Normally my rating of a Governor's visit could be a predictable 4 or better, but this particular visit was for their Comfort Food Thursday night buffer, which we have wanted to try for a while. The theme is comfort foods, so it would be optimistic to count on chef quality cuisine. Still, the offering had a few disappointments. Mind you, the pot roast was excellent, tender and tasty, and the juice (au jus?) was much better for the mashed potatoes than the canned gravy they put next to the taters. The bbq pulled pork, the mac and cheese were fine, and I didn't risk trying the dumplings, chicken fingers, French fries or chicken pot pie. The desserts, of course were also okay. The chicken broccoli Alfredo and the pineapple rice chicken dish were also okay. No doubt I would have liked it much more if it came with a few of my own comfort food favorites, such as meatballs, kielbasa and peppers/onion, pasta dishes such as spaghetti, American chop suey or lasagna - well, I could go on. The key is to check on Facebook and see what they are cooking for the buffet before you make plans. read more

You're here for the pie, right? Of course. Governor's really nothing spectacular, but you'll always get a good meal here...and hopefully you've saved room for dessert because the pie selection is wonderful! I used to eat here far too often when I was attending UMO. Governor's is a Maine staple going back decades. I'm in California now...but eating at the Governor's in Lewiston whenever I'm home reminds me of the good times at this Governor's in Old Town. read more

Stopped there for lunch 4/23/26.husband had turkey dinner it was good .i had cheeseburger onion and mayo ,we waited forever to get our food . others that came in after we did had their food ,finally our food came out ,no onion on my burger .she went back got me some onion .omg the burger was burnt on the bottom it was so dry i couldnt eat it I even tried to take the burnt off .the bun was harder then any cracker I've had .the waitress even saw me trying to take the burnt meat off the bottom.it had been a long time since we have been there it's going to be even longer .. We decided to take a couple cookies and a cream puff home .the cream puff was stale and very dry .what the heck is going on with this restaurant.im surprised after reading other reviews that they are still even open Very disappointing i took the burger meat for my dog . Pretty bad that a restaurant can't cook a cheeseburger without burning it .i would have never sent that burger out .time to look for new cooks . read more

What happened was absolutely unacceptable. It was infuriating, the rigid rules and the conflicting excuses they gave us when all we wanted was to be together during a time of grief. The fact that we were so respectful and accommodating while they were so inflexible shows a profound lack of empathy on their part. The comment from the waitress, "Have the day you deserve," is beyond cruel and completely inexcusable. You wrote a very clear, honest, and powerful account of what happened. It highlights the crucial point that Governors have lost the heart of the family restaurant it used to be, and it stands as a testament to the importance of human decency. It's a shame they lost our family's loyal business on a day when we all needed compassion the most. read more

Amazing and simple take out process to placing the order and picking it up. I literally loved all the food. I've never had cheese curds before and these were amazing. The stuffing in the haddock 10/10. Sautéed beets with feta - I had them once and tried making it at home, even though such a simple recipe you guys kill it. Mashed potatoes? Meow. Thank you for the amazing food! read more

Governor's Restaurant & Bakery - Baked stuffed haddock - Desserts Near Me - Old Town, Maine

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I truly hate to leave this review, as I LOVE places like this, but something was off. Waitress and staff were nice, but it felt "confused." I don't know how to explain it. The food was OK. Got this donut breakfast sandwich and the donut which served as the bread was stale. The coffee was a little burnt. The dessert cake from the display case wasn't fresh. This is our first time there and it definitely feels like their best days are behind them. Someone who cares and has passion needs to be in control. read more

