Mount Desert Island Ice Cream

MDI has amazing ice cream! Creamy, flavorful and simply fun. We were drawn to it by a long line in front, a total random discovery that just delivered big time. This is going to be on the roster of places we will always visit whenever we are in Bar Harbor. The chocolate Oreo and the Maine Sea Salt Caramel were both incredible.

My friend & I can agree that this was the best cream we’ve ever had. The Madagascar Vanilla Bean was insanely good. We kept pausing to tell each other how good the ice cream was. Highly recommend!

I’m a tourist from New York, and Mount Desert Island Ice Cream in Bar Harbor is the best ice cream I’ve ever had! At many other places, I usually can’t even finish two scoops because they’re too sweet, but here I not only finished them—I wanted more! I had the Real Strawberry and Vanilla flavors—highly recommended!

I’ve been to Mt. Desert Ice Cream twice now, and it’s been a tale of two cones. The first time, I ordered the Sweet Cream Cookies & Cream. It was fine—good texture, nice cookies—but honestly, it was so sweet I felt like my teeth were filing a complaint. Definitely not bad, just not my personal jam (or in this case, cream). The second time, I struck gold: Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter. Oh. My. Goodness. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Imagine your grandma’s peanut butter fudge, but somehow transformed into cold, creamy perfection. Sweet, salty, nutty, addictive—it’s been living rent-free in my head ever since. I’m already plotting my return like a cartoon villain. If you like peanut butter, don’t even think—just get it.

The ice cream is rich and delicious. The Maine Sea Salt Carmel was fantastic. The Vanilla Bean was vanilla and also good. Order and pay at counter. Plenty of indoor seating.

Probably the best ice cream I have ever tasted. I got the salted caramel and the cinnamon cardamom. Both ice creams had extremely well balanced flavors. They weren’t melty, yet I could taste the creaminess and could tell they use high quality ingredients! My sister tried a sundae with the blueberry crumble ice cream and said it was delicious. It was quite pricey for the amount you get, but it was definitely some of the best ice cream out there!

Some of the best ice cream we’ve ever had!! 😭😭 We had the cinnamon cardamom and the honey sea salt and both flavours were really good. More than that, the texture of the ice cream here is like nothing we’ve ever tried — really dense and sticky. We’re already planning to come back and try more flavours!!

Offers unique and delicious flavors, but understandably no samples! The poppy seed lemon and the cookies and cream were amazing.

Some of the most unique and creative flavors I've seen, with a seasonal touch to it. It is definitely a pricier treat, so I highly recommend splitting scoops with friends to cut the cost. We shared a flight (4 scoops) of Cinnamon Cardamom, Blueberry Crumble, Butter Pecan, and Honey Spice Cake. They were all amazing and unique, highly recommend this place.

We had a flight which was four scoops of ice cream including sweet cream, baked apple, butterbeer, and sea salt caramel. All of the flavors were very good. The ice cream texture is interesting, like a marshmallow-y texture.

I came here for ice cream and it was delicious. They do not give samples and it took me a while to choose a flavor. They have a lot of different flavors and the staff is very helpful. I got two scoops in a cone. I had the blueberry basil sorbet and the salted caramel ice cream. Both flavors were delicious and I regret not going back before I leave Maine. I recommend this place and is a must stop when you are in Bar Harbor.

Wow, really amazing ice-cream spot! They have a bunch of different creative and seasonal flavors, which made it hard to decide! Especially since you cannot sample them first. There was a short line when we stopped by. The staff were friendly and prompt. There are a couple of tables for seating indoors but it's also conveniently located off of a main street, so you can wonder around while enjoying your treat. I'd definitely recommend checking them out!

