-cream cone here.