The Loft Raw Bar and Seafood Grill

For Oct. 24- The Loft Raw Bar & Seafood Grill in downtown Bar Harbor is beautifully elegant in presentation of lighting and decor which helps render more of a quieter, yet still vibrant, atmosphere. They treated us really good here, almost VIP-like. The hostess sat us at a corner window table overlooking Main Street, Agamont Park, and Bar Harbor. This, just as the sun was getting ready to set and pastel colors began to paint the sky. The stage- and table- was set for a fine evening. The drinks were creative and very good. Our server took excellent care of us throughout, and was friendly, helpful, and prompt. Something I’ve never seen on a restaurant menu, before here, is a flight of oysters. I had two flights and they were delicious. Each flight was made up of five distinctly different oyster types. Other things that made their way to our table included Alaska King Crab claws, Lobster Scampi Flatbread, and Parmasean (sic) Garlic Crab Fries, all of which were beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. Treat yourself and that other someone to a special evening out. Highly recommended.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Oysters on the Half Shell

Found this place on a luck. Tried to eat at Getty's down the road and they had an over an hour. Wait. So this lovely young lady off the street, said we have no weight upstairs at the loft. We were hungry, so we jumped on. It walked up The stairs got sat down at a lovely little restaurant and 2 our surprise, the food was outstanding. I repeat outstanding. Go here, go here now. Don't go to Getty's down the street where all the hype is. You'll sit. You'll wait and the food here is much better. Thanks again. Young lady who pulled us in off of the street. We thought this was a great dinner treat.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

The entrees are so small! Doesn’t worth the money. $90 can’t fill two stomachs. Testa downstairs is much better

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

Overpriced for the experience. We got the oysters, ahi poke nachos, risotto and flatbread and they were all okay.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Mixed drinks are awful and food not good. Tiny portions and way over priced. We only had drinks and appetizers….. dare stay for main courses.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 2

Visited 10/21, Really nice bay window looking out onto the street, gives a peek of the nearby pier. Waitstaff is very kind, every member of the team was helpful and approachable. Food was pretty to look at and tasted even better, had an app of Raw yellowtail with black salt that really stuck out to me. Had the entire snapper for an entree as well as the risotto.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Since it was my first time visiting this state, seafood (besides lobster) was at my top of the list to try. The Hamachi with lava salt and the orange segments paired so well! The scallop ceviche wasn't as acidic as I hoped it to be. The sriracha on the tuna taretare was a bit much. I will say the seafood was good quality, tasted fresh, and prepared well. The pork belly was yum but particularly liked the pickled red onions and Serrano pepper that it came it's with! As for the lobster stack, it was good, but only the Blueberry salsa was exciting about it. The prices were fair.

Parking: Downtown can get pretty packed! Street parking is pretty cheap. I paid 3$ for either 2 or 1 1/2 hours. Either way, still cheap. The hardest part is finding a spot that's not too far.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Local Scallop Ceviche

This place is wonderful! We had a delightful experience here - the waitress was so sweet and informative, the food was heavenly. Wine and cocktails were great. Would come back here in a minute!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A little pricey but well worth it for the quality.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Oysters on the Half Shell

We arrived in Bar Harbor without having any dinner reservations. We went to The Loft and we loved their food. The oysters were fresh with great selection, the salad was well prepared. We had the frutti di mare bucatini and the scallop risotto and they were excellent. Great cocktails and well priced glasses of wine.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Very tasty and well thought out small dishes that really work exceptionally well. Can be tricky to find as you need to walk up a level to get to the entrance, but worth persevering. If you want something different to the more traditional seafood on offer in other restaurants this is an excellent choice.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Lobster Toast, Crab Rangoon Flat Bread

Incoherent but edible menu; drinks were alright.

Lobster toast and scallop risotto were party favorites. Lobster flat bread, tuna tataki, beet salad were not good.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 2

Biggest complaint was service. Took 20 minutes (at the bar) to get greeted (by saying thanks for your patience, then leaving) and another 15 after that to get an order at all taken. We had an hour between sitting down and getting any food. Scallops and risotto were good. Lobster roll was small and not great tasting. Very disappointing. Oysters were good but still took 50 minutes to hit the bar. For the price, this was highway robbery.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 1

Some friends and I stopped here after a long day sightseeing in Arcadia. On a positive note, the seafood tasted really fresh and the service was attentive. I ordered the Ceviche as an appetizer for the table, the Mediterranean Seafood salad, and a friend ordered the Poke Bowl. Some other guests got the Lobster Bake and the Scallop Risotto. The reason I give this place a 3 star review is as follows. Both the Mediterranean Seafood Salad and the Poke Bowl came with no dressing tossed with the greens. For the Seafood Salad, I was told that the marinade on the seafood was supposed to work as a dressing. It didn't work because it had barely any seasoning to it. I cook a lot at home, and have worked in several restaurants throughout my life. In my humble opinion, you have to season every component of a dish. What could make this dish work is a lemon & olive oil dressing for the greens that has salt and pepper at the very least. Then the marinated seafood goes on top. That way everything is properly seasoned and you are not "relying on a marinade" to do the work of dressing a salad. Same principle applies to the poke bowl. My friend said this had no dressing and little seasoning. On a poke bowl the ingredients usually get some variations of soy+sesame oil+ rice wine vinegar. Some have multiple sauces. I've had the privilege of eating good poke in Hawaii and the flavors are excellent. Finally, the ceviche could have been a lot better. Ceviche is super simple: add your fresh seafood of choice to a ton of fresh lime juice. Some variations add onions, cabbage, and in Peru they even add corn. But they season it well with salt and pepper. This had no seasoning, and whatever acid component they were using (lime? lemon?) wasn't sufficient enough to give it that acidic bite that really good ceviche has. Maybe we caught them on an off night. This was a $300.00 meal for 6 people. At that price point I think they can do better, and I hope they succeed.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 5

I do not eat out often and I am that person if I go out to eat and the food is not better than I can cook it, I will be pissed. I visited Bar Harbor ME and visted The Loft this weekend and had the red snapper dinner and baby!! Baby it was off the chain!! This red snapper dinner exceeded my expectations! First the presentation is amazing, second the spice, third this is my spot going forward!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fried Fish