Pig + Poet

We ventured all the way from San Diego, the most geographically opposite American city on the map, and every aspect of this place was amazing. We experienced a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday experience and it encompasses the trifecta for food, décor, service. Drinks are in it’s own category under EXTRA CREDIT and the cocktails, Social Hour, and bar service is like no other. We hit the Social «Happy» Hour everyday we were in Camden.

I’ve never been so excited about mac and cheese. They take it to a whole other level! Eclectic southern charm in the heart of gorgeous Camden, fun music, great atmosphere, and incredible food. Can’t wait to go back!

We only had a pre dinner drink here (the bartender was wonderful), and judging by the gin and tonic olives we snacked on, we will definitely be back to try the food!
As for the atmosphere, the space feels upscale and is well designed (nice to see hip in Maine), and the Inn that it’s located in looked beautiful (loved the outdoor fire pit). I will say though that the restaurant is a pretty big space, and it was missing some of the Maine coziness I enjoyed in other places along our trip. Maybe it was a lighting/​music thing. Maybe it was the couple watching the football game on their iPhone next to us at the bar. Just felt a tad cold despite it being pretty full.

My partner and I had drinks and appetizers here before driving down to Shepard’s Pie in Rockport, ME for dinner, which i also reccommend. Chef Sam Talbot and his kitchen crew impressed me (which is hard to do) and even Wowed me with their Gin and Tonic Olives, served warm with brined and roasted pepper corns, that take on a slightly fruity taste. However, the dish that most impressed me was the Broiled oysters, with smoked sausage, topped with biscuit crumbs, and served with a caramelized onion sauce. They were succulent and disappeared in a flash! All ingredients were sourced locally and sustainably as far as i know. One more shout out to Jacob, who was the Host but also doubled as our server extraordinaire and reccommended wine parings to go with the delectable food. Sidenote: Pig + Poet is housed is Whitehall Inn where we also stayed at and was lovely! I look forward to returning and to dine here and at the new restaurant Chef Sam Talbot is opening soon.

I’m doing all that I can to not give this place 1 star. Mainly because the meal was edible and the drinks were decent. This place is supposedly known for its fried chicken and traveling from the south, I thought I’d compare and get a meal that reminded me of home in North Carolina. First, the skin had NO FLAVOR. Good fried chicken needs just salt and pepper… Both seemed missing. Next, you just need flour and fry. The skin had the consistency of fried dough. I also think they need to learn to drain the grease off before saving. The «hot sauce» seemed to only be lemon juice. It added nothing to the chicken. The best part of the dish was the roasted potatoes on the side. If you’re wanting to spend the money that Pig and Poet wants to charge, you’d be better off ordering about 10 extra crispy buckets from KFC. If the chef wants to learn how to cook fried chicken, go to any grandmothers house in the south and see will gladly show you. I will say, my breakfast in Camden at Boynton and lunch at Reds in Wiscasset made up for this disaster. Next time, I will remember to stop at primo instead.

Seriously this place is so great. I grew up in New England we packed up and went to Maine lots of times during the summers. Not only is the food amazing, thoughtful and fresh, the staff is super friendly. You have not had a lobster roll until you have had the Pig + Poet lobster roll. I am SUPER picky about my lobster, so when that roll came to the table with fresh waffle chips and crispy fried chicken skin I just about ordered another one right away. We were traveling with my father who ordered the market bowl, he liked it so much he ordered another one right away! He had gone on a 5 mile swim in the ocean earlier, but still, it was that good. My son had the salad with me and squid la plancha with this amazing cornbread on the side. We even returned the next night, had fried chicken, tacos, fried green tomatoes and a lot of other stuff. We basically center all of our trips around where to eat and it speaks volumes that Pig + Poet was the only place that we ate at while we were there. The only thing negative I would add is that Pig + Poet only has one location. This place is on point. Thanks Pig + Poet! We will be back!

Wife and I had reservations for a Saturday night. We were able to book same night. We are visiting from out of town and can say it’s one of the best atmospheres in late night dining in the area. The staff is a little young and inexperienced but very nice and responsive.
We ordered oysters, fish tacos and the roasted salmon. All were very good and came out in great time. We ordered the blueberry crisp and banana pudding. Both were excellent. We had an issue with our blueberry crisp but once brought to their attention, they quickly corrected it.

