It's 2024 and I'm back at this local bbq joint. If you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of this spot, not only because of the food but the wonderful couple who own and operate this establishment. They now have live music every Saturday so be sure to come Saturday evenings to get a side of local music with a cold beer and bbq that is lip smacking, saliva inducing, button popping, and downright illegally good. Insider tip: if their main lot is full, follow the road past the barn to an overflow parking lot. Do not be that Karen who blocks all the other cars. read more

Great service, very friendly and clean. Beautiful view while eating. Strongly recommend the corn bread and burnt ends combo! Ribs are a bit dry for my liking but everything else was fantastic . read more

Flanders Bay BBQ - Outside view - Barbeque Near Me - Sullivan, Maine

Love the live music on Saturdays and atmosphere. The BBQ is always good with amazing house sauces. They are always friendly and fast with first rate service straight to table and friendly conversation. read more

We ate here immediately after having had our engagement photos taken, and I swear I was almost nervous that my fiancé was going to break off our engagement so that he could marry this restaurant. They could have filmed his reaction to the food and turned it into a commercial. First, he had trouble deciding among the BBQ options--luckily, they had a Sampler platter that allowed him to try three different meats. He chose the chicken, the pulled pork, and the brisket. He had a total "foodgasm" (and I hate that word and have probably never used it before -- but there's simply no other word that sums up his reaction to this food) over the brisket and the pulled pork, which apparently literally melted in his mouth. He also loved the chicken! The cornbread deserves special mention. He's been working in restaurants for more than 25 years, and this was the best cornbread he's ever eaten. I obviously didn't eat the BBQ, but I can confirm about the cornbread. It is out of this world. Snapshot of a moment: My fiance has eaten several bites of everything and has decided that we need to buy another sampler platter to take to a friend, so he's gone back to the counter to order it. He's standing there raving about the food -- how he used to live in Texas and how hard it is to find good BBQ in Maine, how absurdly good the cornbread is, etc. -- and I'm still sitting at the picnic table shoveling in macaroni & cheese, cornbread, and coleslaw. I finish all my savory food while he's still raving to the chef, and I start on the blueberry cobbler. It's fantastic. I inhaled about half of it before realizing that he was about to miss out. He doesn't even like sweets very much, but I knew he had to try it. I had to walk back to the counter with it in order for him to have any chance of tasting it before I finished it all while he was still over there gushing about the barbecue. The coleslaw was also BEYOND good. Their homemade sauces were great. The macaroni and cheese was good. Readers of my other reviews know it's my favorite food. The mac & cheese here was good, nothing fancy. It was the cornbread that really turned my head. This place is mainly for meat-eaters. They don't even have any vegetarian baked beans, which is a real shame because they have something called a Gold Digger, which is macaroni & cheese with baked beans ON TOP, and I am VERY KEEN TO TRY THIS. So, Flanders Bay BBQ, if you're reading this, please consider a vegetarian baked beans option. I must try this. It's been 24 hours, and he's still raving about all of this. As I've been writing this review, he's been sitting across the room waxing eloquent about each of the items I've mentioned here. Now, having been utterly unable to contain himself, he's literally ON THE PHONE with them talking about their bulk pricing for larger quantities, so he can order some for when his sister visits from out of state. There's food in Ellsworth that's twice the price and not as tasty as this BBQ place. They also have craft beer and outdoor seating. The service was perfect. If you haven't tried this place yet, you are missing out on an absolute gem. read more

We did take away with pulled pork and brisket sandwiches, delicious. Juicy meat and buns that stood up to the meat and sauce. Their coleslaw was amazing, nice and vinegary. The baked beans were snappy, made with a variation of the bbq sauce. The mac & cheese was good and cheesy. The service was prompt. read more

Great BBQ! My husband and I shared a meat sampler with pulled pork, brisket and sausage. The brisket just melts in your mouth! It came with coleslaw and we added sides of corn bread and gold digger. I got the gold digger for my husband. It is mac 'n cheese with baked beans on top. I couldn't believe how good it was. The vinegary coleslaw is absolutely the best I've ever had. I would return just for that. Looking forward to returning and maybe trying the blueberry cobbler with ice cream. (I wouldn't mind if they added smoked lobsters to the menu. We'll be back no matter what.) Staff were very friendly. read more