Lots of reviews for this place already so did it live up? Yes and more. The texture of this ice cream is unlike anything I've had. Because of the small batch, slow churn method, the result is a super velvety, almost stringy texture, like eating a hot cheesy pizza. Some really unique and exciting flavors here. I do wish they allowed samples. I understand why- everyone would want to try everything, but there was one flavor I do regret not trying (hasty pudding!!!). If I could have sampled 1 or 2 I think the choice would be easier. But I was extremely pleased with what I got. The apple cider donut oat ice cream was declared the favorite by 3 out of 5 people. Yes, a vegan ice cream beat regular because it was that good. Best non-dairy ice cream ever. The other flavors we tried were butter beer, dulce de leche w chocolate, sour cherry, baked apple, and cranberry. All very good. Absolutely love the local art available for sale - nuns eating ice cream! Very expensive for what you get by the way - was about $50 for 5 people, of which only 1 got a double scoop. I was planning to go back for that hasty pudding, but the price seemed too steep. But for sure worth a trip once.

Our favorite flavor was lemon poppyseed but they rotate their flavors so it's not always there. There is something about how they make it, it's very creamy and delicious. Great spot after a morning hike to grab an ice cream! I could probably eat a flight by myself but have kids so I'm required to share.

We opted to choose this location due to the homemade ice cream with funky flavors, located right across from the Village Green which we took our ice cream across the street and ate at a park bench there. They stopped giving ice cream samples due to increase in cost and efficiently of wait times although it is a sticky situation as for an ice cream shop that offers funkly flavors like "The Dude" (white Russian) or "Coriander and Lemon Curd" I would like to taste test it before dropping $7 on one scoop of ice cream. My boyfriend and I split one ice cream because of how costly the prices were, we had Lemon Poppy Seed and Blueberry and Sour cream. Both flavors were yummy. The Lemon Poppy Seed tasted like sorbet and later you get an after taste of the creaminess.

The place was clean and a little too sterile looking, unlike the other ice cream shops that were more fun and inviting. The staff was pleasant. Although, they don't allow flavor tasting which was strange considering how bold some of their flavor combinations were, you'd think they'd allow some samples to make sure you like the taste. I got the Cinnamon Cardamom which luckily, I liked and reminded me of a crisp fall day leading to the Holidays.

9/8/23: What I couldn't have in Portland, I could in Bar Harbor! Didn't know they had more than 1. Like the Portland one, this place also doesn't give free samples. Staff is friendly. The ice cream flavors fit my "exotic" palette the most. Loved the lemon poppy and the butter beer was good too. I would personally gun for sweet cream next time if I am around or maybe I make a pit stop to Portland on the way back but I check Facebook first or other social media to make sure their freezer problems are fixed (lolol). They don't have a bathroom but there is a public one nearby that took me awhile to find. Although I wish they did have one for paying customers even though ice cream shops typically don't have one. 9/9/23: I came back for ice cream here today since it was included with my foodie tour. Sweet cream w oreos and The Dude (White Russian, Lebowski reference) were both delicious.

LOVED the flights--so fun to try multiple flavors. Our faves? The salted caramel, the s'mores, chocolate, and oddly the basil (give it a try!). Very helpful staff, patient and friendly. One of the best ice cream stops in Bar Harbor.

I love any place I can get a flight of ice cream so that I can try some of the local flavors! They also had multiple dairy-free options available here

When I say they have the best banana ice cream (they call it "blackstrap banana"), I cannot emphasize enough that this is the BEST banana ice cream I've ever had. Hear me out...think of banana bread...but in ICE CREAM FORM. That's exactly what this tastes like!!! It's AMAZING. I wish I could've brought a huge gallon of it back to NJ lol I've been here two days in a row during a long weekend getaway to Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park. The first time, I tried their "blueberry sour cream ice cream with crumble" as well as their version of a s'mores ice cream. Both flavors were okay (2 out of 5 at most), but my fiance ordered blackstrap banana and nutella and they were delicious. When we went back the next day, I HAD to order my own serving of blackstrap banana because that small bite of my fiance's just wasn't enough! They had so many unique rotating flavors and multiple sorbet options for those prefer a dairy free option. They don't give out free samples, which is a big bummer. The first time I was here, I chose blueberry sour cream because Maine is known for their blueberries and I typically love s'mores ice cream, but they were both lacking in flavor. If I was given the option to sample multiple flavors beforehand, I would've absolutely opted for the blackstrap banana. I'm not sure if it's because I live in NJ where everything is much faster paced than ME, but their service here was very slow. There were 3 workers behind the counter and 1 of them was standing around doing nothing while the other 2 helped a long line of customers. They had 3-4 tables inside if you wanted to dine in!