Not a great experience overall. I could not eat the squid. way too many ingredients including olives. The lobster roll was a pathetic little roll mostly bread that did not look or taste «home made» served with waffle potato chips and that is it on the plate. Fried chicken hard sweet crust too much honey the interior meat was good. Service fair. Good bet to order the burger. Nice décor.

The food was fantastic! Simple, elegant furnishings create the perfect ambience to enjoy the bursts of flavor crafted by head chef Sam Talbot. The Mac + Cheese, Aphrodite Oysters, and White Chocolate Banana Pudding were phenomenal, but the star of the night was definitely the Lobster Roll enclosed in homemade brioche. The staff were friendly and quick. My family drove all the way from Greenwich, CT to explore areas of Maine and we thoroughly enjoyed the Pig + Poet!

Just a beautiful upscale spot. We had dinner here the other night and thought the food and drinks where 4 stars. The service was awful. I call it «disorganized chaos.»
First, we got sat near the AC vent. No problem, we asked to be moved and they accommodated. At least 4 other couples did the same thing.
Sat down at our new table and waitress took at least 10 mins to come over and take a drink order. She then proceeded to leave the drinks on the bar while she ran around. So, 20 mins for first drinks. She ran around with no real intent. J
It was down hill from here. It appeared it was just our waitress, but she seemed to be 10 steps the wrong direction at all times. Whether that was to ask how our meal was, or clear the dirty plates or refill our cocktails. Even the dessert menu took forever to get handed out.
I’d love to go back, but it will have to be in a few months after this person either gets the correct training or is fired.

We cancelled our reservation at anther highly rated Camden restaurant to eat at the Pig and Poet based on a recommendation. Big mistake. Terrible service and ordinary to bad food. Our whole fish which was around $ 34 was full of bones, tasteless and served without even a fish knife. The side was plain lettuce with no dressing except a very vinegary sauce that we weren’t sure was meant for the fish or salad. No explanation was given for any of the menu items and a disinterested wait staff didn’t help. The chicken was good but expensive .The décor is off-​putting and trendy to the point of clichéd. Only good thing — the cocktails were decent. We won’t be back for dinner but this could be a good place for drinks before moving on to a better place for dinner.

The food was quiet good, especially the scallops – although everyone says their fried chicken is the best, I just don’t eat chicken. The ambience is excellent. My only complaint was the doors were open and lots of mosquitos made their way inside. My wife is very sensitive to mosquito bites and thus had a hard time.
If you don’t have time for dinner, I would highly recommend the bar for drinks.

Came here on vacation like most reviewers, so my review is based on only one meal.
The atmosphere screams young and hipster. Not objectionable, just a fact. Succulents on the tables, creative industrial-​style lighting, a game of cornhole on the front lawn, etc. I recommend making a reservation, at least if you’re here in early August, because they were busy.
We ordered the fried green tomatoes with crab salad to start. I ordered fried chicken and my dinner companion got the flank steak, which I tasted. The fried green tomatoes were solid and the crab was tasty. The flank steak was delicious. I wish I had ordered it. The sides were all great, and the sweet potato/​fingerling potato/​kale side that came with the fried chicken was particularly good. The wine menu was good. I enjoyed the Grüner Veltliner. We had decaf after dinner and the coffee was solid.
The only food disappointment was the fried chicken. It came with some sort of honey glaze and hot sauce, which I hadn’t expected, but I think it was my fault for not reading the menu properly. They don’t deserve to lose a star for my mistake, but the chicken was also over-​floured. A few times I bit into big chunks of flour coating the outside of the chicken, when I was expecting to bite into the meat. Not inedible, but not tasty. There was enough food, that I just started ignoring the chicken to work on tastier dishes, so my meal was not much affected by the problem.
The staff was friendly, although seemed a bit busy. Being on vacation, we weren’t in a rush, but they were slow to clear dishes and come out with the next plate. If speed is important to you, this is probably not the place.
Overall, if I lived here, I would give this place another shot. Maybe the fried chicken was an aberration? But, I only came once, and it wasn’t perfect, so four stars.