Let me start by saying, we have a very large family, and all of us are from or have lived in Old Town for decades or most of our lives. Some if us have been away for years but Governor's has been a go to for family get togethers over several decades. Our most recent visit was, well, very disappointing and the worst experience I have ever had at any establishment in Old Town, the state of Maine, or any other state for that matter. Our family had just left a funeral service and decided to have dinner together at Old Town's Govenor's. When we arrived my husband and I explained the situation and that we would have at least 10 people up to 15. Which is typical whenever we have been there in the past. They sat us at a table for 10, and said they could not hold other tables for the rest of our family who was on their way (even though they said we couldn't sit out back because those tables were reserved for a group if 16 who had a reservation!). So they take reservations just not in person I guess. We asked if we could pull one table over to our table for the other three people, to which we were told no due to fire code (understandable). We asked if we could just add three chairs to the back side of the table so that we could sit together, and the chairs would not be in the walk way as we were given a corner table. We were told no, they were not allowed to add chairs to tables. We asked for the three empty tables in the middle of the front right side room. They said no because the tables belonged to two different wait staff and it wouldn't be fair to one of them to loose their tables. We asked if they could still wait their perspective tables or split the tips, whatever worked, again "NO". At this point my cousin reiterated to the hostess, waitress, and two other staff (all standing there as a group) that we had all just been to a funeral and would like to sit together (which had been previously told to them by myself before anyone else got there). Our waitress had previously told me that the booth beside our table was hers as well, and that she didn't mind if we sat there. So trying to help, and so that the rest of the family could be together, I had my boys move to the booth to make room for the adults. We were then told the kids could not sit there because they needed to be supervised. We stated we would be supervising them and they stated an adult had to be sitting with them. I stated I would sit with them. To which I was met with another no, as it would not be fair to take up our waitresses whole section!!! I explained I would be a separate check with my own family and a separate tip, to which they stated it didn't matter and that we couldn't sit there as it would be taking up the waitress's whole section. At this point my family felt as though Governor's did not want us there or our business. Governor's is not the same family restaurant we have always given our patronage to (They have always treated us respectfully, offered to pull tables together and been more than accommodating in the past!). . We had only been pleading for a solution so that our family could dine together. We all got up and proceeded to leave. As we were leaving (upset but not being disrespectful) one of the staff told us to "Have the day we deserve.". Seriously!?!? Not a word was said back to her, and we all left. We went to Pat's Pizza in Orono and were treated like family there. They pulled tables together, and we were sat and served with a smile in minutes of arriving. Shame on the staff of Governor's for treating any paying customer that way! We have been loyal customers for years and on a day we needed to be treated with decency, you dropped the ball and lost our business. The owner of Governor's may want to know the way their employees handled this situation. read more

Listen, I'll echo what a lot of people are saying, it's just not as good as it used to be. The food here was always dependable growing up, and their desserts were incredible. My last trip there was on Easter just a couple of weeks ago, and man they were busy. I wouldn't be surprised if they broke a record, but then again, Easter has always been big business for Governors. Prices have gone up, but I get that, we're all paying more for everything, including Governors, and hey, I know they gotta pay their employees and keep the business running. It's just the portions have decreased and their desserts I can no longer recommended. At my recent visit I decided to get a dozen cookies with my meal, 6 chocolate chip and 6 raspberry filled. Partially to honor my late mother, who loved the raspberry filled cookies, well that and the kids wanted a treat. To my surprise the cookies were much smaller than I remember, but hey that's fine, they were still larger than average... However, the raspberry filled cookies used to be loaded with sweet raspberry filling, but now there's barely anything there, and it just wasn't worth it for me. Their steak and cheese was good sized though and tasted pretty good, so if I go back I'll at least get that, but I'll probably skip the desserts. 3 stars mainly for the nostalgia factor. read more

Oh well, I like Governors very much been going to it for years and years. You can't really say anything bad about it. I can say years ago down the road. I thought it was better. read more

Shelley, here! It was a long and wearisome day full of triumphs and victories. We are here on our annual vacation in Maine, and the day had its toll on us. After our harrowing escape from a terrible coffee shop in Belfast, we made our way towards our home in Enfield. We were like pilgrims with no home, a dog with no house. We were starving, but governors was our last hope in a barren land of no customer service. We walked in and were met with the pleasant aroma of sweet pies and desserts, and the smile at the front door was a blessing to our souls. We sit down with a large group, about 20 in all. Our expectations were low, but how pleasantly surprised were we to have the greatest serving experience of our lives. Gretchen was our waitress and she is a strong contender for the lifetime server award. She went above and beyond to care for our weary group, feeding us with bread and ministering to our souls. The compassion we received at the Oldtown governors will mark my life for years to come, and I'll never forget the kindness of this wonderful stranger. Gretchen, thank you for caring for us and all 8 of our sleepless children (and our hangry uncles). Bonus: the bathroom is a palace of cleanliness and I'd love to sit in the little chair they had in there to contemplate my life. Thank you governors, will recommend to all my many friends! read more

The food was great, I got the Mexican omelette, the grilled potatoes with onions, and a blueberry pancake. Everything was super tasty. Lynn was our server and she was very attentive. Great place! read more

