8 Best Restaurants in Blue Hill Peninsula, Maine

Glowing gas fireplaces, period antiques, exposed beams, and hardwood floors covered with Asian rugs make the the candlelit dining areas in this historic house elegant but homey. The menu features dishes made with such ingredients as carrots and apples from Horsepower Farm; mesclun from Carding Brook Farm in Brooklin; and mussels, scallops, and clams from Blue Hill Bay. 

Like the inn that houses it, this restaurant was modernized in 2021. Items on its changing menu feature local and seasonal produce and might include oysters with fish sauce mignonette, heirloom tomato gazpacho, or seared duck breast with polenta. Its bar menu offers small production wines, Maine craft beer, and creative spirits. You can sit in the dining room, bar, or garden.

This well-established restaurant got a major overhaul in the spring of 2022 when formerly New York–based restaurateur Max Katzenberg took over and recruited Southern chef Taylor Hester. It offers Maine classics like Stonington Lobster Rolls and MDI mussels, as well littleneck clams linguine, New York strip steak au poivre, and family-size plates of Southern fried chicken. The beverage menu includes local beer, craft cocktails, and natural wines. 

This long-time Main Street greasy spoon got a face-lift and a menu upgrade when Brooklyn restaurateur Max Katzenberg reopened it in 2022. The breakfast menu has all the traditional offerings as as well a few extras like huevos rancheros and chicken and waffles, while the lunch and dinner menu features local seafood dishes and carnitas tacos, and fried chicken.

This upscale but relaxed place has a long list of farm- or sea-to-table small plates. Supplementing the well-curated selection of wines is a menu of craft cocktails and local beers.

Perched on a hill overlooking Stonington Harbor, diners can watch lobster boats unload their daily haul and enjoy the sounds of seagulls and foghorns in the distance while dining on dishes made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. The appetizers and main courses center on seafood and the wood-fired pizzas coming out of the kitchen include the Garden Gnome (mushroom, caramelized onion, and ricotta) and the Seapig (scallop, applewood bacon, ricotta, and maple drizzle).  

Whether you're stopping by on your way to Little Deer Island or on your way off it, the Maine lobster rolls and freshly fried seafood baskets are worth the detour (there is an additional fee for takeout). Enhanced by the view of the Deer Isle Bridge over Eggemoggin Reach, don't miss the daily specials, delicious milk shakes (worth the calories), or nonseafood items (like beef and veggie burgers). 

In summer, this former island innkeeper sells yummy and quick eats, many of them made with fish from local waters and her own organic garden produce. Her "food truck" (actually a tow trailer) is parked in the Island Store parking lot on Isle au Haut. She sells lobster rolls, naturally, but you might try her deep-fried haddock sandwich.