My fiancé and I stayed at the Whitehall Inn and were so thrilled to have Pig + Poet on site. We are a young couple from Brooklyn and food is very important to us so Pig + Poet was actually half the reason why we decided to stay there. If you haven’t been to Camden, there’s not a ton of great food, so it was nice to have the best restaurant in town right downstairs from our hotel room. The staff here was super friendly and accommodating. We had just gotten engaged a few days before so they treated us extra well and always made sure we were well taken care of. Jacob, was especially helpful in making sure we never waited too long, even though the restaurant could be swamped with guests. As I said, it’s the best place to eat in Camden, so patrons come from all over town.
Pig + Poet is beautifully designed and creates a lovely atmosphere to enjoy your meal. As I said, we are from Brooklyn and have hilarious high standards for food and design. This place was GORGEOUS, hip, stylish and somehow still warm and cozy. We ate here two nights in a row and tried nearly the entire menu. Just like the rest of Maine, the fish here is to die for. We absolutely loved the oysters with the caramelized onion mignonette (sounds weird, but is actually awesome), the fish tacos and the mussels in lobster broth. The broth was pretty good (my boyfriend loved it/​I was so so) but the mussels themselves were some of the best I’ve ever had. Some of our other favorites were the fried green tomatoes with crab, the mac and cheese, and the burger. All absolutely delicious.
If you stay at the hotel, you receive a complimentary breakfast at Pig + Poet and we looked forward to it every morning. It’s quite a large spread with eggs three different ways, fresh baked goods, local fruit, delicious yogurt and more. The cherry on top of the sundae is that the head chef, Sam Talbot, practically serves you your breakfast. Can’t beat that for service with a hunky smile.
By the time we left, we had eaten at Pig + Poet 4 times in 2 days. Our only regret was not staying for the pig roast on Sunday which we had to unfortunately miss.
Would definitely come back and will recommend it as a «must eat» to all of our friends.

The food was okay, not very memorable. The food was well presented and drinks were great. The host Jacob was a flake!!! He was overwhelmed by patrons that he DID NOT RESERVE A TABLE for people with Reservations and staying at the hotel. He was busy a flutter, spiraling around in conversations or Busy making costume changes. The other staff were great even though a big incident was caused by another employee.

Great service. Delicious burger. Cool chairs. Decent beer selection. Gonna come back for sure. Eager to try the mussels, wings, and fried chix. thumbs up. And will definitely consider a fifth star after a few more meals. Hard to go five stars based on one experience b/​c consistency is huge in evaluating a restaurant… but I’ve got faith it’ll work out the kinks all start-​ups face, and then stay awesome once it finds awesome.

An excellent place to eat while in Camden, ME. I went there with my wife and kids. Open, airy, well lit dining area. Young staff. Great new twist on traditional food. Great drinks. Slightly more pricier than expected for the type of food. We are fans and will return.

My partner and I were drawn to Whitehall because of the beautiful lights hanging on their back patio – it really looked inviting. The face of Whitehall was equally as beautiful and impressive. We decided after two days in Camden that the Pig + Poet was where we wanted to celebrate my birthday dinner.
The place was immaculate – the décor was modern, warm, and welcoming. Loved the Edison lightbulbs and the white birch tree wallpaper – all things I would decorate my own dwelling with. My birthday had been particularly rainy and blue up to this point but thing were looking up. We walked in and asked to sit outside (the rain had cleared up an hour before arriving at Whitehall). Though there was some slight hesitation, they accommodated my request and lead us to the bar while they cleared the patio. The bartender, a truly kind and loquacious soul named Saramanda, really took the time to know us before making any suggestions with drinks. Her bartending skills were impeccable and we were very happy to have met her — she set the stage for a truly romantic and wonderful evening.
Once our table was ready, we were lead outside – we couldn’t believe it, we had the whole patio to ourselves! This happened by way of luck, I believe, but it really meant a lot to me that the restaurant allowed this to happen. It truly made my birthday special. The food was absolutely delicious (we started with the mac and cheese and fried green tomatoes appetizers, and for our entrée we had the buttermilk fried chicken, duck fat roasted portatoes, kale chips, with poet hot sauce, and the Aldemere Farms Burger Gruyère, Cheddar, Egg, Remoulade, Greens, Housemade Sesame Seed Brioche, Buttermilk Onion Rings) and the prices were very reasonable! I asked my partner, after two weeks of vacation and eating like kings, what his favorite dish of the trip was. Hands down, the friend chicken. SO delicious.
Our waitress was very knowledgable and really took the time to help us decide on the food we’d most enjoy. The chef, Sam Talbot, came to our table to visit to make sure everything was perfect. He even offered us blankets to keep us warm while we eat out meals. The fire pit was the dreamy and the exact place I wanted to sit and have a couple of drinks and digest. So cozy with our blankets. Little did I know that my partner had requested my favorite dessert to be brought out with a lit candle. The server walked out singing «Happy Birthday.» I was in heaven – I had never had this kind of treatment on my birthday and it was truly an experience I will never forget.
On the way out the door we stopped to say goodbye to Saramanda and thank her for being so wonderful – we ended up sitting and having another couple of drinks just to chat with her and have a good time. Right before we left, I was able to sit and play a bit of piano (the same piano my favorite poet Edna St. Vincet Millay played on many years ago) before heading home to bed. Thank you, Whitehall AND Pig +Poet for being so on top of things. We will be back and recommend you to anyone we come across. A++