Small cute Ice Cream Shop! They have all of their flavors clearly marked with popular allergens, like gluten free, nut free, and dairy free as those flavors apply! The only downside is they no longer offer samples, so you're bound to buy all 15 flavors (just a guess maybe there are more flavors)

Delicious! So many amazing and creative flavours, it's hard to choose. They also have a good selection of sorbets for those that are looking for dairy free. No sampling here, but you can get a flight if you want to try a few flavours. Per my parents, hands down the best I've cream they've eaten anywhere, ever.

Some of the best ice cream I have ever add! The Lamington is a delicious and innovative flavor - Coconut base with sponge cake and fudge!!

Very expensive for 1 scoop 6.90 the scoops but they are large and no samples. When we picked our flavors each one tasted so artificial and could only handle a couple bites. I wasn't impressed with it at all.

Cool place and the bayside fig ice cream is superb--you could taste the fresh fig in it. It's intense but not overwhelming. I love the store's interior decoration--all the nun paints are just so unique and fun.

Had to try Mount Desert Island Ice Cream as I was told this was the place to go and try when visiting Portland/Bar Harbor, Maine. Their selections of ice creams are truly different from other shops. We tried the Peach Oolong and the Salty Wildflower Honey. The texture honestly did not feel like ice cream. It was smooth and rice, but not overly sweet. We ordered a kiddie size where you can have the ice cream served in a cup or in a cone.

Busy with efficient service and a fast moving line. Several spots to sit and definitely (and understandably) a bit loud due to the evening crowd. They have clear signage about no samples, which makes so much sense with how busy they are and the myriad of flavors they offer, with unique flavors ranging from White Russian (called The Dude) to mango jicama habanero to blueberry sour cream. My pick was bumbleberry and it was amazing and a generous portion size!

My chocolate was amazing, and my wife said her peanut butter was among the best she's ever had. Have to come back and try more next time we're around.

Four adults on a Monday night. Service was good. Their no sample policy was unfortunate because our group would have loved to try something new. I ordered a hot fudge sundae with a mint chocolate ice cream. The ice cream was just okay. Nothing special. Small amount of hot fudge was actually squirt chocolate from a bottle. It was limited in quantity and quality. The nuts were super salty and fairly stale. Overall, it wasn't very good and fairly pricey. No water fountain or self serve water. No bathrooms. There are much better options that we will be frequenting going forward. We gave it a try. It wasn't worth the calories or expense. How do you mess up ice cream?!?

Absolutely AMAZING Ice Cream spot in Maine! I had the opportunity to check this spot out during our summer vacation. I got their Vietnamese Coffee, WOW! The ice cream was so rich, dense, and creamy. The Vietnamese coffee flavor was the perfect balance of slightly sweet but strong in flavor. Amazing ice cream!

Yummy ice cream. Lots of fun, unique flavors but the chocolate is out of this world! A few vegan options too.

Any place that Barack enjoys is a ok for me! Get the blueberry crumble. Line gets pretty long after the dinner time so best just to skip dinner and eat ice cream instead

Really great ice cream shop right next to the common green! Excellent- the ice cream was light and not overly sweet (tried sour cherry sorbet and the salted caramel), we loved the ideas of all other flavors (thank god no lobster and bacon) Excellent- the service- met two Bulgarian folks working there and had a great chat while ice creaming Excellent- the ambiance- they had some really fun and funky art on the walls, nuns theme.... It was fun and respectful Excellent- apparently Barack Obama had ice cream there... and there was a picture of it.

Came here again during another recent trip to Bar Harbor / Acadia and this place does not disappointment. Unique gourmet flavors that differentiate from the typical flavors of the other ice cream shops in the area. This time around, we got a double scope with: Butter Beer and Beorn's Honey Spice Cake. The Butter Beer has a cream soda + ginger ale flavor. Of the two, I favored the Honey Spice Cake! The honey flavor was obvious and the pieces of spice cake with orange flavor was a great combo. It was like have fall flavors in a summer treat.

