Mclaughlin Seafood at the Marina

Over price! Service is not good. Waited too long to take order. Food is only so so. The mussel was full of sand.

McLaughlin’s at the Marina is on a short list of the best dining spots in the Bangor/​Brewer/​Hampden area, serving traditional Maine fare — lobster and seafood at its best as well as killer blueberry pie. The attire is slightly dressier (meaning no t-​shirts), and it would be a prime spot to bring a date or your parents. In the spring, summer, and fall, they open the windows on the patio, and there is a roaring fire on the lawn overlooking picturesque scenery of forest and boats on the water. Frankly, I would come here for a cocktail just to sit outside even if I weren’t eating dinner, but I would be crazy not to stay since the food is so good. Specifically, the lobster mac — holy smokes. You might need to fast all day for it, but totally worth the indulgence. The interior of the restaurant recently had a facelift and looks amazing. With excellent fare and service, McLaughlin’s fits the bill for a regular weekly restaurant.

Food was cooked by a cook not a chef so don’t expect great! Over priced, unseasoned and was given the wrong mixed drink and no vodka in it, if there was it was very light. Not enough turf choices for those who don’t like seafood. Did have by the water and outside seating which was nice, plus a fire pit and someone playing music. They need to offer more pub appetizers like nachos, dips, etc. for those wanting to sit by the fire, have a glass of wine (not a mixed drink since it was sparse on liquor) and listen to the music. Maybe offer a bucket of beer with a bucket of steamed clams or muscles, served with a variety of crackers and spreads. Overall not the place to want to waste money, but a great place to sit and listen to music with a glass of wine or beer.

Got here at 7 and they says they decided that fall has started and they closed early. Wtf!

Absolutely great service. Sara was spectacular, the food was great and the ambience was fantastic. Great whole belly clams and lobster mac and cheese. Five stars all around.

The view/​setting here is wonderful. Nice outdoor seating with fire pit and outdoor music some evenings. There’s also outdoor/​screened in seating. The service was very good, friendly. We had a round of oysters for appetizers and they were good. We had the scallops and the Haddock special. Both were good. I liked this place so much I bought a couple of their wine glasses so I’d remember the evening.

Really nice spot, right on the water. Service was excellent and attentive.
Had the garden salad (very good) & lobster roll (good). Great apple pie for dessert. Specialty drinks, beer & wine selections looked quite good but didn’t try this time.
Would recommend for almost everything but will have to try another entrée before highly recommending the food.

Heard about this place from a Bangor native. Lobster mac & cheese is outstanding, crab cakes are fresh, service is excellent. Unfortunately, I won’t have many opportunities to come up this far north for their great food!

Here for a work trip from West Michigan. What an amazing gem. So happy I came here for lunch. Liked it so much I am going back tomorrow evening to sit outside and listen to the music.
The food is amazing. The mussels were well prepared, lobster claw was sweet, and the raspberry crumble was divine.
Ashley was our waitress. She rolled up her sleeves and educated my co-​worker Bob (photo) how to break open his lobster. Fun to watch…
Food was a 10
Service was a 10+!

Absolutely fantastic. Do not miss this place if you are in Bangor. Delicious fresh seafood as to be expected. Generous portions. Friendly and attentive staff. The service is fantastic and the restaurant is well managed.
In addition to the lobster, I particularly loved the steamed mussels and seafood chowder. Also the raspberry crumble pie.
Nice waterfront atmosphere with outdoor lounge area with fire pit. Live entertainment on some nights.

Truly wonderful visit. My waitress Jill was tremendous recommending a great local IPA to pair with my Lobster, she even instructed me on how to open shell/​claws, all with a great view. Oh and jazz musicians playing. Great stop in Bangor.

