Introduction

Photo: Navin75 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Bar Harbor's dining scene is genuinely seasonal, with most restaurants closing for winter. We checked eight restaurants below, all confirmed currently operating — a couple of well-known local institutions turned out to have closed for good and are excluded here.

Havana

A fine-dining restaurant open roughly 25 years, pairing local and organic seafood and meats with Latin-influenced technique, with an attached outdoor tapas bar. One of the few genuine fine-dining options in town, and operates year-round.

• Hours: Daily 4-10pm, per the official site — one independent listing shows a narrower Tue-Sun window, but this conflicts with both the official site and a separate independent source, so treat daily 4-10pm as correct.
• Reservations: Accepted but request-based — the official site notes bookings aren't confirmed until you hear back, and reservations are strongly recommended in high season.
• Good to know: Moderate-to-higher price tier; billed as American fine dining with a Latin flair.

Galyn's

An upscale-casual seafood and steak restaurant since 1986, with harbor views over Agamont Park. Seasonal — 2026 season runs April 2 through November 28.

• Hours: Daily 11am-9:30pm, with happy hour in the Galley Lounge 2-5pm.
• Reservations: Walk-ins welcome; phone reservations taken 8am-3pm daily, generally no more than two weeks out, max party size 8. The Galley Lounge is walk-in only.
• Good to know: Upstairs harbor-view window seats are sought-after but limited — request one when booking.

Geddy's

A casual lobster and pub restaurant with live-music history, now in its 52nd season as a family seafood spot. Seasonal — reopened for the 2026 season on March 5.

• Hours: Restaurant daily 11am-9:30pm; the attached shop runs daily 9am-9pm. No confirmed closing date for the season was found — expect early winter, but check directly if planning a late-year visit.
• Reservations: Accepted via SevenRooms; recommended for dinner during peak times.
• Good to know: A genuine long-running local institution, now in its 52nd season as of 2026.

McKay's Public House

An elevated pub restaurant in a historic Victorian building with original fireplaces and oak wainscoting, serving organic and local ingredients. Operates year-round.

• Hours: A genuine conflict here — the official site states dinner Tuesday-Sunday 5-9pm (closed Mondays), while independent listings show it open all seven days, with some also extending Friday/Saturday to 9:30pm. Call (207) 288-2002 to confirm before a Monday visit or a late weekend reservation.
• Reservations: Accepted by phone or OpenTable; tables are often available even a day out, though earlier booking secures better time slots.
• Good to know: Intimate second-floor wine bar/dining room; upscale surf-and-turf and pub fare with an extensive organic wine list.

Side Street Cafe

A casual, approachable restaurant known for burgers, lobster rolls, and house-infused cocktails — a reliable, less-formal alternative to the pricier harbor-view spots.

• Hours: The official site lists Mon-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11:30am-8pm, plus a separate "Annex" opening at 5pm nightly — but independent listings show a full hour later close (11pm-9pm daily) across the board. A real discrepancy worth confirming directly if timing matters.
• Reservations: No traditional reservation line; the official site uses an online waitlist system for in-person dining.
• Good to know: Popular enough to regularly have a wait via its waitlist system.

2 Cats Restaurant & Inn

A breakfast and brunch institution open since 1996, serving hundreds of breakfasts a day at peak season.

• Hours: Daily 7am-1pm.
• Reservations: Both walk-ins and reservations appear to work; arrive before roughly 9:30-10am to beat the breakfast rush.
• Good to know: Small, breakfast-focused space known for lobster omelets and blueberry pancakes — fills up on weekend mornings.

Stewman's Lobster Pound

An oceanfront lobster pound near the town pier. Seasonal — typically early June through early October, though exact 2026 dates aren't pinned down anywhere. Worth noting: a second Stewman's location at the Bar Harbor Regency shows conflicting operating-status signals (marked closed on Yelp despite still appearing on the Regency's own site as an amenity), so we're only listing the confirmed downtown West Street location here.

• Hours: Daily 11:30am-8pm, per independent listings — the official site didn't display hours directly, so this isn't confirmed on the primary source itself.
• Reservations: Not accepted for parties under 20 guests — effectively walk-in for standard-size groups.
• Good to know: Dinner runs roughly $30-50 per person; all-you-can-eat lobster feasts; good for groups, oceanfront seating.

Jordan Pond House

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

Worth cross-referencing with our things-to-do guide: this historic restaurant inside Acadia National Park, not downtown Bar Harbor itself, has operated on the same site since 1893 and is famous for its popovers.

• Hours: Confirmed open for the 2026 season starting May 15; daily hours are commonly cited as 11:30am-8pm through late October, though the official site's own closing time was unreadable at last check — confirm directly if visiting.
• Reservations: Limited online reservations available, but most tables are held for walk-ins; the popover/tea counter service requires no reservation at all.
• Good to know: Popover rush runs 11:30am-4pm with reported waits around 40 minutes in peak season.

Restaurants We Excluded

Mama DiMatteo's, a nearly 40-year Italian institution, has closed — the building was sold to the Bar Harbor Food Pantry and renovated into its new location. The Burning Tree, an early farm-to-table seafood restaurant, has also closed. Neither should be treated as a current dining option.

Practical Tips

• Havana and McKay's Public House are the two year-round picks if you're visiting outside peak season.

• Most of this list is seasonal — check current opening and closing dates directly before planning a shoulder-season or winter trip.

• Jordan Pond House requires a short drive into the park — it's not walkable from downtown.

• Several restaurants had genuinely conflicting hours across sources (McKay's Public House, Side Street Cafe) — call ahead if exact timing matters.

• Bar Harbor's own regional airport offers only a single Boston route; most visitors fly into Bangor International instead — see our travel guide's "Getting There" section for the full breakdown.

Sources and Verification Notes

Each restaurant's operating status, address, and character were checked against its own site and cross-checked against Yelp or TripAdvisor. Mama DiMatteo's closure and conversion to a food pantry, and The Burning Tree's closure, were each independently confirmed before being excluded. Hours were checked directly against each restaurant's own site where available; where sources genuinely disagreed, we said so rather than picking one figure arbitrarily.