I have been a Patron of Govs since the 60's. Since being bought out from the Original owners the new owners are not concerned about customers It's all about profit. They claim to be homemade and world famous this and that. Their food comes straight off a Sysco Truck and the entire image is untruthful. The food stinks, the waitresses are horrible, and the prices are atrocious. They have no competition so get away with this. Sad what has happened to this once great restaurant. I found an eyelash in my eggs last week and the waitress had an attitude when I nicely asked for new eggs! read more

The biggest reason for more than a 2 star is their Haddock Chowder...it is delish! We get it EVERY time we stop here to get a bite to eat. Also decent is their burger (without any veggies, those are always one step from rotten!) and fries and their meatloaf. I find they tend to overcook their seafood and manage to make it taste like supermarket frozen food. But the biggest disappointment is their pie! Years ago the only competition for their pie was a place in Machias named Helen's. Now the cream pies tasted strongly of artificial flavor and are greasy tasting and the fruit pies, particularly the blueberry pie is thick and gloppy, like the cook dumps too much corn starch into the blueberries. Just tragic, really, because their old recipes were awesome. So try their Haddock chowder and maybe grab a burger! And if you are really hankering for pie, stick to Apple! It is a little too sweet for my taste, but it is their best pie. read more

My partner and myself have ordered pick up from them twice. The portion sizes are different between pick up (smaller, which isn't the end of the world... but why?) and eating in - and both times we ordered the pick up, there was a mishap. First time they forgot an entire entree and when we called to see if we could pick it up or refund, they offered the refund but never refunded. I'm going to assume it's because they're busy around dinner and it just slipped their mind, the restaurant business can be a lot sometimes. The second time, again, they forgot an entree and instead of causing any stress to either of us we just let it go and now we don't eat there. Problem solved. The food isn't bad, it's just a simple lil place to eat. It's a good place to bring your older parents or your grandparents - they'll love it. Don't order the pick up, just eat in if you're choosing to eat there. The waitresses are great and they'll make sure you're getting what you're paying for and they're kind to boot. read more

Food not has good has it was, very over priced, small basket way to high and cold ! Be the last time ordering food there . read more

We went for early morning breakfast before graduation this weekend. The food was good I got the hash and smash with home fries. The service is a bit slow today but we got our drinks right away. The atmosphere is delightful with a great fish tank and of course the only train inside a restaurant I've ever seen runs around the ceiling. read more

The food is awesome and the staff is great and friendly, as I have eaten here for years, however, I really can no longer support this place anymore after their recent menu changes that make absolutely no sense in the slightest, you can get a blue plate with 1 burger and 1 hot dog but not 2 cheeseburgers, instead you have to pay $24 however, you can get a mooseburger for $16. Just going to go to the Coachhouse until the menu changes back, loved Governors when it was but obviously the new ownership doesn't care about customers. read more

Food is tasty but they packaged our food without completing my order. Missing mashed potato for my dinner and marinara for my marinara sticks. read more

Governor's Restaurant & Bakery - 1/2 and 1/2 Basket with missing side, garden salad, mozzarella Mozzarella Cheese Sticks with no marinara - Desserts Near Me - Old Town, Maine

Love this place for a good home-cooked breakfast! The service is always very welcoming.

Stopped in while visiting my son at UMaine. The food was fantastic. Came out fast and the wait staff were pleasant. This place reminds me of visiting my grandmothers home. read more

Service is almost always good. Got takeout the other night and the two women running the front counter were both very nice and definitely trying to be helpful and professional. They were helping each other so much though, that they kept interrupting one another and I didn't realize until I had gotten home that I hadn't received the chowder that I had ordered and also they mistakenly put a second salad into my takeout order bag, until one of the women astutely caught the mistake. Nice to see such collegiality, but they need to keep on task, so to speak and work on follow-through. They were immediately very welcoming upon entering the establishment. Service overall quite good, really. The ambiance is not something I will comment upon, as I only got takeout. The front counter and entryway were clean and very welcoming. The food was fair to middling. The turkey dinner with two sides was quite small for the price of $18.00! Stuffing was far too salty and the mashed potato serving was only a small, dry scoop of potato. Green beans were surprisingly perfectly cooked, neither undercooked, nor overcooked or mushy; not something most restaurants achieve easily, so kudos to the cook. Cream horn dessert was old and the filling was hard and caked onto the ends. Definitely NOT a fresh baked good. Fair, at best. Portions were not at all concordant with the inflated prices and this will prevent me from giving them 4 stars. Governor's is a comfort food restaurant, with something everyone in the family could enjoy; but their current prices are more than most folks should, or would, expect to pay to feed their families a stick-to-your-ribs dinner. Yes, food is more costly for all of us right now, but customers shouldn't be expected to offset the costs for the restaurateurs by this much! If we're going to pay those prices, I would expect larger portions, and I'm not talking about gargantuan portions, just what is appropriate for an adult dinner, and food should be fresh and not day-old and not over-salted, to the point of not being able to eat it. Please do better, Governor's, as we would like to come back, but won't, without some fixes. read more

