A cafe and breakfast spot right in town that's actually affordable?! Amazing, brilliant, fantastic. Everything about it.

Excellent... Excellent! Cannot rave enough about this wonderful little place... There's a group of eight of us and we ordered egg and cheese sandwich on a croissant roll, which was Devine ... Avocado toast with lobster also excellent and lots of specialty coffees that were made hot and fresh !! Order at the counter and they call your name when your food is ready ... My sandwich was wrapped in foil and was so hot. I couldn't wait to open it up. I knew it was fresh! read more

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I came in here for a quick coffee drink. The girls working were nice and my drink was made quickly and tasted good! Lots of space for dining in and lots of little items for sale (soaps, jams etc). Good experience but if I was visiting Bar Harbor again I'd probably try a different spot. Would recommend giving it a shot though, if you haven't been here! read more

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We were in town after visiting Acadia and thought we'd grab a bite to eat, but every restaurant we stopped at said there would an hourlong wait for food. As we strolled along, we saw this place offered food and popped in to take a look at the menu. We decided to try a lobster roll and take it to the park across the street for a quick picnic. Ambiance: the front half has lots of cute, less touristy souvenirs and the back half was the food counter and soda cases. No seating inside, but the park across the way is a great place to sit. Service: very relaxed and friendly; we didn't wait too long for our roll and they were gracious enough to pop downstairs and check to see if the flavoured soda we wanted was in stock. Lobster roll: delicious! Slightly pricier than any of the restaurants we had looked at previously, but we got our food much faster. read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Lobster roll - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

I would skip it here, unless you want to start your morning angry, and still tired. Too many better coffee shops with better service around the corner. 20 minutes for avocado toast and I was the second person in the store. They forgot my other food item. The shorter girl with black hair was rude, didn't greet anyone, and when anyone asked how she was this morning, she just stared. I paid $35 for 2 basic drinks, avo toast and hashbrowns. She doesn't need to be working at a place like that unless that is the type of behavior that management represents. But honestly, the worst part was the actual drink. My wife's pumpkin spice latte was definitely just chai spices with a touch of milk and the rest was water. No espresso. None of the right flavors. It tasted like water. That drink was $7.00. I got a large americano with an extra shot. Also tasted nasty. Their espresso is bad. Spend $35 somewhere BETTER. DO NOT GO HERE. YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED read more

It would have to be a (-) star. It was the worst chai latte I have ever had, weak with no flavor. Super disappointed on a rainy Maine Saturday! Thank goodness we were reimbursed. read more

This is not full and I'm sad about it. The people working are very nice tho. I got a chai latte and it's pricey so it would be nice if it were atleast full since it'll be gone in 4 sips. Sigh read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Nearly $10 for this and it's not even full. Mostly ice. Terrible. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

We hate writing bad reviews, but this was really disappointing. We got 2 breakfast sandwiches on bagels and 2 regular hot coffees. $35. It would have been "oh this is a tourist town whatever" if the quality was good, but nothing saved it. The breakfast sandwiches were like Dunkin Donuts and bare, so much so I took the bottom half of the bagel off since it added nothing. They had blueberry hot coffee as normal drip coffee which was delicious! But I took the last little bit, and when my husband told them the coffee ran out, they said they would make more but it took forever. 15 minutes later he settled for plain coffee. Food: 1/5 - would not order again, especially for $11 a pop Drinks: 4/5 - blueberry coffee was great and regular coffee was fine Vibe: 3/5 - nothing special just tables in a cafe Value: 1/5 - extremely overpriced for quality read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Coffee and sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwich - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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The bagel was respectable and the cheddar was bangin quality! The guava smoothie was very delicious. Staff is friendly. No bathroom though. I know there is a public bathroom but there should be one for paying customers too, and the public one is kinda far for some elderly people. read more

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Solid salad, but recommend takeout. Detailed breakdown below: **Service, 4/5** Friendly but not so efficient. I was the only customer in the store and it took a little while for my salad to come out, but it gave me time to wander around the market area in the front of the store. **Decor & cleanliness, 3/5** Clean, but not nearly as cute or lively as a lot of the restaurants in the area. No outdoor seating, very minimal indoor seating, and pretty quiet and dark. **Price & portion, 4/5** $15 for a salad with no meat, but the portion was pretty big. **Presentation of the food, 5/5** Gorgeous! Showcases all the ingredients. **Taste of the food, 4.5/5** The Romaine salad came with a local honey vinaigrette and tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, chickpeas, and roasted peppers. I think a boiled egg and/or crumbled bacon would've made this a 5/5, but still really good overall! The avocado and roasted peppers added body, and the vinaigrette was tasty! read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Romaine salad -- solid choice! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

