2 Best Restaurants in Penobscot Bay, Maine

The sister establishment to Ports of Italy in Boothbay Harbor, this pleasant restaurant offers a selection of house-made pastas with traditional sauces, many featuring local seafood. Second-course choices include veal scaloppine, osso buco, and porchetta. Among the most popular starters is the Insalata Caprese, which comes in a deliciously crunchy basket made from Parmesan cheese. Dine indoors, on the porch, or on the patio. There's also a small pizzeria in a little building next door. 

Don't be put off by Rio's unlikely location in a small roadside strip of businesses just south of downtown Searsport. The well-prepared, European-influenced menu offers a variety of tapas such as grilled octopus, pâté, Spanish Serrano ham, and chorizo, as well as entrées like roasted branzino, risotto, and local duck breast. There's a solid cocktail menu and desserts are delicious, especially the panna cotta. Inside, a many-windowed octagonal dining room centers on a large fireplace, with tables arced around it.