The Best Lobster Restaurants in Maine

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This restaurant overlooks the Penobscot Bay and has docking for your boat, with both an inside dining room and an outside deck. Young’s encourages guests to bring their own beer, wine, and appetisers and even dinner for those who don’t like seafood. For the lobster-enthusiasts however, the ‘Shore Dinner’ comes with a large steamed lobster, clams, potato chips, butter, corn on the cob or coleslaw and your choice of lobster stew, fish chowder, or clam chowder. If that seems like too much, select a lobster from their tank and choose your sides á la carte.

The new and modish Portland-based Eventide Oyster Company reinvents the centuries-old American oyster bar with its bright lights, blue walls and a granite slab covered in ice and gleaming oysters. Eventide’s popular half-shell lobsters sourced from local harbors are not the only shellfish on the menu. Try the brown butter lobster roll served on a Chinese-style steamed bun, or the lobster stew with sherry, paprika and a biscuit.

Perhaps the most famous spot in Maine for lobster rolls, Red’s Eats’ red and white striped shack has received national acclaim for many years running. A favorite of tourists and certainly some locals, Red’s Eats is located on the scenic Sheepscot River in Wiscassett. Whilst it is a convenient lunch spot for anyone making their way along the coastal Route One, be prepared for long lines. Red’s classic lobster roll appears at the shack window with heaping claw and tail meat and extra mayo and butter on the side if so desired.

Street and Co. is nestled between establishments on a narrow cobblestoned lane in Portland’s historic ‘Old Port.’ Its brick interior is rustic and chic and the kitchen serves up garlicky grilled seafood and pasta dishes that echo the restaurant’s ambiance. In the summertime you can enjoy hors d’oeuvres or dinner enjoyed on outdoor seating on the street, and one third of the restaurant is always reserved for walk-ins. Try ‘grilled lobster on linguine, butter, and garlic’ or the house specialty for two, lobster diavolo – linguine in a spicy sauce topped with mussels, clams, calamari, and a whole lobster sliced down the middle.