Went on a Friday afternoon. They were out of coleslaw, cornbread and pit ham! Inexcusable!!! The lady taking the order could have cared less if we were ordering or not. If we weren't so tired and hungry we would have left. Now I wish we did! She said they would take off $2 the meal for the price of the coleslaw and we could add a side. Sorry, but if you are out of coleslaw you should at least upgrade any side for equal price. It took awhile to get our food and it wasn't busy only 3 other tables! The brisket was really fatty by the time you cut it off there was not much meat left. The pulled pork was good but the chicken was dry. The 3 sauces were ok. I would have liked a more tasty red sauce. The one they had was a bit hot. The other choices were mustardy and vinegary. The baked beans were good but $4. They had old country music playing inside which was so loud it was distracting. The young girl waiting tables was very friendly. She needs to be taking the orders and the older lady put out back! We will not return! read more

Cute little bbq place just off the road. Only open Friday Saturday and Sunday. We got there about 45 minutes before closing and out of pulled pork and chicken. But got a full slab of ribs. 20 bucks not bad really. My only reason I am taking a star away is the ribs very meaty but to overdone and did not fall off the bone. Had to work hard at pulling it apart. Very friendly people. Stop by and enjoy read more

Flanders Bay BBQ - Full slab 3 different sauces all good. - Barbeque Near Me - Sullivan, Maine

I never write reviews, but I felt compelled to write one because this place is the real deal. Cool restaurant, amazing and scenic views from the backdoor, great beer selection... but man that barbecue is amazing. We got the brisket sandwich, and the meat was impossibly tender and juicy. The sides and sauces were also fantastic. And to top it all off, it was SO CHEAP! I wish I lived nearby so I could come here every day. We also stayed in the cabins on the property which were very cute and super fun. Highly recommend! read more

Stopped by to grab a bite before heading back to camp. I had the brisket sandwich and hubby had the ribs. Both dishes were great! The baked beans had real salt pork in them...I believe and the corn bread was delicious. Brought the blueberry cobbler back to camp it was loaded with wild Maine blueberries and topped our evening. Nice folks and good service. We'll be back for sure! read more

We were staying in the area and looking for a quick lunch. This place did not disappoint!! Great juicy bbq, brisket, fantastic homemade coleslaw, & friendly owner.Brisket Sandwich read more

Great food and service. Also open mic night was very special with blues musicians entertainment. Made for great evening as we were driving down the coast. read more

You don't expect to have excellent BBQ Downeast but this is the place. Only open on weekends. Order take-out from a little counter outside the restaurant. I don't know if they have table service inside. Meat is well smoked. "Pulled" pork is in chunks with good burnt ends. Dry rubbed ribs were not fall off the bone but great taste. Choice of 3 sauces on the side. Brisket was tender and juciey. The also had sausage which I have not yet tried. Sides include a soft corn pudding they call cornbread which was sweet and good. Red cabbage slaw was sweet and sour. Young men who took and delivered our orders were a pleasure to deal with. It is worth checking this place out. read more

