Hi friends, welcome back! Today I’m sharing some of the best off-season places to eat in Bar Harbor, and where we stayed during our trip! Jon and I visited Bar Harbor at the end of October and usually the summer season ends after Labor Day, so some of the popular restaurants/cafes were closed. It was also chilly when we were there, so we mostly opted for takeout to bring back to our warm hotel. Maine does have indoor dining, but we choose not to eat indoors for the time being.
LODGING
Jon and I stayed at the Bar Harbor Inn and it has one of the best locations in town! Our room had a balcony overlooking the water and it would’ve been perfect if it wasn’t so chilly. The town of Bar Harbor is tiny with a few main streets, so everything was a 5-10 minute walk from our room.
I loved the view of the Porcupine Islands from our balcony, so pretty!!
The room is a bit outdated compared to some spots we’ve stayed at, but it was very comfortable, spacious, and warm! The view can’t be beat! There was also an amazing free continental breakfast that was very covid friendly.
BREAKFAST/COFFEE
On our first morning we stopped at Choco-latte before our hike, and it wasn’t the best experience. The line was very long when we walked up, but it moved at a decent pace, so we stuck it out and ordered two everything bagels with cream cheese and coffee to go. We were waiting about twenty minutes, and then they informed us the everything bagels were out of stock, so I picked a cinnamon raisin and Jon got an asiago bagel. It was about another twenty minutes until we were on our way back with breakfast. Choco-latte gets great Yelp! reviews, so I am guessing they were short-staffed with off-season. The bagels and coffee were good, but I would not recommend if you are short on time.
We decided to try Mount Dessert Bakery the next morning and we walked right in and ordered two coffees and a delicious blueberry coffee cake. Maine is the top producer of blueberries in the country, so blueberry everything is a must!!
The following day, we went back to Mount Dessert Bakery and had another great experience. We tried the blueberry scone this time and it was also delicious, the perfect mid-hike treat!
DINNER
On our first night in Bar Harbor we ordered takeout from Side Street Café. I ate a pulled pork sandwich with a side of clam chowder and it was nice and hearty.
Jon ordered The Blazing Bleu Burger: A Cajun rubbed burger topped with thick cut bacon, bleu cheese crumbles and caramelized onions and sliced hot cherry peppers.
We also tried the Apple Cider Margaritas and it was incredible! I was curious and a little worried I wouldn’t like it, but it was delicious. It tasted just like apple cider but with a hint of tequila. I definitely need to recreate this next fall 🙂
The next night we had just hiked over ten miles, so pizza and ice cream was in order! First, we got some ice cream from Mount Dessert Ice Cream, I played it safe with the Cookies’N’Cream, and Jon tried the salted caramel. Both were so delicious we went back another day!
We picked Blaze for our pizza and it was just what we needed. We split a pepperoni and a chorizo pizza. Both of these were yummy and the perfect post-hike dinner. The dough on these pizzas was very thick and delicious, a good change up from our NYC pizza.
The next night we went back to Blaze but split some massive burgers! We decided to get a Blaze Burger and Bleu Cheese Burger. I liked the Bleu Cheese Burger the best, the egg on the Blaze Burger was a bit too much for me. I think my tastebuds were overwhelmed by these two very distinct tasting burgers.
On our final night in Bar Harbor, we dined outside at Havana. This is a more upscale restaurant, but we sat outside in the courtyard under some heaters. To honor our last night, we started with some mojitos that tasted more like a glass of rum!
They brought around some delicious bread to the table paired with butter, olive oil, and garlic butter. The warm bread was just what I needed on a chilly night – and we were starving!
Next we split some tasty lobster cakes – a Maine twist on a crab cake 😉
For my entrée, I ordered the salmon with polenta and a cranberry chutney. I hadn’t had salmon since we were in Lake Placid, so this was long overdue!
Jon went with the seafood paella which seemed to be one of the most popular dishes at Havana.
Thanks for reading…hope I didn’t make you too hungry!!
