Bar Harbor Lobster Co. — Restaurant in Bar Harbor

Let me start by saying we visited Bar Harbor Lobster Co for the first time in August 2022. It was a pretty great experience all around at that time and we had an excellent meal at an excellent price. We decided to go back this year (August 2023) and had very high expectations. First off, we noticed that they no longer had the daily lobster prices written on the large blackboard. So much for the "catch of the day" prices we loved last year. You were able to choose from perhaps 6 or 7 lobster sizes and 2 or 3 lobster roll sizes as well as various daily specials based on the haul from the fishermen. That's all gone now.

Things started off poorly when we asked for a specific table towards the rear of the outdoor dining patio. The host had a bit of an attitude at that and muttered that he'd have to clean it first. Do they just like to leave tables dirty? I didn't get that statement at all...

After we were seated our waitress had pretty much the same attitude as the host. My wife asked her how she was doing and she said something along the lines of "I've been better". We asked about the daily specials board and she mentioned that they had a new general manager and everything was now on the menu. So, gone were the multiple lobster sizes and lobster roll sizes from last year with the daily price board and now you're left with just a standard typical menu at a typical inflated price. Fine.

We asked for gluten free options as one of our party members had celiac disease. Right away you could tell that the waitress was 1. annoyed and 2. poorly informed. She said the fries were gluten free but when we pressed her she said they had no dedicated fryer. We asked if they had red potatoes as a side like we had last year and again she was annoyed and said that the menu in front of us was all they had and there was no "hidden or secret menu". We wanted to make sure the clam chowder was GF as we didn't want to be glutened and she said "you deal with what you're given". Now, I did not actually hear that comment but was informed of it after the fact. Had I heard it I would have demanded we get up and leave at that moment...

We wanted the buffalo shrimp wrap which was listed as coming with ranch but we asked for blue cheese instead. She said she's never heard of such a thing (?) and had no idea if they had blue cheese at the restaurant or if it could be substituted (?). She'd have to go and ask...

When the food came (they DID in fact have blue cheese apparently, although she never let us know either way) I was VERY disappointed in my lobster roll. It was small, the lettuce it came with was wilted and the overall taste was average at best. Highly overpriced. In retrospect, of the 8 dinners we had during the vacation (pretty much all lobster rolls for me), this one was easily the worst of the 8.

Overall this was a pretty terrible experience and we won't be back. Seriously disappointing as this might have been the best experience we had in 2022. A year later and they now have terrible prices, one of the worst waitresses I've seen in a long time (hi Amelia) and poor quality food. What a difference a year makes. Avoid this...

First time trying Bar Harbor Lobster Co. The place is very casual with seating indoors and out. The restaurant wasn't crowded so we decided to give it a try to see if their seafood was good. Ordered the lobster boil and the clams appetizer. When the clams came out they were not what I expected . . They had this weird neck on them and very raw. I can't eat raw seafood. When I called the waitress over I told her I couldnt eat them because they were too raw for me to eat . She then proceeded to tell me this is how the clams are on the East Coast and said to hold the "condom", as she described it and then pull off the stomach part and then rinse the remaining clam on the water to rinse it and then the butter before eating it. I told her I can't eat them this way and we asked for the clams to be taken off the check as they were untouched and not eaten. She took the plate away and said she will tell the manager. She retuned a few seconds later , and said the manager told us to do the best we can with the clams but they were not removing it from the check and placed them back on our table. We were shocked that a restaurant would rather have someone get sick and eat something they were not able to eat rather than take it off the check to keep a customer coming back. I would even understand if we had eaten some of them and then decided to refuse the remaining clams but it was a full untouched serving and considering we ordered a lobster boiled it would clearly make up the difference on the 16 dollar clam appetizer, but they refused. Maybe I should have tried one clam and gotten sick after trying it and vomited on the table . Maybe then they would have removed the gross clams from my check . We were shocked and disgusted . Never has a restaurant even said to eat something that I explained I couldn't because of the way they were cooked and not try to accommodate a customer. The plate stayed there untouched . The lobster boil had some of the gross clams as well and we didn't eat them . The lobster boil was over priced and absolutely not worth it. There are much better lobster places in bar harbor. Don't waste your time or money. I do not recommend this place and would like the owner to reach out to me as I feel I desevre a refund for this...

Bummed out. My husband, myself and our adult daughter went to this restaurant on wed oct 12. We gave the name “Lindy”. We saw a few people in line waiting to be seated. We happily gave our name and waited approx 25 mins to be seated. Not all the picnic tables were occupied at the time, but maybe they were not staffed well, as I only saw one waitress. When the man called our name, the man asked if we minded sitting “at the bar”. We said that would be fine. He took us a few steps up onto a deck where no one else was, besides a bartender and a young couple behind us at an actual alcohol bar. Gave us menus and escorted to bar stools at the bar facing the road. We looked over the menu and decided on a dish that was was to be 4 lobster rolls prepared differently. Some bowls of seafood chowder. Baskets of Brown fries, Mac n cheese ….we were probably going to spend $150 plus, as we are big eaters and we were looking forward to this. No one ever came. We sat and waited and watched 2 other families get seated and requests taken. I waved to the waitress at one point and the waitress Just kept walking. The biggest kicker, is my husband got up after probably at least a half hour and handed our menus to the bar tender behind us and said thanks for nothing to which the bar tender replied yup, you’re welcome. My husband replied that our order was never even taken and the bar tender replied well, did someone even seat you up here to which we replied yes. He just said okay, bye. My husband then told the man who sat us up there, repeating that we were never served, and to have a nice day. To which the man said you too and shrugged. That man knew how long we stood out by the road waiting to be seated, and how long we were up on the deck. To not even care or make it right was such a disappointment. They just would take the next paying customer. Like an assembly line. We did however enjoy ourselves at a different seafood joint nearby. Next time we will make sure to pass by this one because...