12 Best Restaurants in Penobscot Bay, Maine

18 Central Oyster Bar and Grill produces excellent, creative dishes in a cozy spot high above Rockport's working harbor. Seasonally inspired, locally harvested seafood plus dishes with a hint of Southern comfort make up the backbone of the menu—think fried green tomatoes with local peekytoe crab, chili oil, and microgreens, or crispy fried chicken accompanied by collards and heirloom grits. More northerly flavor shines in such choices as finnan haddie (cold-smoked haddock), roasted mussels, and diver scallops.

Standing on the edge of the harbor, with dining decks on three sides, Archer's is the prime spot in Rockland for dining with a view—even when the weather keeps you indoors, there are plenty of windows. The large menu is heavy on traditional preparations of fresh, local seafood—including old-fashioned haddock cakes—but also includes plenty of contemporary dishes. Chef-owner Lynn Archer emerged victorious on the show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The dish? A triple-decker club sandwich with lobster. Happily, it's on the menu. There are many nonseafood choices, too. Everything on the wine list is available by the glass, and there are lots of creative cocktails, too.

This little bistro on a side street near the center of town is unassuming from the outside, but inside, the pleasantly cozy space features an ambitious menu flavored with hints of Asian, Italian, and modern American cuisines. Dishes are very well prepared, but service can be slow when the restaurant is full.

As the name suggests, this is an excellent spot to slow down and catch up with good friends over a bottle of wine while savoring small, internationally flavored plates or a full meal. The creative blend of textures and flavors that comes out of the kitchen is exceptional. Desserts include a crème brûlée that garners rave reviews. The intimate space, formerly a bank, is furnished with comfortable couches as well as tables and chairs.

Trained at the Tokyo Sushi Academy, Keiko Suzuki is an artist when it comes to preparing and presenting sushi---everything is almost too beautiful to eat. The fish is sweet and ultrafresh, and nothing on the menu is fried. Many say this is the best sushi in Maine, and some claim it's even better than what they've had in Japan. Order the omakase---it changes according to Keiko's whim and what's available. In addition to sushi, there are a few cooked noodle dishes. The restaurant is small, and very popular, meaning reservations are a must.

Right on the water's edge, across the harbor from downtown Belfast, this corrugated-steel building looks more like a fish cannery than a restaurant, but it's one of the best places for an authentic Maine lobster dinner, known here as the "shore dinner." Lobster rolls, surf-and-turf dinners, steamed clams, steak tips, and hot dogs are popular, too. As this is a real-deal lobster pound, with absolutely no frills, lobstermen tie up at the dock to unload their catch. There are numerous tanks of live lobsters at the front of the concrete-floored building; lobsters can be shipped as well. Order your dinner at the counter, then find a picnic table inside or on the deck, just remember it's BYOB. Don't leave your outdoor table unattended—seagulls are quick and determined food thieves.

Set right beside the road at the northern end of town, this lobster shack gets consistently enthusiastic reviews—many say the overstuffed lobster roll is one of the best. The large menu includes all the usual suspects plus a great selection of "snacky things" and entrées, and even a taco bar—butter-poached lobster tacos, anyone? Order at the counter and take your food out back to enjoy on the outdoor deck overlooking the harbor.

A fixture since 1926, this is an authentic place to enjoy a classic Maine lobster dinner—a cup of clam chowder, steamed clams, a 1-1/8-pound lobster, corn on the cob, potato, and Maine blueberry pie. The large restaurant has rustic wooden picnic tables outside, an enclosed patio, and two dining rooms with a gift shop in between, as well as tanks where you can pick from hundreds of live lobsters for your dinner. There's a full bar, and the wine list includes some Maine labels. Prices of the lobster dishes fluctuate with the market. There's also plenty of fried seafood as well as the required lobster roll. Because this is such a big place, you won't have to wait long, even when it's busy. It's right on U.S. 1, next to Lincolnville Beach, and has beautiful views of Penobscot Bay and the island of Islesboro. It's fun to watch the ferry go to and from Islesboro as you dine.

This lovely trattoria is known for its cheery harbor-view setting and frequently changing menus where locally sourced ingredients shine. Highly regarded chef-owner Sara Jenkins's fresh but authentic takes on Mediterranean-spanning dishes use seafood harvested along Maine's rocky coast, including local oysters, and everything from the pasta to the pickled veggies is made in-house; the presentation of each dish makes for sheer eye candy. Jenkins grew up in Italy and worked in restaurants both there and at her own New York City restaurants—in other words, she knows what she's doing. There is also a small "dispensa" selling olive oil, wine, pasta, and some pantry goods.

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. 

Opened in summer 2022, this lively, dockside bar-bistro on the eastern side of Camden harbor is a sweet spot to meet friends for drinks and small bites or for a full dinner. The sophisticated menu is complemented by lovely views of the boat-filled harbor and picturesque townscape across the way. Sit outside on the dock or on the rooftop, or inside in the window-filled dining room.

Located in a historic old brick building with an interior that is reminiscent of an Old English pub—dark heavy woods, dark atmosphere, a wood-burning fireplace that takes four-foot-long logs, copper kettles—the restaurant and pub are basically one. Among the items on the menu are steamed lobsters, mussels, seared tuna, fried calamari salad, broiled scallops, and other seafood, as well as prime rib, charbroiled steaks, ribs—and the very popular British-style fish-and-chips. There's live music on Saturday nights. For nice-weather days, there's a water-view deck, and small, sandy Lincolnville Beach is mere steps away.