Rockland, Maine is home to many exciting, interesting, beautiful, and even historic sights. Whether you’re in town for a family vacation, romantic getaway, or you’re playing tourist in your own town, to take in all the exceptional sights, attractions, and festivals, you’ll need more than just “something quick to eat” – you’ll need real, delicious, food to keep you going.
You’ll need beautiful and creative spaces, flavorful and seasonal platings, fresh seafood because, hello! this is mid-coast Maine, and you need to know where to go to get all of these things.
Here you’ll find the best Rockland Maine restaurants this coastal town has to offer – with menu recommendations, guest reviews, and more to help you choose the restaurant that’s right for you.
And while you’re enjoying these amazing restaurants, be sure to check out the best things to do in Rockland and make a day (or more!) of it.
Some of the very best locally owned Rockland Maine restaurants
Home Kitchen Cafe
Home Kitchen Cafe serves made-from-scratch meals and baked goods at breakfast and lunch. Their specialty buns are known as Sticky and Sinny – traditional, pecan sticky buns, and cinnamon rolls so delicious they’re almost sinful, respectively. They also provide special order cakes, including allergy-friendly options. Home Kitchen Cafe is open year-round.
Archer’s on the Pier
Archer’s on the Pier is located right on the Rockland Pier. Sustainable seafood and local produce are mixed to create a unique menu while offering amazing waterfront views. Archer’s Owner and Chef, Lynn Archer, has gone head-to-head with Bobby Flay in Food Network’s Lobster Throw Down. You can expect the kind of work ethic, flavor combinations, and tasty surprises you’d expect from a chef of that caliber.
In Good Company Restaurant and Wine Bar
In Good Company prides itself on offering an old world atmosphere of an unhurried dining experience while engaging in an ever-changing seasonal menu ranging from light tapas to full entrees. It is their goal to live out their mission statement: In Good Company believes in a life of balance spent in the open air versus the smog of the city. One must eat and drink only good things that are genuine and simple, in moderate amounts and in good company. Good Company is fundamental…with friends everything tastes better, is more enjoyable and better absorbed. It enriches your blood and spirit…
Primo
Primo is a truly one-of-a-kind dining experience in Rockland. Located on a 4-acre, working farm, where the animals are cared for on open pastures, and where vegetables, flowers, and herbs are all grown without the use of chemicals. The restaurant is open seasonally, 5 nights a week, and the menu changes seasonally. Here’s what a recent guest has to say on Google: “Phenomenal experience! The food was out if this world! Will definitely be back and highly recommend!”
Waterworks Restaurant
Waterworks Restaurant is THE place for fish and chips in Rockland, Maine. You’ll the surf and turf options and the flavor combinations and a menu with something to please everyone. A recent guest shared this on Facebook: My husband had one of the best lobsters of his life Friday!!! We have family in Rockland and have been traveling there 3 to 4 times a year all of our lives. He has lobster here at home in RI, but they are never as good as when they are fresh from the waters in Maine. He couldn’t stop raving about delicious it was. The clam strips are out of this world. Don’t miss happy hour either. Great prices! It’s a regular stop for us on every trip.”
The Landing Restaurant
The Landing Restaurant is one of three restaurants located on the water in Rockland, Maine. This two-story restaurant offers lots of seating with great views inside and also has seating available of one of their three docks. The menu is thoughtful and delicious, making Maine flavors and experiences the star of the show in each appetizer, entree, and dessert.
Rustica
Rustica is an Italian eatery where as much as possible is made from scratch and in-house – pastas, bread, even sausages. The food will taste like you’re in the heart of Italy while you’re a short walk from mid-coast Maine. Rustica has excellent proximity to Farnsworth Art Museum, Strand Theatre, and the harbor. roast cod in garlic broth
Sammy’s Deluxe
Sammy’s Deluxe offers unique flavor combinations to bring you an amazing dining experience each time you come. The menu changes frequently so there is always something to discover and try when you come in. In a sample menu from February 2019, the offerings included house-smoked eel jalapeno poppers, roasted petite deviled scallops, pasta puttanesca, and cornmeal molasses pudding with creme fraiche.
Hill’s Seafood Co
Hill’s Seafood makes a priority out of creating simple, delicious, always fresh seafood in a fun atmosphere. With an entire lobster section on their menu – including lobster mac’n’cheese and lobster pot pie – there’s also entree’s including many other seafood options, the ability to mix and match different types of fish, and a menu for land-lovers, too.
The Lobster Shack
The Lobster Shack is a downtown food truck. They make everything from scratch so you know this is one stop you’ll definitely want to make. Lobster and crab roll, or a combo of the two are available, and the pickled dilly beans are a fan favorite! This is a cash-only establishment.
Cafe Miranda
Cafe Miranda is an eclectic cafe, focusing on flavor combinations for sustainability and locally sourced ingredients. The menu has many amazing dining options – you’ll be delighted by the entire menu. A recent guest had this to say about their experience: “Cafe Miranda is a wonderful gift to the area, we have been thoroughly pleased with each visit. The menu is substantial, as are the offerings on it. The quality of the food is excellent, very creative. Well worth our 2 hour drive from Portland.”
Brass Compass
Brass Compass is a Rockland restaurant with a menu that is varied, the portions are hearty, and the baked goods are made daily. Owner and Chef Lynn Archer, also the owner of Archer’s, will delight and surprise you with how you feel like a regular within minutes of walking in the door. Brass Compass opens in the morning to feed the fishermen before they head out in the mornings and remains open through lunchtime.
Atlantic Baking Co
Atlantic Baking Co makes it their goal to bring artisanal breads and baked goods to mid-coast Maine. All breads and pastries are baked each and every morning and the puff-pastry dough is made from scratch to make sure that guests enjoy the freshest tasting pastries. Lunch includes soup, sandwiches, and pizzas, all built on top of their freshly baked bread.
Hazel’s Take Out
Hazel’s Take Out served fabulous and fresh hot food and offers quick and friendly service. This is a walk-up window with available outdoor seating. The sandwiches, including lobster and crab rolls, Hawaiian burgers, and more, are definitely writing home about. Plus, there’s to-die-for cheesecake.
If you love local food and fare, you’ll love the great festivals that happen year-round in midcoast Maine.
The Glen Cove Inn & Suites
While you’re checking out and eating your way through the best food that Rockland has to offer, we’d love to have you stay with us at our Rockland Maine hotel.
You’ll love our better-than-continental breakfast each morning, served on a covered veranda, as well as access to the Ocean View Walking Trail that gives you ocean views. Our inn is the traditional motorist stop for Maine road-trippers.
And we’d love to welcome you on your next family vacation. Glen Cove is the perfect mix of amenities – like outdoor pool and amazing breakfast – and affordability.
Looking for a year-round inn in Rockland, Maine? Our sister property is open during the off-season, too!