8 Best Restaurants in Penobscot Bay, Maine

18 Central Oyster Bar and Grill produces excellent, creative dishes in a cozy spot high above Rockport's working harbor. Seasonally inspired, locally harvested seafood plus dishes with a hint of Southern comfort make up the backbone of the menu—think fried green tomatoes with local peekytoe crab, chili oil, and microgreens, or crispy fried chicken accompanied by collards and heirloom grits. More northerly flavor shines in such choices as finnan haddie (cold-smoked haddock), roasted mussels, and diver scallops.

Standing on the edge of the harbor, with dining decks on three sides, Archer's is the prime spot in Rockland for dining with a view—even when the weather keeps you indoors, there are plenty of windows. The large menu is heavy on traditional preparations of fresh, local seafood—including old-fashioned baked stuffed haddock—but also includes plenty of contemporary dishes. Chef-owner Lynn Archer emerged victorious on the show Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The dish? A triple-decker club sandwich with lobster. Happily, it's on the menu. There are many non-seafood choices, too. Everything on the wine list is available by the glass, and there are lots of creative cocktails.

Right on the water's edge, across the harbor from downtown Belfast, this corrugated-steel building looks more like a fish cannery than a restaurant, but it's one of the best places for an authentic Maine lobster dinner, known here as the "shore dinner." Lobster rolls, surf-and-turf dinners, steamed clams, steak tips, and hot dogs are popular, too. As this is a real-deal lobster pound, with absolutely no frills, lobstermen tie up at the dock to unload their catch. There are numerous tanks of live lobsters at the front of the concrete-floored building; lobsters can be shipped as well. Order your dinner at the counter, then find a picnic table inside or on the deck, just remember it's BYOB. Don't leave your outdoor table unattended—seagulls are quick and determined food thieves.

This little restaurant has been around for a long time and has a large local following so it can be a little hard to get a table on a busy night, but it’s worth the wait. The traditional seafood dishes (fried or broiled) are good, the prices are reasonable, many dishes may be ordered in a "minnow" portion, and there are also a few choices for those who don't enjoy seafood.

Set right beside the road at the northern end of town, this lobster shack gets consistently enthusiastic reviews—many say the overstuffed lobster roll is one of the best. The large menu includes all the usual suspects plus a great selection of "snacky things" and entrées, and even a taco bar—butter-poached lobster tacos, anyone? Order at the counter and take your food out back to enjoy on the outdoor deck overlooking the harbor.

A summertime fixture for five decades, the Harbor Dogs shack on the town landing is the perfect place to grab lunch to enjoy at a nearby bench beside the harbor or before or after a cruise. Hot-dog toppings include Southwestern, Asian, and Chicago-style, and there are also lobster and crab rolls, fish tacos, haddock Reubens, and fried-seafood platters.

A local favorite since 1980, MacLeod's serves a surprisingly wide variety of choices. Entrées include raspberry roasted duck, steak, ribs, broiled or fried local seafood, and a few Mexican-style options.

Not only does Sadie Samuels captain her own lobster boat, the Must Be Nice, but she also transforms her haul into lobster rolls that she sells—along with crab rolls, fries, hot dogs, and burgers—from a lunch wagon parked at the bottom of Main Street, just up from the harbor. There are outdoor tables plus indoor seating alongside a small shop of items Samuels crafts herself.