Here's where a fourth-generation lobsterman goes for lobster rolls in Maine
Getty ImagesHeather Strout Thompson has been hauling lobster since traps were wooden. Here are her top lobster rolls in her home state of Maine, from Chipman's Wharf to Luke's Lobster.
Hundreds of years ago, lobsters washed up in droves along what's now Maine's rocky coast, so plentiful and cheap it was fed to prisoners. Today, tourists from all over come to the US's north-easternmost state for the meatiest, sweetest lobster in the world, thanks to its freezing cold waters. And the best lobsters naturally make the best lobster rolls.
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Heather Strout Thompson has been hauling lobsters since traps were wooden, starting as a 10-year-old on her dad's lobster boat in the 1980s. Now, with her sister and niece assisting her as sternmen, she's captain of the boat she built. Her 36ft Wayne Beal fishing vessel, "Gold Digger", even finished first in five of Maine's celebrated Lobster Boat Races.
The lobster roll is a classic and beloved New England sandwich, featuring fat hunks of delicious lobster meat stuffed into a grilled, split-top hot dog bun. To find Maine's top specimens, we spoke to Heather Strout Thompson, a fourth-generation lobsterman (a gender-neutral term in Maine) from the town of Harrington, who's among a growing number (now 15%, up from 8% 10 years ago) of females in this male-dominated industry.
"Fishing is in our blood," says Thompson. "It's the only thing I've ever done, so I'm going to do everything I can to protect it – for my grandchildren and theirs.'"
Thompson says the most tender, succulent lobster comes from the freshest daily catch. So whether you take your lobster roll drenched in melted butter (New England style) or tossed cold in a touch of mayonnaise (the Maine way), you can count on one thing: Thompson's list of family-owned shacks and restaurants along the Maine coast serve their lobster rolls trap to table, no freezer needed.
Here are Thompson's favourite lobster rolls in her home state.
Getty Images1. The best off the boat: Chipman's Wharf, Milbridge
From the rooftop restaurant of Chipman's Wharf, overlooking a working waterfront, a lobster roll has never tasted sweeter, says Thompson.
An industry in peril
The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the world's oceans, and with mounting regulations, the delicacy in Southern Maine is now scarcer by the year. In nearby Connecticut, where the first lobster roll was made in 1929, along with southern New England, the lobster population has declined by 70%, forcing Maine's multigenerational lobstering families to work even harder to survive.
Visitors can support the industry by eating the best lobster rolls anywhere, straight from the boat.
Forty-four miles east of Acadia National Park on the Narraguagus River, lobster rolls are ordered (hot buttered or cold with light mayo) while patrons watch the boats deliver their catch. One of these boats is driven by owner John Chipman, a third-generation lobsterman, who constructed the restaurant in 2002.
"At Chipman's they're all lobstermen, and they're bringing it up to the restaurant themselves, so you know it's the freshest," says Thompson.
Chipman recently had to reconstruct the restaurant's 106ft wharf after the pilings and the 800 traps on them washed away in January 2024 storm floods that ravaged coastal Maine. But with a few dozen steadfast lobstermen delivering daily, this seasonal family restaurant isn't letting up anytime soon. And if you prefer making your lobster roll at home, they ship too.
Website: www.chipmanswharf.com
Address: 304 Wyman Road, Milbridge
Phone: 207-646-2426
Instagram: @chipmanswharf
Alamy2. The best for sustainability: Luke's Lobster, Portland
As a third-generation lobsterman, Luke Holden traded Wall Street investing in his 20s to start a tiny lobster shack with his partner, Ben Connif, in Manhattan's East Village, sourcing directly from his dad's Maine lobster processing facility.
Thompson's tips
• Avoid seasonal crowds; travel in the shoulder season (May, September-October)
• Tracing from trap to table, meet a lobsterman on their lobstering tour.
• Learn about climate change in Maine at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute or the Island
Institute (proceeds from Luke's support both).
• Go see a working waterfront (in Portland, Millbridge, Stonington, Monhegan, Friendship, Beals, Southwest Harbor or Vinalhaven).
• Hit up the Lobster Boat Races in July and August.
Luke's Lobster now has 17 branches in Japan, Singapore and across the US, but there's only one fully fledged restaurant and it sits at the end of an old fishing pier with one of the best views of Casco Bay in the growing foodie mecca of Portland. The company's lobsters, which are always bought directly from lobstermen, are kissed with a touch of butter and mayo and topped with Holden's special seasoning.
