The Most Mouthwatering Places To Get A Lobster Roll In Maine, According To Research

Maine lobsters are prized for their abundance and fresh flavor. They're so indicative of the state that you cannot visit Maine without encountering the crustaceans in some capacity. Heck, it was on the general license plate until 1999. While the lobster itself is famous, perhaps even more so is the meal it spawned: the lobster roll.

There is great debate over where in New England the lobster roll was invented, but most historians can agree that it's been a staple of New England since the 19th century. According to Sandwich Magazine, the lobster roll was born out of convenience for fishermen and steadily grew in popularity with locals and tourists during the 20th century. Owing to the lack of any definitive original recipe, no one can say exactly how a lobster roll is supposed to be made. Cold or hot? Butter or mayo? 

Regardless of where you stand, there is no denying that Maine holds the New England lobster roll trophy. Given the sheer number of places you can get a lobster roll, creating this list was rather difficult. However, there are some locations that are simply more mouthwatering than others. Through our research, we've narrowed down what could have been an incredibly long list to 12 essential stops to get a lobster roll in Maine. Let's tuck in! 

The small village of Spruce Head lies off the coast of the midcoast town of South Thomaston, not far from Clark Island, one of the Maine coast's hidden romantic gems. Accessible via a causeway, Spruce Head Island is exactly what everyone thinks a Maine coastal island ought to look like. With excellent views of the surrounding harbor, Spruce Head Island makes for a picture-perfect location to sit and enjoy a lobster roll — which is mighty convenient seeing as this is the location of McLoon's Lobster Shack.

In 2017, Yankee Magazine's Food Editor Amy Traverso named McLoon's the best place to get a lobster roll in all of Maine. Described by Traverso as "the lobster shack of your dreams: a tiny red hut perched over the water with a tented patio and picnic tables," McLoon's makes for one stunning location. But what about the lobster roll? 

McLoon's offers a half-and-half roll, meaning one half comes with butter and the other half with mayo. This is meant to satisfy both sides of the lobster roll debate crowd. What Traverso noted was that both sides allowed the lobster to shine through. Each component tasted as it should, making for an overall 10/10 experience for the noted foodie.  McLoon's also holds 4.7 stars on Yelp based on 345 reviews. It's for sure a great, if not the best, place to get a Maine lobster roll. 

McLoon's may have been chosen by Yankee as the best place to get a lobster roll, but the honor of the most iconic lobster roll shack in Maine has to fall to Red's Eats in Wiscasset. Anyone who has ever sat in Route 1 traffic between Bath and Edgecomb will understand the power of Red's popularity. The eatery has not only been awarded the No. 1 place to get a lobster roll by local publications like Down East Magazine, but it also ranks in TripAdvisor's Top 10% of Restaurants Worldwide. That's an achievement no other lobster shack in Maine can boast, and it's why you could find yourself sitting in traffic, then in line, for several hours. 

This begs the question: Is it worth it? The short answer? YES! Red's is not one of those overhyped places that does not live up to the expectation. It meets and exceeds them. 

Red's prioritizes the lobster meat above anything else, allowing its sweetness and freshness to shine through. They also solve the butter/mayo dilemma by offering them both as sides, meaning that you can customize your roll to your preference. However, the lobster is so flavorful it will hardly need any adorning. Simply purchase your roll and walk the charming streets of Wiscasset, one of Maine's prettiest coastal towns.

When one conjures images of Maine in their mind, the iconic Portland Head Light on the rocky shoreline of Cape Elizabeth comes to mind. One of the country's oldest lighthouses, it's been in service since the Washington administration, Portland Head Light is as scenic a Maine location as you are likely to find. Like so many other coastal areas, Cape Elizabeth is the perfect place to enjoy a lobster roll.

And if you happen to be vacationing there or are in the area for a day, you need to head over to The Lobster Shack at Two Lights for your lobster roll fix. In business since the 1920s, The Lobster Shack's lobster roll is a staple of Cape Elizabeth. With it being set directly on the ocean, diners can enjoy the seaside views and watch ships come in and out of nearby Portland harbor. It's an experience that is only improved upon with a lobster roll. 

As VisitMaine notes, the generous serving of top-quality lobster meat is the primary attraction of ordering a lobster roll off of The Lobster Shack's impressive seafood menu. However, it is important to say that this location is firmly on the mayo side of the argument. Lobster rolls come adorned with a large dollop of mayo, a pickle chip, and a generous sprinkling of paprika. It's an impressive, flavorful roll that takes a firm stand.

