Tinder Hearth

This is THE spot to stop if you’re on the Blue Hill Peninsula. Everything they make from the pastries, to breakfast, to pizza, is made from the highest quality ingredients and is beyond delicious. You can tell how much thought goes into the menus. They even have live music from time to time so be sure you check their website for show information!

This restaurant is truly a hidden gem. Wildly popular with locals, but you wouldn’t know it’s here unless you looked. Reservations are an absolute must and need to be made in advance. Coming from NJ and NY I have very strong opinions on pizza. This place tops the charts. Crust is light, crisp, and keeps you wanting more. They always have unique flavor options. Don’t leave without getting their salads or cookies either. I’ll continue coming back each year. Well worth my hard earned money.

What an experience it is to visit this bakery/restaurant! I felt like I was walking into my grandma’s living room in the fall. The vintage couches, the exposed wooden beams, and the cast iron wood-stove in the middle of the eating area all made for a very comfortable and enjoyable environment. Especially with the cloudy, rainy weather we felt very cozy. They have ample outdoor seating for sunny days and they have a public restroom as well. The flavors in their egg sandwich were unique and delicious. The ham and cheese croissant was perfectly flaky and had a generously salty flavor. The lattes we got had adorable latte art and gave us the caffeine fix that we needed. Tinder Hearth has mastered the skill essential to every bakery: they KNOW how to make some delicious bread! Also, we are not from this area and didn’t realize how low on gas we were or how far we were from a gas station. Lucky for us, Tim was able to help us out and give us enough gas to make it to our next stop. The individuals that run this bakery feel like very honest, salt-of-the-earth people and it always feels good to meet people like that. Thanks for a good time Tinder Hearth!

Beeeautiful bakery & pizzaria with an amazing garden/picnic area! My boyfriend & I came here for breakfast and coffee while visiting Maine. The breakfast sandwich and almond croissant were super delicious! Especially the almond croissant, wow, the best croissant I've ever had (and I've lived in Europe for some years where they come from). The garden area is full of different flowers, veggies, picnic tables, great place to chill & get some inspiration on gardening ideas :) seems kid/pet friendly too. Loved it 🌟🌠✨️💫

Fantastic place for delicious baked goods (and I hear the pizza is amazing as well) highly recommended. Definitely check out their website for open times, I put in an order a few days in advance.

Spectacular pizza, drinks, service and location. Go out of your way to get here, you won’t be sorry. I was there for a private party and everything was great.

Don’t come here if you think all restaurants should be run like a Wendy’s. Incredibly hardworking establishment, putting more care into pizza (and bread) making than most. Truly excellent pizza, absolutely perfect crust and delicious toppings. The most beautiful outdoor and indoor dining areas and very kind service. I challenge you to find a better pizza anywhere on the east coast. I know I’ve tried. Buy their bread immediately if you see it in local shops. It’s killer.

So amazing!!! Best pizza anywhere! If you can manage to get in to eat there, pick one of the tables back by the garden and wander through the farm grounds looking at all of the growing veggies!

The service was very welcoming and the seating was prompt with our reservation. The ambiance is that of an old farmhouse on coast which is what it is, very beautiful. The pizza was delicious in the veggie, meat and pepperoni. The salad was well dressed and plentiful. The cookies were 4.25 apiece but worth every penny. There were 6 of us who had 5 beers 2 glasses of wine, one soda, 3 pizzas, 3 cookies and our bill was 240.00

Crazy delicious food! Always packed. Great service. Great atmosphere. I've never ordered anything that wasn't fabulous. Always have a good time.

Great pizza. Awesome salad and great bakery too! Use high quality ingredients. Farm fresh veggies Love the morning brunches the Boston Cream donuts and fresh croissant sandwiches! Staff is always happy and kind! Rustic barn with a wood fire in winter and summer gardens full of blooms make it the perfect spot!

There was a good bit of hype about Tinder Hearth because you have to reserve on Monday morning at 9am for a spot that week. I was able to get a reservation but the metrics were wrong. Instead of 2 people and 3 pie, we were a party of 4 with 2 pies. This was fixed by email on Tuesday. I live about an hour away, and am not much of an adventuresome eater. So clams and chorizo on the meat pizza didn't work for me, and the vegetable too had some things I didn't like. So we had a cheese pizza and a pepperoni pizza (ordered when we got there). The pizza was ok. Nothing spectacular and I wouldn't drive an hour to get it (nor worry about reservations) The grounds were beautiful ~ on a farmhouse. We sat at picnic table near an area full of screaming, running kids. The port a potty was not very clean, 3 of us decided to wait for another time to stop.

