Best Restaurants In Freeport, Maine
Freeport may be a small town, but it’s big on food. With a wide variety of restaurants and cuisines to choose from, you’ll never run out of a place to eat in Freeport, Maine. In fact, chances are you probably won’t have enough time to visit them all. Between the seafood restaurants, Italian bistros, American taverns, and local cafes, it can be hard to know which ones to prioritize. To help you narrow down that list and pinpoint the restaurants that deserve to be included on your itinerary, we’ve compiled below the best restaurants in Freeport, Maine.
Breakfast Restaurants in Freeport, Maine
Freeport Cafe
Located only a few miles from the center of town, Freeport Cafe is a cozy, local establishment. It serves up delicious breakfast and freshly brewed coffee. Open every day from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm. The cafe is a great place to stop and grab some early morning breakfast. With a wide menu offering everything from Belgian waffles to jumbo pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, and eggs in just about every form imaginable, there’s something to satisfy everyone’s cravings. There’s even a children’s menu available for kids who are ten and younger.
Sunrise Cafe- Budget Friendly
Serving classic American breakfast, Sunrise Cafe is conveniently located only a few miles from downtown Freeport. Here you can find local favorites such as eggs, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, sausage gravy and biscuits. There are also healthier options for those who prefer a light breakfast, including fresh fruit, oatmeal, and yogurt with granola. The cafe is open year-round, every day except for Wednesdays. On the weekends, you can stop by and grab food any time from 6:00 am to 1:00 pm and during the week from 6:00 am to 1:30 pm.
Isabella’s Cafe & Bakery
This restaurant is conveniently located in the heart of Freeport, Maine. Isabella’s Cafe and Bakery offers local coffee, all-day breakfast, and freshly made baked goods. While the cafe is most famous for its sticky bun french toast, it also serves up a variety of delicious breakfast classics. This includes omelets, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and breakfast burritos.
For those looking for something a bit more on the sweet side, you can always grab a muffin, scone, or cinnamon bun from the bakery section. Everything served at the cafe, both on the menu and off, is made daily from scratch, using only the freshest in locally sourced ingredients. The cafe is open year-round; however, their hours do change with the seasons. During the winter, from January to May, the cafe is open Thursday thru Sunday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm. The rest of the year, they are open Wednesday to Sunday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm. Isabella’s Cafe and Bakery is our pick for best breakfast restaurant in Freeport, Maine!
Lunch Restaurants in Freeport, Maine
1912 Cafe
The 1912 Cafe is located inside the L.L. Bean store, making it a great option if you have a day of shopping planned. Open daily from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. The cafe serves everything from soups to salads, hot sandwiches, specialty wraps, and all-day breakfast. There are even gluten-free, as well as vegetarian and vegan options available. The cafe offers both inside and outside seating with complimentary WiFi provided for all guests. If you opt to eat inside, you’ll be greeted by a wall of black and white photos that tell a visual story of L.L. Bean’s history. For those who prefer to eat outside, there’s a nice, shady patio set up with tables and chairs.
Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company
Open seasonally from May to October. Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company is an excellent spot to sample some of the freshest seafood in Freeport. Located right on the banks of the Harraseeket River in Freeport, Maine this family-owned mom-and-pop restaurant also operates as a fishing business. Meaning the seafood comes straight off the boat, into the kitchen, and onto your plate! If you’d like to, you can even eat outside! Giving you the chance to watch the fishing boats as they roll in and out of the harbor bringing in their daily catch.
As you can probably imagine, you’ll be able to find all sorts of seafood on the menu. Including everything from lobsters to crabs, clams, scallops, and a variety of fish. And for those landlubbers who may get dragged along, the restaurant offers favorites from the grill, like chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs. When in season, the restaurant is open from Thursday to Monday. Their typical hours are from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, but they stay open until 8:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Broad Arrow Tavern- Best Splurge
Located inside the Harraseeket Inn, the Broad Arrow Tavern is a popular restaurant that serves a variety of cuisines. Here you can find everything from seafood to ribs, brick-oven pizza, wood-grilled steak, and an array of hot sandwiches. While its varied menu is certainly appealing, what makes this restaurant most unique is its open concept kitchen. This allows guests the opportunity to watch along as the chef cooks up their food on the wood-fire oven and grill. The restaurant is open from 11:30 am to 9:00 pm every day, with extended hours on Friday and Saturday until 10:00 pm. Reservations are not accepted at the restaurant, so we strongly recommend that you show up early to prevent a wait. Or, you can do what we did which is stay at the Harraseeket Inn for a couple days and order your pizza to go, then take is pool side!
Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll
Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll is a window service-only restaurant located in the L.L. Bean Store. Run by the granddaughter of the founder of L.L. Bean, the take-out restaurant is open daily from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. While there may not be a formal space to sit down and eat, the food served at Linda Bean’s is easy to transport and makes for the perfect on-the-go lunch. Offering everything from seafood rolls to sandwiches, hot dogs, soups, and salads. Linda Bean’s is one of the best seafood take-out restaurants in the Freeport area.
Dinner Restaurants In Freeport, Maine
Buck’s Naked BBQ- Our Favorite
Specializing in dry-run barbecue! Buck’s Naked BBQ is a lively bar and restaurant offering some of the best-smoked meat in Freeport. Located about a mile outside of town, Buck’s cooks all of their meat in an Ole Hickory Pit. Utilizing various locally sourced hardwoods. Smoke times can vary depending upon the meat. Some, such as the brisket, can take up to 14 hours to cook – so you know it’s bound to be delicious! While the restaurant’s best meals undoubtedly include ribs, pulled pork, brisket, and steak, they also serve other favorites such as fish and chips, burgers, and creamy mac and cheese. Open Wednesday to Sunday, the restaurant’s typical hours of operation begin at 12:00 pm and end at 8:00 pm, although on Friday and Saturday nights they extend closing until 9:00 pm. You didn’t hear this from me but it is on of our favorite places for BBQ!
Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro- Best for Romantic Dinners
The Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro is widely regarded as one of the best Italian restaurants in Freeport. While it’s most famous for its brick oven pizza and house-made pasta, it also serves up some pretty delicious seafood, wood-fired steaks, and brick oven-roasted chicken. The restaurant also serves a variety of local Maine beer on draft, craft co*cktails, and curated wines. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 9 pm. The restaurant offers a comfortable, cozy, and rustic atmosphere that makes for a great night out with that special someone.
Jameson Tavern Restaurant in Freeport, Maine
Conveniently located right in the center of Freeport, Jameson Tavern is housed in a historically significant building dating back to 1779. Serving traditional American comfort food, the tavern offers both indoor and patio dining, as well as take-out. Here you can find a wide variety of American and Maine favorites, including steak, ribs, burgers, and several seafood dishes. The restaurant also has an extensive list of beer and wine and offers daily happy hour specials that run from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. The tavern, which is a long-time favorite among locals and visitors alike, is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11:30 am to 8:00 pm.
Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern
Conveniently located across from the L.L. Bean store, the Maine Kitchen and Topside Tavern is another of the restaurants in Freeport, Maine that is affiliated with the Linda Bean franchise. Open every day from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm, the restaurant offers a wide variety of seafood, soups, salads, and sandwiches. Some of the most famous items on the menu include those that use the Bean family recipe, such as lobster bisque, clam chowder, corn chowder, and baked haddock. The restaurant also has an extensive bar that offers beer, wine, and specialty co*cktails.
Special Mention
Wicked Whoopies
It wouldn’t be right to make a list of the top restaurants in Freeport and not mention the ever famous Wicked Whoopies! A dessert restaurant and storefront specializing in gourmet whoopie pies. One of only two locations in Maine, Wicked Whoopies is known for making some of the best whoopie pies in the state. That’s saying something since Maine is the birthplace of these delicious baked goods. Offering whoopie pies in every flavor imaginable, Wicked Whoopies is open every day from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
It goes without saying, but Freeport is an unexpected, hidden gem that will definitely delight foodies across the board. Between the incredibly fresh seafood, the delightfully sweet whoopie pies, and the flavorful barbeque, Freeport has it all and more!
