Route 66 Restaurant — Restaurant in Bar Harbor

Though the original Route 66 actually runs right through our hometown in Central IL and we know that it never ran anywhere near Bar Harbor, ME- we loved their take on a bar/restaurant designed around the iconic and historical American route. The entrance is sort of hidden back off the street, but you can hardly miss it with the way it is designed. Inside you will find Route 66 themed decorations galore, and they even have little radios playing classic hits at each table that you can adjust the volume on which was pretty unique.

As far as the actual food and service goes-we felt that there is room for improvement. Our waiter was kind, but we did get the feeling that they wished they were elsewhere besides waiting our table. It didn't feel personal, just felt like maybe they were not having the best day (it was also close to the end of the day). In regard to our food: it did not taste bad by any means- but we did not feel it was anything to write home about for the price that we paid. We had the lobster dip as an appetizer, and then we both tried their take on a philly steak sandwhich with fries as that is one of our favorite things to try on our travels. Again, it was all decent, but it was not the best we have had for the price we paid (just shy of $100 for our food and drinks).

All in all, the atmosphere is a 10/10 and the food and service was acceptable. I do recommend you try it for the experience and to form your own opinion. We have eaten many places in our travels so naturally our opinions on certain dishes may just be picky according to others. We ourselves would eat there again for the sake of giving it a second chance, though it was not our favorite during our trip to Bar Harbor this first...

The food was good. The pulled pork was amazing, according to my husband, the best he had ever had! I was perplexed by why I couldn't upgrade my fries that came with my meal to their version of loaded fries for an additional charge. The waiter said I would have to order the starter/appetizer version in addition to my meal. I knew that would be too much food for me, so I didn't order it. There was also someone else in my party who asked if they could substitute onion rings instead of fries for an additional charge, but the waiter also told them "no," and they did end up getting the onion rings as a separate order and the table did enjoy them, as well as the other food. The waiter was nice enough, but way too much with the "theateics, "and came off as fake. I love it when waiters and waitresses come and check on the table throughout your meal, but over 10 times for one meal is a little excessive, and it felt more like a disturbance, unfortunately. Decor was great! I especially loved all of the vintage pictures, posters, ect. in the woman's bathroom. The was super small, which usually doesn't matter to me, but when I went to leave my stall the door hit the other stall door and blocked me from getting out of the stall until I pushed the other stall door out of the way, so I was able to open my door fully and get out. Food and theming/decor was the main...

Have been here two times. Once in 2024, kids loved it but they just had Mac and cheese so that wasn't really a hard sell. My wife and myself ordered two items that while delicious, had some errors but hey, it can happen anywhere, they're human. The quality of the food was still good so whatever. I didn't leave disappointed nor hungry so mission accomplished. If that was my whole experience it would have been 4/5 still as nothing was "poor" to me (your mileage may vary)

Went again in 2025 and kids got the same thing and some onion rings, again, pretty boiler plate stuff. My wife and I got the same lunch special of lobster tacos and we were blown away. Quality was exceptional, and even though it was only two tacos they were NOT shy about loading them up. Plates were cleaned all around and we didn't leave even remotely still hungry. The price was what we expected for two market price dishes and the meal positively hit the spot. I would definitely recommend this and will go back should we visit again.

Not an avid beer drinker so I can't comment on that in terms of the depth of the listing, though I noticed they also had a load of mixed drinks as well.

Finally, If atmosphere is your thing, I can't imagine you would be disappointed. Loads of vintage paraphernalia all...