I love this down home and cozy local place with great food and atmosphere. I had a great…read moreconversation with the owner/bartender who shared the local stories highlighting the rich history of this small harbor.

We ate here for the second time tonight and had another great meal. The food and service is just as…read moregood as our first visit. We shared an appetizer and two entrees in addition to multiple tasty cocktails. This is a great spot to grab dinner and drinks in Winter Harbor. Also, on Saturdays although the closing time is listed at 8 pm it is a soft closing time depending on how busy it is. In terms of ambiance, it is small and intimate yet casual. Both tourists and locals frequent this spot. Parking is on the street and plentiful.

I think if you're going for beers, this is a nice place to visit. The beer that made them famous…read morewas a hit at our table. We went for dinner because two people in our party were vegan and this menu had vegan options which we appreciate so much. I don't believe it's her fault as there is no kitchen in this establishment, but the food was bad. Some of it was not fit for consumption, and, to their credit, I was not charged for those items that were inedible. I suspect the food would be great if she had what she needed to do her job, because the menu was really interesting. It's a local place with nice local people and we always try to support those businesses when we visit a town. But you cannot cook meals using one hot plate and an air fryer, or store restaurant grade food in a college refrigerator for extended periods. Go for the beer, but don't eat the food until this team can upgrade to keep everyone safe.

This cozy, family-owned spot run by the Ricker family is an intimate neighborhood hangout rooted in…read moregenuine local passion. The pours here are very creative, delicious, and honestly some of the best I have ever had. From bold pepper saisons to inventive rotating taps and local ciders, every single option has incredible craft and thought. It is hands down one of my fave breweries. I always look forward to making my way back here whenever I am in the area.

Was a cool stop with fresh ingredients and a nice garden to walk around with your drinks while you…read morewait for food. Did we come for it? No. But it's a nice healthy option if you want to lay off the butter and lobster for an evening or just want more veggies in general. I personally wasn't a fan of the customer service. The waitress looked very annoyed with our questions and had to repeat one things to us about an entree. We felt like an inconvenience and when we wanted a side or water, it was very difficult to flag our waitress down. When asking another waitress-- they also appeared annoyed. Potatoes and veggie shareables: The best it can get. You can tell the chef really put his heart into these recipes. I should have just ordered more of this. Pizza: It looks great but lacked so much flavor. It fell apart so quickly, couldn't even hold. The crust was also overly burnt. The pepperoni is "local" but way too spicy for a typical pep. They need a sauce to help cool down the spice-- I'd say ranch-- but maybe the chef can come up with one better. It was one of the worst pizzas I've had. Cocktails: Tasty and refreshing. I wasn't drinking but went with Hop water. Adding a lemon to it helped brighten it up-- surprised that's not offered. A great one time experience!

We arrived at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday and were told the wait would be about an hour. The host…read moresuggested we grab a drink and explore the grounds while we waited, which sounded reasonable. After an hour, I checked back and was told there were still four tables ahead of us. We didn't end up being seated until nearly two hours after we arrived. Once we were seated, our waitress let us know the pizza would also take quite a while. It ended up being another hour before our food arrived. Waiting nearly three hours from arrival to being served is simply unacceptable. From what I could see, there were only about eight staff members working, including the host, bartender, dishwasher, and servers. It was obvious they were overwhelmed and the restaurant was severely understaffed for the number of customers coming in. While I don't blame the employees they were doing the best they could the business clearly wasn't prepared to handle the crowd. It's disappointing because the property has a lot of potential, but poor management, extremely slow service, and inadequate staffing completely overshadowed the experience. Until they can properly staff the restaurant and provide realistic wait times, I can't recommend dining here. Save yourself the frustration and go somewhere else.

Tidbit! Sneak behind the fire department to find this side-street dive. It's the Bar Harbor that…read morethe tourists on Main Street aren't seeing. The menu comes on a blue card with specials posted outside, lobster roll price included, which is a small kindness when half the island hides behind "market rate." My partner and uncle went straight for the fried shrimp basket special: generous, delicious, and not a shrimp wasted. My fish and chips were more fish stick than dockside catch, but the chips were crunchy and delicious. My partner and I had no complaints on the salt front, but apparently my aunt had enough for all of us. We snuggled four into a booth, sticky tabletop and all. My aunt would call the sticky table a detractor; I'd call it the point. The staff was prompt and genuinely warm, not just to us but visibly to each other; someone had to step out mid-rush it was seamless enough you almost missed it. By the way, the Peak Organic blueberry beer sealed the deal for me. One of the most blueberry-forward cans of the whole trip. Find the side street. It's worth the turn.

Service was great, atmosphere was pleasant! Our waitress brought out a coloring book and crayons…read morefor the toddler, so that was much appreciated! She was respectfully attentive throughout our meal and was gracious with our requests. I ordered the Half pound Burger Royale with pepper jack cheese, prescribed toppings, cooked medium and Maine fried potato strips. The burger was very filling, though average as far as taste is concerned. The fries had phenomenal seasoning, which definitely made up for any flavor the burger lacked. Think slightly thinner steakhouse fries - I hadn't heard of Maine fried potato strips before coming here so I wasn't sure what to expect. Overall a good experience and I would be open to dining here again!