Man, these folks know how to bake some bread. I am really craving it now that I'm back on the other side of the country. My advice to you if you are lucky enough to visit Tinder Hearth is to get the biggest loaf you can, cut it in half and freeze some of it. I regret that we didn't get to try the pastries or pizza. There was an event happening when we stopped by, but we were still welcomed in and able to snag a couple of loaves. What a beautiful place to have a party! It's an idyllic farm setting with well designed outdoor space and tons of flowers blooming in the surrounding gardens. I didn't take pictures because of the party. We will definitely be back! Sadly, we realized after we got home that the size med. sweatshirt we bought was very short in the back. And we are on the smaller side. Maybe it will make a good present for a kid.

Great environments and even better pizza. Reservations must be made but it's not too hard. Although it is outside and a bit buggy it represents to me how fresh all their ingredients are as they have a garden out back. In fact, an employee was saying how the potatoes used on one of the pizzas today was just picked that morning. I'm sure anyone would thoroughly enjoy this pizza

Been years Ive heard how good this place is so decided to drive 45 minutes to see for myself what all this hype is about pizza. Checked in, placed our order- one meat, one pepperoni. Then directed to get our own plates and silverware. And water and canning jar glasses. The metal folding chairs were small and uncomfortable so we switched them for a bigger chair. The pizzas are large; my pepperoni was good but salty. The meat pizza was strange; very little meat but it had corn, peppers and flowers from the garden! We didn't buy drinks because I wouldn't pay $9.00 for a beer. Maybe a large group would appreciate this "out in the boonies" place but it's one and done for me.

Loved the ambiance. But that's all. I first went in the morning, having never been there. I didn't know exactly what they offered so I asked at the counter. Counter person said I could order off the posted chalkboards. There were only pastries and bread there. But after I placed my order and paid for it, I heard people ordering breakfast sandwiches. Why wouldn't she have indicated that other items were available? By there there were like 10 people in line so I just took my order and left. The pastries I got were okay, but cold and dry with not much flavor to them. Later that day, I wanted to give them another try because I heard they had good pizza and it is the only place to eat out in that area. The pizza crust was tasty and cooked just right. That was the only good thing about it. The crust was so thin, you could hardly eat it without a fork and knife. We got a meat lovers pizza for $38 that had like 4 chunks of fat on top and some sort of red sauce. That's it. It was big but there was nothing to it. The other one we had was a Tomato pie. Again, crust was good, but there was so much garlic confit on it, I couldn't eat it and I LOVE garlic. Toooooo much. I should have stuck with cheese pizza. At least it has cheese on it. The salad was pretty, but for $18, I expected more. I would not go back there. But I can see why people do go there. It is the only place to go within a 20 minute drive. And there isn't much to offer 20 minutes away either.

Fabulous pizza, made with fresh and high quality ingredients! Such a unique flavor! Environment fun, relaxing and great for the family!

I really wanted to love this place! Good reviews; rustic barn atmosphere; homemade pizza, bread, and pastries; and middle-of-nowhere charm. I made three visits, to be fair in my review. On the first, the wood-fired pizza was highly forgettable. I can name a dozen or more pizza places in Portland that serve up a better pie. On the second visit, I waited a half-hour for a $10 croissant. The pastry was excellent, though. On the third visit, I ordered take-out. Let me pause here and try to give some advice on the ordering process. If you go, be sure to visit the web site first. You'll find quite a bit of text explaining how and when to order bread, pizza, and pastries. One may only order at certain times - it reminds me of the cable guy hours: "He'll be there sometime between 12-5PM." Back to my third visit, I called and the employee spent five minutes telling me why I could not order takeout over the phone and needed to come in, order, and then wait for however long it took. When I got home, the entree, salad, and cake were all half the size of anything I saw being delivered to tables at the restaurant. And, they forgot the flatbread with my curry. It was the only included side to the curry. And, if you love curry, you understand that dipping the bread in the leftover sauce is the best part. And, the tiny meal was $40, including tip. Over three visits, staff ranged from very nice to somewhat dismissive. The food was fine. If you're going to visit, be prepared. Review the web site. Expect an average meal at a high price. And enjoy the drive.

