Absolutely delicious meal! We made a reservation for our Anniversary dinner while we were on our trip to Acadia. I loved the dark, elegant atmosphere of the place. Compared to much of the other restaurants in the area, it didn’t feel crowded at all. Our server was super helpful, but also gave us lots of space to enjoy our meal. The food was all absolutely delicious. The beef yakitori was so flavorful! The chicory salad was good, but the bacon dressing was a bit overwhelmingly sweet for me, still tasted good, just not my personal preference. The sage dumplings with rabbit confit was amazing, the rabbit was so tender. The scallops were cooked to perfection and my husband loved the trout. Although I think for both of us our favorite part of the meal was the bread. It was so puffy and sprinkled with salt and herbs on top. My dinner could have been made up of just that bread and I would have been happy. I highly recommend dinning here while in Bar Harbor!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallops
Bill Manson
A rare fine dining experience in a wonderful setting in Bar Harbor. Not inexpensive, but worth it for a special evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallops
Maria T
We didn't have a great start here (we arrived a little early for our reservation and could not find anyone at the hostess stand, nor get anyone to help us for quite a while; when we did, the dining room wasn't yet open so they sent us to the bar where the bartender barely deigned to serve us), but it got much better once we were seated. Our waiter was excellent and the food was superb. We had rabbit confit appetizers, the duck (maybe the best duck I've ever had), scallops, cremeux and a cheese plate (huge). It was all divine.
Carleton Landry
My wife and I stayed here for our anniversary at the balance rock and were unsure of how the quality of the restaurant would be it exceeded our expectations our meals and service were exquisite. We started with the mussels which were so delicious they were small but very good seasoned well and had delicious prosciutto pieces in it. I ordered the steak loin with bearnaise sauce the sauce was light and the steak was cooked to perfection. My wife ordered the pea risotto which was very good too. They gave us a few snacks from the kitchen which is a really nice touch one of them was a smoked trout dip on a wonton. We are not huge trout fans and it was delicious! For dessert we got the layer cake with burnt honey ice cream, very good ! Definitely make reservations! Also the ambiance was great we sat out in the patio area which was nice and warm from the fire lamps they also provided blankets which was a nice cozy touch!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
P J
The service was incredible. Harry is an absolute gem!We sat out on the patio that had gorgeous views of the grounds and water.Thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Benjamin Miller
The food was good, save the bread which was amazing. The service and atmosphere was fantastic. Eric was an excellent waiter.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Elizabeth Han
The fresh baked Parker rolls were fantastic. The Arnold Palmer was delicious. The rest of the food was not as good. Views were great. Service was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Jake Goodwin
Great food with good service. Had the seafood pasta for my son (bad mussel that made me gag…no way it was closed and alive before cooking). Had the duck again this year and it was superb like last year. The duck is 5 stars as is the short rib that my wife had. The waiter seemed unphased by the mussel issue. He was not really good at catching cues either. That said, our waiter from the year before who is exceptional was there also so it varies. The cocktails are wonderful! I recommend everything here except the pasta.Kid-friendliness: The restaurant will not cater to a child but they will accept a well behaved child. We have a good experience with that.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Duck Breast, Homemade Bread
Andrew Steele
Disgusted. Insane. A scallop dinner plate went by and the very rancid smell lingered for many minutes. Vomit. We immed refused our anticipated scallops. Then, the pappardelle arrived, and I swear it smelled like dog food. I insisted we leave. Nothing for nothing, every employee had just arrived from some far flung place. “Oh, I don’t know, I just got here from (fill in the blank)”
Brooke Blomquist
Love the food and atmosphere. Hard to beat the menu and the view. Get a reservation during your stay and you will not be disappointed.
Lovely setting for sipping on cocktails. The Veranda at Balance Rock Inn has a pleasant view of the water and surrounding islands. During our visit, upscale music played over the speakers at a comfortable volume. We had a nice time here and would recommend them for cocktails in Bar Harbor.
Jennifer B.
Excellent service. Food was beautiful and menu offer the right variety without too much. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very chic without being stuffy. Staff was very friendly and helpful.
Robdoesitall
Excellent service, amazing staff, wonderful drinks, and the food? To die for. ? It’s my first time ever in Maine and I’m just so impressed with everything. 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
familyonthego2014
Dinner at The Veranda was only ok. The view is great. Very pretentious and trying to be over the top. First of all, they have a dress code they do not enforce. We brought special clothes for this dinner because of their request for "casual elegant" to see most people wearing jeans and tennis shoes. Second, they were training a new server very loudly so we got to listen to this the whole time we were eating our very expensive dinner. Third, I wish some chef's would just stop smoking things. If you like smokey tasting food, then offer it and let people decide for themselves. The butter was smoked which ruined the taste of the bread so we didn't use it. At the end, they brought a sweet treat - a smoked macaron. Just what I wanted, smokey tasting dessert. I would not recommend this restaurant.
Micah Hoppe
Every course was superb! The ambience was great and the service was excellent. The Parker rolls and smoked butter…..perfect.Quail appetizer…..delicious.Venison…..10 stars. Unbelievable!I also had a mezcal specialty cocktail in a smoked glass….had three of them. Soooo good! This was one of my favorite meals.
