A journey through the unique culinary delights of Maine

Telegraph

14-03-2025

Maine's talent for food lies in its close-knit community, which pulls together small farms, working waterfronts and a rich native bounty to create dishes that are authentic, unfussy and well worth traveling for. And wherever you are in Maine, don't forget to save room for dessert...
Southern Maine
Maine's food scene begins at its most southern border in Kittery Foreside. In a quiet waterfront corner of town, the homey Anju Noodle Bar presents standout ramen, kimchi and Korean and Vietnamese-inspired dishes. Start or end the evening at craft cocktail bar The Wallingford Dram, right next door. Across the way, The Black Birch offers a robust beer list featuring craft brews from around the state, and a farm-to-fork menu made for pairing. Kittery also marks the start of the Maine Oyster Trail, an interactive self-guided tour of oyster offerings; download the map for details on oyster farm tours, tours-by-kayak and the best on-the-half-shell around the state.
Thirty minutes north, the food journey continues in the former mill town of Biddeford. Start with breakfast at the Palace Diner, serving excellent comfort food classics, including a legendary banana bread, in a vintage dining car. For a midday pick-me-up, hit Time & Tide Coffee for a specialty latte. Grab a pre-dinner cocktail at Round Turn Distilling, makers of Bimini gin, or start your exploration of Maine's robust beer scene hopping from Sacred Profane Tankpub to Banded Brewing to Lucky Pigeon Brewing, Maine's first dedicated gluten-free brewery.
Portland
Maine's most populated city arguably put the state on the culinary map. Time-honoured favourites include small plates hotspot Central Provisions, upscale seafood and oyster joint Eventide and waterfront heavyweight Scales. For bakery aficionados, while The Holy Donut's potato doughnuts deservedly tend to get a lot of the attention, you'd do well to stake out the early morning lines at Standard Baking Co, where the sellout Saturday morning cardamom buns are worth the early rise to score one.
Craft beer fans will want to explore the city's brewery tours and tastings at Oxbow Brewing Company, Austin Street Brewery, and, perhaps most famously, Allagash Brewing Company, which produces some of the best craft beer in the US. Pro tip: the Maine Brewers' Guild site is a great resource for the state's plentiful beer festivals, which happen throughout the year, though a sure bet is Mast Landing's Wavy Days Beer Fest, which features unlimited samples from more than 60 of the state's breweries.
The MidCoast
In Edgecomb, Glidden Point Oyster Farms have farmed slow-grown oysters in Maine's Damariscotta River and harvested them by hand for more than 30 years. A walking tour of the oyster beds will include a lesson on local aquaculture, a primer in hands-on oyster harvesting, and shucking-and-eating as you go. Your journey up the coast must include a slight detour inland to The Alna Store, where the always-local menu rotates every month. Make reservations well in advance at Nina June in Rockport for Maine-inspired Mediterranean fare from chef Sara Jenkins, who was raised in nearby Camden but educated in Italy, Spain, and Lebanon. Take home the aptly named 'Magic Sauce' after lunch or dinner at Long Grain, or book a cooking class or workshop at Salt Water Farm in Lincolnville, which holds cooking lessons using local ingredients in an old barn overlooking Penobscot Bay.
Further afield
Lobster abounds in Maine – with arguably two of the best lobster rolls to be had at McLoons Lobster Shack in South Thomaston and Johnny Shucks Maine Lobster at Old Orchard Beach. On Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park, the lobster comes served with a side of spectacular scenery. Try Thurston's Lobster Pound, where the lobsters are sourced from the working waterfront right out back. And for dessert? Well, blueberry pie of course – after all, you're in the Blueberry Capital of the US. Head up the coast to Helen's in Machias for what many have regarded for more than 75 years as Maine's best blueberry pie. It's well worth the drive.