6 Best Restaurants in Western Lakes and Mountains, Maine

Offering sushi and more, dishes here are deeply rooted in Korea and Maine: the chef's Korean mother owns the restaurant, which she founded in 2002, and spices for the kimchi are grown at the family's local homestead. On summer nights, dining on the wide front porch—lit by torches and candles and right above the sidewalk on Main Street in downtown Bethel—is delightful, but the lively storm-blue dining rooms are also inviting, and perfect for a post-ski meal. Sometimes there’s a bit of a wait for food, but as Cho Sun’s website notes, “We take pride in all of our entrees being made to order.” Diners can imbibe cold or hot sake as well as Asian-themed craft cocktails and Maine craft brews.

A cheery red door welcomes customers to this hip, cozy grocery, opened in 1994 and selling specialty, organic, and Maine-produced foods and goods, from sodas to local poultry. Friendly staff will help you select from the specials-friendly takeout menu and the great to-go beer and wine selection, or suggest grocery items for a picnic or dinner at your lodging. Open even in winter, the orange sticker-clad barbeque trailer outside slow-smokes fresh meat and poultry flavored with house dry rubs.

Built as a summer home, this rustically elegant 1909 log lodge alongside Rangeley Lake on Rangeley village’s outskirts has been a restaurant and inn for much of its life; lovely lake views float beyond midcentury picture windows in dining spaces that were part of a porch. Locally sourced seasonal fine dining thrives with updated classics such as Moroccan-spiced rack of lamb with English mint and Indian curry spices, ginger-crusted tuna with Asian slaw, and desserts like skillet du jour. Reservations are recommended, though guests often enjoy waiting in the nestled-in, log-walled Pickford Pub, on the deck, or in the great room, which has a soaring fieldstone fireplace. In summer there are boat slips for lodging and dining guests and come winter, a ramp for those who snowmobile over on the lake. Guestrooms are well-appointed but lack TVs by design: Loon Lodge is touted as a place to unplug and relax between outdoor adventures.

Just past downtown en route to Sugarloaf, this café serves breakfast items (bagels with a choice of spreads, burrito and sandwich with or without meat), flavor-filled lunch fare (wraps, sandwiches, salads), and scrumptious baked goods; local and organic ingredients are kitchen staples, even the salsa is made right here, and the coffee is great. In a landmark Federal-style former residence known as the "Brick Castle," it's presently drive-through only, but there's colorful seating on the large front lawn. 

A summertime visit to Rangeley isn't complete without a stop at this cash-only snack bar—in business since 1964—for ice cream and simple meals like burgers and fries. Both hard and soft ice cream are served, as are sundaes, milk shakes, flurries, and banana splits. Nestled between Haley Pond and an overflow channel, everyone heads out back to feed and enjoy the ducks on the lakelike pond.

Like the facade, a cooler wall—stocked with hundreds of beers from around Maine and the world, sold to diners and to go—attests to Gastropub's gas station past (it even served gas initially). Craft brews, many hard to find, accompany snazzy, farm-to-table takes on American classic and foreign-inspired comfort foods. There’s bar and table seating and, come summer, outdoor seating at umbrella-topped picnic tables.