Flanders Bay BBQ is an unprepossessing place off Route 1 in Sullivan, and despite my 20+ year hunt for decent bbq in Maine (which is the culinary equivalent of the Holy Grail), we have been driving blithely by them for a while now. But yesterday we were in search of a late lunch, and my husband suggested them. We had - again - driven by them a few hours earlier, so we knew they were open. They have a limited menu, but that is a very good thing, apparently. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, they seem to concentrate on doing a few things really well. And I mean REALLY, REALLY WELL. I don't know whether it was due to Covid considerations or not, but the proprietress met me outside the building and took our order. And, because of Covid, we only do takeout, anyway. My husband got the pulled pork sandwich and I got the brisket. I generally shy away from brisket because it can be unpleasantly fatty, but I had a taste for it this time, so I took a shot that it wouldn't be. We each got a side (which are a la carte) - mac and cheese. I was going to get the cornbread, but it wasn't quite ready. There was very little wait, and I put what there was of it to use - at the owner's suggestion - gathering silverware and filling some containers with their regular bbq sauce as well as one called "Mud", which my husband liked. I preferred the more typical sauce, but they have two others, I think, at least one of which was mustard based. When the food was handed to me, I considered the bag to be small, frankly. We'd just been to Dystart's in Hermon a couple days before, and we literally got one of those big paper grocery bags with the handles CRAMMED FULL of food. But I reserved my opinion as best I could as we went to a nearby water spot to eat. And I was NOT disappointed at having done so. The mac and cheese portions came in those Styrofoam bowls with lids, and it was literally the perfect size portion to go with the sandwich. And it was also the perfect accompaniment for the sandwich, too - nicely warm and cheesy, not too salty or too anything, but just right. The sandwiches were about palm sized, the meat bookended by an innocuous white bread bun. The proprietress had mentioned that the sandwiches didn't need sauce, but, to me, the addition of the roll inherently calls out for sauce. I cannot tell you how amazing that sandwich was. The strips of brisket were generously portioned - like thick cut bacon and then some. It was incredibly tender, and had that perfect amount of smoky flavor that hits the back of your mouth as you're eating it. And I'm amazed to say this - because I really don't like fat in/on my meat - but it was cooked so perfectly that the thin layer of fat atop the slices of brisket literally melted in my mouth, adding a burst of flavor and surprisingly pleasant mouth feel that took the whole sandwich to another level entirely. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his pulled pork, too, of which I took a small bite, and it was great, too. But I have to say that I probably won't ever get anything but the brisket (I am nothing if not a creature of habit in regards to food). I am amazed to say that I have finally found the Holy Grail of truly excellent bbq in Maine. Outside of what I had (pre-Covid) in Texas last winter, this was easily the best bbq I've ever eaten. The only way I could be enticed not to order the brisket sandwich again would be if my husband wanted to split the sampler platter - where you get to choose several meats - with me. I'd definitely be into that. The prices were absolutely spot-on for the exceptional quality of what you get for your dollar. We had two sandwiches and two sides, and I think we spent, like, $21 before tip - well worth every. single. penny. One thing I didn't ask about but would like to see offered would be the bulk meats some bbq establishments offer. I'd be perfectly happy to take home a pound of brisket and spend an evening in the wonderful haze of a self-induced meat coma. In that instance - eating just the meat - I think I could easily eschew the use of sauce. The meat is really that good. Seriously. Of course, this is fall in Maine, and the owner mentioned that that weekend was their 2nd to last before closing for the season. They're only open weekends. Check their FB page for days/hours. I can't stress this enough: if you like really excellent bbq, get yourself to Flanders Bay BBQ. I promise you won't regret it. read more

We recently stayed at the Flanders Bay cabins, so naturally we had to make a stop here during our trip! Owned by a lovely family who really cares about the property. Food was delicious (and this is coming from a girl who gets tired of BBQ food after the 1st BBQ of the season). Really loved the smoked sausage. Food was ready quickly and the picnic tables were great to sit at to enjoy a meal. Will absolutely be back! read more

This food hits the spot!! In an area where it's hard to find anything besides seafood this was amazing!! Visiting the area from PA we were craving some good comfort food and we found it here. Definitely try the Gold Digger combo for a little twist on the old favorites! Great atmosphere where you sit outside, play some cornhole and eat some BBQ. The Girls running the stand are so friendly and will help you decide too! read more

Wonderful food! Very friendly service! Fantastic view! Can't wait to go back! Thanks Kelly and Toby for such a wonderful visit!!! read more

See all

Can we give Flanders 6 stars? Maybe 7?? We were only in the area for a week on vacation, but ate at Flanders twice! We are from North Carolina, so feel like we know a thing or two about BBq (who knows if this is true..), and were bowled over by the brisket. In talking with the owners, they shared some insights to smoking brisket that we hope to try in our own smoker in a few weeks. The pulled pork was moist, flavorful - and although Flanders offers three different sauces (love the mustard base...) - the pork was tasty enough to go without. Same for the brisket - the sauces were good - but the brisket flavor, smoke and tenderness didn't even need sauce! We had the mac & cheese - which was yummy, but the beans were awesome! If you headed to Schoodic (which you should be), be sure to stop at Flanders. read more

This place is a roadside gem. Stopped in on a late fall afternoon for lunch. The ribs were fantastic, the variety of sauces made the experience even more fun. The personal touches throughout made it really special including the delicious "golddigger" which turned out to be a successful combo of baked beans and mac and cheese. Who would have known. The views are incredible and the owners could not have been kinder and more hospitable. Worth the stop! read more

Stopped by on a whim because we were running out of choices and no one wanted to make the "where should we eat?" decision. Best decision the driver could have made. The brisket was perfect and the chicken was tender (also perfect). The employees and owner, pretty sure they were all family, were wonderful. It our first trip to Maine and they gave us suggestions of what to try regarding food and drink Even if you drive by when they don't look busy, do it anyway. You won't be disappointed. read more