Pizza was so good that as we pulled out of the driveway onto a dark Island Maine street and saw an upside down pizza box in the middle of the two lane road that had clearly been placed on top of the the car of the person to leave before us and forgotten and fell off.. one of us jumped out and grabbed it to eat later. Sorry to whomever didn't have their leftovers. We ate it. 10/10 the best street pizza in the game. Would have fought a raccoon for it.

Yes, I traveled 40 miles round trip for great pizza on a recent trip to Ellsworth. Check out Tinder Hearth Bakery and you will agree with me, whole-heartedly! Yes, I'm one of the folks who read about this place in the NYT--and let me tell you, that write-up was dead on. Ok, enough words; head on over to Tinder Hearth Bakery and meet their nice crew and eat some yummy pizza in a chill, relaxed atmosphere. Yum!

To put it simply: Tinderhearth is about great food, great atmosphere & great people!!!

All the stars for this amazing bakery/pizza place/community gathering spot. Vibe check passed with flying colors as I enjoyed a fantastic salad and veggie pizza in the barn, watching couples and families appreciate the remaining early fall warmth at the garden tables. Food was fantastic, as was the ordering process because it's always easier with a smaller, specially curated menu. Wait staff is delightful. Cinnabon bun was...the move. Love this place and overall ambiance.

The pizza and other bread products are amazing. I always feel lucky when I can either pick up a pizza or dine on the farm which has the most amazing garden and overall vibe--they sell out quickly. Fortunately. You can find the baked goods at various cafes and occasionally at the Blue Hill Co-op.

Significantly overpriced for what it was. We had one pizza, a beer , and a wine. I won't mention how much we actually paid, but it was 40% more than we would have paid at some other pizza place. I guess it must have been the ambiance upcharge. The food was good but not "over the moon" delicious.

Ok...so this place is truly out in the middle of nowhere Maine. It's amazing! The pizza is fantastic. Outdoor seating is spaced apart. We were able to buy some bread to bring home with us. Get the ice cream...in a freshly made waffle cone! The cone has a hint of cinnamon...it's so good! Go hungry. You'll come away satisfied.

The best pizza I've ever eaten served in a charming outdoor setting on picnic tables. Fresh ingredients and an excellent crust. Local craft beers. Demand is very high. Plan ahead and follow their instructions for a reservation.

Wow. This place was great. Requires organization ahead of time; worth it. Good for groups if you can puzzle out the logistics a few days early. Pizza specials are good. Salads are good. Drink selection is interesting. Thinking they should up their ice cream game, but otherwise this was my favorite meal (in a garden) in this area.

Above and beyond We arrived at Tinder Hearth after a great kayak trip in Castine. The food is as good as it gets in the wood fired pizza world, with fresh salads and warm cookies. However, the food is not what I will remember best when looking back on this day. I had foolishly locked my keys in the rental car. Hour after hour we waited for the rental car agency to find us a tow service. All the while the staff at Tinder Hearth tried to help us, even offering to drive us the 1 hour back to Lincolnville. Their hearts were open to us in need, and it made all the difference. We were blessed to have such care given us by everyone including the owners. Can't sing enough praises! (BTW we got a local gentleman to access our vehicle later in the evening.)

Incredible goodies, the best pizza around, and such wonderful, ethical humans running it all. They created magic here some 6+ years ago and somehow only continue to expand it.

This place is fantastic. It is located in an old farm house with sprawling gardens. Tables inside the barn, on the porch, and peppered throughout the vast gardenspace. There's a little bar with a few options and another booth that offers ice cream. The pizzas are amazing. The crust is perfect and the ingredients are both fresh and innovative. We got the veggie option as well as the meat option because they both sounded so good and guess what, they didn't just sound good they were like a borderline religious experience! The veggie was summer squash, mint, hot honey, basil and feta and the meat pepperoni, pickled red peppers, hot honey and basil. Both of them were so good that it was impossible to choose which was better. The crust was crispy and just the right thickness cooked flawlessly in their wood fired oven. We absolutely will be returning again to try out more of their offerings on next camping trip on deer isle. If we could give this place ten stars we would. The staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating. We had outside reservations and a rain storm blew in and they offered us and everyone else with outside tables seating in the barn. The barn has such unique ambiance with Edison bulbs strung through the rafters illuminating the freshly built interior.

We stayed in Maine for 2 weeks and this place was recommended by every local. It was delicious! Make sure to check their website before you go as they have limited pizza days

As picturesque Maine as you can get. A perfect end to a day hiking or sailing or simply being in Maine. The handmade brick oven makes some of the best pizza in these parts, but it is made all together perfect by serving the freshest ingredients on the pizza. The salad is also delicious, and so are the beer, wine, and carefully curated desserts. Choose a nice day and eat there to maximize the entire experience. Again, the food is great but the experience is legendary.

