Muscongus Bay Lobster — Restaurant in Bristol

Been coming here for decades, probably 15-20 times a summer. Can't beat the location. The service has been declining for a long time, though, and today i finally learned why. Ordered $160 worth of food and tipped $20 when ordering (there's no table service, they just call your name when the food is ready). About 30 minutes later most of the food was ready, but they had forgotten the lobsters. Person at pickup said they'd get it asap, no problem. Another 20 minutes went by and I talked to someone else, who said "i should have gotten it by now, let me put it in, 15 more minutes." They'd forgotten it again. After 20 minutes I went up to check, as I still hadn't had my name called. The only words out of my mouth were "Is [name] ready soon?" to the person i had spoken to previously, and the owner of the place (Dan) immediately started screaming at me that I had to be patient and that this was how it was. Remember, this guy had no idea how long i'd been waiting or what had transpired previously, and i wasn’t even addressing him, as he hadn’t been around for any of the previous interactions. I told him i'd been waiting over an hour, and before I could explain that the kitchen staff had repeatedly forgotten the order, he started pointing his finger in my face telling me that if i didn't like it i should leave, and telling me how hard he worked, as if asking if my food was ready was some personal insult to his work ethic.

By the time the food came it had been an hour and a half since we'd ordered, and the rest of our family had already eaten and left, because the kids had eaten and couldn't just hang out on the deck any longer.

In the past this place has forgotten parts of orders with some regularity (the pasta with scallops is great, but they almost always forget to add the scallops and you have to go back up to ask), but it's been worth it for the location. I've got no interest in patronizing a place run by a guy who can't control his emotional state and who blames customers when their food doesn't come when they say it will, though. If they treat customers like this, imagine what it's like for the employees.

If you want some suggestions for nearby places with better food and views that are just as good, there's Round Pond Lobster literally on the other side of the parking lot. Down in New Harbor is Shaw's. The food there is decent, but the real gem is the view from the deck of the working harbor. And across the peninsula is Pemaquid Seafood, with good food and a great view across the harbor to the old fort. I've never heard any of these guys yelling at their customers before!

If anyone's curious, as of July 2025 they're charging $37 for a lobster roll and $42 for a crab roll. Two 1lb hardshells with corn and...

Extreme disrespect for tourists and customers - I have been a customer here for over 20 years. It is a nice place with good food and normally not too crowded... a kind of hidden gem. I have often visited here with my mother. Last week I decided to take my wife, and we drove 3 hours to get there. During the whole ride I am telling her how nice the restaurants is... and how much she is going to like it. Upon arriving we saw there was a rope about waist high across the dock where the restaurant is located. I stepped a little past the rope to see the front of the restaurant so I could see what was going on ( after all we drove 3 hours and the website said it was open- it was a Wednesday- open W-Su). A very aggressive man, full of rage, came from behind a wall on the dock and shouted at me: "Get off the dock!.....The rope is there for a reason!" I got behind the rope. He disappeared and came back a second time...even angrier and flailing his arms- " We're not open!!! We're closed!!!" His extreme rage and aggression took me by surprise. My wife was shocked. What had been a pleasant day was now soured by this ugly incident. By the man's use of 'we' I take it he works for the restaurant. Why couldn't a sign have been placed indicating that the business was closed? This would have solved the problem of everyone wondering - because I was not the only person that day who was curious about the status of the restaurant. Such rage and disrespect towards a long-time customer has left a bitter memory...

Ok, there are dozens, if not hundreds of lobster pounds in Maine. And (almost) everyone has their favorite - generally based on completely different criteria. So here goes Do NOT come here if

1. you want to be surrounded by a horde of tourists
2. you want to hurriedly gulp down your lobster and jump back on the highway to speed away to your next ‘must see’ destination
3. you want a ‘lobster pound’ that has morphed into a restaurant - but never changed its’ name. (You know - waitresses. A printed menu. Indoor seating)

Muscongus Bay is off the beaten path. You cannot get here in 10 minutes. Although It is a nice peaceful, pretty drive - doesn’t matter where you are, this isn’t right around the corner. The lobsters are fresh caught by locals, and cooked up by local kids. The menu is basically on a chalkboard because they have lobster and like 3 other things. It is a LOBSTER Pound and that’s what they serve. It is a beautiful, dockside setting. Nothing indoors - although in a nod to the fact that it could rain, they have a tent set up over a few tables.

And (unless you have a recommendation like we did) you are going to be surrounded by locals. Who bring tablecloths. And wine. And fancy lobster accompaniments. And even, yes, at sunset - a candelabra.

So if you want to know what a Lobster Pound used to be - this be the...