A super dining experience. Super onion rings as appetizer. Wonderful lobster stew and simply the best lobster roll ever. A larger group of seven was quickly seated and served. Cannot remember our server's name but she was wonderful as well. This place is off beaten path but within a mile of 95 and so worth seeking it out. read more

This place was great! The food was very flavorful and the staff was so friendly and attentive. We really enjoyed their meatloaf and chicken pot pie. We do have to mention that there portion sizes were VERY large. Thank you for a great experience! read more

Governor's feels like a Maine staple. When you walk in, you'll often see the locals being seated at their regular table with their usual waitress. You definitely get the diner vibe when you walk in and see the bakery before they seat you. This was my first visit to the Old Town Governor's, but I have been to other Governor's in the state. When you come here for a meal, it feels like you know what you are going to get. A relatively cheap meal with a decent dessert and a waitress with a smile. And I can safely say, that is exactly what we got. We ordered poutine which was really good. The crinkle cut fries make all the difference. We ordered the A1 burger which had cheese, onions, mushrooms, and A1 sauce. It was tasty and cooked well. We tried to order the superfood salad with our burger. This was a salad that was on the "try our new options" section of the menu. It turns out, they didn't have any superfood salads in the restaurant. We were pretty bummed as we were excited to try something new. Not to mention, it was only 1pm in the afternoon, and they had none left? We ended our meal with the peanut butter cream pie. It was good but felt a little bit fake, like there was fake sugar in it. The three stars? Governor's will give you what you expect. They don't often blow anyone out of the water with their food. They usually have good specials. In which this time it was the month of June and they were celebrating an anniversary so they had a calendar of specials for the month. read more

Governor's Restaurant & Bakery - The delicious poutine. - Desserts Near Me - Old Town, Maine

This Saturday we had a large group of people we got 4 different tables.Kala was GREAT as waitress and had excellent meal and great dessert. Thanks Kala read more

The service was good, The waiter was real nice. the ambiance was a little funky but that's what you get with a place called governors. Food was very mediocre. it was cheap so that's good. I had a dirty glass, a piece of hair in my food. Looks like if you live here might be the only kind of food you can get so i can't blame you if you go here. my grill cheese was fine. read more

Very clean restrooms and service is friendly, home fries are great! This was in old town Maine

It's not what it used to be, my mother and I had the tradition to go Fridays for their fish chowder, last time I had it, there was very little fish, just bits and lots of potatoes, the rolls are much smaller and the price has almost double. read more

Easy to find; very clean - impressed that even with an overflow Saturday morning crowd, the bathrooms were perfectly clean, bright and accessible. Service was terrific - hostess was a little harried but still pleasant and our waitress was terrific We opted for breakfasts. Eggs Benedict were huge with ample portions of ham and eggs cooked perfectly ... but English muffin was soggy and the hollandaise tasted like jarred turkey gravy The Capitol Breakfast was ok - 2 eggs prepared as requestd, good crisp bacon ... toast was barely toasted though Both meals came with home fries - I do not mind canned cut up potatoes ... but these had no flavor at all ... these were very disappointing Overall it was not a bad experience but it is not a place I'd go out of my way to visit again read more

Worst chief salad forgot crotons and cheese best part was the sweet potato fries my friend ordered waiter was unattentive.

For home cooking from down home Maine I highly recommend this amazing restaurant and bakery! The fried Haddock and clam bellies were amazing and topping it off with an amazing blueberry milk shake made it really hit the spot on our travels! Friendly staff and cookies and cake to go make it even more special! read more

Fine home style cooking but a limited menu. Service is fairly quick in Bangor. The Lewiston service is fast and very congenial. The Waterville location is extremely busy so the service is a little latent. Haven't eaten at the Old Town location yet. The atmosphere of all the locations I have been is friendly family oriented. I only give it 4 stars to compensate for the limited menu and longer service waits at Waterville but the food is well prepared at each location. Oh... one more thing... the limited breakfast window truncates the menu choices even further and the corn beef hash chunks get fatty because they are too large. read more