As a retired classically French trained chef who trained and worked in NYC & Paris I cannot praise Tinder Hearth enough for their amazing breads & pastries! You can truly taste the love that goes into everything they make. I was introduced to them at 44 North in Deer Isle and the Blue Hill Coop, but enjoyed seeing the bakery & meeting Lydia in person.

The experience of eating the amazing pizza under the stars with candles glowing and the perfect beer was magic. We went back the next day for bread and pastry, and they were the best I've ever had. Enough to make me want to move here. This business model is so interesting and so logical. Thank you!

So good! It takes some advanced planning, as a number of places do around here. Order bread and pastries on Wednesday for pick up on Saturday. We had the boule, the 1/4 miche, a ham and cheese croissant, and the almond croissant. The bread is so good and definitely worth the extra planning to make sure you have some for the week. The almond croissant was amazing, and the ham and cheese was very good, but the breads are definitely the stars. They also have pizza on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Order earlier in the day for pick up later in the evening. The crust is chewy and delicious. The salad and cookies were also good.

One of the only good things left in this world. The best bread I've ever eaten and when you get your pickup early enough it's still hot from the oven. Thank you for being you Tinderhearth.

The experience was interesting. Here's a few things worth mentioning. Reservations are required for both dine in (outside, uncovered with lots of mosquitos and young children running around - no indoor seating) and takeout. Yes, reservations for take out. If you dine in and didn't preorder enough pizza then you're out of luck. The reservation requires you provide the number of pizzas. I'm guessing they only make a specific number of pizzas a day. Also, you can only order from a few specific types of pizza (Cheese, pepperoni, specialty - pepperoni with kale). Water, beer and wine only and the prices are ridiculous. Good luck finding a clean plate and parking. I thought about giving two stars and not one because the pizza was actually good. Can't comment on the salad I read all about because they were out of salad - lol. Too bad they don't know how to run a restaurant.

Excellent! Just moved to the area and thrilled to discover this amazing pizza so close to home. Don't skip the salads...watermelon radishes, fresh feta, and a wonderful lemon vinaigrette. Molasses-ginger cookies for dessert--baked perfection.

Good (and sometimes great) bread and pizza, but Tinder Hearth is extremely disorganized, making it hard to do business with them reliably, rather than "hit or miss" (and too often "miss"). Changes its retail bakery hours and where and when it delivers to other sellers (stores and farmers markets) without communicating with customers. Very inconsistent treatment of customers face-to-face, sometimes warm but lately often downright rude. Despite a long history of selling retail from the bakery, the business now seems to discourage that, and workers can be almost hostile to people who show up to buy onsite. We found out the hard way that customers can't rely on the business's voice mail (not consistently monitored; orders went into some sort of Never Neverland) and that often no one will pick up the phone despite our trying to call the bakery repeatedly mid-morning and mid-afternoon over a course of several days. No posted hours. "Open" flag very inconsistently used. We don't believe it is a privilege to serve us, but we also don't like to be made to feel that it is an extraordinary privilege to be able to buy from a business and that we should just accept however we are treated. We are neighbors and were loyal customers until a missed order and two back-to-back bad encounters (both with one of the principals, not a trainee employee). This place has gotten high reviews and lots of attention from the foodie media lately, but that appears to be coming at a cost. We no longer buy their baked goods, go for pizza, or recommend the place to visitors. We'd be happy to go back if we heard Tinder Hearth's customer relations and interface (letting potential regular customers know Tinder Hearth's hours, points of sale, how to communicate reliably with the business, etc.) had improved.

I called at 1 pm Saturday 9/15 to reserve 5 pies and was giving a 7 pm slot that evening. On the way there got a call at 6:47 pm that they had to cancel my reservation because they didn't have enough dough. Was offered salad and ice cream but no pizza, when we declined we were offered a certificate for pizza for another time but wasn't asked how they could get those to me. Still in disbelief of this whole situation and honestly I would probably not go back which is unfortunate, because I am local and could have been a reoccurring customer!

I can not stop eating their pizza, their bread, their salad - & my kiddo digs it too.

