From a ramen joint in Bar Harbor to a taco bar in Camden, there are many new dining options open on the coast for this summer. Here are five to check out soon.
Cottage St. Ramen
116 Cottage St., Bar Harbor
This new restaurant with an unusual operating concept opened on June 15 and has been serving a selection of ramen dishes ever since. Cottage St. Ramen calls itself a mutual aid restaurant because it donates 100 percent of its profits to Open Table MDI, a volunteer-driven organization working to feed people in the community through weekly community suppers, a garden designed for sharing food and other programs.
Cottage St. Ramen’s menu features four dishes including the rich shoyu bowl that combines soy broth with whole wheat noodles, soft-boiled egg and crispy ginger tofu. It’s topped with bean sprouts and fried garlic. There’s also a rotating selection of weekly specials, like tsukemen, or dipping ramen, which consists of chill mazesoba noodles with a side bowl of concentrated vegetable broth, local garlic scapes, marinated soft-boiled egg and chili crisp, which is being served this week.
The restaurant is open Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Clark Point Café & Catering
4 Clark Point Road, Southwest Harbor
Clark Point Cafe is a coffeehouse and bakery open for breakfast and lunch that opened in May. It also operates a catering business.
The cafe’s chalkboard menu includes dishes like Dutch baby pancakes cooked in a cast iron skillet and served with a variety of toppings. There’s also tartines, which are toasts with creative toppings, as well as egg dishes like shakshuka, benedicts and breakfast sandwiches. A variety of pastries are also available for grab and go. And Clark Point Cafe serves sandwiches and salads for lunch as well.
It’s open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Harbor Table and Harbor Yard Biergarten
336 Main St., Southwest Harbor
In the space that was last the Hearth and Harbor Restaurant in Southwest Harbor, a new set of sister eateries have opened the doors to hungry customers.
The Harbor Table menu features a mix of savory dishes like pastrami hash with a poached egg, pickled Fresno chiles, turmeric aioli and a shoot salad and Garganelli bolognese with house pasta, mutton, parmesan, breadcrumbs and mint. Harbor Yard serves German-inspired pub fare like Bavarian poutine with home fries, beer mustard, cheddar curds, scallion and radish and Schweineschnitzel with a breaded pork cutlet, brown butter, sage, capers, lemon and a salad.
Harbor Table is open Friday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., while Harbor Yard is open Wednesday to Monday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Mosaic Restaurant
31 Elm St., Camden
Love tacos? A new Camden restaurant called Mosaic Camden opened May 4 with a taco-forward menu featuring chicken tinga, carne asada, fish tacos and more. Plus, it also has a selection of small plates like corn and zucchini fritters and fried green tomatoes to round out your meal. And don’t miss their extensive drink menu, including a selection of margaritas to quench your thirst.
Mosaic Camden is open Thursday through Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Hot Hill Tavern
1 Starr St., Thomaston
Hot Hill Tavern opened in Thomaston in mid-May with a fun cocktail menu featuring drink slike The Spicy Pink Dress with sweet guava and spicy flavors and the Maine Wake-Up with Lone Pine Allen’s coffee stout and a shot of Allen’s Coffee Brandy. The menu has a pub food attitude with a twist. Chili Fries are standard fare but the Queso Frito featuring frying cheese with garlic or guava sauce is a step outside the ordinary. Meals like Churrasco — that’s steak with chimichurri herb sauce and yellow rice — and Camerones A La Criolla — shrimp stew served over yellow rice — round out the menu.
Hot Hill Tavern is open Tuesday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight.