In Praise of the Maine Diner in Wells, Maine
Yankee contributor and longtime Maine Diner patron Mike Urban pays tribute to this hallowed Wells eatery, which has been feeding locals and legions of travelers for more than three decades.
By Mike Urban|Oct 28 2021|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanWhen driving along Route 1 in Wells, Maine, keep your eyes peeled for the blue-and-white awnings of the Maine Diner — and be sure to stop in for some of the best comfort food in New England (or anywhere, for that matter).
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
In Praise of the Maine Diner
Brothers Myles and Dick Henry bought the Maine Diner and its half-acre garden plot in early 1983 from Socrates “Louie” Toton, who used to own another diner in Boston. The Henrys’ first customer crashed into a pole next to their parking lot in the predawn hours, then stopped in to sober up with some breakfast and hot coffee. After that inauspicious beginning, business steadily picked up. In the intervening years, the Maine Diner has served more than seven million customers.
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
Step through the front door, and you find yourself in a large fluorescent-lit room with a long counter and numerous tables and booths in the L-shaped dining area. The walls are covered with historical photos and accolades from celebrities around the country. There’s often a wait for a table or counter seat, especially in summertime, but things move quickly, as the diner’s kitchen and serving staffs have decades of experience.
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
There are several dishes not to be missed at this hallowed eatery. For breakfast, try the Myles Henry Downeast Benedict: two cod cakes topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, accompanied by home fries and an English muffin. Or go for the El Tiante (a dish favored by and named for the famed Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant): two poached eggs atop corned beef hash with toast and a fruit cup on the side.
There’s plenty to enjoy in the way of seafood, too. Start with the seafood chowder, another Myles Henry creation that has won numerous awards over the years. The diner’s lobster pie, invented by one of the Henrys’ grandmothers, calls for generous chunks of lobster topped with cracker crumbs, butter, and lemon, then baked in serving-size casserole dishes. The hot and cold lobster rolls are top-notch (and available in winter!), as are the sweet, crunchy fried clams and clam strips.
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
Then there are the nightly specials of New England diner stalwarts: meatloaf (Mondays), shepherd’s pie (Tuesdays), beef stew (Wednesdays), New England boiled dinner (Thursdays), seafood casserole and fresh salmon pie (Fridays), Yankee pot roast and red flannel hash (Saturdays), and roast pork dinner (Sundays).
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
For dessert, standouts include Maine blueberry pie (try it with a scoop of Maine blueberry ice cream); creamy Indian pudding topped with vanilla ice cream; and the grape-nut custard pudding, which comes with a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
The diner’s half-acre garden offers plenty of fresh seasonal produce (broccoli, green peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, etc.) for use in many of the diner’s dishes. Back when Louis Toton was owner, he actually closed the diner in the summertime to work in the garden, but that’s one tradition the Henrys decided to skip.
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
The Henry family recently sold the diner to Jim MacNeill, who has been its general manager for some 20 years. The future of the Maine Diner is in good hands, so be sure to stop by and enjoy a little slice of diner heaven when you’re in southern Maine.
Photo Credit : Mike Urban
Have you ever visited the Maine Diner in Wells, Maine? What’s your favorite Maine diner dish? Let us know in the comments below!
SEE MORE:
15 Best Diners in New England
Top 10 Diner Dishes in New England
75 Classic New England Foods
My wife and I always stop at the Maine Diner when we are in Wells. They have a fantastic staff, delicious food and treat you like family. Heck, you can’t beat that!
The breakfast is above and beyond…..I’ve never had blueberry pancakes that delicious before anywhere!
We LOVE the Maine Diner! It’s our first stop every year in Wells, and never disappoints. The clam chowder is my favorite! Yum!
We try to make it to the Maine Diner as many times as time will allow. We have never been disappointed in our choice of breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. I love the seafood chowder, lobster anything, including the lobster pie, lobster roll or lobster pancakes. I love love their Maine blueberry pie. The blueberries are the little wild ones grown only in Maine! Mmmmm so good and sweet! Can’t wait until our next visit. I also love to venture in their shop if we have a wait for our meal. I always see something to buy to bring home. So quaint and practical! It’s a tradition to bring home a slice of pie for later when we get home from our wonderful Maine journey along the coast back to Massachusetts.
The lobster pie, while belly clams and lobster Benedict are phenomenal!! My son, a foodie, said the lobster Benedict was the best thing he’s ever eaten!!
Can not go to Maine without a stop at the Maine Diner. Great food and nice people. A must stop if you are traveling to Maine
Thank you for the great article on the Maine Diner. It brings back so many wonderful memories of going there as a kid with my parents. And let’s not forget Millie….waitress extraordinaire! Much love.
Still attempting to duplicate lobster pie every Christmas. Wish I could spend another yummy meal at the Diner. Such fun; good food/friendly people/special atmosphere. Miss Maine.