This is where my family would always go to celebrate a graduation. The staff is always attentive, they feel like family! Recently they added my wife's favorite Spencer's ice cream to the line up. read more

I wish I could rate this restaurant separately for breakfast and lunch/dinner. Their breakfast buffet is very complete for the price and actually nice. I also liked the service. The breakfast earned the third star. Lunch/dinner is one of the grossest things I've had, and my husband agrees. We don't understand the hype. The fried fish had a slimy texture as opposed to the flaky freshness we expect from a white fish. The sides are reminiscent of school cafeteria quality food. I had the wings (and I consider myself a wing connoisseur), but they were absolutely disgusting. I didn't finish them. They're not buffalo no matter what they claim. My toddler wouldn't even eat the food here, not even the fries. They also cater to the people that want excessive quantity but don't care for quality. As evidence of this, they just replaced their booth tables with THINNER tables so the patrons have more room to sit. I had to sit on the edge of my seat and lean over to eat at the table--not normal bmi friendly. read more

Our party of 6 arrived shortly after 10 AM to a half full restaurant. Food did not arrive until 11:20 and was barely warm. Staffing was inadequate, and one of the six orders was grossly incorrect. Suspect it was related to server errors, as many other patrons were served and completed their meals more quickly. Skip Governors and make the quick trip to downtown Bangor for more breakfast/brunch variety, better service, and certainly better quality food. read more

It took 40 minutes for breakfast, when it came out it was very average with little flavor. The pancake was microwaved and the bottom was hard. However, the server was really nice. read more

Been here a number of times for both breakfast and lunch. Great place for both but would say slightly better as a breakfast restaurant. You get good size portions and good service with most things at a reasonable place. The Mexican omelet or governors big breakfast are my go to choices and both taste great. The best food has to be the home-fries though, some of the best I have had. They have options for everyone even picky eaters and good luck leaving without getting dessert. All of them look so good. read more

Good breakfast. Would go back. Was going to give 4 stars since my daughter got a piece of banana cream pie to go but the waiter gave us coconut. Went back and girl nicely gave us the right pie. Mistakes happen and they made it right so 5 stars in order. The plate size cinnamon roll was heated up the next day and fed all 4 of us. Super moist and delicious!! read more

Maybe I'm a softy, but I give this place 5 stars, mostly for nostalgia. I've been coming to Governor's for decades now, and I can't help but associate it with family - it was our go-to place whenever we were all coming through Orono. I remember the food (mostly breakfast) being much better and less expensive, but that could just be one of my many hazy recollection from the '90s - set to the soundtrack of Sister Hazel and Third Eye Blind. In a rural wasteland of strip malls and chain restaurants, this is an oasis of home cooked comfort food. Highlights: Their breakfast buffet on the weekends is a reasonable $8. Obviously the more you eat, the better the deal. The rest of their breakfasts are even better. All their baked goods are...good to great. I always drool over the pie and cake carousel as we walk past it on the way to our table. The no-bake peanut butter sandwiches are my favorite, but so are the whoopie pies, the peanut butter ice cream sandwiches, etc. there's something sweet for everyone. The 'Federal Deficit'. This ice cream monstrosity has almost everything in their kitchen in it: http://menu.governorsrestaurant.com/cart/category/1996/Ice_Cream/1/ I think when you're done you get a certificate of completion and a free Blood Glucose Monitor for your inevitable early-onset type II diabetes. I'm shocked Man vs. Food hasn't come knocking for this challenge. Seriously though - this is a good place to come for a slice of dessert. The burgers are decent too - each one named after a Maine governor. This would be only motivation to run for office. Check in on the daily specials. This month (October 2014) they've had deep discounts on new specials each day, but they typically have a set Sun-Sat daily special. Definitely caters to the locals, some of whom base their weekly eating patterns around certain daily specials offered throughout the week. Overall, great family dining experience! Make sure to take a picture of yourself next to the Governor's statue outside the entrance when you leave! read more

Governor's is one of ..... no make that my absolute favorite breakfast spot in Maine. I always make it a point to stop in at least once when I'm in town. I get the same thing every time: 3 egg veggie omelet with home fries. Back in the day, they were running a special where they had sweet potato home fries. I miss those! But I'll settle for the regular home fries. It is a bakery as well, so be forewarned. You walk right into a wall of pies, cakes, cupcakes, fudge and whoopie pies as soon as you walk out the door. Somehow I always wind up taking goodies with me. read more