Very good hojicha icecream, they had some fun flavor options but didn't have blueberry when I went!

Wow. Talk about good ice cream! Mount Desert Ice Cream has unique flavors, but also takes classics to another. When I went, I was surprised but happy to see there was no line. It's just a little off of Main St. so maybe people miss it or I was just lucky the afternoon I went. After seeing their menu posted just outside the door, I knew I couldn't just get one scoop. I of course also had to get a waffle cone, which was stuffed with a scoop of blueberry sour cream and a scoop of cookies & Maine sweetcream. Both were delicious. You could tell fresh ingredients were used to created both flavors. My scoop of blueberry sour cream had berry pieces throughout and chunks of crispy sour cream balls, which were surprisingly good. Although I enjoyed the blueberry sour cream, I enjoyed the cookies & Maine sweetcream just a little more. Cookie pieces were scattered throughout my scoop. It was creamy and smooth. Both scoops weren't too sweet. Highly suggest skipping the crowded ice cream shops off of Main St. and visiting Mount Desert Ice Cream (even if it is crowded). Definitely worth the walk (and possible wait in line).

Best ice cream in Bar Harbor. Tastes leagues better than anything else in the town and the service was great.

Delicious. Unique flavors. Our top spot in bar harbor - we went twice! I loved the lavender flavor

Want to try some really delicious ice cream in Bar Harbor? Check out Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. So many unique flavor combinations including vegan ice cream made with oat milk and sorbet. Unfortunately, no samples due to Covid precautions. The butterscotch miso was so unique and decadently delicious. So rich. So creamy. Definitely try this one. The Bay of Figs was full of dried figs and so good as well. Only one vegan choice that was made out of oat milk, Jack Daniels, was available. Surprisingly cream and did not taste vegan. The blueberry basil sorbet had a very earthy flavor. Scoops are $6, but a cup was a large serving. Definitely worth stopping by in Bar Harbor. Thanks to Portland CM Steff for this delicious recommendation. So nice to get tips for local gems from Yelp community managers.

Delicious ice cream shop located in Bar Harbor, Maine. All their ice cream is hand made and in smaller batches so it's made with care and quality ingredients. We tried the cookies and cream and salted caramel. Both were delicious, so creamy. Staff was great and they let us try different flavors. There's parking available in parking lots and street parking. Summer hours: Sunday through Saturday 11:00 AM-10:00 PM

Yummy yummy in my tummy. Especially the lemon poppy and Maine sweet cream. Wowzers! A must go.

Good not great. I know a lot of people love this place but sometimes you just want 'normal' ice cream. They didn't even have some of the simple flavors - not everything has to have 12 different things going on.

Stop your search for Ice Cream at the Harbor. This is the place to go. The flavors are all so immaculate, I wanted to cry. I definitely did tear up w bit eating the icecream. The workers were so sweet and kind. Helped us order with ease, telling us their recommendations and answering questions quickly. I would definitely recommend getting a scoop here when in town. I went on Tuesday around 4 pm and there was no line. Few flavors sold out but regardless all of them were good! WHAT I ORDERED: Flight (comes w four flavors) $10 (pre-tax) - Coffee [5/5] Classic flavor, smooth and delicious. Can't go wrong with coffee. - Hojicha [3/5] It was tasty but definitely not my cup of tea. Doesn't have a green tea flavor. More of a grainy cream. Somewhat like a barley tea flavor? Reminds me of the Korean drink Misugaru (multi-grain sweet drink). - Strawberry [5/5] Always love a good strawberry. The least sweet flavor out of all the flavors I got. Still very tasty and fresh. - Lemon Poppy Jam [10/5] I absolutely LOVE this flavor. Such a delicate lemon and berry flavor with a perfect cream. Poppy seeds add a nice texture and it's just the perfect amount of sweet with a hint of tartness. The things I would do to try this flavor again. Next time I visit I will be trying the blueberry for sure!! Also try to take a gamble with their more interesting flavor combos! It's for sure to taste good if made here:)

