Cafe This Way

I went for a late breakfast and had the Kit’s burrito. I normally have a huge appetite, and with the exception of buffets, I usually will eat all of my meal and still have room for more. With Kit’s, not so much. Rarely this happens, but this burrito was large and filled me right up. It was probably a little more than I’d ideally like to spend on breakfast, but this was one hearty burrito well worth it.

MEDIOCRE BRUNCH EXPERIENCE
— — — — — — — — — — — — — –
The café has a very small town friendly feel, with books lined against the walls and older furniture to sit at. The staff were very nice, prompt, and accommodating! Our waiter made sure to refill our coffees if we wanted more, and brought out all our food at the same time.
food
+ BLUEBERRY PANCAKES: Light and fluffy with a light crunch around the edges. The blueberry taste was faint since they used real Maine blueberries. You should definitely try this!
~ ILLINOIS OMELETTE: You could tell the guacamole was pre-​made or store bought. The omelette was a good portion and had plenty of bell pepper and vegetables, but nothing to rave about.
~ CAFE MONTE CRISTO: A french toast breakfast sandwich that lacked in flavor. The french toast elevated the taste over normal bread, but otherwise this dish was pretty mediocre. The home fries that came with the dish were also not crunchy enough for my liking.
The restaurant will be closed for the season after October 18, 2015!

Über fast & über yummy! Not sure about the usual breakfast crowd, but we got here at 7:25 & are already finished with our meal (7:50). I ordered the McThisway sandwich with Turkey Bacon (totally different than what I expected, but still good) and some Lemon Zinger tea. They brought me my own little teapot! My hubby had the Country Breakfast & coffee (he was too excited and ate it before snapping a photo). Adorable, artsy breakfast place nestled off a side street in downtown Bar Harbor.

It’s a good sign when you arrive for Sunday brunch, and there is a 40-​minute wait. We put our name on the list and went for a walk… They were pretty on target with their wait time… a table was ready for us at just about 40 minutes.
The place has a great vibe and décor. I ordered the McThisWay Breakfast Sandwich. The sandwich came on an oversized english muffin, with 2 fried eggs, 2 sausage patties (or other choice of meat), cheese, and home fries on the side.
Great brunch location.

Damn fine food. If all non-​meat entrees were as good as the Southwest Shepherd’s Pie i think I would become a veggie (as in vegetarian, not vegetable). Wonderful flavor combination and texture. Of course it ain’t exactly a low-​fat dish, so that explains a lot of the deliciousness.
I actually ordered the Zucchini «Noodles» and was man enough to admit to my wife that my food was just okay and that she out-​ordered me (she ordered the Shepherds pie). But since she preferred the dish I ordered we simply swapped meals and were both happy.
I wished I knew they had a small parking lot for the restaurant before having to hunt for a spot before I got there, but now you know.

Everything was delicious! Interior was cute, bartenders friendly and gave lots of local tips and advice. Recommended for brunch!

Came here on a Sunday morning around 9:30 and wait for 6 people was 30 mins, not too bad, and once you sit down and order food comes out fast, but trade off is quality is kind of meh. Ordered the corn beef hash and it was served room temperature which was disappointing and the flavor wasn’t as meaty as 2cats. The orange juice tasted like it was straight out of a carton. The English muffin was pretty dense and hats and they only had jam in plastic packs. My friend ordered the iced chai tea which was the only thing I liked about this place.

*Review only for dinner — I’ll have to come back and try the purportedly amazing breakfast.
First off, the bread and honey butter. I’m not usually a sucker for butter but this I wanted to lick out of the ramekin. Bread was perfect after a day of wandering in Acadia park.
After spending the past few months paying for overpriced brunches and drinks, I thought I had gotten over most of my sticker shock, but it was still jarring to pay $ 28 for seared tuna and chilled noodles on the side. Granted, the tuna was cooked perfectly and I loved the noodles and hey, it was definitely a «treat yourself» kind of week. I know, I know, I’m a stingy scrooge, but I thought the portion size didn’t justify the price.
Loved the ambiance and the cheery sign. After getting too dressed up for Side Street the night before, I pared my dress code down to T-​shirt and athletic shorts but both the other patrons and the waitstaff here were dressed very well.

Wow. Great service. Great execution. Restaurants like this are easy to recommend. The only flaw was the loud family across from us*.
We had Zachary as our server who was well informed, humorous & efficient. My wife had a fresh arugula salad with cubed heirloom tomatoes, English cukes with a balsamic burrata dressing. I enjoyed fried green tomatoes with a spicy cornbread crust that was topped with crab. We followed these starters with my wife’s coriander/​mint seasoned cold rice noodles topped with seared tuna slices. Her dish was light & flavorful. I enjoyed what they titled as «Haddock & mussels» that I would call «Maine Bouillabaisse Fra Diablo». The dish includes 6 – 8 mussels with a 4 – 5 ounce piece of perfectly cooked haddock in an amazing tomato based stew spiced by ground chorizo. This dish was my favorite non lobster dish during our two week tour of the Maine coastline. Absolute success. We the enjoyed a strawberry/​blueberry crisp aka mode and a pots du crème. Fresh whipped cream adorned both desserts.
This is a terrific casual spot. I highly recommend a visit.
*They chose to ignore their roaming, noisy kids (6 adults. 3 kids). The staff spent more time with them than the parents! We mostly felt for the kids as the parents biggest investment was to offer them iPads (to shut up) or threaten to withhold dessert after already giving them chocolate milk before dinner. Ugh.

