Hands down the best chicken sandwich I've ever had. So good we went back the next day to order it again. Great beer selection, apps, salads, everything was delicious. Super friendly staff too. read more

Two words ...Cider Margaritas! And best hummus plate around, something for every palate! read more

Side Street Cafe - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Overall, it was pretty good. I would normally rate it a 4 but knocked off a star because of service. Let's start at the beginning. We had a dog so we opted for outdoor seating and got seated pretty quickly. They're very dog friendly. We saw a few other dogs in their outdoor seating area. (Pro Tip: be sure to join their wait list online so you can wait virtually until it's almost time for your table) Food-wise, it was pretty good. We had gotten the lobster roll, lobster mac and cheese, and lobster bisque (did I mention lobster? lol) The lobster mac and cheese and lobster roll were good. Nothing crazy or outstanding but definitely above average - it was delicious - 4-stars worthy. The lobster bisque was just okay though. I would say average at best and I'm comparing it to others that I had before. Service-wise, the server just felt very cold. He wasn't rude at all or anything that would turn me off. I'm just comparing it to the service that I've gotten at other restaurants in the area and again. All of the other servers seem great though so I don't think it's across the board. Overall, I would most likely come back. I do wish I could give it more stars but the 3-stars shouldn't deter you from checking out this spot. read more

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Our first stop for food in Bar Harbor - the food was good, the drinks fun, and cool modern atmosphere. Service was great!

Great service, SHOCKINGLY bad food. Paid about $250 (after tip) for extremely mid lobster roll appetizer, a lobster grilled cheese that a child could have made, and the blandest Mac and cheese with lukewarm lobster dumped on top. Drinks were great but overall extremely disappointing for the price, especially when the reviews made it sound great. Felt more like a subpar Red Lobster, don't waste your money :( read more

Side Street Cafe - Cold blah lobster rolls - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

2 things 1) My favorite lobster roll of a week where we ordered them EVERYWHERE we went up the coast. This one was just perfectly balanced, this was my ONE. 2) My favorite kids menu options - If you are a parent with foodie kids who are frequently disappointed by kids meals that come out tasting like no one ever cared to taste test them, this is the better experience you dream of. So happy to see a legit grilled cheese and bunch of chips come out that even made my husband want to steal bites. Our daughter ate way more than usual, which is always nice on a pricey vacation where they're wasting restaurant meals left and right. If we return to Bar Harbor we would definitely return here. read more

had trouble picking a place in off season, but stumbled across this place. food was good, pie was better! we had a party in a wheelchair and it was accessible for us. stay was very friendly and prices reasonable. read more

Really surprised by the positive reviews on here. We dined there yesterday, and everything we had was below average. Worst of all was the lobster. Unfortunately everything we ordered had lobster - lobster feast, lobster Mac and cheese, and chimichangas with steak and lobster. The mac and cheese was bland but we ate the macaroni due to hunger but couldn't stomach the lobster. I also inhaled the fries, which were good, and the claim chowder was decent albeit a bit sandy. We've been in Maine for a week and sampled lobster from various places in Portland and nearby cities - this was the only one we just couldn't eat. It tasted old or like plastic, hard to know what went wrong. Very disappointing and pricey meal for two - $130. A tip to the restaurant - if you see that your customers left mounds of lobster on their plates, good customer service dictates you ask if something was wrong. When no one did, after we paid the bill, I told the waiter the lobster tastes odd. He seemed unmoved. Suggest you go somewhere where the lobster is fresh if that's what you're hoping to have while in the area. read more

Good selection on the menu, indoor and outdoor seating. Reasonable prices, good margaritas!

It seems to be the most popular restaurant around. Very crowded but they have their automated text system where you get to know about your wait time and the queue status. It was raining while we waited, so my suggestion for the restaurant - have some arrangements for the people waiting outside to protect them from rain. The restaurant was super crowded but the way the staff handled it was amazing. Once we reached our table, we didn't feel the crowd anymore. The service was very fast, the food was quantity and quality was good and I could see why they are so popular. Hardworking, attentive staff. Wonderful experience during this visit. Wish to try some other dishes next time. I found it a bit expensive but later found out that all other restaurants have similar prices. read more

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Great service and food with varied menu. It's a little off the beaten path, not near the water or the main town.

