Jason P.
Yelp
The thing about being a restaurant so wildly popular that you have long lines, is that you have to deliver at a higher level than your area competitors. I've never eaten there, but I know people wait in long lines for brisket at Franklin BBQ in Texas. I've never heard of somebody saying Franklin's brisket wasn't up there with the greats though.
According to my camera roll, I took my first picture from the end of the Thurston's Lobster Pound line at 4:47 p.m. on Tuesday August 3rd. When I was the next person to order, I snapped a pic of the lobsters next to the cash register at 5:37. So I waited in line a bit longer than 50 minutes. Thurston's handed me my takeout order around 6.
If Thurston's produced a uniquely special meal, I could live with that kind of wait. Unfortunately, my meal, which is obviously colored to some extent by the long wait, was my third favorite out of three meals involving lobster on the "Quiet Side" of Mount Desert Island this week.
I have absolutely no issues with Thurston's service. I can't blame Thurston's for being so popular that they have a long line. Good for them! The cashier was friendly. The person in the takeout area that spoke with me the most was attentive and great. The bartender who served me my "waiting around IPA" was awesome. Service was as good as as it could be given that many people all wanted Thurston's food at the same time. But it's not fun to wait that long, especially when you're trying a place for the first time and you don't know how long the line will take.
Also, Thurston's location is awesome. It's on the water and there are all sorts of boats floating nearby. It would be a cool place to hang out and eat for sure.
Thurston's food was generally very good, but there were a couple of hiccups, and their lobster rolls were not better than the lobster-related items I had at other places this week. To be clear, Thurston's lobster roll, which comes only cold with a bit of mayo to tie it together, was very good. It had quality lobster and there was a good amount of it. The roll was well grilled. However, the other lobster I had this week seemed a bit better in terms of flavor and consistency. Also, the other two places offered both cold lobster rolls and hot buttered lobster rolls, which is important in my family. (Pro Tip - Thurston's will make a cold lobster roll without any mayo, and give you a side of melted butter for self-assembly. That's what I ordered for my wife).
I also ordered crab cakes. They were pretty good, but not up there with my favorites. They were a little heavy on outer breading and thin strands of crab meat, and a little light on finesse and lumps of crab meat.
In terms of the food hiccups, both my wife and I thought Thurston's corn on the cob was overcooked, whereas the corn we had at another place this week was perfect. Also, I ordered a medium-well cheeseburger for my 9 year old son, who is a picky eater. I sliced the burger in half before giving it to him, and it was maybe medium rare. That would have been great for me, but that's not a battle I'm going to pick with him.
I will not return to Thurston's during the busy Mount Desert Island season in light of the long lines, and other area options that are at least as good without similarly long lines.
I would give Thurston's food about 4 Stars, but factoring in the very long wait and other area options, it's hard to call this a 4 Star experience. Let's say Thurston's gets 3.5 Stars overall and I'll round up to 4 Stars.