My boyfriend and I have been coming here for four years all the way from PA nobody does it like them! Can't recommend the blueberry iced chai latte enough, cute atmosphere with friendly staff!! read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - iced chai blueberry latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Poor value and no frothing of the milk in latte, meaning it was basically a $10 iced coffee

We stopped in late morning to get some sandwiches to go for lunch. Service was quick and very friendly, the food was delicious and reasonably priced, and I would've loved to have sat here because it's a beautiful space. Nice to escape some of the chaos Bar Harbor has become. read more

We had food from Rich's as part of our Bar Harbor food tour. The lobster slider was good & the blueberry coffee cake was delicious. We enjoyed it picnic style along the water for a brunch treat. read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Lobster sandwich & blueberry coffee cske - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

We went several times during our weekend in Bar Harbor. What a find. We got sandwiches the first time. I highly recommend the caprese panini with pesto and bacon. I hear the veggie wrap with hummus was great. We ate outside which I loved. I went back later for a giant and delicious choco chip cookie. It was enough to share and it lasted a while Went back the next day for turkey dinner paninis and smoothies. Also excellent. We enjoyed talking with the staff and looking at all the fun local products they had for sale. It was a great find! read more

The folks working here really appear to be having fun, though the pace with which they take/fill orders is slower than most places. I was told they've been really busy; busier than they've been in years. Great sandwiches-lots of meat and very. Very good. We took the sandwiches on a hike and couldn't finish so we had to bring them home to snack on later. I walked in so I really don't know about parking, but the street parking was full and lots of folks driving around looking for a spot. My best advice is park when and where you can and WALK! The downtown city center is really small and lots to see and do if you're out walking! read more

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$13.50 for a microwaved BEC?! Go to dunkin, it's the same quality for a fraction of the price. What a joke

I got a coffee and a blueberry soda here. The service was just meh but it was probably because the person at the register was a bit distracted. It also didn't help that the person in front of me was so disrespectful and rude. Overall the coffee was just ok, the soda was bottled so they get no points. The atmosphere was dim and gloomy for some reason and the staff were fine. They do have a nice bar sitting area by the window to people watch and I definitely enjoyed that. Their pastries looked really stale and old, the sandwiches seemed like they are slopped on together and heated up. I would only return due to few cafes actually being around read more

Eh. Modest breakfast and lunch place. All takeout counter with some seating. Ok tuna. Awful lobster roll watery clam chowder. Surly help

I love this place! I make a point to come every time I'm in Bar Harbor and grab at least the Thanksgiving Day panini! Unfortunately there is essentially no seating, and over time the price to size ratio has become more unfavorable, but if you want a delicious bite to eat on the go this is still a great spot. The cafe is also full of other local goodies that make great slightly-less-touristy gifts from your trip. read more

In bar harbor for vacation and stopped in while wandering around on a rainy day. The staff here was amazing. They were kind and went above and beyond. My mom had 10000 questions and requests and they happily helped. It is an adorable little cafe but wish there was more seating! Everything came out super fast and was delicious. They let me go slightly off menu and got a blueberry latte. It was soooo creamy and sweet without being overwhelming. Loved it and would come back if I am ever back in read more

Surprisingly, I had goood coffees here along with their paninis and egg& cheese Everything is perfect. Would recommend to errboday read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Good local cafe with a nice collection of many Maine or local stuff. I see lot of folks coming to get coffee, breakfast and lunch items. In the grocery section I would check some locals items in the nearby Hannaford supermarket as it is cheaper, I bought one bottle of Maine honey at 9.99, the same exact item at Hannaford was 6.99. Not sure why a 30% markup. The local beer collection is nice, talk to the blonde hair guy for beer recommendations. read more