The charming seaside town of Kennebunk is a must for anyone hoping to get a taste of Maine. With it being a highly trafficked tourist destination, the crowds can be a bit much. Those in favor of smaller crowds should check out nearby Biddeford for the same amount of Maine coastal magic. However, those who stick around Kennebunk will be privileged to have one of the greatest seafood dining experiences in the entire state.

A visit to The Clam Shack is a requirement when visiting Kennebunk. The eatery has been a part of the town landscape since 1968 and is renowned for the freshness of its soft shell lobsters. Softies, as goes the local colloquialism, tend to provide less meat than their hard shell counterparts. Still, the meat they do provide is often more tender, making them perfect for lobster rolls.

At The Clam Shack, which is listed as one of Yankee Magazine's best places to get a lobster roll in Maine, the sandwich is served, unconventionally, in a warm buttered hamburger bun baked daily at a local bakery. While there are some who believe lobster rolls should only be eaten when served in hot dog buns, the quality of the unadulterated lobster meat is enough to make even the staunchest purist think twice about their life choices. 

There is no doubt that Portland, Maine's largest city, is the greatest of all the state's food destinations. Named Bon Apétit's Restaurant City of the Year in 2018, present Portland continues to showcase its prowess for excellent restaurants. The only downside to this abundance is that it can be incredibly tricky to figure out where to find the best lobster roll in the city. There are so many places to choose from! However, for our money, you're going to find the best lobster roll in Portland at Eventide Oyster Co.

This is a decidedly non-traditional take on the famous lobster roll. Eventide uses a brown butter preparation, in which butter is melted and the milk fats are allowed to brown in the pan and create a flavorful sauce. This is then slathered over a generous serving of lobster meat and stuffed into a handmade bun.

Lobster roll purists may raise their eyebrows at this, but according to Yelp reviews, the brown butter coats the meat in a nutty silkiness that amplifies the flavor of the lobster. Plus, the squishy soft bun soaks up all the juices perfectly, adding even more flavor. Whether it sounds good to you or not, one thing is for sure: You're not likely to find another lobster roll like this anywhere else in Maine. 

Maine has no shortage of pristine, secluded islands, each with its own unique culture and breathtaking scenic beauty. Nestled comfortably in an inlet containing several other larger islands, Georgetown Island just south of Bath is a Maine coast with charming houses, a quaint general store, and plenty of beaches. All combine to create one great location to enjoy a lobster roll.

The place to go on Georgetown Island is Five Islands Lobster Co. At this restaurant, which is set directly on a wharf overlooking the harbor, you can't get a closer ocean view or fresher lobster. It, quite literally, comes directly off the lobsterman's boats and onto your plate. That's the quality of freshness you can expect from a lobster roll at Five Islands.

Their roll is loaded with ultra-sweet chunks of claw and knuckle meat, and seasoned ever so lightly with mayonnaise before being stuffed into a buttered hotdog bun. With a 4.3-star rating based on 260 reviews on Yelp, it's safe to say that Five Islands is one of the prettiest places making one of the best lobster rolls in Maine. 

With the exception of Mount Desert, there is perhaps no more famous Maine island than Vinalhaven. The largest of Maine's off-shore islands, Vinalhaven is only accessible from the mainland by ferry. It has an incredibly vibrant culture and year-round community that takes island life, and cuisine, very seriously. So, while it might be a trek to get there when you get to Vinalhaven, check out Greet's Eats for the island's best lobster roll.

Greet's is a unique location on this list in that it can, technically, be located in more than one place. This is thanks to its identity as a food truck, though they usually prefer to get set up right in Vinalhaven's busy downtown as a way of attracting the tourists off the ferry.

Once again pulling from Yankee Magazine's list of great lobster roll places, the roll being served up at Greet's is perfect to take on the go. They chop their lobster meat up very finely, making it much easier to eat while on the go. The good news is that this method doesn't diminish the flavors. The sweet-salty lobster comes with very little in the way of additional condiments. It's just plain old lobster shining through on a toasty, buttery bun.

Mount Desert Island has been called the Cyprus of the East Coast. With its cliffs, dramatic beaches, excellent food, and Acadia National Park, visitors often feel as though they are on an entirely different continent when vacationing in this area of the Maine coast. And since it's the home of Bass Harbor, one of Maine's busiest fishing villages, you can find a lobster roll around practically every corner. However, if you are going to pick one place, you need to go to Thurston's Lobster Pound.

