Absolutely bland food, call this place a miss unless you are out of options. While the staff seems friendly enough the traditional menu doesn't offer anything worth noting and even the most common bar food options are tasteless. My husband eats everything but hardly touched his plate. read more

Compared to other places on the island, this is below average. The lobster roll special was lobster on a hot dog bun. The fish and chips plate was over breaded and fries were overdone. Ate at the bar, and the bartender was very nice, but overwhelmed with volume of customers. read more

Went here for dinner and drinks on our first night in Bar Harbor (there for honeymoon). Had to wait a bit but ended up sitting at the bar. Good draft selection and the food we ordered was great. I ordered a smoked haddock sandwich (it was a special) and it was awesome. Husband got a lobster roll (good) and soup which was very good. The best thing about this place was the bartender, a tall youngish guy who was just the best. We told him we were there for our honeymoon and he made us feel really special. He was a great conversationalist and his high energy put us in the right mood for taking the tequila shots which he kindly offered to us as a way to celebrate. A truly gifted bartender is one that can make connections between other people sitting at the bar and that's what this guy did-- we had so much fun chatting with the other couples sitting around us. One of our most favorite memories from the trip was our night at Thirsty Whale :-) read more

They would not allow us to put together two tables for 6 people, even though there was ample space and empty tables available. Rude. Stay away if you have a group. read more

The name is kinda misleading. It is by far not the best bar in town. The staff are as unfriendly as they come in Down East Maine. There are no drink specials or happy hour. It's just an overpriced tourist destination with a good location. However, the only reason I would return is for the fried pickles. Hence the 2 stars. read more

Good clam chowder, spicy chicken wings, pub burger. I don't usually rate for service but this place had good service too. Overall, good place to go and eat. read more

Walked into a mostly empty bar. Sat at a table across from the bar tender then was totally ignored for over 10 minutes. The bar tender was more interested in talking with her boyfriend at the bar and the only working waitress was more interested in playing with her phone, eating, and walking around randomly. Apparently we weren't the right type of people to be served at this place. After feeling invisible for over 10 minutes we left. read more

We went at 8:00 and had to wait for almost an hour for 4 burgers! It was not crowded either. The food was good and the burgers huge

Don't assume because I'm dining alone that I want to sit at the bar or in the corner. Minus 1 star for that. I ordered the haddock sandwich and lobster bisque lunch special. It's under $12. The fish sandwich was really good and the bread wasn't heavy. Its a large sandwich. This was the first time I had eaten lobster bisque so I can't compare it to anything else. It had a bit of shredded lobster in it but mostly tasted like cream. read more

Although the service was very good, we were disappointed with the Fisherman's Platter -mostly popcorn shrimp (tasteless), only a couple scallops, and two tiny bite size pieces of fish, and some clam bellies. Fries and onion rings were good. Expensive for what you got. read more

After the Island Chowder House closed, we tried the Thirsty Whale for Fish and Chips and Clam Chowder on numerous occasions. The food is not the problem; the service and atmosphere is. On our most recent visit, we entered the door only to be blocked by a large group of adults, children, and a screaming baby; socializing, talking sports, and making it difficult to get by. Since the sign said 'seat yourself,' we did--as far as we could get from the crowd as possible. The waitress approached us and said she wanted to save the area we were seated in for larger parties. If we wanted to stay, we were told to sit at the front with the socislizing crowd where "the baby would be finished soon." When told there was no other option, we left. It was not a busy night. No larger party arrived. They turned away our business with a number of empty tables. As we are 'off islanders,' their attitude seemed to be that of Tom Petty: 'Don't come around here no more.' read more

The wait time was two times what we were told and there was only one table next to the kitchen and bathrooms that fit our party larger than 4. There are places in Bar Harbor that are much less cave like, and offered a pleasant environment with friendly service. Don't go there if you have children. They are prejudice against them. The owner made rude comments out loud about people's children and became very defensive and offered no apology about it when confronted. read more

This the worst restaurant I have been to in years. Ordered a Guinness that did not taste good. Bar tender would not credit and give me another. I would never go back. She needs to be fired. read more

Always come back to this local favorite year after year and are never disappointed- seafood sampler, clam chowder and lobster roll are to die for . Also blackened fish and chips are a must read more

Great atmosphere and friendly staff. We had lunch at 3:00 and it wasn't empty. Small garden salad was fresh and filling. The grilled hummus sandwich was delicious. Overall great experience. read more

If you like really spicy wings - try this place - stopped by 2 times while in Bar Harbor for the wings! Also, the Clam Chowder is the best we had in the North East. Highly recommend for a quick lunch. Pub/Bar atmosphere, but nice. read more

Visited here before summer season, so managed to avoid the throng of tourists. Good selection local beer, the Rising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale was A+. Had several pub apps that were all excellent...good place to visit if one is vacationing in the Bar Harbor area. read more

The Caesar salads were good. Salmon had good flavor and chicken was ok. Lobster roll was perfect. Not much mayonnaise. Service was ok. Price is ok read more

This place is a great little pub in town. Nice selection of beers, nice aptmosphere. We had fried clams with soups and they were pretty good for the type of place it is. Right downtown too! read more

excellent beers on tap and a nice local place open all year. sometimes during the summer service declines but i think that has to do with the number of people in town. year around it's our go to spot in bar harbor. great chowder, burgers and fries or fish & chips. read more

