Guinness & Porcelli’s

Worst restaurant I have ever had the displeasure of eating at in my entire life, hands down. Do yourself and favor and eat at Mc Donald’s its better than this so called restaurant.

Tried to eat here… Found it on Unilocal & hours online said open til 10pm. We walked up at 9:09pm & the host said she would have to ask if we could still order. She came back and said «I’m sorry.»
When the manager came over, we asked if they were still open til 10. His response — «we are a local business and try to manage our labor. Some nights we close at 8:30, some nights 9, it just depends.» I guess it doesn’t depend on whether or not customers want to dine & spend money. You want to remain «local» and poorly «managing» labor, mission accomplished.

So so food, so so service. We got the spaghetti meatballs and bucatini carbonara. The red sauce was runny bad beat balls overcooked. The carbonara was way too salty and peppery. We thought our waitress had completely forgotten about us most of the Neal, though she was pleasant when she arrived. We took advantage of half off apps during happy hour — but the fried calamari was a major disappointment. Breading felt mealy and calamari was chewy inside.

The food was as good as in the past which I always felt was excellent.
Server was extremely helpful and friendly.

The 2013 summer menu was better than this year (2014). We enjoyed out meals far better and returned twice during our stay. This year the choices we different and unfortunately 5 of the 9 meals were described as «bland». One other meal was seasoned with far too much black pepper. I will make sure to check the menu before returning in 2015

I so wanted Porcelli’s to be good but I was so disappointed. The server was capable but never did do anything about my bad diet pop. I had the baked penne — this meal was not even remotely close to being worth 23 bucks. The rest of the broods’ dinner was pretty much along the same caliber. Skip it. Try somewhere else.

So happy that all the tables were full so that we had the pleasure of eating at the bar tonight. The woman behind the bar was delightful and provided the best service we’ve had on the island all week. All of our food — from the appetizers to the main courses were perfectly portioned and flavorful. My husband and I both really appreciated being able to sample a beer we’d never tried — one of us ended up getting a pint and the other choosing another. That’s great hospitality. Our teens also loved the choices and were glad to have options that didn’t include seafood. Overall, great food, good prices and friendly service — what more could you want?

Ate at our 3^rd Italian place in Bar Harbor, but none had anything resembling lasagna. What’s up with that? We had pizza which was very spicy and had a kick. Waitress told us this pizza had a kick so we were prepared, what she didn’t tell us was that it had «blue cheese» which if informed we would have made another selection. Price was very reasonable though

Food was very disappointing and service slow. I had lobster and pasta and was so spicy I had to send back. Beer was warm but kids meals ok.

We ordered take out so we could hang in our hotel and watch Game 6 of the world series (plus we’ve had like 4 tasting menu/​foodie dinners this week and just wanted some simple pasta!). I totally over-​ordered but everything was DELICIOUS.
The beet salad was great. Bucattini (sp?) with arugula, garlic, pecorino and a fried egg was super garlicky and delicious. Ragu with papadelle was rich and flavorful. TONS of meat in the sauce. Seafood risotto was great too. Garlic knots were nice but could have been more garlicky in my opinion.
I would have given them 5* as the lady who helped me at the bar was awesome, found plastic knives and forks and made me a mean martini but there was the most annoying waitress who insisted on having the LOUDEST CONVERSATION known to human beings with a couple at the bar. I was there for maybe 30 minutes while they cooked my food and this girl never shut up. I know EVERYTHING about where she’s at school, her opinions on flavored vodka (Cherry Pinnacle is the only one she likes) and all sorts of other crap. There was an older couple at the bar and I could see them almost flinching each time she squawked loudly about another topic, they politely requested to move from the bar to the dining room.
In summary — really delicious food, super tasty, fresh ingredients, generous portions, helpful staff. I would totally recommend this place and go here again, but should that one particular person be waiting on me I might have to leave. Indoor voices people…

Husband had the chicken piccatta, was good but nothing special. I had the hanger steak, enjoyed but what really made it good was the wine suggested by our waiter. Did he talk me up to a better/​pricier wine than I would have chosen on my own? Probably. Did I enjoy it? Definitely! ;-)

We must have ordered right!
Methinks that folks may judge more harshly when on vacation.
We had two wonderful Porcelli salads, which tested fresh, and had a great dressing. The garlic knots were served with a Gorgonzola dipping sauce that actually went well with them. They could use a little more garlic though.
We went for pasta, and we weren’t disappointed! The spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce was just right. The sauce was flavorful and had good body. The Bolognese was also delicious. It was a true Bolognese, quite rich in flavor.
The tiramisu was a cut above many that I have had. Overall a great dining experience.
The only real nit to pick, was our table was directly opposite the AC Unit, and was blowing pretty much at our table, and it was frankly a bit chilly sitting there, but it needed to stay on to keep the place cool. (This was August).
Of course food tastes are as varied as the weather and your mileage will vary! We loved it.

Papperdelle bolognese was truly wonderful, and the cranberry gin fizz was our favorite drink on the island this trip… Chocolate mousse to die for. Our waiter was charming, seating private and comfortable. Only glitch, super snotty hostess. We almost left upfront due to that but are so glad we stayed. One of Bar Harbor’s best restaurants!