Getting unlucky in the parking lot for the Jordan Pond house turned to luck in having lunch at this place instead. We were at Acadia NP for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. Arrived around 11:30 in a Saturday and quickly got a seat on the porch with our pup. Gotta love a place with dog friendly seating. The waitress was super nice to us and our pup. The food was delicious and came out so quickly! Bonus points for bay seasoning on the fries. The pineapple coconut margarita I had was just so tasty. Walked by later in the day and it was packed - so go on the earlier side if you don't want to wait in the summer season. read more

Side Street Cafe - Pineapple coconut marg with sweet toasted coconut on the rim. Delicious! - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Omg I DREAM of this spinach and artichoke dip. It was so, so good. In fact, it was so good that I've been trying to re-create the magic at other restaurants without much success. Also loved that the lobster mac and cheese was customizable ("build-your-own"). I made a mistake adding the lobster bisque though; it made the overall meal a bit too cholesterol-heavy for my liking. read more

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Overall, entrees were ok to mediocre, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the price I was paying- although this may be par for the course on the rather touristy Bar Harbor area. The blueberry pie was the best I've ever eaten though and would come just for that. Lobster Mac: The Mac-n-cheese wasn't anything special, although portion size was fairly large and there was a good amount of lobster meat in there. Fairly straightforward. Fish tacos: Underwhelming- the tacos were a bit dry and the fish was dry and tough. Rice and beans were okay, but nothing special Lobster Stew: Really tasty- would get this again! I've heard some people say it's a bit thin but I thought it was perfect. Blueberry pie: AMAZING. Wow! Get it a la mode and this made my whole night. The pastry was buttery, flaky, and crispy while the blueberries were perfectly sweet. This was the highlight of the whole meal. All in all, without any beverages, the total cost came out to ~$40/pp, which for the food that we were getting didn't seem like a good value. read more

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This place is where the locals go in Bar Harbor, and it is fantastic. Especially good for people seeking gluten free options. The Nomad burger on the gf bun was one of the best, juiciest, most flavorful burger I had in years! My wife had the jerk chicken sandwich and after every bite she kept saying 'this is really good food!' They're doing a great job making things COVID safe and the waitstaff are very friendly. Not much more to say - go to Side Street Cafe! read more

Side Street Cafe - Eating area - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Came here looking for dinner with outdoor dining. Most of their outdoor dining though are high tops and along the edge high tops though. So don't expect any regular tables. The place was bustling so we hoped it was good food and it was1 I was pleasantly surprised and would highly recommend coming back! It's nice that they have an online wait list so that we could put our names down early before we even got there. Some staff members were wearing masks. The menus are all QR code scans. .We ordered the main crab cakes which had great flavor but didn't have a lot of crab meat in them. Maybe because I"m comparing them to the Maryland crab cakes that I've had before that were stuffed with crab meat. The Lobster roll and haddock Reuben was very solid I would recommend getting the Serena's Lobster because they basically pulled apart the meat of a whole lobster for you and it was soooo good. THe freshness and sweetness of the lobster meat was to die for. The corn though they could have doe a lot better on getting actual sweet corn. The corn on the cob that we had had no taste. The New England clam chowder that came with it was ok I've definitely had ones that came with more clam in it. But overall, very solid place. Also we highly recommend getting the blueberry margarita! Amazing for anyone who loves blueberry flavored everything in Maine! Would definitely come back again! read more

