The best restaurants Maine

This establishment is the reference in Freeport. Here you can eat Maine food, traditionally accommodated. The best part is that tourists and locals mingle around the "all you can eat" buffet for Sunday brunch, with lobster at will of course! You can also order à la carte. Another strong point: the wine list is impressive. The establishment also has 92 rooms allowing a comfortable stay to discover the surroundings. Excursions can be booked from the hotel.

This small shack that sells lobster sandwiches, crab cakes and scallops is incredibly popular in the region. There is an interminable line to taste the lobster, which is excellent, it must be said, and very cheap. The owners even claim to serve the best lobster roll in the country. It is certainly delicious and above all very generous with a generous portion of lobster in each sandwich. So don't hesitate to make a stop on the road between Portland and Boothbay Harbor.

Are you looking for a central restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere and simple but good food? Let yourself be tempted by this restaurant, part of the chain of the same name, located throughout Maine and as far away as Florida. You will find good bar food (salads, burgers, sandwiches...) as well as some seafood dishes, and a good cold beer. Nothing of extraordinary level food, but the atmosphere is sympathetic and we let you taste several beers before making your choice!

If the storefront is not very inviting, the food on offer is much more pleasing. Opt for the traditional "Maine Lobster", or a more adventurous specialty, such as beef medallions with lobster! From Friday to Saturday, the place offers breakfast dishes, and that's great too! Not to spoil anything, Joseph by the Sea has a beautiful and vast terrace overlooking the sea. The establishment is open in season, usually between March and December each year.

Located in the Camden Harbor Inn, Natalie's is the most prestigious restaurant on the Maine coast, and arguably one of the most expensive. The dining room has a boudoir feel with its red velvet banquettes and chairs and fringed lampshades. The service is of a great house, with some original ideas. The menus evolve with the seasons and the chef, Jose Ochoa, is constantly inventing, putting Maine products in the spotlight. The five-course variation on lobster is the restaurant's signature menu.

It's the locals' rendezvous! The Rockland Cafe is kind of the town's institution. The service is casual and familiar as in a dinner and the menu features seafood. Even the morning omelette is served with lobster. Portions are generous and served quickly, and prices are kept tight. You'll find the lobster roll among the least expensive in New England! For a change, the house also offers crab for a change... The aquariums placed at the entrance will reassure you of the freshness of the products.

Not only is it conveniently located close to Two Lights State Park, with an exceptional view of the bay and the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse, this restaurant is very reasonably priced and offers tasty seafood! You will appreciate its large outdoor area with bright red picnic tables. The house specialty is lobster, which you can enjoy whole. The seafood platters are also worth the effort. Ideal for a gourmet break before setting out to discover the site.

If you like Japanese food, this is the place to break the piggy bank. The chef, who comes directly from the land of the rising sun, has been working for years behind the bar of this charming restaurant. Don't worry, the plate has charm, taste and creativity. The fish are extremely fresh and the chef has created an original way to serve them, like this lobster roll revisited with spicy mayonnaise and wrapped in soy and black sesame paper. The slightly haughty service won't let you forget the delicacy of the dishes.

Timber Steakhouse has long served the best meat in Portland. But the Covid crisis shuffled the deck. The owner changed his concept and transformed his restaurant. Today it's the Timber Bourbon Bar & Lounge, where you can enjoy one of the many bourbons on offer or sip a coffee martini, a very fashionable cocktail, comfortably installed in a subdued atmosphere. You will also have the possibility to eat some welcome appetizers.

This Asian restaurant has not been empty since it opened in 2012. The Thai specialties as well as the kimchi (fermented and spicy cabbage) are unanimously acclaimed. You will also find pho soup - a little disappointing - and Japanese ramen noodles. The menu is enhanced by a few daily specials, which are a little more expensive. Be prepared to wait for your dish if the restaurant is full, as locals and holidaymakers alike order take-away. However, this authentic cuisine deserves a few sacrifices. After all, you are on holiday, so enjoy!

