Will be staying in Camden for a week over July 4th, 1st time and would like to have a list of good restaurants to eat at. 4 adults and 2 children ages 4 & 6. We like to eat anything. will try expensive restaurants 1 or 2 nites as well.

I cannot claim to be an expert at all, but I have been to Camden 3 or 4 times so I will just comment on a couple of places I ate at. One is not really in Camden but on the outskirts in Lincolnville at a place called the Lobster Pound. You have a beautiful view of the bay and nice breezes blowing if you sit outside, and the food (I had a lobster roll) was just delicious. All the other food I saw being served looked equally as tasty. Directly across the street was a little shop that serves pizza made to order. This was absolutely to die for pizza. It is no bigger than a minute, and is very hot, but well worth the wait. Grab the pizza and go across the road to the beach and enjoy it sitting looking at the bay. It is a busy spot with the highway separating the pizza place and the beach, but still enjoyable.
The other restaurant in Camden I tried was a little spot on the water called Cappy's Chowder. Delicious casual food .

Here's another huge recommendation for the Lobster Pound in Lincolnville. Be advised that lobster prices are very high this year, though.

You can pick up sandwiches, salads, etc., at the Camden deli or other places for having a picnic. You'll find appealing casual restaurants just walking all over.

For "nicer" restaurants in Camden, highly recommend Atlantica (with a covered deck overlooking the harbor), Francine's Bistro (with seating on the outdoor terrace), and Natalie's on the Mill (with a beautiful deck overlooking a mill and waterfall). Reservations highly recommended in July.

Most of the hotels/inns have a huge literature rack with all sorts of brochures, along with a stack of menus from local places for you to peruse.

I second Natalie's for a nicer evening out. It's not on the harbor but we had a wonderful meal there. Great service too.

I wasn't overly impressed with Atlantica. We had some service issues that sort of marred the experience. But overall, the food was good and the location was nice.

Enjoy!

We always make a lunch stop at Cappy's Chowder House. Great fun and good food.

Since you will have 2 little ones with you I recommend the Waterfront Restaurant. Good food and a fun, casual setting on the water. I ate there 3 times last summer.

I also like the Waterfront Restaurant. Great view, good food, nice atmosphere. It's a plus if you can sit outside on the big deck.

Waterfront once again. I was in Camden this winter and ate there upon the recommendation of a local. Great choice. You always want to eat where the locals do.

Wow, thanks so much for all the great recommendations! Since this is my first time to Camden and we will be there for 4 days only, are there places I must see before heading home?

Natalie's has been closed for like 3 months, she is relocating to the Inn, supposed to be open two weeks ago but they aren't yet. Francine Bistro is far better IMHO, but maybe not for the little ones. They have 4 entrees that change daily, that's it and Chef Hill won't do substitutions. I think it is even better than Primo, which is also outstanding. See the reviews of Francine on TripAdvisor, that's how I found it, everyone raves about it and they were right.

We are heading to Camden in a couple of weeks with a 7 year old and looking for restaurants, as well. Thought the OP might see this and let us know where she liked or others have been up there and are back with recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

Mary in D.C.

ttt

To BEBA and others:
We just came back from a 10-day trip to Maine and the LOBSTER POUND WAS AWFUL!!!. We purposely drove there from Camden on Fodor’s recommendation. Aside from the breeze and the view - THE WORST PLACE WE HAVE EATEN IN THE ENTIRE TRIP! And we have eaten quite a bit..
We had lunch for 2 adults and 2 teenagers and whatever we ordered was VERY mediocre. Lobster roll was just OK – but nothing out of the ordinary. Wouldn’t it be surprising if they could not even boil a lobster after all? Fish chowder – a solid one piece of fish in a cup of hot milky broth with a few potato pieces. No spices, nothing! Turkey breast sandwich – bland cardboard with gooey gravy, my daughter was even apologetic that she could not eat it. Fries – soggy , etc. I'd say the food was hovering around grade C. OK, I’ll give lobster roll a B. But for over 90 bucks?!!
I am usually not a complaining type, but I felt such a disappointment that I was boiling and HAD to talk to the manager. Boy, did he have an attitude! He very insincerely mouthed a formal ‘Sorry-you-did-not-like-out-food’ and forget about any signs of concern! He just turned away from me and started going about his business. Being from NY, I am used to better attitude. Last words he told me – ‘700 people cannot be wrong’ and just walked away.. WHAT?!!! Yes, the place is big as a hangar and it is right on the road , so they get a lot of hungry travelers, but strength is not in numbers..

Do yourselves a favor – skip the place !!

By the way, I mentioned fish chowder and there is a place in Portland where it was just out of this world! One of the fondest food memories of the trip – it’s called ‘Porthole’ and is in the unsightly wharf across from fish market. Never mind the view – whatever we ate there was made with the heart and soul , it was great! (Hmmm…maybe, I’ll post it on the Portland forum)