6 Best Restaurants in Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island, Maine

An early standout in Maine’s farm-to-table movement, this acclaimed establishment not far from Bar Harbor in tiny Otter Creek sells to-go foods—prepared (including breakfast pastries) and ready-to-cook, all made on-site and largely featuring ingredients from the owners’ extensive gardens. The retail side has a small gardenside outdoor eating area and also sells small-scale wines (natural, organic, and biodynamic) as well as ciders. Seafood has been a specialty of the restaurant, with signature dishes like oven-poached cod and gray sole stuffed with asparagus, pea tendrils, and chevre. To-go items include halibut salad with dill and lemon and smoked salmon.

Ogling the assorted goodies makes for a fun wait in the often long lines at this cheeky, old-fashioned candy and ice cream shop. Most of the candy, including numerous varieties of fine chocolates and fudge, is made right here, as is the ice cream (64 flavors) and gelato (8 flavors). Folks congregate, generously scooped cone in hand, by the large "lobster" out front. Be forewarned: kids will clamor for "penny candy" and a cone.

This large year-round café features coffee from a local coffee roaster, but you can get much more than a cup of Joe—for breakfast, grab a breakfast sandwich or avocado toast; for lunch or dinner, a salad or taco. In a town without a lot of quick bite spots, it's a good choice for picking up lunch to enjoy in the park, at your lodging, or at a table here; in summer, some tables are out front.

Don't be fooled by this tiny takeout-only joint's no-frills storefront: many praise its lobster rolls as the best around. On summer mornings, the line often stretches around the corner by 10 am as folks come to get lobster rolls as well as wraps, sandwiches, salads, and slices of blueberry pie for outings to Acadia National Park and elsewhere around Mount Desert Island. You can also pick up items for dinner after a day of exploring. 

The only dining option within Acadia serves lunch, tea, and dinner as well as to-go items like sandwiches and salads. Most folks come for tea and popovers with strawberry jam on the lawn—a tradition started in the 1890s in the original Jordan Pond House—but the menu also includes chowders and entrees like a lobster dinner or the fresh catch of the day. There's also a gift shop and, on the upper level, an observation deck. Parking lots here fill fast in high season; consider biking or taking the free Island Explorer bus.

Madagascar Vanilla Bean has specks from beans scraped from vanilla pods—just one example of the prep work that goes into creating these heralded artisanal ice creams (and a few sorbets), made at a nearby production facility with as many local ingredients as possible. The shop's double doors open like a huge window, welcoming passersby right in; grab a seat or head across the street to the Village Green to savor every bite.