Jackie and Glenn proudly display their Scottish roots and their membership in the MacLaren clan in this beautifully decorated slide. A few tables are placed behind the window in light, and the counter is on the bottom. Sandwiches have the names of family members, friends or places that are dear to the heart of the owners. All recipes are original and prepared to order, such as "John Henry" mixing mind turkey, guacamole, cheddar, tomatoes and red onion. Eat without moderation.

Push the door of this bohemian bistro and discover a warm atmosphere on concert nights or weekends. At the bar, in the dining room or outside, the clientele enjoys a modern American cuisine revisiting its regional classics. The homemade pasta and the haddock fillet with cumin sauce, walnuts and roasted almonds, made us happy. On Sundays, regulars come for brunch. Not to mention the bakery, with its small section of cakes, roulades and cheesecakes.

This family-run restaurant located at the south exit of Hallowell serves Thai and Japanese cuisine, which is not far away. The large hall decorated with plastic flowers and pieces of cloth from Thailand seems to delight the locals, who come here as a family. Others prefer the formula to take and warm home. This is about the somewhat slow service that has to handle multiple fronts at a time. However, experience is an interesting alternative to American cuisine.

The dining room immediately sets the tone for this remote corner of Maine. The walls are paneled, stuffed deer heads adorn the walls and tired speakers broadcast country music. The family and exhilarating cuisine emphasizes haddock and seafood. Each dish is accompanied by a choice of two vegetables, and if you're really hungry at the weekend, you can opt for the breakfast buffet. The cuisine is not unforgettable, but the quantities are perfect to get back to after a day outdoors.

Crabs, clams, mussels, lobsters, squid, scallops... You have understood it, this restaurant is a paradise of fish and seafood. The must, it is of course the lobster roll! It's a classic among all the restaurants in the region, but you never get tired of it. The plates are copious and, if the food is not really unforgettable, the location on the Kennebec River is unbeatable. The terrace is spacious and very pleasant, and the beautiful view of the river makes up for the somewhat slow service.

Once is not customary in Maine, here you are offered to eat meat! It must be said that the north of the state is gradually moving away from the sophistication of New England and we find here a deep America, finally closer to Tennessee than to Boston. Moe's is proof of this: here, there is no "gourmet food", but ribs in barbecue sauce and other steaks dripping with ketchup, all accompanied by mac & cheese, corn bread or coleslaw - the great cold, it digs in! Those who love meat will certainly enjoy it.

King of the Roll is an excellent sushi restaurant in the heart of the friendly West End. Unlike many Japanese restaurants, the prices here are still quite affordable. The service is attentive, the atmosphere is quiet and intimate. The only difficulty lies in the choice of sushi: it is immense. You will be given a sheet, where you will tick off the dishes that tempt you. The result is excellent! The place is known among the inhabitants, who praise its very good value for money.

Here is a famous and popular address with a pleasant atmosphere, which is built around the kitchen open to the room. On the menu: roasted meats, sautéed poultry livers, steamed mussels with garlic butter... Meat and seafood are cooked to perfection, a delight. The fresh products are regional and respect the seasons. For the anecdote, it is this restaurant that put Portland on the map of American gastronomic cities some twenty years ago. And today, it still lives up to its reputation!

This is one of the institutions of Boothbay Harbor. On a sunny day, the line will tell you that you've arrived safely. Perfectly cooked lobster in all its forms can be enjoyed on picnic tables on the waterfront terrace without fuss. Right next door, you can watch the fishermen unload their catch of the day. If you feel like it, you can choose the lobster you're going to eat! And if you're fed up with clams, you can try the delicious crab cakes or fried clams, another specialty of the region.

This almost thirty year old restaurant offers tables covered with white tablecloths with a view of the ocean. The cooking of local meat and fish is perfect. The menu, very complete, also offers soups, salads and some snacks for smaller hungers. However, fish remains the star of the menu. The establishment is included in a large hotel complex, which offers, in addition to accommodation, other services (spa, swimming pool, etc.).