Enjoyed a late lunch on the patio. We tried our first lobster roll. It was yummy…read more The waffle fries were perfectly cooked. I never pass up a cup of New England clam chowder. Jesse was an attentive server.

Stopped here for lunch before heading to the national park. I got a lobster grilled cheese sandwich…read moreand it was not only very generous with the lobster, but really tasty too. The big pretzel was pretty good too! We were a large group, but they were able to see us pretty quickly. We sat outside and it was really nice out there. I appreciate that they have a big covered area so we weren't directly in the sun.

Ellsworth's best known little brew pub is also a friendly little place to get the best beer in…read moretown. The food is above average (I recommend the baked potatoes!). Flights of beer in a small cozy setting. Oatmeal stout among the best I've had. Famous for their Red Ale. You really can't find better beer In Ellsworth!

They have traditional Cornish pasties, which my husband says are the best thing he's ever eaten. He…read morealso loves the Steak and Ale Pie. I like the Blackened Haddock Tacos and the pretzel sticks. Pro Tip: get BOTH the "beer cheese" and the "beer mustard" and get extra of both. You might have extra, but you can use the extra on sandwiches tomorrow. The extra mustard is also great with cheese and crackers as a snack. The blueberry cobbler is fantastic! The peanut butter pretzel pie did not impress my husband; he said the pretzels themselves tasted cheap, like grocery store pretzels. I have been trying to get them to add a vegetarian pasty to the menu. They have almost nothing vegetarian in there, and a Greggs style cheese and onion pasty would also be extremely traditional and surely wildly popular. PLEASE ADD A VEGETARIAN PASTY!! And/or a fish pasty, which would also be very traditional. Oooh, what about a Stargazy Pasty with leeks and cream? Now, THAT would be traditional and would certainly get some media attention. I will raise my rating to 5 stars as soon as this place adds a good vegetarian or fish Signature Entree (preferably a pasty!!). That is literally the only reason they're not getting 5 stars, that it's way too oriented towards meat eaters. (They do have a grilled cheese toasty and a vegan garden burger, so I would still go there if you are vegetarian or vegan, but keep your expectations low when it comes to selection.)

Wanted something a little different than spots that speacialize in lobster rolls, so we decided to…read morepop in here. There was a 30-45 min wait, which we were ok with. The service is very friendly. I wanted the Strawberry Fields cocktail, but they didn't have so I settled on The Fuzzy. It is very alcohol forward, which most people will enjoy. Not for me personally, as I would have liked more flavor from the infusions, but that's definitely a personal preference. The Blackened Fish Sandwich with a Small Caesar Salad had very flakey fish. I loved the meld of flavors, and ended up devouring my sandwich! The bun held together well. The caesar salad was a decent size and well dressed. Definitely a cool spot to hit for good food and a great pub vibe!

"The closest Irish Pub to Ireland in the U.S.!" We just landed at Bar Harbor and that was enough to…read moregrab my attention after a long day of traveling. We sat outside and I had what the waitress called a "local Magners cider" and a blackened fish sandwich, which was a nicely blackened cod with tartar sauce and some chips. I ultimately enjoyed it, though admittedly, the Magners did taste better in Ireland. Overall, it was a nice pop in and you could do worse. It's a solid place and I enjoyed it.

The Black Friar is one of my favorite places to come and eat at when I'm in Bar Harbor. It has a…read morequiet charm in the dining room that perfectly compliments the town it's in and they serve the best fish and chips in town. As stated above, the fish and chips is the thing to get here. The fish is clearly fresh (not frozen), cooked to order and has an almost unbelievable level of perfect crisp on the batter that coats it. It's also wonderful to see that they're serving it with some fresh-cut fries as there's such an overwhelming improvement in both taste and texture that you get with fresh (never frozen) fries. The fries are also perfectly cooked with a good crisp on the outside, but still fluffy potato in the middle. They then went the extra step and have house-made tartar sauce and slaw to go with it. It's a simple dish in concept, but this place goes the extra mile to make you something that's both delicious and worth coming back for. The dining room is on the smaller side, so if you have a large party it would be a good idea to call ahead and make a reservation to be sure there's a place for your entire group when you get there. I came a little later in the evening (maybe around 7pm) and found it to be pleasantly quiet, though not empty. I was greeted quickly by the owner and seated quickly. I also found the staff to be pleasant and fun to chat with while I waited for my food (I sat at the bar). It's also worth noting they have a full bar and a good choice of local draft beer to choose from.

My son and I came to this place based on a recommendation. Boy were we disappointed…read more The crab cakes were very ordinary with an awful sauce on top. The Lobster chimi which we were told were the best thing in town were bang average. Oysters too were tasteless. We paid up and went somewhere else !! Thanks for the feedback ! Of course, we didn't want to make a fuss, we just moved on. After the hype we were very disappointed ......