Bottom Line: Good ice cream with some unique flavors. My husband and I learned about Mount Desert Island Ice Cream from some YouTubers we follow and we were glad to give it a try when visiting Bar Harbor. MDI Ice Cream is know for having unique flavors like blueberry basil, fig and earl gray. Since I'm risk adverse and they don't offer samples I decided to order a flight of four "safe" flavors. The flight was a lot of ice cream but it was fun to try different flavors like strawberry, salted caramel, salted peanut butter or something along those lines and cookies and cream. One up side to them not offering samples is that the line moves faster. The store is clean with a handful of seats inside and there is also a nice park across the street which makes for a lovely ice cream eating setting. One small disappointment was that my flight was only 75% accurate. I didn't actually order the cookies and cream. It was good but I try to avoid chocolate/caffeine in the evenings.

The ice cream was overpriced and they don't offer samples. It's not crowded compared to other ice cream shops nearby.

So good! Some of the best ice cream I've ever had. Such unique flavors to choose from.

This is the best Ice Cream in Bar Harbor and it is not close. Many of the other establishments serve ice cream where the butter cream numbers are very low. As a result it tastes like you are eating Italian Ice which let's face it is one of the most disappointing desert items of all time. The selection of flavors here is very proprietary. Would absolutely recommend skipping all the other imposters in town and going here for ice cream, stat!

Such excellent, delicious ice cream! Could not be happier with what I had. I love all of their unique flavor choices-- so hard to choose just a few! Definitely definitely check out if you're an ice cream lover

The ice cream here is fantastic! It's rich and creamy and made with quality dairy and ingredients. I tried the cookies and Maine sweet cream flavor and really enjoyed it! Service is pretty quick, and it's conveniently located on the village green.

I was nervous to not be able to try the ice cream flavors before buying BUT I was not disappointed. The grosshopper was amazing! I didn't feel like I was having a dairy free ice cream!

Zero stars for the Grapefruit Hibiscus Sorbet. It finished so bitter, it was inedible. We threw it out after three bites and wasted $7. Wish they allowed samples to have avoided that. But they earned a lot of makeup stars for the Cinnamon Cardamom and Wildflower Honey ice creams which were fantastic! The CC was bold and spicy but still sweet. The WH had strong notes of lavender and honey and made my mouth feel like it had died and gone to heaven!

Best strawberry ice cream I have EVER had!!!! The staff here are super friendly. I can't wait to come back and try the sea salt caramel!

When you walk in there are many different flavors to try. If your not sure they will be glad to guide you. I had a lemon poppyseed jam. Not an overkill of lemon flavor but totally delicious. I also so had a scoop of Leamington. A perfect delight in a hot day. There is a park across the street in the shade to sit and relax. Enjoy!!!

If you're looking for very special and unique flavors, this is the place to be. They offer around 30 different flavors of ice cream, including spicy cayenne pepper, basil, and lemon cardamom. Their creativity is unmatched. If you're in town, you definitely need to come and try their ice cream. Highly recommended!

Our Airbnb host recommended this place and I was a little skeptical about how much he raved about this place. Alas we caved and I was soo pleasantly surprised! They have some standard flavors, but also fun seasonal flavors. I was really impressed with how rich and creamy the ice cream was. Be sure to recruit some friends to get a flight (3 scoops) because that's definitely the best deal. We loved this place so much we went twice during the week we were in the area even though it was pretty chilly outside.

Cute little ice cream shop in Bar Harbor that makes their own homemade ice cream! Flavors are unique, but they still have classics like chocolate and strawberry. Because they make it in house and often sell out, flavors can change. I got the Coriander Lemon Curd, which was very light and refreshing! Coriander (aka cilantro) was just a hint - the star of this flavor profile was definitely the lemon. The ice cream is very smooth, almost like gelato. Definitely recommend stopping in for some ice cream! They also have locations in Portland, Washington D.C. and Matsumoto, Japan.

Fig ice cream: this is my first time eating fig ice cream. It's soooo good. You will find many pieces of fig inside. The Dude flavor: not sure what's inside,LOL, but it's good as well. Blueberry butter: I'll pass next time. Nothing special