A trip to Maine is NOT complete without a trip or two to the Maine Diner. The food is exceptional and the wait staff is superb !!! Keep up the good work and congrats on your new ownership… t/y
Thanks to the Henry family for many years of great food and memories. It’s good to know that the previous GM is the new owner. With his many years of experience at the Maine, he is in an ideal position to continue this great tradition!
My wife and I stop there every year we are in town. She likes the Lobster Pie and the Lobster Rolls. I like the breakfasts or seafood platter.
Lobster Mac and Cheese! And for my son, we finish off with Indian Pudding and blueberry ice cream! One New Year’s Eve, I brightened my holiday with ordering Lobster Pie and Seafood Chowder delivered to me in South Carolina! My go to place when I am in Maine! Love the Maine Diner!
We have been going to Maine for last big weekends, spring and fall, and sometimes summer since 1998. We first heard about the diner in 1999 from friends and have been eating there, and bringing our friends at least one and sometimes twice each visit. The food is fabulous and so varied that it will not lease any palate. A visit to Southern Maine is not complete without a visit!
My family and I ate breakfast at this diner in May about 2 years ago and it was the most tasteless breakfast I’ve ever eaten.That was after about a half an hour when we finally got waited on. Sorry
Every Summer we go to Maine and always either enjoy breakfast or lunch at the Maine Diner-Love this place-next summer I am having the Lobster Pie for sure:)
Ooohhhh! The Indian Pudding….to die for!!!! I MISS LIVING IN MAINE????????????
stop every year on the way to Sugarloaf,best breakfast and lunch and the real treat PIE!!
My cousins revived the old diner where our grandparents took us as kids. We spent summers at Drakes Island in Wells and were regulars when Louie owned it. Years later, the Henrys re-opened the diner and ran it successfully for almost fifty years. Jim is carrying on and I have no doubt he knows exactly what it takes to keep the legend alive. In the winter months, we gather friends here in California and order directly from the diner. They can ship overnight and its almost like being there.
We go to Maine every year and we always go to the Maine diner when we are here. We love their breakfast, especially the blueberry pancakes.
Best blueberry pancakes and the bacon is my favorite!!!And do they know how to fry an egg over medium! Their consistently great breakfast is what brings us back again and again! Not to mention the genuinely friendly staff!!!
We have made regular early fall trips to Wells for many years. We found the Maine diner about 10 years ago and it has become a regular stop on every trip. After traveling all around the country, we have eaten at literally hundreds of ‘diners’. We have never found friendlier staff, more courteous service or better food anywhere. Good luck to the new owner! Don’t change anything!
I cannot tell you how much I love the Maine Diner… but I love their seafood chowder more. And the blueberry pie. Never not order the blueberry pie. When I could I got my father there as often as possible because he loved to flirt with the waitresses. It was always a treat to take them there. Congrats Jim for the wonderful review.
Seafood chowder
Love love love the lobster Mac and cheese!
I love the Maine Diner! We make a point of stopping there when we are in Maine. The seafood chowder is outstanding. In the summer you may have a wait but it is well worth it.
THE BEST DINER…EVER!
My husband and I visit each year when we come for summer.
Lobster Pie…best ever! Hands down!
We are lucky enough to live just a few miles from the Maine Diner, so they have been our go-to place for many years. We were just there last night, as a matter of fact! My favorite meal is the lobster benedict. And the seafood chowder is the best I’ve had anywhere.
We happened upon the Maine Diner while on a New England car vacation (driving from Kansas City) in the 90s. We had breakfast at the diner, delicious, read a local paper, saw an ad for the Grey Gull Inn and had a wonderful time staying there–candlelit dinners and sunny breakfasts on the Inn’s screened porch overlooking the cove. If we hadn’t stopped at the Maine Diner we wouldn’t have found out about the Grey Gull Inn (now no longer in existance, I understand). One of our best vacations and fond memories of Wells, Maine!
The cod cakes are out of this world good.
The blueberry pancakes are dinner plate size and the sausage biscuits with gravy are a full plate of excellent taste!
EVERYTHING AT THE DINER IS GOOD! I live in Wells and I’ve NEVER had a bad meal there. In the summer it’s hard to get n unless you’re there at opening time and about 2 in the afternoon. CONGATS JIMMY!
We love the Maine Diner. My favorite is the Lobster Pie which I order every Spring on the first day back in Maine in May. The chowders are also my favorites.
Lobster rolls, Indian pudding and fried clams. It is a must when we visit Ogunquit. Thank you….the best!
Love the Maine Diner. It’s a definite stop every time I visit Maine. Seafood chowder is to die for. Great food all around.
Food is tremendous! I must say though, that their seafood chowder is the best that I have ever eaten, the best anywhere on the east coast!
Certainly one of the best diners in New England, and I frequent 2 of Yankee’s best in CT (Dottie’s in Woodbury and Laurel in Southbury), although neither have a Seafood Chowder, and Maine Diner’s is the best ever.