I went with my brother because we were searching for food in Bar Harbor, but all I ordered was a Salt Caramel Latte (iced). The girl at the counter recommended it and boy was it good! Usually I like a sweeter more creamy iced coffee with not so much of a bitter coffee flavor and this iced coffee was just that! The only downside was that I ordered whole milk and not half and half which probably would have made it more creamy. But overall the experience was great! The girls behind the counter were very nice and helpful so that was a plus. Plus I got to look around their little convenience store area while I waited for my coffee. So five stars for the Salt Caramel Iced Latte! read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Salt caramel iced coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Ordered a cappuccino - recieved a warmed coffee fudge with milk. When I saw what it was amd asked where was the foam, she told me "its in the cup" Lets look for it together on the picture attached. I then said this was not a cappuchino - she did not of course say " Im sorry" but " with an attitude snapped: "I can make extra foam for you" Dont go. read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Cappuchino with foam - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Great muffin. Funky place but could do with more staff and maybe some customer training. Had to wait 10 minutes to order and when I finally did and got my coffee it was served with a grunt rather than a smile. Pretty good coffee though. read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Nice blueberry muffin (what's left!) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Tim is the man! It was our first visit in two years at Bar Harbor. All four of us were very excited to get some much-needed coffee, and after a brief search on Yelp, I decided to lead us all this to this place. This is quite possibly the best decision that we made on the island. The coffee was outstanding. I ordered myself a double espresso, and I was astonished and delighted to see that they also serve clam chowder. Intrigued, two among us ordered a bowl of the delicious smoky clam chowder. We sat at the bar and chatted with the friendly Barista also known as Tim. We conversed a lot about Washington DC, our hometown, and Tim's time spent both on the island and in D.C. The whole time Tim was professional and polite and we got some delicious blueberry Maine muffins to go. Even the muffins were excellent, not too sweet, just the right amount of fruit and they kept the hunger away during our next few days camping on the island. We came back to the Independent to the very next day, and the following day after that. We liked the place so much that we decided to make a daily stop. Aside from Tim's contagious personality, the interior is very well-kept, everything is clean, including the restroom. The front window faces the park right across the street and provides a great view of the downtown area. We will always make it a point to come back and enjoy some outstanding coffee with Mr. Tim whenever we come back to Bar Harbor. Thank you Tim for running this ideal establishment of yours, and thank you for welcoming us to Maine. We shall return! read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Great find. Left the park for lunch and was craving a good sandwich. Wife and I split a ham & Swiss on a pretzel bun. It was the perfect ham sandwich. Rare sodas, beer and condiments. Not your typical cafe. Definitely has its own vibe and everything they make they meen it. Thanks again Tim!! read more

Early morning before our Beehive hike in Acadia; we needed to fuel up. We wandered bar harbor looking for pastries, breakfast sandwiches and coffee. We found independent for coffee. It had decent cold brew. It was smooth with some light fruity notes without being harsh or bitter. WiFi was also free! That's a bonus for those who are desperately seeking data! Wait was kinda long for simple coffee order tho. read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Excellent ice coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

My breakfast everyday while in Bar Harbor. The Independent Cafe was terrific. The staff was very useful and friendly. The avocado toast and hangover helper smoothie did the job to get my day going. read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Avocado Toast & Hangover Helper Smoothie - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Solid Arnold Palmer, and the chocolate chip cookies are big and soft. I want to come back for a brownie!

The owner reached out and was apologetic to the situation and as I stated in the original review, I'm not unfamiliar with the restaurant business and know things can go awry periodically. Best of luck to Tim and his crew and we will give it another shot in the future. read more

The service was friendly, the food was great (especially the baked goods...YUM!!!!!), and the prices are just what your wallet needs after spending a fortune everywhere else in Bar Harbor. We tried lunch at nearby restaurants, but we found the food bland and way too expensive. At The Independent Cafe, we found great sandwiches, coffee, paninis, etc, etc, that were all quick, delicious, and fairly priced. Given that the ship is right on the green, I expected much less, but this ended up being our main source of food while away from our hotel read more

Ordered a maple latte and large coffee. Latte was fine - couldn't really tell it was maple, drip coffee is hard to mess up. Blueberry coffee cake was delicious and a great serving size; they were out of blueberry muffins by the time we got there (9:30 am on Sunday AM). Overall great experience, just a high price for coffee. read more

Their hot mocha latte is amaziingggg. We also called for a tomato-pesto-mozzarella panini and that was good too! However this place does not have any seating arrangements. read more

Im giving it 4 stars because the coffee is really good. I cant really say too much only that next time I'll try their sandwiches!! read more

Tim Rich's The Independent Cafe - Bought The Independent Blend. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

I'm in love. The service is beyond friendly. The coffee? Amazing. The breakfast sandwiches? Also amazing. On top of that, they have a pretty good selection of craft beers, and other local products like jams, honey, candles. Enjoyed every visit, and will be back when I decide to escape for a long weekend again. read more

It's a lot harder to make a perfect chocolate chip cookie than most people realize, especially if it's the extra large type. You need the middle baked properly, the chips need to stay soft, the cookie a little crispy around the edges but not too much, not charred on the bottom even though it takes longer for the middle to bake, and you definitely need to know what you are doing with the brown sugar. I'm writing this review to compliment The Independent Cafe for nailing the chocolate chip cookie that I bought tonight, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Thank you. read more

Don't sell food items on the menu and after we purchase them and wait for 25min tell us you are out of ingredients.

The best chai latte you can find in Bar Harbor- perfect combination of sweet and spicy!! The shop also has an awesome selection of craft brews and locally made goods like candles and teas! Super unique and worth a stop in. read more