Now back in Maine, Holden has his own Maine processing plant and donates a portion of his proceeds to preserve fishing communities and ocean sustainability, using only renewable energy and helping lobstermen reduce their carbon footprint.
"What Luke has done is vital to the future of Maine’s lobster industry," she adds. “And, because the meat is so fresh, he makes a darn good lobster roll."
Website: lukeslobster.com/pages/portland-pier
Address: 60 Portland Pier, Portland
Phone: 207-550-2490
Instagram: @lukesportland
Getty ImagesAfter an hour-long ferry ride from Boothbay, New Harbor or Port Clyde, a lobster roll is non-negotiable at Fish House at Monhegan Island, a fish house and seafood market first opened by harbour master Sherman "Shermie" Stanley and now run by islander Jane Vis. The only place in Maine with exclusive rights to lobstering in the surrounding waters, Monhegan Island is also the state's sole spot with a winter lobster season, kicking off on 1 October – on Trap Day, the island's holiday.
Thompson's tips: how to eat lobster like a local
• A softshell lobster available July-September) may contain less meat, but it's sweeter and so soft you can rip it with your hands. No shell-cracking tool necessary.
• Skip the celery and tarragon. Let the lobster be the star: serve in a split-top hot dog bun, buttered on the griddle. Top with melted butter, light mayo or both.
• If preparing at home, leave no meat behind, starting with the legs.
That means lots of fresh lobster for the 59 year-round residents willing to tough it out in Maine's freezing winters 12 miles out to sea – and its many visitors. This breathtakingly beautiful island doubles as an artist colony, drawing famous artists like Rockwell Kent and Jamie Wyeth, who still lives there seasonally.
Thompson suggests pairing your lobster roll with a tasty beer from lobsterman Matt Weber and his wife Mary at their nearby Monhegan Brewery before devouring a fresh lobster roll (mayo and a side of melted butter) at Fish Beach overlooking the harbour: "Their lobster roll is filled with giant satisfying chunks of claw meat."
Getty Images4. The best big roll: Taste of Maine, Woolwich
While those with big appetites might also consider buying their roll earlier in the season, there’s a reason to buy in the high season. "In July, you'll start catching more and more 'shedders' and less hardshell lobster. After they bury themselves in the mud and moult (males once a year and females every two years) the lobster shell is softer," says Thompson. "Some softshell shedders may have less meat, but they have a sweeter flavour and [to get to the meat] you can break them with your fingers like paper." No lobster tools necessary and less messy too. "The colour is a nice bright orange. We call them pumpkins," she adds. "The Taste of Maine serves softshell most of the summer. It’s fresh, amazing and packed with meat."
This family-run restaurant, founded in 1978 and filled with nautical antiques does everything bigger, with live music and comedy, and of course, beautiful water views.
Website: tasteofmaine.com
Address: 161 Main St, Woolwich
Phone: 207-443-4554
Instagram: @tasteofmainerestaurant
Alamy5. The best of the islands: McLoons Lobster Shack, South Thomaston
Also on the Mid-Coast, another family-owned lobster shack sits at the tip of one of Maine's prettiest peninsulas on Spruce Head Island. "I love to see lobster shacks when I'm travelling. Most are family-owned-and-operated, and it's nice to see people supporting local fishermen," says Thompson.
McLoons belongs to Bree Birns, whose family owns and operates the bustling wharf where lobstermen deliver their catches to one of Maine's long-standing fishing co-ops. The shack itself is an old lobster storage shed now serving up two rolls: a traditional quarter pounder and the double-sized Rolls Royce (with butter, mayo or both) and plenty of claws – the most tender, flavourful part, says Thompson. "Double the lobster fresh off the boat from another female lobsterman? What's not to love about that?"
Her recommendation: Take it all in with a side of coleslaw and chips from the outdoor table and chairs made from lobster traps.
Website: mcloonslobster.com (Selling mail-order lobster rolls too.)
Address: 315 Island Road, Spruce Head Island
Phone: 207-593-1382
Instagram: mcloonslobster
Getty Images6. The best old-school joint: Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company, South Freeport
Located right by the boats at the town landing in South Freeport, Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company is another landmark mom-and-pop waterfront shack that has been serving locally sourced lobster since 1970. The small dine-in-dine-out shack with a lobster pound is one of the longest-serving lobster shacks in the state.
"It looks like a hole in the wall but looks can be deceiving. The lobster roll is delicious – and one of the few left that still comes with fries,” says Thompson. With indoor or outdoor dining over harbour views, a lobster pound and the state's celebrated homemade whoopie pies for dessert, this is classic Maine.
BBC Travel's The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.
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