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Great food. Fast service. Mask mandate sign on the door, regardless of vaccination status. Both "hostesses" were breaking their own rule. One had no mask in sight. The other was wearing it under her nose (super effective, right?!). Both were on their phones gossiping about some nonsense and were clearly bothered by my coming to give them business. My partner turned around to go get his mask. I asked for a table for two. I was asked where the rest of my party was. I pointed at him and said he was running to car across the street to get mask. I was told I cannot be seated until he is physically in the building again. They proceeded to return to their gossip session. They lose a star for that. They honestly would've lost more, but the food and server made up for it. We had sweet potato soup (delish), quesadillas, and the half rack with Mac. Everything was delicious. We topped it off with the best blueberry pie (warmed, of course) a la mode!!! It was soooooo good!! We took the pie and ice cream to go, as we had reservations for the Cadillac mountain summit. If you can get past the awful "greeters", you will have a great experience. This restaurant should really reevaluate who they have as the first face and point of contact for their establishment. read more

Side Street Cafe - Black bean quesadilla - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Was not super impressed. Queso delicious, Mac and cheese bites dry, burger was mid. Surprised at all the 5 stars

This could have easily been a 4 or 5 star spot, the food here was excellent albeit a little overpriced. The lobster melt and the lobster stew were delightful, but unfortunately they did not have any lobster rolls when we were there. The kicker though was how rude the manager was. Our friend had ordered a sandwich with a $3 upgrade from the house chips to the stew, and chose lobster stew which was in the upgrade options part of the menu. However, when the bill came out he was charged the entire cost of the stew instead of just the upgrade cost. When we spoke to the manager about this and how the menu was confusing and that the waiter did not say anything about this when taking the order, instead of offering to comp it, the manager actually got us into a 10 minute argument about having us pay the extra cost and how we "should have known what the cost of lobster is." Even better, she admitted that the menu had misled several customers before us as well and that it was confusing, yet still refused to cover the cost of the mistake and even accused us of just trying to get free food. If we were just trying to get free food, I guarantee we would have just run away instead of paying the rest of the $100+ bill. I will say the rest of our waiters were extremely pleasant and on top of things. TL;DR good food, on pricier side, terrible customer service by the manager. If you do go here, don't get scammed by the $3 side soup upgrades on the sandwiches, you might end up paying more than you bargained for or worse yet get into a yelling match with the manager in the middle of the dining floor. read more

Side Street Cafe - Lobster melt - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Great place! Super friendly, fun staff and a nice location for our lunch, during a midday rainstorm, with great music playing. On this day I chose the BBQ chicken Mac and Cheese and it did not disappoint! #snackintyre read more

Side Street Cafe - BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Great place huge selection of dietary options. Something for everyone with dietary needs Great food and tater quick service. read more

Side Street Cafe - Menu - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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This was one of my favorite places in Bar Harbor. It does get busy and they don't take reservations, so be prepared for a wait. I just thought they had a well thought out selection, a great lobster roll, and reasonable prices. The location is easily accessible and they have a great outdoor patio. read more

Side Street Cafe - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Amazing food and service. Do yourself a favor and get the blueberry pie - it is the most delicious blueberry pie I've ever had.

Cute place with good food and friendly service. I'd recommend the blueberry pie. My only complaint was the line for the bathroom, as this restaurant seems to share the bathroom with the bar next to it. read more

Stopped by after hiking beehive and it was pretty empty at 2 pm. We got sat quickly, I ordered lobster stew - creamy yet light and delicious and loaded with lobster but lobster was a little overcooked. Husband got haddock sandwich and clam chowder soup which he thought the sandwich was bland. The chowder was spot on!! Daughter got mac and cheese with side of hotdog from kids menu and ate it all! Along with some of my stew! We were a little early for happy hour but looks like a great deal with 5$ drafts and other mixed drinks!! We have been here before and would come again! read more

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Went two days in a row. Crab dip and pie were so incredible. Bangin shrimp was amazing too! read more

