Arborvine

This is my partner’s parents’ favorite restaurant, and a big group of us had their 65^th anniversary celebration there. It was a beautiful occasion, and Arborvine made the honorees feel very special. It is a beautiful restaurant, with a traditional feel.
The food was pretty much flawless. I had the rack of lamb, and for me, a smallish person, it was an absurd amount of food. I took much of it home (the dogs had a feast too!). Everything was meticulously prepared and presented, and I don’t even know how many people we had serving our table. They paid particular attention to the guests of honor.
What a wonderful place. You should dress up. There are just some places where that is appropriate, and this is one of them.

I’m a local resident and have eaten here once. I ordered lamb chops well done. I was told the «chef» wouldn’t cook them that way. It’s not the «chef’s» job to tell me how I should have my meal served. PRETENTIOUS! This ruined the whole experience for me. I will most likely never go back there again!

The perfect place to go for a special occasion– birthday, anniversary, proposal! Superb food, service and atmosphere. All food is local and prepared artfully. We had a lovely evening.

How do I even start with the location of this restaurant and how good it is? Here is some context: we were traveling throughout Northern Maine and had booked an AirBnB at the Arborvine Apartment in Blue Hill, Maine. Blue Hill is a quaint small town (compared to the craziness in Southern California) and we were looking for a good place to eat. To our surprise, there was a restaurant called Arborvine right next to our apartment with the same name. We made reservations on the way up to Maine.
We were seated at a table for two and you can tell that this is for fine diners. The menu was exciting and fit with our surf and turf mentality for the day:
Duck Liver: Yes, we wanted pâté and we got a generous portion of pâté with some biscuits. There was also an apricot marmalade that went well with it. I would definitely get this dish again if I were to be back in town.
Swordfish: My boyfriend ordered this and I tried a piece. Fresh, soft, tender, and cooked to a perfect temperature. It came with a mango sauce that also gave it some good acidity.
Steak: What am I doing ordering red meat in MAINE? Isn’t this state supposed to be the seafood capital of the continental states? I had been eating lobster for 4 straight days and needed a change. I asked for a steak to be cooked to a medium rare and it came out just that, juicy, red meat that melts in your mouth. I couldn’t finish the entire thing, honestly, because my pant liner couldn’t handle it anymore. The steak came with potatoes and onions that were a perfect side dish.
Service was on point and our waitress frequently refilled our water cups and checked up on how we were doing. A quick note, the Arborvine is the only microbrewery in Blue Hill. You can see the brewery is right outside of the restaurant where you can take a quick tour. Read my review on Deepwater Brewery for the good eats there and the beer.
I honestly felt like I found an obscure restaurant in Maine since a fine dining restaurant like this was located in such a remote area. I want to say that I am wrong. It seemed like a lot of the people stopping by Arborvine have heard about it before or are returning customers. The place is also consistently full whenever I walk by it. Where are all of you people coming from? And how did you hear about Arborvine?
Regardless, it shows you how good the food is. Well worth the price. Was a great addition to our Maine experience for us West Coast people.

I have eaten at Arborvine each time I visited Maine over the past 7 years. The restaurant is located in a beautiful old house and the décor is elegant New England colonial simplicity. The menu is ambitious and while the presentation is lovely the food doesn’t quite hit the mark for fine dining.
We had the beet and pear salad, the caprese salad and oysters on the half shell to start. The pear and Gorgonzola was lovely together but the star of the plate — the beet — was tasteless and there were only 4 tiny pieces. The oysters were wonderful — in fact the mignonette overpowered the delicate salinity. The caprese was ridiculous. The tomatoes were hard and tasteless. I would have taken it off the menu entirely.
The lamb chops were perfectly prepared and served with an interesting corn risotto (?) cake. But at $ 34 you should be able to say the whole dish was perfect — unfortunately the vegetables on the plate looked liked they’d been sitting awhile and were a bit on the mushy side.
The pan fried flounder was completely overwhelmed by a rich sauce, but the tiny mushrooms were a pleasant surprise. My companion regretted the choice.
In summary, I can’t say I want to go back to Arborvine next summer. The attention to detail that was standard 5 years ago has slipped, despite the rise in prices. The service is still wonderful. The atmosphere is lovely. I just wish the food was as good as it’s been in the past.

Can’t say enough good things about this place! Great rooms, great service! Two of us had the the duck… really impeccably done. the recipe is 30+ years old from the old Fire Pond restaurant which was just down the street. One of the others in our party had the tuna, while the fourth had a steak. All done to perfection. Truly wonderful bisque-​type soup and great salads (try the pear). finished off (if really needed) with a blueberry/​raspberry cobbler which managed to get both flavors come through and ice cream (locally made I think). An excellent experience from start to finish. Reservations probably needed, esp during the high season.

Understated but awesome. Amazingly inexpensive for what it is. Nothing was less than excellent. I ate here two years ago and it continues to be a worthy destination.