Loved this place! Had no idea it was an actual sit-​down restaurant; we were expecting a weathered wooden counter, paper plates, and picnic benches. We were pleasantly surprised. There WERE picnic benches outside, but we were brought into a nice patio area with a view of the inlet. There was a young man playing acoustic guitar and singing. He was really good. Also, our server, Jill, was very friendly and accommodating without being overly patronizing.
I had their special raspberry lemonade cocktail and my husband loved the Peak organic nut brown ale that Jill suggested. He ordered the steamers as an appetizer and received 2 dozen clams! He then had fried haddock and fries, which, he said, were cooked perfectly. The house vinaigrette dressing on my salad was delicious. I had the baked stuffed haddock and wanted to lick the dish when I finished it. I also ordered a side of onion rings and thoroughly enjoyed them.
It WAS kind of pricey; $ 100 for the whole dinner. But we did each have 2 drinks and ordered appetizers and extra sides. Totally worth it!

Very cute place at the marina on the river. Everyone was very nice. We had lobster rolls, homemade chips & coleslaw. Food was great, staff was wonderful. Made us feel very welcome!

Visited here twice this week on a business trip. Lobster one night and oysters and chowder the second night. Darn good! Shrimp bloody Mary’s are exceptional. Nice location on the water. Highly recommend for great seafood in a casual atmosphere.

Perfecto.
Absolutely what you’d hope for as a tourist lookin for a legit lobster house in the ME.
Family owned and operated is a big plus (plus plus) but really it’s their thought-​out setup and ambiance that puts em over the top.
Docks (wanted to traverse them badly), fishing boats coming in, smiley wait staff and AND a little social bonfire pit to keep you stuck in their lil slice of Americana. Yeah food good too blah blah of course.
Anywho, would recommend it. Would do the patio if I were you. Would sneak on to the dock if I were you. Would get the 2lb’r if I were you.

We ate here the other night while driving through Bangor. The reviews on Unilocal seemed promising so we went. We started with calamari (tasted like nothing and kind of like freezer) because someone in our party wanted it, not my first pick at this place. I then put in an order for lobster Mac and cheese… awesome. Honestly the best thing we ate there. There were bigger chunks in here than in the lobster roll (disappointing). I then had the lobster roll. The meat on the roll was kinda disappointing and it was more or less shredded… it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. It however was perfectly toasted and buttery. This also comes with creamy coleslaw and some pretty good fries. If the lobster roll was a bit meatier, with bigger claw and knuckle pieces, it would have been excellent. They were also slightly heavy on the mayo.

Consistently I have had nothing but positive experiences at McLaughlin’s. This is my go-​to restaurant when I have visitors in town or when my husband and I want a nice, quiet meal on the water. Note: This is not a good place to take a vegetarian as almost every item on the menu has seafood in it.
The restaurant is only open until 9 in the summer and I also recommend a reservation for a weekend visit. Live music starts around 5 pm on the weekends which is a nice treat if you want to enjoy a cocktail by the fire pit before dinner. The fire pit has Adirondack chairs and benches encircling it and all offer gorgeous sweeping views of the Marina and the rising moon. Dinner seating is limited, but has both indoor and patio seating (beware of Mosquitos in July). Halfway through summer the restaurant added outdoor dining by the fire pit, which is great on a warm night. The crowd this place draws seems to be a more mature crowd and not too many young children. This is definitely a place to escape from the kids for date night.
I definitely recommend trying one of McLaughlin’s signature cocktails. They are extremely creative and truly I haven’t tried one I didn’t like. Mentionables include the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Martini (I don’t like vodka and I love this) and the Godiva chocolate martini (that’s not the real name, but you’ll find it).
Their lobster mac is cheesy and filling. On my first visit, the mac and cheese was loaded with large chunks of claw and tail meat, but on my last two there was a much smaller ratio of lobster to mac and there were definitely only leg meat and no tail/​claws. I was definitely disappointed. Their lobster dinner is served with your choice of starch and mixed veggies; expect to pay market price. The Lazy Man lobster will fill you up and offers 1 ¼lb of claw and tail with drawn butter, your choice of starch and veggies. One of my favorites, but expect to pay up for this. Several of my guests have ordered the Lobster Newburgh and both raved over the light, white, creamy sauce that the lobster is served in. My husband and his father ordered the seafood pasta and loved it. Their blueberry pie a la mode is one of the best in the state.
Can’t end this review without mentioning the staff: they’re friendly, helpful, prompt and professional. We consistently have great service from the moment we walk in the door to the minute we leave. The staff is accommodating, relaxed and makes every visit feel like a special occasion.
Don’t be nervous by the port-​o-​potty near the parking lot, they do have an indoor bathroom to the right of the bar.
McLaughlin’s is definitely one of my favorite restaurants near the Bangor area, I recommend checking it out!

GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE YOU COME HERE. the bathroom is a separate building in the parking lot.
Have been here twice in the past month. That’s a lot for me as I usually head right down to the ocean to get my lobster fix.
First time: Tuesday night– Had fried clams the first time cause I was CRAVING them. I left feeling super full and they totally hit the spot. Started the meal with oysters, which were good but wish they gave you more lemon and the «cocktail» sauce was more like ketchup. Service was fairly decent. Friend had the lobster mac and cheese and it didn’t look like there was a lot of lobster in it for $ 20.
Second trip, Wednesday night. Brought my friend from NYC out for some steamed lobster. Both got the 1 ¼ lbs with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. Lobster was alright but when we broke into them, it was like the insides has melted and formed a giant blood-​clot looking glob in the tail. I have eaten MANY lobsters and have never seen this before. My poor friend was so grossed out, but he was a trooper and still ate it. The meat in the body was actually severely undercooked in mine — almost translucent — fairly raw.
Mashed potatoes were eh, kinda dry and we were putting out melted butter on them. Veggies were oily but more edible, yet my friend only got one carrot and the rest was squash in his «mixed veggie» dish.
Had the blueberry cosmo and that was pretty good. Dessert was peanut butter chocolate cake… OMG YUM! that’s why this trip gets 3 stars instead of 2 from me. I could have sat there and eaten it all by myself… but that’s not ladylike and I had a guest with me so I kindly shared.
Service this last time was not on point. Poor guy looked like he was new, didn’t know any of the drinks and we had a ton of money to blow but he didn’t try to upsell us on anything. Hell my friend almost went for the 3 lb lobster but the kid was like no, you’ll be fine with the 1 ¼ lb one. Once we got our food we had not event cracked open one claw and he was asking how it tasted??? um ok… also to his credit, every table was full but still, we were off in the corner and kinda forgotten.
View is nice, went at sunset both times. first time there was no live music, second time there was a boy with guitar. let me tell you, that live music really makes the atmosphere. I highly recommend live music every night, it was that fantastic!
WARNING: they close early, 7 pm is beyond me — business travelers (like my friend from nyc) staying in hotels start thinking about dinner at 7 pm. They should stay open later.
They also have a weird tree inside that every time I see it I keep thinking that they never took down the Christmas decorations… however it is quite nice inside and the staff is very friendly and welcoming.
Couldn’t really speak to a final bill or tell you if the market price of the lobsters were a fair price, because I didn’t pay for either dinner :)

Pricey food for what I was served.
Rubbery lobster that was over cooked.
Small pile of diced up veggies.
Looked like out of the bag fries.
Nice spot by the water. Nice staff.

The lobsters here are über fresh and even after having food poisoning the night before at another restaurant, I could not pass on the opportunity for fresh ol’ steamed lobster with melted butter. Mmmm, mmm, mmmm!!!
Get here around sunset and you’ll love the simple ambiance of the river water and boats with the sunsetting nearby. At night, they even have Andirondack chairs where you can gather around a firepit to relax after a nice meal. Staff is superb here and they really make sure you have all the condiments and whatnot for your entrée.