There aren’t that many Italian restaurants on the Mount Desert Island, but this was rated the best. But unfortunately, the best on MD island ranks far below the worst Italian food I’ve had. It was 8:45pm, and we were famished. Any half decent meal would’ve tasted like a 5-​star meal to us.
We ordered two pasta dishes and rack of lamb. Sadly, so many of the basics of pasta cooking were done incorrectly that I could not believe a real chef made them. They were overcooked, cold, poorly seasoned and blandly flavored. Pasta-​to-​sauce ratio was completely off, and just poured on. Lemon butter sauce appears judiciously on their menu but it is simply weak.
Fortunately, rack of lamb was quite good. Though cooked beyond what I requested, the chef did a good job controlling lamb’s gaminess. And the vegetables and mashed potato side dishes were pretty good.
The floor manager did what he could to mitigate the circumstance by waiving a glass of wine (good), and spinach cream soup (salty and watery with no flavor), but I had a feeling that he felt we were just looking to get free meals by complaining, because we had mostly finished our meals.
I can write this review with clear conscience, because I’m providing full disclosure on what was comped. We did also leave full 21−22% tip, because it wasn’t the manager’s fault that the dishes were terrible.
Avoid pasta dishes at all cost. The chef does not know the basics of it.

This place is a solid 3 stars. The service is a solid 5. The waiters and waitresses were super attentive and nice. Many had eastern european accents, which sometimes made understanding them tricky (the restaurant was on the louder side when we arrived), bu they were super nice and repeated themselves without flinching.
I had the special espresso martini drink. Strong = good. I expected it to be on the sweeter side, which it wasn’t, but I attribute that to my own false expectations and nothing they did incorrectly. We got the dough knots and a caprese salad for appetizers. Both delicious. I would get these again. I got the butternut squash ravioli in a cream sauce. The sauce was flavorful, but nothing special. Portion was perfect. Hubby got lobster fettuccine. Lobster good. Fettuccine sauce, not so much. It had absolutely no flavor. I ordered wine with dinner, and it was good, but came when we were halfway through the meal (food service was super fast, and while drink service was by no means slow, it wasn’t as fast as the food).
Dessert looked uninspiring, so we walked across the street for ice cream! This place wasn’t bad, but with all the great restaurants in bar harbor, I probably wouldn’t go back right away.

Would’nt recommend it. Went there for the 4^th July weekend. Seemed crowded. After a wait of 20 min we got a table for 7. The waitress was polite and nice. The ambience was ok. I would have preferred a little more light inside the restaurant. It was hot outside so I would have preferred AC inside. However ceiling fans were all we got.
I ordered some Homemade Sangria and some food. However for the price I expected better tasting food and probably more quantity. I thought it was pricey and in general wasnt very impressed.

Restaurant options in Bar Harbor during January can be tough. I’m so glad we wandered into Guinness and Porcellis! What didn’t expect to get a meal as good as we did. The hostess seated us promptly and within a few minutes August, our waiter was by to take our drink order. My husband had one of the local brews on draft, and I had one of their winter specials, a maple leaf. It was bourbon, maple syrup and lemon and boy was it yummy. After taking our orders, August came by with a basket of warm bread with chunks of garlic baked it. There was also olive oil with balsamic for dipping. We ordered the mussels arrabiata (sp) for our appetizer. The portion was huge and we were using our spoons to get every last drop of the spicy tomato sauce. I had the chicken piccata, and enjoyed it, and my husband loved the hangar steak. August was very attentive throughout the meal. If you find yourself in Bar Harbor do yourself a favor and stop in here.

Boyfriend and I ate here last night on a whim when walking through town and trying to find a place to eat. (Note: a lot of restaurants close in the off season starting Nov 1^st). We were drawn in by a great special that they had — 3 entrees for $ 19.
The service was very friendly and they had a great wine selection. We ordered their soup of the day — tomato bisque — which was absolutely phenomenal. We also ordered their mushroom and goat cheese bruschetta, which was also amazing! We highly recommend both those items. We were looking for lobster so we ordered their lobster scampi which was fair. It came with dessert which we finished later in our room. The flourless chocolate cake was rich and perfect.
Overall it was good — and with the special it was affordable. We would go back for the appetizers for sure! Those were amazing.

My meal was absolutely delicious! It was a special so I am not sure what it is called but it was a spicy stew with lobster, scallops, mussels, clams, haddock, shrimp and some other things. Delectable!!!
My husband got the veal with potatoes &veggies. It was tasty as well.
Our server was awesome! He was on top of everything and completely cleared the table when we were finished.

I don’t hand out 1 – 2 star reviews frequently, but Guinness and Porcelli’s warrants it.
The service was slow… it took our server ten minutes to get to our table. When he finally got to us, we ordered wine and beer. I got a half bottle and it arrived extremely warm, 80+ upwards in temp. I’m not a wine snob but I know wine stored at that temp does not do very well.
Our apps were ok, but terribly overpriced for the portion. At $ 9 I expect a minimum of 5 – 6 srhooms, folks. There were three.
Finally– I ordered Filet Mingon– because the waiter originally said it was local and free range. After he came back and corrected himself (neither) I still had a hankering for my (literally) semi-​annual steak, cooked medium rare. My steak arrived 20 minutes later well done. No pink. I returned it. The manager was kind enough to stop by and apologize. We explained all our complaints– the wine, the shrooms, the steak. When I finally got my steak, it was all but tasteless. The manager seemed very contrite, but in the end, when our bill was delivered all we got removed were the shrooms. Meh.
One star is raised to two stars because the manager did extend an effort. If you really want good italian in Bar Harbor, head over to Mama DiMatteo. You will not be disappointed, at all.