We stayed in Brooksville this weekend and tried out Tinder Hearth. The concept of having a couple of windows of time open per week for call-ahead pizzas is foreign to us who have constant access to food all hours of the day back home, but it was totally worth it. We walked back behind the barn which opened into a beautiful open area with a rustic aesthetic. Picnic tables were set up, gorgeous flowers everywhere, and everyone around was so relaxed and happy looking- complete with kids climbing trees and swinging on a tire swing. The pizza was delicious. The dough was SO fresh. We took it to-go back to our cabin but I wish we had stayed to eat on site!

The best fresh bread and pizza around. Call to find out the baking schedule and the pizza schedule. They also make Spelt bread. Delish!

We just got a couple of pizzas to go, but they were just so, so good. The crust is amazing. This is just an awesome place, with a really cool vibe.

You have to experience Tinder Hearth bakery to believe it. Tim Semler and Lydia Moffit have a real gift, both for baking (like experienced French bakers!) and for creating an amazing performance/eating/bakery space in this community. They bake amazing focaccia, Vollkornbrot (German style rye), sour dough bread, as well as danishes and apple galettes (fruit tarts), etc. They not only offer these for sale on site twice per week but supply many local stores and coffee shops as well. A Parisian-style bakery is about the last thing you'd expect in a town of 900+ people on the coast of Maine! But Tinder Hearth is part of the Brooksville Renaissance. We even have an off-Broadway theater (Monique Fowler's Bagaduce Theatre) and we hosted Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas" in the barn at David's Folly farm! I doubt you will be disappointed with Tinder Hearth or with the other attractions of Brooksville, Maine.

This place is a godsend! Truly amazing pastries. The croissants are the best I have ever had including multiple trips to Paris. The bread is fantastic too! I would give it 5 stars except for the cookies which are good but lackluster. This is a great location and provides a lovely drive w the promise of fresh baked goods as the reward. Bravo!!

Best pizza and fresh salad in a beautiful farm setting. Call ahead and place your order...worth the trip from Stonington! They come to the Tuesday night farm market in Deer Isle from 4-6PM. Delicious croissants, cake and muffins. Also served at 44 North Coffeehouse in Stonington...try the Nut and Seed Cookie and the Brownie. All the baked goods are amazing!

Absolutely fabulous bread and pizza. The best place to come with families; children can play and run around while adults enjoy the serenity of the fields and gardens. Casual, fun, just off-beat enough... The food is wonderful, the people are friendly, and the atmosphere is relaxing. What more can you ask for???

on the hunt for fresh sourdough during a long stay in downeast maine, i stumbled upon tinder hearth's sourdough french batard, via john edwards on main st. in ellsworth. a fine, fresh baked bread, delivered hot on tuesday and friday mornings. so popular is the batard, that on fridays, it is wise to phone ahead and pre-pay to insure you get your loaf. just the right combination of chewy and crisp, together with a fine dose of sourdough notes. i can only dream of tinder hearth's pizza, that i have not yet had the opportunity to try. it also has limited production, on tuesdays and fridays, 5 to 8 p.m., with the request that you call ahead to reserve your pie.

My favorite Pizza Joint in the World, is actually a bakery in a rustic farmhouse. Genius level pizzas , bring your own wine or beer, and eat at a picnic table in their sprawling garden. Paradise!!

I cannot figure out what possible negative thing I could say about this place, because it is perfect. There is the outdoor setting full of wildflowers and fruit trees that is what every Instagram post is going for. There is the fact that you order your pizzas in advance and show up at a particular time, so the food comes quickly, which is part of why you see a lot of small children who otherwise would not have the patience to wait for a pizza (who also have that outdoor beauty to explore). Then there is the pizza itself, which has rotating seasonal toppings and a perfect crust. One stand for beer and wine, one for soft-serve ice cream decanted into tasty cones, and salads for people who are trying to break it all up with some greens--Tinder Hearth is perfect, and I went twice the last time I was in the area for a week.

Visiting this place was a great family experience. Ordered pizza on Wednesday for Friday evening and showed up with our own drinks (BYOB). Found a family-filled backyard dining "room" surrounded by wildflowers and gardens and picnic tables for eating. Delicious veggie, cheese and meat artisan pizzas and garden fresh salads! #Goodtimes.

This bakery is wonderful! I visited every week of my 2-month stay in Brooksville. I had about 6 loaves of the French batard and at least a dozen cookies and pastries and a pizza too. Everything is of such quality and delicious! And super fresh right out of the huge wood-fired brick oven! And it's run by the nicest people you will ever meet! I will definitely come back during my next visit.