How this ranking was built
Twenty-five restaurants in Camden proper carry Google ratings. Ranking them by rating alone would put a nine-review charcuterie counter above a room that has fed thousands of people well, so every place below is scored on rating multiplied by review count. That rewards restaurants that are both liked and used, and it gives you a number you can check instead of a list I made up.
It also has an obvious bias, and it is worth naming before you read the list. The method rewards a harbor view. The top four are all within a two-minute walk of the Public Landing, and two of them — The Waterfront at 4.3 and Cuzzy's at 4.1 — carry the lowest ratings in the top five. Volume, not cooking, is what puts them there. The rooms Camden locals actually rate highest sit in the 4.7 to 5.0 band with a fraction of the reviews, and they get their own list further down. Read both.
The best restaurants in Camden, Maine, ranked
| # | Restaurant | Rating | Reviews | Score |
|---|
| 1 | The Waterfront Restaurant | 4.3 | 1,585 | 6,816 |
| 2 | Camden Deli | 4.4 | 886 | 3,898 |
| 3 | Peter Ott's on the Water | 4.4 | 779 | 3,428 |
| 4 | Cuzzy's Restaurant | 4.1 | 758 | 3,108 |
| 5 | Long Grain | 4.5 | 634 | 2,853 |
| 6 | Camden Island | 4.2 | 576 | 2,419 |
| 7 | Camden House of Pizza | 4.5 | 496 | 2,232 |
| 8 | Hartstone Inn | 4.6 | 370 | 1,702 |
| 9 | 40 Paper | 4.4 | 380 | 1,672 |
| 10 | Megunticook Market | 4.6 | 319 | 1,467 |
| 11 | Natalie's at Camden Harbour Inn | 4.5 | 307 | 1,382 |
| 12 | Fresh and Co | 4.6 | 294 | 1,352 |
| 13 | Buttermilk Kitchen | 4.8 | 256 | 1,229 |
| 14 | Salt Wharf | 4.4 | 231 | 1,016 |
| 15 | Mosaic Restaurant | 4.7 | 193 | 907 |
1. The Waterfront Restaurant
4.3 from 1,585 reviews. 48 Bay View St, waterfrontcamden.com. The deck sits directly over the schooner moorings, which is the entire proposition and a genuinely good one — there is no better seat in the midcoast for watching a windjammer warp in. The kitchen is competent rather than exciting: fried haddock, lobster rolls, a raw bar. Go for the two hours of view and order simply. If you want the food to be the memory, eat somewhere else and come here for a drink.
2. Camden Deli
4.4 from 886 reviews. 37 Main St, camdendeli.com. A counter-service sandwich shop with a second-floor bar and a wall of glass over Megunticook Falls, which is an absurdly good view for a place where you order at a register. This is the single most useful address in town: fast, unfussy, open through the middle of the day when kitchens close, and the answer when you have a car full of people who want different things.
3. Peter Ott's on the Water
4.4 from 779 reviews. 16 Bay Vw Lndg, peterotts.com. The long-running steak-and-seafood room on the landing, and the more reliable of the two big harbor-front kitchens. Char-grilled steaks are what it built its name on and still what it does best; the salad bar is a holdover that people are weirdly loyal to. Book ahead in July and August or you will be quoted an hour.
4. Cuzzy's Restaurant
4.1 from 758 reviews. 21 Bay View St, cuzzysrestaurant.com. A dark, cluttered, nautically-hoarded bar that has been the town's late kitchen and off-season living room for decades. The 4.1 is the lowest rating on this list and it is not a mystery: the food is bar food and the service depends on the night. Locals do not go for either. They go because it is warm, unpretentious and open when the harbor places have shut.
5. Long Grain
4.5 from 634 reviews. 20 Washington St, longgraincamden.com. The best-known restaurant in the midcoast that has nothing to do with lobster: hand-pulled noodles, Thai and pan-Asian cooking out of a small room a block off Main. It has been the region's critical darling for years and the room is tiny, so it is the hardest reservation in Camden. Try a weeknight or an early sitting; walking in on a Saturday in August is not a plan.
6. Camden Island
4.2 from 576 reviews. 87 Elm St Suite 104A, camdenislandrestaurant.com. Out on the Route 1 stretch rather than downtown, which is why it has parking and a shorter wait than anything on Bay View Street. The 4.2 is honest — this is a solid neighborhood restaurant, not a destination — but a solid neighborhood restaurant with a table free is worth a lot on a Saturday in August.
7. Camden House of Pizza
4.5 from 496 reviews. 12 Mechanic St, camdenmainepizza.com. Greek-style pan pizza, the New England kind with the crisp oily bottom edge, plus subs and a fryer. Nothing here is trying to be anything. It rates higher than most of the white-tablecloth options in town, which tells you something about how well it does the thing it does. The obvious move after a day on Camden Hills.
8. Hartstone Inn
4.6 from 370 reviews. 41 Elm St, hartstoneinn.com. Listed at the top price tier, and the most formal dinner in Camden — a set multi-course menu in the dining room of an inn a short walk up from the harbor. Small, quiet, service-led, and reservation-only in practice. This is the anniversary restaurant. It is not where you take three restless kids after a hike.