We had dinner at the Thirsty Whale in mid August. The service was average. The fried haddock was very good. The fried clams were marginal. The fried shrimp was terrible and I mean bad (could not be eaten by any of us). Unfortunately 2 of our 3 meals were shrimp and ended up in their garbage. They took one meal off out tab but it took 45 mins to get seated and 45 more mins to get our order so the evening was wasted. Would not go back. read more

Best price on fish and chips in town! great draft beer selection and friendly staff

Good burgers and sandwiches. Next time I'd skip the wale salad - too many olives and not much else! The app size fried clams are a good size portion and done nicely in a light batter. Good service. read more

Blackened Haddock Sandwich is the best! Bar Harbor has a lot of mediocre restaurants but this is a great spot for a tasty bite to eat, a cold drink and a cup of Chowder. read more

We had great service-fast and friendly and attentive without being overbearing. Both husband and I got the blackened fish sandwich and it was one of the best I have had in the US. It is more sautéed in Pablo than fried. He got clam chowder and said it was great. I had sweet potato fries as my side and they were pretty great-huge sandwich meant I couldn't finish them and I skipped lunch on purpose to eat here. Off the Main Street in Bar Harbor on Cottage Street so you have to look for this place a bit but it's worth seeking out. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed the fisherman's plate. I had the Caesar salad with it. Best Caesar salad ever!

You know a restaurant is worth trying when several of the locals tell you about the food. In short this place had everything we wanted after the long drive to Bar Harbor. The food was great, I ordered the lobster roll and paid only a dollar to upsize the side cup of clam chowder to a bowl and she ordered the haddock sandwich which also came with a side cup of chowder. It was the first time we had ever tried a Maine lobster roll and it was very good. The roll is basically a toasted hotdog bun but unlike some other places where we saw patrons order lobster rolls the Thirsty Whale load the bun with meat to the point it was ready to burst and went light on the mayonnaise. The chowder was rich and creamy and was also very good. The absolute best thing we ate was the haddock sandwich the fish was perfectly cooked and it was lightly breaded. It might just be the best fish sandwich I've ever eaten. Now onto the other great points, the prices were very reasonable for a seaside restaurant especially the local brews. The service was great and all told we were in and out within an hour. If you're looking for some good eats in Bar Harbor this is the place to go. read more

Great seafood at low cost. We went here a few times during vacation. Excellent fried haddock sandwiches.

Stopped in a couple times after days exploring Acadia and Bar Harbor. It's a laid back place with friendly staff & locals to chat with. Consistently the coldest drinks in town and although we didn't have dinner here we did regret it- took wings to go one night and they were outstanding- best I've had! read more

A mistake on the line led to my medium cheeseburger arriving well-done and without cheese (which I didn't spot right away), and it then took a while for our server to check back with our table in order to call this out--but otherwise a solid experience in a comfortable atmosphere with friendly service. Great selection of beers. Family thoroughly enjoyed salmon sandwiches and fisherman's (assorted fried) platter. Even a well-done burger, while way off from what was ordered, was pretty good and not dried-out. (Server offered me a choice of comping or replacing it, family was mostly finished with their entrees by the time she checked back.) read more

Great food and great service... lobster roll was awesome and so was the haddock and clam chowder!!

The Thirsty Whale is a great local pub. It offered exactly what we wanted after a long day of driving: beer and fried food. We ordered beers, fried pickles, and fried haddock. I drank the Atlantic Brewing Company Bar Harbor Real Ale, a locally brewed brown ale with a smooth nutty finish. The fried pickles were great: the perfect amount of breading, a crunchy pickle, and ranch dip. The fried haddock was a generous portion of fried fish with standard french fries; this is a good dish but I would probably try something else on their menu next time. I appreciate the offering of microbrews, food was good, the service was very friendly, and the atmosphere was inviting. read more

Great spot to eat. The first place we went in Bar Harbor where I felt you got what you paid for. Chicken pesto sandwich was good and size able. The lobster roll was smaller than I had seen elsewhere but so was the price. Worth checking out. read more

More like 3.5 stars, but shy of 4. Definitely a decent pub. Stopped here post-hike in Acadia to have some lunch before our drive home. Would like to note that the beer is "ice-cold" and therefore extremely refreshing afterwards. My salmon salad was decent, but a bit dry. Also had some of the vegan burger which was good-- but where was the pineapple (not from regular menu, the special)? Chipotle mayo with it was good. No complaints for the burger. Overall a decent place to grab a quick bite to eat and leave content read more

ordered a lobster roll the roll was cold, lobster could have been better tasted like it had been sitting out for a while. it's basically a bar which is good for drinks but not for meals. read more

The better one of the usual Bar Harbor fair restaurants/bars. Fried haddock was never oily unlike in many other places and burgers were great too. Same dishes as on Main St but saved you about 5$ per dish and the quality is far superior. read more

Great place with great food. Recommend the lobster roll and the blackened fish and chips. Nice beer selection. Expect a wait to get in

Great spot to grab a quick, casual lunch or dinner! First time in Maine so I had chowder at every restaurant we stopped at, and the Thirsty Whale really did have the best. read more

Average pub food, and people love it. Good fish sandwich and also some good cocktails. Nothing to write home about, but not bad either.

I will start off by saying that the Potato Skins are to die for, and the thing is I have never tried it before. Also my family was saying that the lobster bisque, whale salad and haddock sandwich were amazing, too. Basically the food is good. The atmosphere is pretty dark throughout the restaurant, but I think that they try to light it up with natural light which is a good idea, but flies get in and it's not very pleasing to have flies flying around you when your eating food. Over all it was a nice restaurant, so 4 stars for me!! read more