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

Located on a nub jutting into Somes Sound a few miles from Northeast Harbor, this place hums on summer nights as adults grab a drink from the outside bar, kids and dogs romp, and folks angle to watch lobsters cook in an open-air kitchen before eating at tables about the sloping lawn; the window-lined mid-century wood-walled dining room has views from every table. There are separate menus for each dining space though there is some overlap including the wood-fired boiled lobster, a lobster roll, fried clams, and the 9-ounce house burger. Mussels steamed with mushrooms, herbs, and cream and served with housemade focaccia bread are a delightful dinner-only appetizer.

Whether you have a table in the dining room or a seat at the small bar, you’ll feel comfortable at this longtime fine dining downtown restaurant, where yellow walls, white tablecloths, and the white brick fireplace add lightness and dark wood walls and ceilings and landscape paintings (for sale) add warmth. Along with entrées such as lobster risotto with asparagus and maple-glazed baby back ribs, grilled with crescendo after slowly braising, there’s always a burger on the menu. Appetizers are inventive, like house-made duck and pork sausage with pear, rhubarb, and raspberry chutney. Fine-tuned seasonally, the menu features locally sourced foods, including meat and fish.

Overlooking the water out back and practically hugging Route 3 out the front, this 1883 four-story gray-shingled restaurant and inn can’t be missed nor is the opportunity to dine here and savor the spectacular view of picturesque Northeast Harbor, especially from the large deck fronting the classic old New England dining room. The menu offers a handful of entrées, including filet mignon, and lighter fare like fish tacos. The dining room’s mural-like wallpaper adds to the old New England vibe. Many of the inn’s guest rooms (30 in the main house), each well-appointed and unique, have water views.

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, steak, and hot dogs for the kids. There’s a roofed seating area with a bar, waterside bar tables for two along a covered pier walkway, indoor dining (upper level), and patio seating. Some seafood baskets offer a choice of fried or seared. The traditional lobster meal is served with cornbread, corn-on-the-cob, and coleslaw.

Open much of the year and filled with Maine art, this large restaurant has a classic New England vibe, several dining rooms on two floors, and a large menu to match. Offerings range from sandwiches and small plates to lobster dishes, steak, and seafood, including a bouillabaisse with shrimp, scallops, fresh fish, and lobster, served with steamed mussels and grilled ciabatta bread. In an 1890s building, once a boarding house for seamen, the trim and tin ceiling are original; the Galley Lounge has diamond windows from a Rockefeller estate that was torn down, and the bar itself is an old bank tellers counter. Not for sale, the restaurant’s artwork is touted as Maine’s largest private art collection on public display.

With a big menu that’s big on seafood (there's a pick-your-own lobster tank), this lively longtime establishment 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 the cocktails; 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 lovely but only available from a few seats upfront. You can enter the large gift shop downstairs, which has a treasure chest with freebies for the kids, from the street or the restaurant.

About half the seating here is on a large patio within spitting distance from the water, though you can also enjoy the quintessential view of a working harbor through large windows inside this cheery establishment. 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 here before or after watching the sunset at nearby Bass Harbor Head Light in Acadia National Park, but you can also enjoy the spectacle at Seafood Ketch.