Such a great restaurant in historic Camden. Lovely setting with unique detail, like the amazing light fixtures crafted with pipe and Edison bulbs. The menu was fantastic, and we enjoyed the fish tacos, mussels and a selection of deserts immensely. Delicious cocktails, too! Definitely will be back soon.

Went in with high expectations. Unfortunately they were not met. We booked a table for 6:30pm on a Sunday night. Arrived on time to find an interesting setting. The hotel has been redone in an eclectic fashion which sometimes worked and sometimes just a bit too over the top (red plastic couch was a nice color point, but not inviting to sit on) Touches like a historic baby grand and some of the artwork were quite lovely.
Were met by the hotel receptionist at her standing desk. She kept assuring us that we would soon be sat at our table… and then assured us again… and after we wandered about for a bit it did finally happen… but as we could see the dining room just beyond was nearly empty, it wasn’t clear why we had to wait so long to be showed to our table. If she had suggested that we have a drink at the bar while we waited that would have been helpful, but it wasn’t clear that that was an option.
The dining room was light and bright and airy. And while the copper tube light fixtures gave a surprisingly nice warm glow to the room they seemed a bit out of scale. There was a nice side bar room that looked like it would be pleasant to sit in… but it was empty… as was the screened in dining porch off the main room. The outside patio with a circular firepit would have been a welcome place to have a before or after dinner drink, but wasn’t offered and I found it only by chance.
Onto the food. Tried to order the baked clams. Was told sometime after we placed our order that they were out of clams (at 6:30?) and could they substitute oysters instead. Said sure… but they arrived with an almost inedibly salty mignonette which I guess was what would have been over them if they had been served cold. And an accompanying dipping sauce which I guess would have accompanied the baked clams if they had had them… but it seemed to consist of primarily vinegar with a few hot pepper… might have worked on baked clams… it didn’t help the oysters swimming in warm mignonette. The starter salads were primarily lettuces… lovely fresh little lettuces but that seemed to be about it. OK but uninspiring.
Our dining companions who are vegetarians were dismayed by the lack of vege friendly offerings as they had heard otherwise. They did order a Mac & Cheese without the pork… was good. And a farro salad. Bottom line for them was they would not be coming back.
Onto the rest of the mains… the Whiting (removed of its head so as not to offend our dining companions) was well cooked (tricky with fish) but rather bland. The side order of Cornmeal Pudding was great and well worth ordering.
My mussels arrived. They were… what’s the word…“horsey” in flavor. Not fresh, almost afraid to eat them. Which was REALLY a shame because the combination Yuzu, Lobster, duck confit broth was outstanding. Really great… so I sopped up the sauce with bread and left about half the mussels uneaten.
Then onto two truely great side dishes. Although I didn’t recognize the Duck Fat Potato at first in its little Staub casserole dish (I was expecting something quite different) they turned out to be a hit. As were the Daily Roasted Veg. This dish was really outstanding. A different twist on roasted veg and I happily ate wondering what they had done to make them so memorable.
My overall sense was there was a good menu put together, but I certainly didn’t think that, at least on this night, there was a chef in the kitchen… I could be wrong. One dessert, the blueberry crumble was well worth ordering if only for the really yummy GingerSnap ice cream. The flourless chocolate dish with caramel and salt lacked enough caramel and salt.
So this is a new place and of course that means there are kinks to work out… but the food was VERY uneven… the hospitality needs work… and what could have been great if it was well executed lacked oversight. I will go back to try again as a couple of the side dishes were really quite good… but I didn’t leave feeling love… or loved.
NOTE THAT I HAD ORIGINALLY POSTED THIS REVIEW UNDER THE WHITEHALL HOTEL LISTING AND IT WAS REALLY MEANT TO REFLECT MY OPINION OF THE PIG + POET… I NOTED THAT SEVERAL OTHERS HAD DONE THE SAME WHO SHARED MY OPINION.