My husband and I made an annual trip from CT to ME to visit my aunt who lived in Portland and without fail never missed stopping at the Maine Diner. The blueberry pancakes were out of this world and the hash and eggs were my husbands favorite! Miss those days so much and hope to get back up there again in our travels. So happy it’s still alive and well and good luck to the new owner.
I found the diners chicken sandwich with a side of their delicious potato salad so good I look forward to getting there to get it every time I am in the area of Wells.
Best chicken pot pie anywhere! Whenever we travel from Connecticut, it’s always a required stop.
My favorite, bar none, restaurant in Maine. The food is great but the staff is awesome. If you haven’t been there, what are you waiting for. I have no favorites since everything I have eaten is the best down home cooking. Can’t wait to go there again soon.
The Indian Pudding is a religious experience. I cannot say enough good things about the Maine Diner. Anything you order will be delicious, but save room for the Indian Pudding pudding. Trust me.
We love the Maine Diner, best chicken pot pie EVER and We always take the corn muffin home for breakfast the next morning. Yummy!
One of the BEST chili meals I have ever had was at the Maine Dibner , it was served in a bowl of Rye Bread , with cheese atop the chili -OMG Delicious !!
There are too many food options in coastal Maine to count, but me and my wife always return to the Diner when we are lucky enough to be in Maine. My wife and her sisters in Kansas all enjoy wearing their Maine Diner t-shirts!
The first time we went to the Maine Dinner I had she crab soup. I’ve never seen it offered anywhere before. I wanted to lick the bowl. So embarrassing!! Oh my. What a dreamy flavor.
We love the Maine Diner. My favorite is the stuffed haddock and blueberry pie. We live on Long Island and when we vacation in Maine every year ,the diner is a must dinner. Kathy ????
I don’t understand all of the hype. We stopped into the Maine diner 2 summers ago, because of all the hype, and we were not impressed. I ordered the lobster pie and it was just ok. There is a nice portion of lobster, but thats the only positive, and you definitely pay for it. The prices are not diner prices, and we have had far better seafood dishes for more reasonable prices at other restaurants in our many Maine travels. In fact, we thought that this was one of the worst restaurants we have visited in all of Maine (and there have been many). Sad to say that the best part of our meal at the Maine diner was the corn muffin they give you with your dinner.
L..couldn’t agree with you more. Have tried diner a couple times over the years and always left disappointed with a much lighter wallet. I will give the new owner a shot! Bc I really want to love it there…so much potential.
Oh my! I am also left wondering how many of these comments are fake – either written by staff members or paid testimonials? They are too good to be true (suspicious).
Hi there! I can assure you that none of the comments left on this post were paid or posted by Yankee staff members. We are sorry to hear that you did not have a positive experience! – Aimee, Sr. Digital Editor
Loved the Maine Diner in Wells. Have been there many times. Loved the lobster pie. Has many excellent choices. The grapenut custard is a favorite.
lobster mac and cheese and warm blueberry pie !!!!!
A trip to Maine would not be complete without a trip to the wonderful Maine Diner. Look forward to it every time we travel to Maine . Been going for years … creating the best memories !
We have lived in Florida since 1981 and originally from Maine and NH. Whenever we visit in Maine, we always make it a point to stop at this diner. Love their Lobster rolls, but especially love the friendliness of the entire staff. Good eats.
We travel to Maine every year,we love it.We also love the she crab soup and the lobster triple decker sandwiches at the Maine Diner.
This is an honest review. I wish I did not feel compelled to post this. However, beware to visit the real Maine Diner as there must be an impostor out there. My wife and I brought visiting guests to the diner. We live a few towns north. The service, food, cleanliness and atmosphere were all in the lowest quartile of the hundreds of eateries we have visited over our many decades of dining out. Our visit was in 2019 before the busiest part of the summer season. Perhaps our expectations were too high, given the glowing reviews we read. But, I honestly can say this was one of the most disappointing dining (?) experiences I have ever had.
I have visited the Maine diner for many years and this was the first time I was qqdisappointed. The clam chowder was cold, like water and you needed a magnifying glass to find any clams. The fried clams were coated with so much batter that it was difficult to find the clams. In summary, the meal was of poor quality and I will not be returning soon. Richard Plati Melrose, Ma
My husband and I have been going to the Maine Diner for years. Even plan our trip so we can stop for breakfast. Their lobster quiche and Myles cod cakes topped with egg and hollandaise sauce is yummy-licious!
Same for all the other dishes we have…lobster pie, seafood chowder, cod cakes and even the baked beans???? My family loves their lobster pie so much that we have it delivered. And…it has become a must have addition to our Christmas Eve dinner.
The lobster pie is out of this world! The seafood chowder is excellent, thick with lots of seafood. Large portions too! I can’t wait for vacation so we can go back.