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Restaurants can be a struggle when visiting the Bar Harbor area at the end of the season, especially during a pandemic. Options are beyond limited. But thank you, oh gods of the culinary world for the Side Street Café!! What a hidden gem this unassuming little eatery is! After a day of hiking in Acadia National Park, we were looking for a place to rest our muscles and feed our starving stomachs. With limited options, we jumped online to look for local (open) restaurants and Side Street looked doable. And wow did we underestimate this place. Without exaggeration, I believe we ate here 4 times the week we were in Maine. Side Street has your typical bar/restaurant fare, and of course local favorites and locally harvested ingredients. For our initial visit, we were famished, and way over ordered. To start we chose the Roasted Crab Dip as well as the Buffalo Chicken Dip. Both were phenomenal. The crab dip was chucked full of fresh peekytoe crab and was ooey-gooey and perfect with the grilled pita. And I know what you are thinking when it comes to the Buffalo Chicken Dip - buff dip is buff dip is buff dip. NO. I assure you that Side Street shattered that terrible standardization. I am not sure what they put in their dip... Spices, herbs, cumin maybe? Magic unicorn glitter? I don't know. I've tried to recreate it at home and the flavor profile is just lost on me. But it's so good that we ordered it for an appetizer at each subsequent visit. For mains, my husband ordered the pulled pork sandwich and I the lobster mac (Cuz when in Rome, right?). Now let me start with the lobster mac. It was just a bit.... Ordinary. Not that it was bad by any means, just not anything I feel compelled to rave about. Pasta was cooked perfectly as was the lobster. It just lacked anything that set it apart from others I've tried. The pulled pork was a whole different story, however! Again, what mystical nectar do the chef's at Side Street have access to?! I've not, in 38 years, tasted pulled pork like this. And not only was the flavor out of this world, they took care to remove the excess fat. I hate nothing more than to order a pulled pork sandwich chucked full of slimy fat. Bun - toasted, fries - crispy. Great dish. So good, in fact, that I ordered this each subsequent visit as well. And he did too. Trust me. You will not regret it. Side Street Café also has a vast menu of cocktails that I indulged in when visiting. They made a mean apple cider margarita rimmed with cinnamon and sugar, but I am sure this was probably a seasonal item. But if you happen to be in the area during the fall months, make sure you stop in for one. This is such a great little spot. The outdoor dining area is adorable, and locals are often spotted there with their four-legged family members. The staff is wonderful and is so happy to share their enthusiasm for their hometown. And Side Street's COVID protocols were on point. Clearly, the entire staff as well as the locals take a lot of pride in this café and it was truly a pleasure to dine here. My only reasons behind the 4 stars rather than 5 are the lack luster lobster mac as well as some inconsistencies we saw with the pulled pork sandwiches. Sometimes they arrived with a sauce mixed in with the pork, other times they did not. read more

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Food and drinks were great! Bloody Mary and blueberry lemonade was so yummy. Service was prompt and kind and a very dog friendly place. Overall great experience! read more

Side Street Cafe - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Swing by during happy hour for drinks, and stay for an early dinner! Their $5 margaritas are delicious. There's a jalapeno infused tequila that you can mix with any of the flavors, like mango or blueberry jalapeno! Ask about the special flavor, but the apple spiced margarita was nothing special. The crab dip and buffalo chicken mac and cheese were amazing. 10/10. Menu is large enough to come back a second time if you're in town long! read more

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We decided to come here after spending a day in Acadia National Park. This small place was already super busy around 5 PM when we came and it took around 30 minutes to find parking in the lot across the street. We ended up not having to wait to get an actual table though which was nice. I ordered the lobster roll which comes with a small clam chowder and chips. I was starving so the roll tasted really good. It was also the first lobster roll I had tried in Maine so I didn't really have a baseline for comparison but after trying some other places I realized that although it was good it didn't stick out from any of the other places. The chowder was fine too. I also got to try the lobster mac and cheese which was pretty heavy. The creamy cheese sauce was tasty but really heavy. They did give a generous portion of lobster though. I also ordered a blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it was a nice dessert. The pie crust had a sugary top coating that I really enjoyed and the blueberries were really sweet. I would recommend this place if you're in Bar Harbor. There are a lot of nice little shops and boutiques around the area to walk around and check out after eating too. read more

Side Street Cafe - Blueberry pie with ice cream - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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side street cafe is great! our service was awesome and the food & drinks rocked. would highly recommend the mac and cheese; doesn't look like much but it is SO good read more

