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

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.

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.

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.

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.