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    Thirsty Whale

    3.8 (1.2k reviews)
    ModerateAmerican, Seafood, Bars
    Open 11:00 am - 1:00 AM (Next day)

    Thirsty Whale American Restaurant Photos

    Business Info

    THIRSTY WHALE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Thirsty Whale

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    Shrimp
    Jazmin T.

    Came to this little spot for some grub before calling it a night! Cute little spot in town, the host/server Anna, was such a sweet person! She greeted us quickly, found a table for us and brought us out some waters. As we perused the menu, she got our drink orders, and we started off with a round of oysters! We all decided to share a bowl of clam chowder, which I'm glad we did, because a bowl on my own would've had me full. It was good, it had more potato than I typically prefer, but it was good for a cozy cold night. I ordered the blacked fried cod with fries. I have never had blacked fried anything, so that was nice to have a little flava flave to change up the typical cod experience. My friend had the regular, and I liked that one too. Needed a bit of salt, but other than that, no complaints. My friend also ordered the jumbo shrimp, delicious! And another ordered the fried shrimp on the appetizer menu, and those were great as well, had great crisp, yet light and airy, and flavored perfect! Was a great little local stop!

    Caesar salad  Lobster bisque
    Ilana S.

    We stopped in for a light bite - ordered a Caesar salad, the lobster bisque, and the blueberry ale of course ! The salad was actually quite good and a generous serving. The lobster bisque just tasted like cream to us, not really much of a lobster taste to it. Service wasn't very attentive.

    Lobster roll
    Dickson L.

    Usual pub in a touristy town. Food is expensive, drink is ok, service is excellent. I think we paid like $60-$70 for a Lobster roll, fish sandwich, a blueberry soda, and a draft IPA. Lobster roll was fresh and had a LOT of lobster, but I feel lobster rolls are just not enough for me lol. Fish sandwich was great, complete with tomato, lettuce, pickles, and mayo. Not bad overall but not great, I think there are places that might sell the exact same stuff for a cheaper price.

    Blackened Fried Haddock Dinner
    Sam M.

    My family and I ate at Thirsty Whale while visiting Bar Harbor / Acadia. A quick google search for "best fish & chips" led us here. While the fish & chips were decent, they weren't the greatest I've had. I decided to try their "blackened" style fish. It's definitely a flavorful iteration of blackened - however it leaned more into bitter tasting. It wasn't terrible, but you have to really like the blackened flavor profile to enjoy them. Contrary to what the menu says, it isn't spicy at all. I was disappointed by the fries. Not only were they completely unseasoned; they tasted like when you cook fries in the oven. Again, not terrible - just not great. We all got a bowl of the Lobster Bisque to start and really enjoyed it. One person in our group got the Fried Haddock Sandwich and enjoyed it. Our server was very friendly and checked in frequently. Thirsty Whale is super walkable to the Main Street in downtown Bar Harbor. If the menu catches your eye, I would give them a shot, but for us it was just an okay experience.

    Lobster Bisque with Garlic Bread
    Zachary D.

    Local tavern for casual drinks and local brews. Long bar with multiple tables for larger parties. Hostess was a bit cold and unpleasant to converse with. However the wait staff were friendly and attentive. Lobster bisque was good. Nothing to really write home about. I fished out maybe 2 tiny chunks of Lobster, but maybe that's how they do it here at the Thirsty Whale. The garlic bread was okay... had a nice amount of garlic and butter, but was a little too burnt for my liking.

    Outdoor patio
    Christian E.

    Loved the little back patio! It was a nice surprise because I didn't think they had outdoor seating and it was a nice day and I was wanting to be outdoors! Great cocktail without being rushed to order. We really weren't hungry. We just some fries and crab claws while enjoying the weather.

    French dip
    Erica L.

    They were busy but we managed to get a seat fairly quickly. It's a louder establishment but good food. Our group had fish burrito, lobster roll, lobster bisque, salad, French dip and crab roll.

    This wine is "healthy"!   One pint of blueberries in each can!   Not sweet - but was good!
    Brianna C.

    We ate here by chance! I had looked up many restaurants and this was one, but it ended up being the restaurant due to parking! And I'm not mad about it! It's great all around! The service, the food, and the drinks were all amazing!

