Where to Eat in Camden, Maine

For a town that requires a fairly determined effort to reach, Camden, Maine, feels like a cultural hub — and not just in summer, when tourists crowd Main Street and make parking a chore. There’s a year-round community here that punches above its weight in world influence now that the area has become a magnet for top-tier State Department retirees. The first weekend of every February, big names in the U.S. foreign-policy world descend on the town to discuss globalization, the rise of nationalism, and diplomacy as part of the annual Camden Conference. Then there are the technology titans, who tend to be more seasonal but who run the equally prestigious PopTech — the East Coast’s answer to TED — every fall here. Finally, there are the sailors and yachters, who are admittedly sparse in winter but who give the town such a boost in season that many shops and boutiques can cover the winter rent with their summer earnings.

All of this adds up to a remote coastal town that remains vibrant in winter, long after Edgartown and Bar Harbor have shuttered half their storefronts for the season, and a food scene that offers much more than chowder and lobster (wonderful as they are).

Take Long Grain, a pan-Asian but heavily Thai-influenced destination restaurant from Bangkok natives Ravin Nakjaroen and Paula Palakawong. This isn’t your local takeout place: Nakjaroen has been a repeat James Beard Award semifinalist, and his kitchen turns out vividly flavored dishes with an impressive array of local produce, house-made noodles, and plenty of fresh seafood (you can add Maine crab or smoked mackerel to your fried rice). And yet nothing on the menu costs more than $18. Our favorite dish, pad kemao, combines wok-charred wide noodles with Thai basil, fresh greens, wild mushrooms, and a meat option (we recommend the pork belly). In Nakjaroen’s hands, the dish achieves a flavor potency that will shock your senses without overwhelming them.

The restaurant is small (just 30 seats) and furnished with mismatched tables and Edison bulbs — a welcome bit of warmth when the winds are blowing off Penobscot Bay. And even as you tuck into kimchi ramen, you’ll see lucky families picking up some pad Thai takeout as if world-class Thai is an everyday thing. longgraincamden.com

Where to Eat in Camden, Maine | Also Of Note

40 Paper

This cozy restaurant in the town’s historic Knox Mill building serves Italian-inspired fare (grilled pizzas, house-made pasta with clams and fennel, hanger steak with ricotta gnocchi) and a great menu of craft cocktails. Gluten-averse diners, take heart: There are breads, pastas, and desserts for you, too. 40paper.com

Boynton-McKay Food Co.

Housed in a former Victorian-era apothecary that retains much of its turn-of-the-century charm, this popular eatery offers a terrific breakfast and lunch, from buttermilk pancakes and egg sandwiches to roast beef on focaccia with garlic aioli. boynton-mckay.com

Natalie’s 

Located in the Relais & Châteaux–approved Camden Harbour Inn, Natalie’s is the most formal fine-dining destination in town, but it’s far from stodgy. Local bounty meets culinary alchemy, as chefs deconstruct familiar dishes and spin them into pristine composed plates. Executive chef Chris Long won the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year in 2013, so there’s an entire tasting menu dedicated to our favorite crustacean. nataliesrestaurant.com

Rosalie Joy’s Bakery

This “special little bakery by the sea” masters the classic layer cake and offers a local take on morning buns with cinnamon, blueberry, lemon, and pecan-honey variations. rosaliejoysbakery.com