City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Address: 38 Main St.
2. Camden Bagel Cafe
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 236-2661
Address: Mechanic St.
Description: For breakfast on the go, pop into the old Brewster Mill, find the Camden Bagel Cafe, and grab a freshly baked bagels. You’ll find an array to choose from—from salt to onion to pumpernickel—and tofutti to slather on top. There are several booths and tables if you feel like lingering, coolers to get your OJ, and a slew of coffees. You may end up standing in line for a few minutes, but you’ll feel a part of the local crowd and might even learn something about the community. The bulletin boards inside are among the better in town and you can quickly see what’s going on.
3. Camden Deli
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 236-8343
Address: 37 Main St.
Description: Half the reason to eat at the Camden Deli is the view of the falls where the Megunticook River meets Camden Harbor. The water goes right under the restaurant and tumbles spectacularly down a bank on the other side. Windows in the dining area overlook it all—and the panorama of the harbor itself isn’t too shabby, either. The other reason to visit is simply the extensive list of sandwiches—more than 40—and soups, which are fairly traditional but always good.
4. Ephemere Cafe
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 236-4451
Address: 51 Bayview St.
Description: A word of mouth favorite around town for a sophisticated night out, this place draws raves for its seafood (try the mussels) and carmelized sea scallops and it’s a wine bar as well, so get yourself a glass of vino. The owner is a character and brings a European flair to Camden.
5. Francine Bistro
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 230-0083
Address: 55 Chestnut St.
Description: Chef/owner Brian Hill has quite the résumé, having cooked at Olives in Boston and in L.A., Hawaii, and New York, and he puts everything he’s learned into good use at this cafe up the road from the post office. He also grew up on an organic farm, though, and so he brings to his menu both a sophistication and an understanding of fresh food, plundering the local farmer’s market for produce and getting his meats at area farms. Perhaps this explains why he’s less seafood-oriented than most of his Midcoast neighbors. You might find braised pork chops with turnip fondue or seared duck breast with a plum sauce, but you can find salmon as well. Dinner here is cozy (dig the pillows), hip (Hill used to be a rock star, among other things), and something of an event.
6. French And Brawn
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 236-3361
Address: Main St.
Description: Every town ought to have a grocery like French and Brawn. The store manages to cram a little bit of everything into a relatively small space in downtown Camden, complete with a meat counter, produce section, and small bakery. It’s the sort of neighborhood market where the staff knows all the customers, you’re always bumping into friends and acquaintances, good local gossip goes around, and there’s even an old-fashioned credit system if you’re sticking around a while. Besides carrying your average grocery store items, the place has a good selection of gourmet items, as well as premade sandwiches, salads, soups, and even sushi at the back, which you can pick up to go and eat in one of the many parks in town. Makes for a nice picnic option.
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Address: 41 Elm St.
8. Natalie’S
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 236-7008
Address: 83 Bayview St.
Description: Once located at the Knox Mill downtown, Natalie’s merged with the Camden Harbour Inn, becoming the house dining room. With its scarlet tablecloths and fringed red lights, it has a nice ambiance. The French-country fare has been praised loud and long. Try the lobster and truffle mac and cheese or the Maine crab ravioli. Or, if everything looks good, spring for the five-course tasting menu. (Chef Lawrence Klang won the 2008 Maine Lobster Chef of the Year, so you may want to go this latter route.)
9. The Waterfront
City: Camden, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 236-3747
Address: Bayview St.
Description: The name says it all here. The Waterfront has cafe-style dining under umbrellas right at the side of Camden Harbor, where you can watch the megayachts parade ostentatiously in and wish for a moment that you could be a reef. The fare is among the more dependable in town, trending toward the seafood. Dinner might be a sesame seed-seared salmon or blackened haddock with cilantro marinated cukes; lunch could be an herbed salmon burger or a grilled panini sandwich. There’s plenty of seating inside the cedar-shingled building, but it’s really nicest out on the deck on a sunny day. The Waterfront doesn’t take reservations and can fill quickly, so keep that in mind when making your plans.