9. 40 Paper
4.4 from 380 reviews. 40 Washington St Suite 102A, 40paper.com. Italian-leaning cooking in the old mill building on the Megunticook River, with the best bar room in town and the most interesting cocktail list. The dining room can be loud when it is full. Sit at the bar if you have the choice — the same menu, half the wait, and better company.
10. Megunticook Market
4.6 from 319 reviews. 2 Gould St, megunticookmarket.com. A market with a serious kitchen attached: sandwiches, prepared food, a good cheese counter and the makings of a boat lunch. If you are hiking Mount Battie or catching a windjammer, this is where you assemble the picnic. Rated as well as any full-service restaurant in the top ten.
11. Natalie's at Camden Harbour Inn
4.5 from 307 reviews. 83 Bay View St, camdenharbourinn.com. The other special-occasion room, in a hilltop inn looking down over the harbor, and listed at the top price tier alongside Hartstone. Tasting-menu structure, coastal ingredients, a wine program that takes itself seriously. Book well ahead in season, and know that you are paying for the room and the view as much as the plate.
12. Fresh and Co
4.6 from 294 reviews. 1 Bay Vw Lndg, freshcamden.com. Small, harbor-adjacent, top price tier, and the highest-rated of the waterfront options by a clear margin. Seafood-forward and more precise than its neighbors. If you want the harbor location without the 4.1-to-4.3 tourist-volume compromise, this is the one to book.
The other list: highest-rated, lowest volume
Sorting by review volume buries Camden's best cooking. These are the rooms with the strongest ratings in town and not enough reviews to compete on the ranking above. Small samples cut both ways — a 5.0 from a dozen people is a hint, not proof — but the pattern here is consistent.
- Winona's — 5.0 from 61 reviews, 31 Elm St, winonasmaine.com. The highest rating in Camden with a meaningful number behind it.
- Buttermilk Kitchen at Marriner's — 4.8 from 256 reviews, 35 Main St, buttermilkcamden.com. Breakfast and lunch in the old Marriner's space on Main. The best-rated restaurant in town with real volume, and the answer to where to eat breakfast in Camden.
- Mixed Greens — 4.8 from 96 reviews, 15 Main St. Salads and bowls, counter service, genuinely fast.
- Mosaic Restaurant — 4.7 from 193 reviews, 31 Elm St, mosaiccamden.com. Note that the listings put both Mosaic and Winona's at 31 Elm St; call before you plan an evening around either.
- Scott's Place — 4.7 from 172 reviews, 85 Elm St. A takeout shack in a parking lot at the bottom price tier, and one of the best-rated things in Camden. Burgers, dogs, lobster rolls, eaten standing up.
- Cafe Louis — 4.7 from 87 reviews, 50 Elm St, midcoastlouis.com.
- Vintage Room — 4.7 from 36 reviews, 16 Bay View St, 16bayview.com.
The honest drawback
Camden's restaurant scene is thin outside the season and expensive inside it. A town of this size supporting two top-tier tasting-menu rooms and four harbor-front kitchens only works because of summer, so hours contract sharply once the schooners are hauled and a fair number of places close entirely. If you are visiting between late fall and spring, check before you drive — and lower your expectations of choice, not of quality. The other structural issue is parking: Bay View Street and Main Street fill by early evening in July and August, and the walk from the outer lots is longer than it looks.
If you are building a day around dinner, the obvious pairings are a morning on the Camden Hills trails or a harbor cruise; the rest of the options are in our guide to things to do in Camden and the Camden town page. For a wider view of what Maine does best on a plate, see the best seafood restaurants in Maine and Maine lobster pounds. Rockland is eight miles south and worth the drive for a second night.
FAQ
What is the best restaurant in Camden, Maine?
It depends what you are optimizing for. By rating multiplied by review volume, The Waterfront Restaurant leads at 4.3 from 1,585 reviews — but that is a measure of popularity and a harbor deck. By rating alone among restaurants with real sample sizes, Buttermilk Kitchen at Marriner's leads at 4.8 from 256 reviews, followed by Mosaic at 4.7 from 193. For a special occasion dinner, Hartstone Inn at 4.6 from 370 reviews and Natalie's at 4.5 from 307 are the two top-tier rooms.
Do you need reservations for restaurants in Camden in summer?
For dinner in July and August, yes, at anything with table service. Long Grain, rated 4.5 from 634 reviews, is a small room and the hardest booking in town. Hartstone Inn and Natalie's should be booked well in advance. Camden Deli, Camden House of Pizza, Megunticook Market and Scott's Place are all counter or takeout operations where you can simply turn up.
Where should you eat breakfast in Camden?
Buttermilk Kitchen at Marriner's, 35 Main St, rated 4.8 from 256 reviews, is the highest-rated restaurant in Camden with a substantial number of reviews and the default breakfast answer. Camden Deli at 37 Main St, 4.4 from 886 reviews, is the faster option and has the falls view from the upstairs room.
Is there good non-seafood food in Camden?
Yes, and it is some of the best cooking in town. Long Grain on Washington Street, 4.5 from 634 reviews, does hand-pulled noodles and Thai cooking and has been the midcoast's most talked-about kitchen for years. 40 Paper, 4.4 from 380 reviews, is Italian-leaning with the strongest bar in Camden, and Peter Ott's, 4.4 from 779 reviews, built its reputation on char-grilled steak rather than lobster.