Arborvine is, simply stated, the finest restaurant in the area. Every aspect, from the friendliness which is characteristically Maine, combined with the impeccable and stellar service you’d find at Michelin star rated restaurants around the globe, to the food prepared to perfection, to the ambience and décor, is unparalleled anywhere I have seen in Maine.
Foods are sourced locally; my poached pear and beet salad, with fresh local greens and produce was prepared and plated to create an amazing starting experience. The beef tournedos were perfectly medium rare, tender, succulent and finished with just the right complements. And the crime caramel, and pear cobbler were simply to die for.
This is perhaps the only place in the area to go on a nice date, or a nicer family event, and get out of the bathing suit and flip flops for. It however, does not take its solitude lightly, and works hard to rise far above and competes with the best establishments you’d find in NYC or Boston, rather than just the multitude of relaxed establishments you’d find in Maine.

Overrated. Not worth the cost. We have been here a number of times and don’t understand the appeal. They seem to cater to older folks who are craving an upscale dining experience downeast. It’s upscale, but the food doesn’t measure up.

This is probably the finest restaurant in all of Maine and with that being said read below for my supporting argument why. No need to wear a full suit, but flops and shorts are inappropriate.
Our waiter offered 5 star service, was very courteous, and accommodated our haste schedule. We had a performance at Kneisel Hall in just an hour and a half.
The wine list offered a cosmopolitan array of wine by the glass and had a library by the bottle. The beer came from next door at Deep Water Brewery (review to follow).
The menu changes seasonally, but with a few staples that can follow it appeared. I started with the pâté. It was perfect. Served with fresh apples, toast, and an apricot marmalade, the mixed meat blended harmoniously together into a tasty app. The apples were crisp. The marmalade you can taste the fruit and it was perfectly sweetened.
The oysters were fresh with a minimal amount of brine remaining. It comes with this frozen garlic /​shallot mix. It changes the oyster’s profile immensely. Try it.
For my main of crispy duckling. All I remember is I ate it very fast. The duck was still very juicy and cooked thoroughly, but it had the perfect crispy skin. They tasted very separate, but combined into a great entrée. The mixed vegetables that came with were crisp and fresh.
I was stuffed and passed on the dessert.

This is our Very Finest Restaurant on the Blue Hill peninsula! We have visited as often as our pocketbook allowed since the day they opened and also went for decades to the owner’s previous restaurant The Fire Pond.
The Tournedos of Beef are to die for! The crabmeat avocado salad is superb. We have never had a single poor menu choice ourselves, nor have our extensive friends and family whom we have brought as a treat.
The Gentlemen wear a jacket. The ladies wear a dress. The service is exemplary, they have staff that have served there for years. It is quiet, a Soto Voce place, the house is perfect Maine charm. This is a place to go for a romantic dinner or to celebrate one of Life’s very special events, leave the kids at home with a pizza.
I don’t happen to drink wine but the list appears significantly large and covers a wide range of choices. I adore this place. I hope it stays precisely the same and stays in business as long as I am able to visit,

Also a brewery. called DeepWater. Tasty stuff. Did not have food but they let us drink in the back garden. Good Pale, decent IPA… good brown that was like an Irish stout.

Excellent food and wonderful service. A clear step above anything in the area

PERFECTION1 From the staff to the food to the surroundings, everything was great. I just wish I lived closer. Do not hesitate to go to this restaurant, one of the best I’ve ever been to. I had the cesar salad, rack of lamb, and toranadoes of beef.

Unbelievable, high-​end quality dinning in small town Maine.
The use of ingredients and the playfulness with flavors, combine with expert meal finishing to make for an unforgettable dinning experience.
Highly recommend the warm spinach and arugula salad and the beef tenderloin medallions.

This place rocks! Lamb was Is Exquisite the service was phenomenal everything was wonderful. Other entrée was talk and it was amazing we love this restaurant

Second time here — both experiences have been perfection. Service, food, ambiance, drinks, wine, desserts — amazing. Hands down the best restaurant in the Blue Hill area.

So good. So, so good. And so charming. Will make you inarticulate with happiness. Take people you love and eat and drink well. Everyone has always been profoundly satisfied. Deepwater Brewing just opened in the back yard, and they’re worth visiting, too, but Arborvine is absolutely something else. If you’re lucky enough to end up in Blue Hill, you really ought to go.

Some of the best fine dining in the area. Beth and John are wonderful. A must when in Blue Hill.

This restaurant is simply beautiful, especially around Christmas when they decorate with white lights and candles in the windows. In Winter, a fire roars in the fireplace and creates a very cozy dining experience. This definitely feels like a Special Occasion Restaurant. In fact, my husband and I celebrated our engagement here and we’ve been back since then as well.
Exceptionally friendly and gracious service. From the moment you walk in the door, you are treated like the most important guest of the evening.
I’m not much of a foodie, but I could tell that they prepare the food with skill and love. My favorite dish is the «Tournedos Bordelaise with Vermont Chevre» but sometimes they run out of a couple entrees later in the evening so you may need to have a second choice in mind. Save room for dessert!
The only thing I don’t like: this restaurant is very quiet in the smaller rooms away from the bar area. Perhaps everyone is just enjoying the food, but my husband and I think of this as a «whisper while you eat» restaurant and not a place for excitedly discussing personal news.