    New England Chowder and Lobster Roll
    Kevin M.

    While visiting the area, I was perusing Yelp to find out where it would be good. We stumbled across thirsty well, and I looked into it even further as it seemed to be very good. Lo and behold, we were here six years ago, previous based on Yelp! :-) Little has changed, except the people probably. Our bartender and server, Dan, did a terrific job! We truly appreciated his professional friendliness! I open with a clam chowder and ordered a FRUBEN for my main course. It is actually a fish Reuben. In this case, I had the haddock blackened as well. Absolutely delicious! My wife ordered their blue cheeseburger with no bun. She truly enjoyed that as well. I also had a nice cup of chowder. Fairly good all considered! We are very happy. We stopped here for the second time in six years!

    Emma B.

    Nice meal. The host outside was a little off, there was about three groups in line waiting for tables, she stated there was no wait list, but ignored the other groups waiting and starting talking to a 6 top that just walked over wanting a table, rather than checking in the rest of the line that had formed. We didn't see much of our server, were sat inside but towards the end of the bar where there was an external door, so it was a bit chilly again and by the busser's station, so got to watch them dumping food and drink which wasn't the nicest. People in line were taking about the lobster bisque so we tried that - it was pretty nice. I got fish and chip, my non seafood eating partner got a Ruben, which he enjoyed. My fish and chips looked a little too brown, old oil? But the fish was cooked well, I was expecting a fillet rather than fish fingers basically! Wasn't greasy however. The restaurant doesn't have dessert, which was surprising, they should be taking advantage of local blueberries!

    Burger.
    Dinky R.

    "The world caves in when a man with purpose steps toward his destined path." - Dinky H. Reviews. Beneath collapsing stars and alien screams, one can dine at the Thirsty Whale. Although the chained whale in the basement, kept for ancient wisdom and prophecies, may be too literal for my Dinktastes. Surrounded by city streets, you will eat while within an encased, spiritual bubble. The burger and fries were delicious, and the shadowy figures haunting me enjoyed the atmosphere. The waitress had eighteen eyes and a mouth connected to the abyss. Impeccable service! Food was handed timely and with elegance. Dinky is a great enjoyer of this place, even if he is missing a large chunk of his skull. It was wonderful! Dinktastic, even.

    Blackened haddock

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Great service, great food. Had the haddock sandwich and it was perfect after a long day of hiking.

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    9 months ago

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    9 months ago

    Delicious, fresh and hot haddock sandwich, HUGE, had to share. Decent prices, considering other places in Bar Harbor.

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    8 months ago

    We ate a lot of clam chowder on this New England trip but the Thirsty Whale was hands down the best.

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    8 months ago

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    8 months ago

    The clam chowder was amazing! And Kevin the bartender provided perfect service! Highly recommend and well worth the short wait to sit.

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    10 months ago

    Great service! Good food and drinks. Pricy, but on par with nearby restaurants. Fish wrap and lobster roll were delicious!

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    1 year ago

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    Page 3 of 30

    Thirsty Whale Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Thirsty Whale

    Do they have Happy Hour?

    I am not seeing a Happy Hour but their website mentions $20 daily menu specials on Sunday-Thursday starting at 4pm. This ranges from lobster rolls, steak, fish fry, and more.

    Yelp has you opened every day. We came by on Tuesday, you were not open. Please change your Hours on yelp?

    If your available to work in the front of the house or the back of the house or a manager who doesn't need sleep they might be open on Tuesdays or a make an update in the zero free time they have on yelp. The effects of Covid on normal life /… Read more

    View All 3 Questions

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    Tap & Barrel Tavern - Big Tap Burger and Parmesan Fries

    Tap & Barrel Tavern

    4.6(247 reviews)
    0.0 mi
    $$

    Excellent find. Fantastic meal. Heck of a good time…read more Lots of beers and booze to choose from nestled in all warm and cozy in the eclectic environment of Bar Harbor, ME. I had the burger special which was fucking fantastic! I was getting pretty tired of seafood at this point and it was the most refreshing change of pace. It was one of those just in time food experiences. C went for the crab cakes. What a gorgeous version of crab cakes they were! Fancy pants presentation and all things considered some of the best crab cakes we had on our trip. Bartender was really friendly and was super proud of their whiskey/bourbon collection. He did point out a few bottles to us that were really quite special and hard to come across. They had some Penelope variants that were unseen to me. I would come back in a heartbeat. If I lived nearby, I would be here all of the time. There were a ton of interesting menu items I would like to try. '26 - 26