Absolutely delicious meal! We made a reservation for our Anniversary dinner while we were on our trip to Acadia. I loved the dark, elegant atmosphere of the place. Compared to much of the other restaurants in the area, it didn’t feel crowded at all. Our server was super helpful, but also gave us lots of space to enjoy our meal. The food was all absolutely delicious. The beef yakitori was so flavorful! The chicory salad was good, but the bacon dressing was a bit overwhelmingly sweet for me, still tasted good, just not my personal preference. The sage dumplings with rabbit confit was amazing, the rabbit was so tender. The scallops were cooked to perfection and my husband loved the trout. Although I think for both of us our favorite part of the meal was the bread. It was so puffy and sprinkled with salt and herbs on top. My dinner could have been made up of just that bread and I would have been happy. I highly recommend dinning here while in Bar Harbor!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallops
A rare fine dining experience in a wonderful setting in Bar Harbor. Not inexpensive, but worth it for a special evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallops
We didn't have a great start here (we arrived a little early for our reservation and could not find anyone at the hostess stand, nor get anyone to help us for quite a while; when we did, the dining room wasn't yet open so they sent us to the bar where the bartender barely deigned to serve us), but it got much better once we were seated. Our waiter was excellent and the food was superb. We had rabbit confit appetizers, the duck (maybe the best duck I've ever had), scallops, cremeux and a cheese plate (huge). It was all divine.
My wife and I stayed here for our anniversary at the balance rock and were unsure of how the quality of the restaurant would be it exceeded our expectations our meals and service were exquisite. We started with the mussels which were so delicious they were small but very good seasoned well and had delicious prosciutto pieces in it. I ordered the steak loin with bearnaise sauce the sauce was light and the steak was cooked to perfection. My wife ordered the pea risotto which was very good too. They gave us a few snacks from the kitchen which is a really nice touch one of them was a smoked trout dip on a wonton. We are not huge trout fans and it was delicious! For dessert we got the layer cake with burnt honey ice cream, very good ! Definitely make reservations! Also the ambiance was great we sat out in the patio area which was nice and warm from the fire lamps they also provided blankets which was a nice cozy touch!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The service was incredible. Harry is an absolute gem!We sat out on the patio that had gorgeous views of the grounds and water.Thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was good, save the bread which was amazing. The service and atmosphere was fantastic. Eric was an excellent waiter.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
The fresh baked Parker rolls were fantastic. The Arnold Palmer was delicious. The rest of the food was not as good. Views were great. Service was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Great food with good service. Had the seafood pasta for my son (bad mussel that made me gag…no way it was closed and alive before cooking). Had the duck again this year and it was superb like last year. The duck is 5 stars as is the short rib that my wife had. The waiter seemed unphased by the mussel issue. He was not really good at catching cues either. That said, our waiter from the year before who is exceptional was there also so it varies. The cocktails are wonderful! I recommend everything here except the pasta.Kid-friendliness: The restaurant will not cater to a child but they will accept a well behaved child. We have a good experience with that.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Duck Breast, Homemade Bread
Disgusted. Insane. A scallop dinner plate went by and the very rancid smell lingered for many minutes. Vomit. We immed refused our anticipated scallops. Then, the pappardelle arrived, and I swear it smelled like dog food. I insisted we leave. Nothing for nothing, every employee had just arrived from some far flung place. “Oh, I don’t know, I just got here from (fill in the blank)”
Love the food and atmosphere. Hard to beat the menu and the view. Get a reservation during your stay and you will not be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Lovely setting for sipping on cocktails. The Veranda at Balance Rock Inn has a pleasant view of the water and surrounding islands. During our visit, upscale music played over the speakers at a comfortable volume. We had a nice time here and would recommend them for cocktails in Bar Harbor.
Excellent service. Food was beautiful and menu offer the right variety without too much. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very chic without being stuffy. Staff was very friendly and helpful.
Excellent service, amazing staff, wonderful drinks, and the food? To die for. ? It’s my first time ever in Maine and I’m just so impressed with everything. 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dinner at The Veranda was only ok. The view is great. Very pretentious and trying to be over the top. First of all, they have a dress code they do not enforce. We brought special clothes for this dinner because of their request for "casual elegant" to see most people wearing jeans and tennis shoes. Second, they were training a new server very loudly so we got to listen to this the whole time we were eating our very expensive dinner. Third, I wish some chef's would just stop smoking things. If you like smokey tasting food, then offer it and let people decide for themselves. The butter was smoked which ruined the taste of the bread so we didn't use it. At the end, they brought a sweet treat - a smoked macaron. Just what I wanted, smokey tasting dessert. I would not recommend this restaurant.
Every course was superb! The ambience was great and the service was excellent. The Parker rolls and smoked butter…..perfect.Quail appetizer…..delicious.Venison…..10 stars. Unbelievable!I also had a mezcal specialty cocktail in a smoked glass….had three of them. Soooo good! This was one of my favorite meals.