Overlooking a harbor teeming with lobster boats and pleasure craft, Thurston's is much like Five Island in the fact that you are, quite literally, eating seafood on the wharf where it is brought in from the ocean. Yet, owing to its location on Mount Desert Island, Maine Travel Maven states that the experience at Thurston's is more upscale than other locations on this list.

The view may be unmatched, but how is the lobster roll? While it is a little more expensive than some of the rolls you will find elsewhere, Thurston's lobster roll is still an excellent option. The freshness of the lobster combined with the sweetness of the roll makes for one exceptional eating experience.

The town of Round Pond is a small seaside community in Maine's Midcoast region. It overlooks the scenic Muscongus Bay, which is dotted with small islands, harbors, and Pemaquid Point, one of the most visited lighthouses in the state. Round Pond itself is so perfectly insulated that it could almost be considered an inland body of water. Thankfully for lobster lovers, it's not, which is why Muscongus Bay Lobster has some of the freshest lobster around.

As a family-owned and -operated business, Muscongus Bay Lobster offers wholesale and retail lobster goods to its clientele. This means that you could buy lobsters to take home or stay for a full lobster dinner or one of their famous lobster rolls. The lobster you are getting is freshly caught right from the waters outside of their rustic storefront.

The meat is tossed very lightly in mayo, making for a perfect balance between the flavors. The proportion of meat to bun is generous, though Yankee Magazine's Amy Traverso thought it was a tad too sweet. However, your preferences may differ. Overall, the quality of the meat alone should make this place a worthy contender for the best lobster roll in Maine.

With utterly charming and low-key towns like Camden, it's easy to see why this area of the state is so popular with tourists. Another hour north brings you to the beautiful seaside community of Belfast. The Main Street lined with brick shops lends a classy air to this hard-working fishing community, but everyone who comes to Belfast gets their lobsters at Young's Lobster Pound.

Set right on the coast overlooking Belfast Bay and downtown, Young's Lobster Pound serves up the pure Maine scenery to go alongside its pure Maine lobster. One of the things to know right off the bat about this place is that the ocean is front and center, both literally and on the plate. When you order a lobster roll, you get a lobster roll.

The only thing untraditional about the lobster roll at Young's is that it is, like the Clam Shack, served on a hamburger bun instead of a hotdog roll. However, the utterly pristine, sweet, unadulterated lobster meat will make you forget your bun woes and focus solely on the question at hand: How good is this lobster?

Part of enjoying coastal Maine is getting off the highway and exploring the side streets and villages that dot the numerous peninsulas and connected islands. If you head southward off Route 1 towards Brooklin, you will end up finding the small community of Penobscot. Named for the famous river and bay, Penobscot is an unassuming place that shines in its natural beauty. And for anyone traveling down this little peninsula, a stop at Bagaduce Lunch for a lobster roll is a must.

Set along the scenic Bagaduce River, where eagles are known to frequently fly over and dive for fish, Bagaduce Lunch is a humble little lunch stand with red trim, white clapboards, and serving windows. It's exactly the kind of place one would imagine coming to find an excellent basket of fried clams or a soft-serve ice cream cone, both of which they do incredibly well.

However, it's the lobster roll in which we're interested. Bagaduce Lunch takes the mayonnaise side of the argument to the extreme, slathering the enormous amount of lobster meat in the tangy stuff, and loading it into an incredibly long sandwich roll. The heaviness of the mayo could be off-putting to some, but seeing as they've been in the business for over 60 years, Bagaduce Lunch has enough fans to make the case for the mayo argument.

Our final destination is probably the most convenient and easily accessible spot on this list. Just a hop, skip, and a jump over the border from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier in Kittery is one of the more fun locations on this list. Set literally on a pier overlooking Chauncey Creek, this lobster shack rises and falls with the tides, meaning that, depending on the time of day you are there, you'll be able to wave at boats passing by on their way to the sea.

Its convenient location means that it can get ridiculously crowded at times, but it is worth braving those crowds to get a sample of their iconic lobster roll. The huge roll that is filled to the brim with excellently flavored and seasoned lobster meat makes any wait you might face at Chauncey Creek well worth it. They've been cooking up these rolls since 1948, making them a longstanding Kittery tradition that should not be passed up by anyone.

Of course, you could go to the farthest ends of Down East to find the perfect lobster roll. However, we think you'd have a lot more fun trying out any one of the places on this list. They cater to every palate and offer some truly stunning scenery to boot. All told, you cannot go wrong when hunting for a lobster roll in Maine.

The research conducted for this list was sourced from business websites, regional publications like Yankee Magazine and Down East Magazine, online lists, reviews from Yelp and TripAdvisor, and tourism board articles.