Places to Eat

Sixty years of eating our way around Franklin County, distilled. One friendly warning: rural Maine restaurants don’t always keep their posted hours — it’s worth calling first to make sure “Aunt Maude” didn’t just close the place for a month — and while you have them on the phone, ask how to pay: there are a lot of cash-only establishments up here. 😉

Ratings shown are from TripAdvisor or Facebook as of mid-2026 — treat them as a guide, not gospel.

Our short list

• Salt & Pepper and Sugar, Too! — 843 US-2, Wilton · (207) 645-7035 — our favorite. A hidden gem — don’t be put off by the plain exterior. TripAdvisor 4.6 (36 reviews).
• The Homestead Bakery Restaurant — 186 Broadway, Farmington · (207) 778-6162 — breakfast, lunch, and dinner; they bake all their own bread. At breakfast, try the Thai Wonder Eggs. TripAdvisor 4.1 (188 reviews).
• Calzolaio Pasta Co. — 284 Main St, Wilton · (207) 645-9500 — Italian and seafood in an old factory building by a stream; eat inside or out. Reserve on weekends. TripAdvisor 4.5 (360 reviews).
• Uno Mas — 147 Pleasant St, Farmington · (207) 778-9222 — Mexican grill & tap house in the old Granary Brew Pub space. Highly recommend — and the art on the walls is by Roger Bisaillon, who painted the portrait of the Lodge. Public listings conflict about current status — definitely call first.
• The Coplin Dinner House & Tigerlily Pub — 8252 Carrabassett Rd, Stratton · (207) 246-0016 — farm-to-table in a converted farmhouse: they raise their own pigs, goats, and hens. New-York-quality menu (and prices) — if you’re a foodie, you’ll come home poor but happy. 96% recommend on Facebook (285 reviews).
• Portage Tap House — 74 Carry Rd, Oquossoc · (207) 864-9404 — wood-fired kitchen, canoes for chandeliers, great for adults and kids alike. Closed Tue–Wed. TripAdvisor 4.3 (43 reviews).

More good eating nearby

• Lotus Blossom — Wilton Rd, Farmington · (207) 778-6378 — the area’s best Chinese, now in the former Jade Palace space; the owners are family friends. Try the Pu Pu Platter.
• Brickyard Café — Farmington Falls Rd (next to Motor Supply), Farmington · (207) 779-0708 — very down-home breakfast and lunch at old-fashioned prices; our kids love it. Cash only.
• The Dugout Bar & Grill — 118 Broadway, Farmington · (207) 779-1112 — genuinely good bar food. TripAdvisor 4.1.
• Farmington D — 367 Wilton Rd, Farmington · (207) 778-6880 — a new diner in the spirit of the beloved old Farmington Diner.
• Java Joe’s Corner Café (Farmington, 207-779-1000) — bagels, sandwiches, decent coffee.
• Mary Jane’s Slice of Heaven — 103 Narrow Gauge Square, Farmington · (207) 305-2006 — pizza, sandwiches, and burgers, convenient to the cinema, with outdoor dining. 94% recommend on Facebook.
• Sabaidee Thai — 168 Front St, Farmington · (207) 578-7331 — Thai across from the cinema. TripAdvisor 4.1.
• Arkay Pizza & Variety — 172 Farmington Falls Rd, Farmington · (207) 779-0726 — pizza from the corner variety store.
• The Ice Cream Shoppe — 171 Wilton Rd, Farmington · (207) 778-0646 — good selection, great service.
• Dutch Treat — the beloved windmill ice-cream stand in Wilton has been closed since 2025 and will not be opening for the summer of 2026 — we’ll keep watching their Facebook page for future seasons.
• One honest warning: Thai Smile & Sushi (148 Wilton Rd) — we don’t recommend it.
• Plus the familiar standbys along Wilton Road: two Dunkin’s, Amato’s Express, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC/Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Burger King.

Worth the drive: Rangeley & the mountains (under an hour)

• Kawanhee Inn — 12 Anne’s Way, Weld · (207) 585-2000 — a must-do setting: dinner only, pure Maine — a moose over the stone fireplace and a porch above Webb Lake. Closes after Labor Day. TripAdvisor 4.8.
• Loon Lodge — 16 Pickford Rd, Rangeley · (207) 864-5666 — dinner in a hundred-year-old log lodge overlooking Rangeley Lake. Reservations wise; closed Mondays. TripAdvisor 4.6 (101 reviews).
• Pine Tree Frosty — 2459 Main St, Rangeley · (207) 864-5894 — ice cream, burgers, and lobster rolls; the line is long for a reason. Cash only. Open/closed announcements are posted on their Facebook page.
• Moose Alley — 2809 Main St, Rangeley · (207) 864-9955 — surprisingly good food, and bowling, pool, and arcade games under the same roof: a perfect rainy-day double-header.
• The Furbish Brew House & Eats — 2541 Main St, Rangeley · (207) 864-5847 — good pizza, great margaritas, nice outdoor seating. Closed Mon–Tue.
• Parkside & Main — 2520 Main St, Rangeley · (207) 864-3774 — casual family spot with deck dining over the lake. TripAdvisor 4.3 (328 reviews).
• Sarge’s Sports Pub & Grub — 2454 Main St, Rangeley · (207) 864-5616 — renovated sports pub with a deck overlooking Haley Pond.
• Corner Bar — 2485 Main St, Rangeley · (207) 864-2883 — one of Rangeley’s newer spots; if you try it before we do, tell us how it was!
• Classic Provisions — 2455 Main St, Rangeley · (207) 864-2717 — breakfast-and-lunch sandwiches next to the Frosty.
• Trail’s End Steakhouse (Eustis, 207-246-7511) — good food at good prices, very kid-friendly.
• 45 North — Sugarloaf Hotel, Sugarloaf Access Rd, Carrabassett Valley · (207) 237-4021 — resort dining at the mountain.

Cook it yourself

• Mosher’s Seafood-N-More (Farmington, 207-779-0544) — the place for lobsters, steaks, clams, mussels and scallops, run by a nice local family. They’ll even ship a cooler home for you.
• The seafood truck — most Fridays and weekends, a truck parks on Wilton Road (in front of the Lotus Blossom) with the day’s catch fresh from the coast. Buying seafood off a pickup truck is simply the Maine way — our family has done it all our lives.
• Farm stands: Berry Fruit Farm (Livermore — wonderful pies and take-out lunch), Conant Acres (Canton — fifth-generation farm; their raw milk is delicious), Farmer’s Daughter (Oquossoc, 207-670-5603), and our neighbors the Stewarts at 124 Day Mountain Road, whose honey — from hives you’ll drive right past — is wonderful.

Groceries & essentials

• Hannaford — 131 Hannaford Drive (off Wilton Road/Route 2), Farmington: the full-service supermarket.
• Walmart Supercenter — 615 Wilton Road, Farmington.
• Reny’s — 200 Broadway, Farmington: the classic Maine department store (“A Maine Adventure”).
• Marden’s — Wilton Road, Farmington: Maine’s beloved surplus-and-salvage store — half the fun is not knowing what you’ll find.
• Depot Laundry — Farmington: wash-and-fold and self-service (no washer/dryer at the Lodge).

Found somewhere new and good? Tell us — this list is a living family document.