Bar Harbor Dining & Bar Harbor Restaurants

Best Places to Eat on Mount Desert Island

Bar Harbor dining is special... because there are so many types of Bar Harbor restaurants from which to choose!

Photo credit: Premshree Pillai/Flickr

Whenever we went to Acadia, our favorite place to eat was around the picnic table at our campsite... because we love camping and cooking over your camp stove or the wood fire goes along with camping. But we did occasionally eat out too.

You may or may not be interested in cooking for yourself, even if you happen to camp or stay at a motel or cottage that has a kitchen. After all, you ARE on vacation, right?

But, if you do decide you want to eat out, then the good news is there are many different types of food available to you in Bar Harbor and the surrounding areas.

Some restaurants in Bar Harbor (and surrounding areas) would qualify as fine dining, while others are along the lines of fast, casual and might be more suitable for families (or anyone else who doesn't want to pay as much or get dressed up!).

Whatever kind of food or price you desire, you should be able to find it somewhere in the town of Bar Harbor or at least in the area!

Places to Eat in Acadia

If you want to eat right in Acadia National Park, unless you're talking about picnicking, then you only have one real option, the famed Jordan Pond House.

In fact, one of our traditions involves afternoon tea with popovers and ice cream on the lawn at the Jordan Pond House, a tradition shared by many generations of Acadia park go-ers.

This charming restaurant also serves full-fledged meals at lunch and dinner, if you're so inclined. Their food is top notch, with a high price to match. You have to try it once each trip, though. At least we do!

You can visit the Jordan Pond House website to learn more and to get reservation information and hours. You can also read this review and this review to learn more about our own visitors' experiences at this restaurant.

The other options for places to eat in Acadia all involve picking up food to go at one of their gift shops. This is mostly snacks, but they do stock simple sandwiches at one or two of the shops.

Bar Harbor Dining Options

If you just want a snack, such as ice cream or some such, you can find places both in the town of Bar Harbor, as well as near some of the campgrounds or along the main roads through Mt. Desert Island, or even in some of the other towns on the island, such as Southwest Harbor, Somesville or Northeast Harbor.

There are tons of restaurants scattered all around the island, from casual dining to 5-star formal restaurants. One thing you won't find, though... any fast food chain eateries. You have to travel the 20 or so miles back to Ellsworth to find them.

If you're looking for elegant fare and surroundings, Bar Harbor and other towns has that to offer. You can try all sorts of ethnic foods, as well as traditional downeast fare.

To learn more about your choices, visit our fine dining section of the site, where you can access a directory of some of the best Bar Harbor restaurants, as well as restaurant reviews from Discover-Acadia.com visitors.

Casual Bar Harbor Dining, Family Style

On the other hand, if you prefer more casual dining in Bar Harbor or you have kids who'd do better at a family-oriented establishment, Bar Harbor has plenty of those to offer too...

Visit our casual dining restaurants section of the website, where you'll find a fast, casual restaurant directory for Mount Desert Island, as well as more restaurant reviews from our visitors. You can even leave your own review there!

Bar Harbor Dining in the Campground...

One final option, for people like us who prefer to eat most of their meals at their "home away from home" in Acadia, i.e., the campground or cottage, is to cook for yourself.

We thought it might be helpful for us to share some of our sample recipes and menus that taste great after a full day outdoors in the Park... and they're easy to make to boot!

We're still working on making those ready for our readers, so please check back often to see what we've added... or subscribe to our RSS feed in your reader by clicking the link in the left side navigation bar.

In Summary...

So, as you can see, you have plenty of choices of Bar Harbor restaurants you can choose. We encourage you to use the links on this page to explore all that Bar Harbor and the rest of Mount Desert Island have to offer people looking for good food to eat.

Bar Harbor dining is truly going to be one of the great experiences you have on your Acadia National Park vacation!

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