Food = excellent, innovated and perfectly prepared.
Service = rushed, uncomfortable and not very knowledgeable.
Appetizer = tuna tar tar with wasabi tobiko, cucumbers and wonton. Very good!
Salad= Australian salad. Perfect combination and pumpkin seed dressing was amazing!
entrée = We ordered flat iron steak with risotto and lobster tail.
I would recommend this place if your visiting bar harbor but go early otherwise may feel rushed and hurried.

Café This Way is still one of my go-​to spots on MDI after a dozen years. The menu is always interesting and varied, and the chefs always use local, sustainable ingredients. My last visit to CTW got off to a rough start as our server had a bit of an attitude problem — but I killed him with kindness (not my usual technique but I was in a really good mood), reassuring him that we weren’t tourists and that he’d be able to turn over the much-​coveted outdoor table quickly. After my second glass of wine, he seemed to loosen up a bit and when I asked about the blueberry pie (we had barely started eating) he actually smiled and laughed a bit. The shrimp appetizer with ancho avocado cream was spectacular as was the halibut. The parmesan crisps on top of the Caesar salad were out of this world. The wine list was impressive and happily un-​snooty and of course, the blueberry pie was delicious just as I remembered (I think they actually get their pie from Morning Glory Bakery — why bake your own when the best in town is being made right down the street). Yum, yum, yum.

At last, the search for blueberry pancakes in Maine that knocked my socks off is over! These things are amazing! Corn beef hash is pretty good too.

Chill and approachable bistro with serious culinary chops. If you’re looking for fine dining without losing the charm of a low-​key café, Café This Way is a really good choice.
True to its name, the restaurant is tucked into a cute little cul-​de-​sac. Inside it is pretty open and airy, but also very cozy. The staff is patient and professional in explaining the daily specials, of which there were several. They had an interesting fish of the day with some spice to it, which did not disappoint. They also have a decent assortment of local beers, including the Bar Harbor Brewing Stout (if you’re really strategic, you’ll pair it with a dessert).
Just a really nice dinner, all in all. Add it to your dinner plans if you’re here for a few days or more.

A great eatery located down a lane off Mt. Desert St in Bar Harbor. We first visited of an evening and were very impressed with the pecan crusted halibut with garlic spinach cajun tartare sauce, which was just scrumptious, and it was a good chunk of fish too. For starters we had tuna tempura, which again was very close to perfection. The meal was moderately priced too, and well worth the money.
We were so impressed that we returned for breakfast, and although it was positively heaving with people, we were quickly seated and served with coffee whilst we perused the menu. I went for ‘the vegan’ — a scrambled mash of tofu, home fries, broccoli and peppers, which was surprisingly tasty. Herself went for a DIY omellette with mushrooms and spinach, and some veggie sausage on the side. It also came with home fries, although these were ever so slightly undercooked so were largely ignored.
Great ambiance, funky décor, and a very hip menu; this place attracts a young-​ish crowd but don’t let that put you off, it’s definitely one of the better eateries in town.
I’m almost tempted to give it 5 stars, but one has to leave some room for improvement. We had a problem with one of the restroom doors not locking properly, there was the issue with the undercooked home fries, and there’s no Wi-​Fi… although you can just about pick up the free town Wi-​Fi if you go outside and down the lane a little bit.

Café this way? More like café that way (to 2 Cats of course)
As the only other spot besides 2 Cats that does lobster eggs benedict, I’d expect their egg game to be pretty up there. Nope, no battle here folks, 2 Cats is the winner.
The eggs were a bit flat and not rounded, they use basil here instead of scallion. The English muffin was a bit burnt on the edge and it was semi hard.
Their home fries are ordinary, it doesn’t stand out like the ones at 2 Cats.
The eggs Benedict might be cheaper here but they give you less lobster and the food isn’t nearly as good as 2 Cats.
Shoutout to the corn beef hash though, never thought corned beef could taste that good so this place earned an extra star.
Honestly I would say 3.5 for the rating but I preferred rounding down because 4 means I am a fan which I’m not.

My husband and I were so happy to find Café this Way on Unilocal.We read it was a great breakfast spot, but we were passing by it one evening and the name jogged my memory, so we decided to try it for dinner. After a few days in bar harbor of eating less than stellar meals, this was a godsend!
We both got the zucchini and squash «pasta» with mushrooms because we had been eating out all over Maine for 6 days and were feeling like we needed some veggies. You guessed it. The noodles were actually zucchini and the dish was perfect; meaty mushrooms, pesto, and toasted polenta triangles. I was so full but still tried to eat every, last bite.
We liked it so much that we went for breakfast the next morning. There was a line out the door, but they had self-​serve coffee while you wait! How great is that? Then I got the blueberry pancakes: omg. Too bad this was my last morning in bar harbor. I would have been here for these everyday. Also we got the fruit bowl. It was huge, so the cup would have sufficed.

I am only giving this place three stars because the service and ambiance was great. However, the food was not good. I went with three others who were all disappointed as well. The food was tasteless and disappointing. I think it may have been because we went for dinner and this is more of a breakfast place.