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

Winding downhill through a boatyard, this truly hidden gem juts into Somes Sound, delightfully so as the place hums on summer nights: adults grab a drink from the outside bar, families play cornhole, kids and dogs romp, and folks angle to watch lobsters steam in seawater over an outdoor wood fire before eating at picnic tables on the sloping lawn or heading in to the window-lined mid-century wood-walled dining room with views from every table. The one-page menu is easy to digest when you want to relax and enjoy the view. Another page lists inventive craft cocktails, including the bartender’s choice of the day.

Whether you have a table or a seat at the bar, you’ll feel comfortable at this acclaimed longtime downtown restaurant, where yellow walls, white tablecloths, and the white brick fireplace add lightness and wood ceilings and floors add warmth. Rich with locally sourced foods, the seasonally fine-tuned menu has entrées such as lobster risotto with asparagus and maple-glazed baby back ribs, grilled with crescendo after slowly braising, or choose an inventive burger, perhaps with Red Sky hot sauce; pasta is made in-house.

On a side street near the Village Green, this place (and its sister arm, The Annex) hops on busy summer evenings as folks line up for scrumptious "creative comfort food" like fish tacos and burgers (there's a handful of entrées, too). Outdoor and indoor dining spaces, one anchored by a horseshoe bar, flow together; exposed brick and a cork wall and ceiling warm up the welcoming, family-friendly vibe. The main restaurant and The Annex (no lunch) have the same menu until 9 pm, when the former closes and The Annex offers simpler fare for its final hour. Flanking Side Street and The Annex are the establishment’s two sister businesses: Thrive Juice Bar & Kitchen, serving breakfast and lunch (you can eat at tables in The Annex), and Side Treats Bar Harbor, a frozen yogurt place with self-serve toppings.

Watch lobstermen and fishermen haul their catch and pleasure craft come and go at this working pier with a large restaurant that's big on lobster, clams, and other seafood but also sells burgers, chicken sandwiches, and hot dogs for the kids. There’s open and covered patio seating, the latter with a bar; waterside bar tables for two along a covered pier walkway; and indoor dining (upper level). Fried, seared, and blackened seafood choices are on the menu, and of course traditional lobster sides like cornbread, corn-on-the-cob, and coleslaw.

Ogling the assorted goodies makes for a fun wait in the often long line—likely running out the door—at this cheeky, old-fashioned candy and ice-cream shop. Most of the candy, including numerous varieties of fine chocolates and fudge, is made right here, as is the ice cream (60-plus flavors) and gelato (8 flavors). Folks congregate, generously scooped cone in hand, by the large "lobster" out front. Be forewarned: kids will clamor for "penny candy" and a cone.

This large year-round café features coffee from a local coffee roaster, but you can get much more than a cup of joe—for breakfast, grab a breakfast sandwich or avocado toast; for lunch or dinner, a salad, wrap, or taco. In a town without a lot of quick-bite spots, it's a good choice for picking up lunch to enjoy in the park, at your lodging, or at a table inside or, come summer, out front.

Known around town simply as “The Colonel’s” and serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this restaurant offers traditional fare from lobster rolls and fried seafood plates to burgers and pizza; eat 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.

Long serving what may be Maine's best steak and traditional New England fare, offerings like the curry entrée and pork lumpia appetizer were added after the business was sold in 2021 to a family with roots in Asia. Their overhaul of the 1884 property added deck and granite patio seating, a bar/lounge, and more dining space; the large bar/lounge has a cool curved bar and sleek custom wood chairs—some resemble traditional Maine camp furniture. If you're looking for a place to stay, the stylish rooms have beadboard and soft blue hues.

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.

Breakfast and lunch can be full-on carnivore or vegan at this downtown café, also a go-to for coffee, tea, cookies (some are gluten-free), and pastries, including sweet or savory croissants. Breakfast sandwiches have a choice of meat or veggie sausage, while lunch offers soups, salads, and inventive hot and cold sandwiches—the Vietnamese banh mi with pickled vegetables, cilantro, cucumbers, jalapeño aioli, and pork, chicken, or tofu on a demi baguette is popular.

In business since 1986, this large restaurant in an 1890s downtown building—originally a seamen's boarding house, now filled with Maine art—has a classic New England vibe, dining on two floors, an upstairs lounge, and a large menu to match. Offerings range from sandwiches and small plates to lobster dishes, steak, and seafood, including bouillabaisse with shrimp, scallops, fresh fish, and lobster, served with steamed mussels and grilled ciabatta bread. Painted walls nicely offset the art, which is touted as Maine’s largest private art collection on public display, and the pressed tin ceilings and banister are original. Among the treasures in the Galley Lounge: diamond-shaped windows from a Rockefeller estate and a bank tellers' counter, now the bar.

With a big menu that’s big on seafood (pick-your-own lobster tank), this lively establishment—founded in 1974—would be easy to spot even without a lighted moose on the roof. Humor pervades inside: kids' meals come on Frisbees; quirky plastic animals on sticks adorn cocktails and kids' drinks; and old photos, murals, signs, license plates, and other bric-a-brac fill the walls, adding a sense of coziness to a large restaurant with a large bar right in the middle. Harbor views are only available from a few seats up front. You can enter the large lower-level gift shop from the street or the restaurant; either way, the kids will head straight for the treasure chest with free trinkets.

Many folks come to enjoy tea and the famous popovers with strawberry jam at tables on the lawn—a tradition started in the 1890s in the original Jordan Pond House—but Acadia's only restaurant also has offerings like lobster stew, salads, lobster roll, sandwiches, and entrées such as salmon encrusted with a horseradish soufflé. At the upper level Carriage Road Carry Out you can get to-go items, including baked goods, wraps, sandwiches, and salads. There's also a gift shop and, on the upper level, an observation deck. Parking lots fill up fast in high season; consider biking or taking the free Island Explorer bus.

A fisherman’s wife owns this popular lunch establishment, which buys lobster right off the boat and has umbrella tables spread out on a wharf overlooking Corea Harbor's quintessential Maine setting. Along with seafood choices like chowders, steamed clams, boiled lobster with a side, and lobster or crab grilled cheese, there are plenty of non-seafood options, including pulled pork, burgers, quesadillas, and PBJ. Though rain doesn’t usually shut this place down, it's best to call first if the weather is inclement, especially as the inside dining space is tiny.

Madagascar Vanilla Bean has specks from beans scraped from vanilla pods—just one example of the prep work that goes into creating these heralded artisanal ice creams (there are also a few sorbets) at a nearby production facility using as many local ingredients as possible. The shop's French doors open along the sidewalk, welcoming passersby right in; grab a seat or head across the street to the Village Green to savor every bite.

Regulars come from beyond Schoodic Peninsula to this fun spot to order its namesake, a pickled protein-packed sea snail, though this “Down East delicacy” isn't always available. On the road that exits Acadia National Park’s Schoodic District, visitors stop here (opens at 12:30 pm) for fresh takes on traditional pub fare like burgers, wings, and pizzas (specialty or build your own); the restaurant's spacious, woodsy interior has a handsome bar, and there's an eating area out front.

Most of the tables here are on a large patio within spitting distance of the water, though you can also enjoy quintessential views of working Bass Harbor through large windows in the cheery establishment's dining room and adjoining Tide Room. Lobster—served not only boiled with a choice of sides but in dishes such as baked seafood casserole—is purchased fresh off the boat from the lobsterman next door. Many folks eat at this family-owned and run restaurant before or after watching the sunset at nearby Bass Harbor Head Light in Acadia National Park. The lunch and dinner menus are available all day.