Ocean Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Dinner with a View of Maine's Rocky Coastline

At Ocean Restaurant, the setting does much of the talking. Generous windows frame 180-degree views of the Atlantic — lobster boats and sailboats drifting past while guests settle into a dining room that Down East Magazine described as "illuminated at night by the soft glow of votive candles." The atmosphere deliberately evokes the elegance of an ocean liner, and the effect holds.

Perched at 208 Ocean Avenue within Cape Arundel Inn & Resort, Ocean is Kennebunkport's standard-bearer for refined American dining. The kitchen leans hard into Maine's larder — freshest local seafood, produce grown and raised nearby — and the menu reflects that commitment without apology. Think Dover sole, supplemental caviar service, and whatever the season's best catch happens to be.

The Menus

Dinner is structured around choice: a three-course prix-fixe at $105++ per person or a four-course menu at $125++ per person. Chef's wine pairings are available alongside — $60++ for three courses, $68++ for four — a natural complement to the restaurant's Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, which recognizes wine lists that are both outstanding in quality and genuinely appealing to a range of wine lovers. An à la carte menu runs alongside the prix-fixe for guests who prefer to compose their own meal.

Before or after dinner, the Veranda offers light bites and specialty beverages from 3 to 9 PM, with those same sweeping ocean views as backdrop. On Thursday afternoons, live music fills the space from 3 to 5 PM — an easy way to ease into an evening.

What Guests Say

TripAdvisor reviewers consistently return to the same notes: attentive and patient staff, a cozy bar, food that arrives hot and considered. "Great options on the menu. Great view. Cozy bar. Waitress was outstanding." The sentiment is consistent enough to be reliable. OpenTable's Diners' Choice Awards for 2024 named it among Maine's finest dining establishments — recognition earned through repeat visits, not novelty.

Ocean Restaurant is dinner-only, nightly from 5 to 9 PM, and reservations are strongly recommended.