the Bistro — Restaurant in Bar Harbor

Staying at the hotel here with my husband. Called to order last night and was told with a little irritation that they don't offer room service, so we got pickup instead to take to the room. The menu was changed from their website and their Facebook site in multiple ways, which was a bit disappointing, but we went with it. The order took about 20 mins longer to pickup than we were estimated. The mushroom ravioli was pretty good, but the asparagus on the side was left rather untreated, barely even salted. The fish and chips were really soggy, and the tartar sauce tasted of mostly just mayonnaise. Wanted to give them another try today, but after being told multiple times that they opened at 11 (and it being on their website)...when we called at 11:26 we were angrily told that we couldn't order until 11:30. Odd behavior, every interaction was as if we were bothering them...just by trying to get food at their restaurant. Shrug, tons of places downtown to eat...no need to get sassed for trying to...

Admittedly, our experience at the Bistro started off pretty rocky. Even though we had a reservation, we ended up waiting close to 40 minutes for a table finally open for us. The indoor seating area is extremely limited, which explains the terrible wait (made worse, im sure, by Covid restrictions). After we were seated (who I assume is) the manager expressed his sincerest apologies and alleviated much of the disappointment we initially had. The waiter was friendly and attentive. The food was good; we had the natcho appetizer, filet mignon, and lobster mac 'n cheese. Not a single complaint about the food, it was all very tasty. I believe they still deserved 5 stars because the food was great, and they made right their seating mess up. Would absolutely recommend, just be paitent, we think it...

Inside the Atlantic Oceanside hotel & conference center is East of Eden a cute bistro with 12 tables with a small bar. We are seated overlooking Frenchman’s Bay.

The reviews are a 4.5* out of 5. I’ll report after our meal what I thought. We are starting with a focaccia with a garlic parmesan balsamic glaze dipping sauce. Kris is having a caesar salad with salmon & I opted for Fried Calamari. It pleases me that my bride thoroughly enjoyed her meal. My wife’s salmon was cooked to perfection.

The caesar salad with salmon was a solid hit as was my calamari. Many times calamari are chewy not tonight they were as tender as I’ve ever had them. Our waitress Brittany was kind & not pushy. Tonight’s meal was a good one. Kudos...