Side Street Cafe - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Side street has become an annual stop For years. Unfortunately this year everything changed . Our previous visits nobody left hungry!this visit everyone felt the effect of shrinkflation . The food and service were good but I wouldn't consider it 5 star by far. But the ambience was good . Here are pictures of the experience read more

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The service was quick and good. Our appetizers were nothing to write home about (Mac attack and Clam chowder) so initially we weren't impressed. I will say our view changed once our meals were brought out...still not one of our top picks for Bar Harbor but the burger and chicken wings were good. read more

We had excellent service here. I had the signature Mac n cheese. Got the half Mac and it was waaaayyyy too much! Don't get the full mac!!! Lobster rolls were solid. Clam chowder had lots of potatoes in it. Overall good experience. read more

Side Street Cafe - Lobster roll - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Side street cafe What an amazing lunch! Started with terrific raspberry mimosas that were the best I've ever had. Real pieces of raspberries! Then moved on to the lobster Mac n cheese. It had lots of lobster, nice cheesy shells and very filling! They have a great drink menu with lots of fun drinks! Hmmm guess I have to go back for more! read more

Side Street Cafe - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Sooo good! We came here for an early dinner. Staff was friendly and service was great. The basal blueberry margarita was good, but it is really sweet. First time trying Haddock in the Fish tacos and I loved it! The blueberry pie was also so delicious. Would come here again! read more

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Stopped by this place after hiking in Acadia and asked our waitress what she recommended to try since we were from out of town and she told us to try the lobster roll....Do not get it! My husband and I both ordered the roll bc the waitress said we would be said if we shared one. She was wrong, I took one bite and couldn't eat anymore. It was honestly the worst lobster roll that I've ever had in my life! :/ I've had a better roll in Ohio which is saying a lot. Other than that our waitress was great and super nice and the rest food (Fries and soup) was ok. Pretty much your typical bar type food. If you go here get something else other than the super overpriced absolutely non edible, weird tasting, over cooked lobster roll. read more

Side Street Cafe - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Overall more of a 3.5 stars but our server was great, so bumping up to 4 because of him. We ordered Jon's Fries and Bangin' Shrimp for appetizers to share. The fries were pretty disappointing - they were very soggy vs I prefer a crispier texture. The shrimps were a bit more mixed. I especially liked the sauce as it had a nice spicy kick, however the shrimps taste like defrosted packaged shrimp, not fresh caught. I ordered the bbq chicken salad, which I really enjoyed. The chicken was soft/tender and portion sizes were pretty large. My husband shared ribs with some of our friends. He really enjoyed his food too. Overall a decent option for food to stop by if you're visiting town, but probably not the best. read more

Blackened salmon kale salad: 4/5 - the salad dressing was pretty good. the salmon was a little under seasoned, but there were lots of nice greens. Surf n turf mac: 3/5 - the mac n cheese itself and the shrimps were good (more like pesto pasta than mac n cheese, not complaining though), but the steak was over cooked. it seems quite overpriced at 30+ dollars, especially since it costs more than a lobster mac. Hometown burger: 5/5 - a solid, hearty burger. the bun is actually ciabatta, which went well with the burger. it tasted great with some ketchup and mustard. Clam chowder: 5/5 - like the burger, the clam chowder was a solid and hearty soup. very cozy and warming. We ordered takeout, which was a simple process through the website. The food did come out a little later than the website said it would come out, but not much of a problem. I would say our overall review would be 4.5/5. read more

Side Street Cafe - blackened salmon kale salad w/o cheese, surf turf mac, hometown burger, clam chowder bowl - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Delicious!! Their clam chowder is my favorite around bar harbor. We ordered their lobster Mac and cheese and clam chowder for take out. Both were delicious! We returned for another visit and ordered the fish taco, Jon fries, the nomad burger, clam chowder, and blueberry pie a la mode. Very very delicious!! Service was great, food was hot, and atmosphere was good. Highly recommend. read more

Side Street Cafe - Blueberry pie a la mode - American Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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