    We stopped here for lunch. The food was great, service was good and the craft beers in tap were…read moreexcellent. I had the scallop street corn dish with seared scallops in a dish of homemade creamed corn which I recommend. Others in our party had the lobster roll, the French dip, the fried haddock sandwich and a burger. All agreed that the food was very good and we would stop there again.

    Photos
    Tap & Barrel Tavern - Glasses

    Glasses

    Tap & Barrel Tavern - Brisket sandwich with parm fries!!

    Brisket sandwich with parm fries!!

    Tap & Barrel Tavern - Old Fashioned with Weller; 12 year Rip Van Winkle

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    Old Fashioned with Weller; 12 year Rip Van Winkle

    Table Salt - Cheesecake and carrot cake hybrid

    Table Salt

    4.5(36 reviews)
    0.2 mi

    This might have been the best meal we had on our trip to Maine!…read more A lot of restaurants weren't open yet but we came across this one. We were originally only going to order some small plates , but the one entree with fried chicken looked like something my husband would really like. Cocktails were great. Our server Eli was very friendly and helpful , he answered my questions. The lobster bisque was delicious, and I liked that it had a tempura lobster garnish and the caviar in it was a nice touch too. The tempura wasn't as crispy as I would have liked it , I think only the end part was, but still very good soup. We also got some oysters which were great with the sauces on the side. I ended up getting the halibut, which I never get at a restaurant- but it was so good! With the wakame butter, bok choy, pork belly, and sticky rice. All the flavors worked so well together! Husband got the Cantonese chicken- which was delicious as well. Very crispy, flavorful. We were so stuffed afterwards otherwise we would have got dessert. We ended up taking some Togo even though we had to drive for hours the next day. We put it in a cooler and ate some for lunch cold and it was still good. We had a great meal- i definitely recommended it.

    Good food and service. We sat on the work and it was cute but the inside has a really cool vibe and…read morecutesy decor. Olive oil cake was the star!

    Photos
    Table Salt - Table salt sign

    Table salt sign

    Table Salt - Yellow Fin Salad

    Yellow Fin Salad

    Table Salt - Surf and turf

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    Surf and turf

    Galyn's - Bacon Wrapped Scallops

    Galyn's

    4.1(924 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$$

    Wow! What an amazing meal in Bar Harbor! We stopped in for happy hour to just grab a cocktail (and…read moreoysters for me) and decided to come back for dinner! Felt like an old steakhouse inside with dark wood paneling. Intimate and quiet. Sat at The high tops by the bar and had incredible And attentive service from Ron, the bartender there. He makes amazing drinks! Highly recommend the Beehive!

    I had my birthday dinner here on a cold, rainy night last weekend. It was wonderful…read more Service was very good and the inside of this restaurant is very charming with art displays on the walls and lots of wood. We had a wedge salad to start which was served a bit differently with their house-made vinaigrette. My husband chose the lobster enchiladas with rice and veggies and a cilantro cream sauce. These were VERY good and I was jealous. I loved them. I chose the fish of the day which was haddock with rice and veggies and a pesto sauce that was SO good! Very fresh and filling. Large filet of fish on this plate. For dessert, I wanted to try the Indian Pudding a la mode and our server informed me that it was very rich and was somewhat like pumpkin pie, ginger cookies and bread pudding. It was something different, but VERY potent and a bit much for us. We swapped it out for the blueberry apple crumble and were much happier with that. All in all, a wonderful dinner on a rainy night for my birthday. We'd happily come back to this spot for a date night while in town.

    Photos
    Galyn's - Interior

    Interior

    Galyn's - Stuff pork chop

    Stuff pork chop

    Galyn's - Cocktails

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    Cocktails

    Thirsty Whale - tradamerican - Updated May 2026

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