“Hard question, so many good options,” one person responded when we asked you about your favorite bakeries and coffee shops in Maine. We heartily agree. The plethora of truly outstanding such spots never fails to astound us. We regret that we can’t list every single one of them here, but here are a few of our readers’ and experts’ favorites:

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bard coffee

185 Middle St., Portland. 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. 207-899-4788. bardcoffee.com

On its website, the always bustling Bard Coffee, adjacent to Tommy’s Park in the Old Port, cheekily describes itself with a play on a Maine motto: “The Way Coffee Should Be.” Many of you concur. “Simply the best coffee in the area,” one reader said. Agreed another, “They truly care about crafting a great cup of coffee.” Watching the baristas at work, in fact, is one of the pleasures of the place. Trying the excellent, frequently changing coffee specials is another. 

The cafe itself is sunny and bright, the atmosphere relaxed and friendly. The pastries are superbly sourced from the outstanding Not a Bakery. With luck, you can nab a seat or a stool near the big windows up front and watch the world go by as you savor a treat and sip the “really unsurpassable” coffee.

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BREAD & FRIENDS

505 Fore St., Portland. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday- Sunday (Note: These are the bakery hours. Bread & Friends’ brunch and dinner hours are different). 207-536-4399. breadandfriendsmaine.com

Bread & Friends, at the quieter edge of the hurley-burley of Old Port, is a bit of a Chinese box: A patisserie inside a boulangerie inside a sophisticated brunch spot inside an elegant dinner restaurant. All of these are excellent options, but our voters especially liked it for its artisanal “first-rate” breads and “superlative” baked goods. The naturally leavened loaves (among them, seeded, country, and chocolate) are made from house-milled flours and baked in a wood-fired oven. Bonus: If you time your visit right, you can watch these items being made through the big glass windows at the far end of the bakery counter. 

The business got its start at local farmers markets, then in 2023 the four founders (two married couples who are close friends) opened the playful, clean-lined, bricks-and-mortar space. (This year, co-owner Jeremy Broucek is up for a James Beard award.) Try the classic croissants, or go for an item that shares the space’s playful spirit, like Garam Masala Snickerdoodles, Cheesy Dill Pickle Scones and Pina Colada Pop Tarts. Add it all up, and Bread & Friends is “just next level.”

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FORAGE

123 Washington Ave., Portland. 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 207-274-6800.
180 Lisbon St., Lewiston. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. daily. 207-333-6840. foragemarket.com

Based on your input, we could sum up the reason to visit Forage, in Lewiston and Portland, in a single word, as did many of our voters: bagels. Though in our experience, arguments over who makes the best can last an eternity (or at least it seems that way), for many of you, the answer was easy. “Their bagels slap,” as one person wrote. Saveur magazine headlined its story about Forage bagels, “Is One of America’s Best Bagels Made in…Lewiston, Maine?” (Spoiler alert: The answer was yes.)

You can get the wood-fired sourdough bagel plain, of course, or with cream cheese (kalamata olive, caper dill, veggie, jalapeno, chive) or as the base for a breakfast sandwich (lox, whitefish, vegan, egg with aioli). Then, if you’re at the Portland store, sit down to enjoy it in the beautiful brick building on Washington Avenue, secure in the knowledge that whatever they think, New Yorkers have nothing on us in the bagel department. 

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NIGHT MOVES BREAD

695 Broadway, South Portland. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. 207-805-1011. nightmovesbread.com

The name alone, with its emphasis on “bread,” makes it clear where baker/proprietor Kerry Hanney’s true passion lies. You can taste her commitment to stone-milled local grains in every bite. The breads are “unparalleled,” “the best,” and Hanney is “a wizard.” The bakery, just over the Casco Bay Bridge if you’re coming from Portland, opened in 2023 in its current location. Previously, Hanney made her “incredible” loaves in Biddeford. 

There is no seating, but while you are picking up a loaf, treat yourself to a cookie (say, the locally famous Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie or the more adventurous Buckwheat Thumbprint with Pear Butter), a scone, a slice of the ever creative coffee cake (such as Cherry Pistachio Spelt & Cornmeal), or a sandwich. They all rate A+. Night Move’s Friday night pizza is also a home run. This year, Night Moves has been nominated by the James Beard Foundation as Outstanding Bakery.

Hanney is deeply serious about her baking. Her website describes her commitment to farmers, the soil, mitigating the climate crisis and furthering “the global traditions of fermentation and intuition that have been handed down for generations.” Impressive stuff. But the bread speaks for itself.

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RITUAL BAKEHOUSE & PATISSERIE

111 Maine St., Brunswick. March hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 7 a.m.-noon (or until sold out) Saturday-Sunday. 207-406-4079. ritualbakehouse.com

Once upon a time, this newspaper wrote a story about the best croissants in the area. Ritual Bakehouse (mostly for logistical reasons) was not included in the sample. Boy oh boy, did we hear from readers about that omission! We are happy to remedy that now. 

Baker/proprietor April Robinson has an impressive resume (among her credits, A Voce and Alain Ducasse in New York). She opened her small, inviting bakery in the heart of Brunswick in late 2022. No less a Maine culinary luminary than Fore Street founding chef Sam Hayward listed it as a favorite, describing her cakes and viennoiserie as “outstanding,” while Press Herald Green Plate Special columnist Christine Burns Rudalevige called them “top-notch.” Do not so much as glance at the bakery’s Instagram account if you are hungry. The photos alone of the Roasted Plum Danish with Cream Cheese Filling, the Croissant Loaf, the caneles, the kouign amanns … will make you feel weak at the knees.

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SCRATCH BAKING CO.

416 Preble St., South Portland. 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 7 a.m.-noon Sunday. 207-799-0668. scratchbakingco.com

Real estate agents with listings in South Portland have on occasion used the distance from Scratch as a selling point and, hey, that’d definitely work for us. Allison Reid (bread), Sonja Swanberg (baked goods) and Bob Johnson (business) opened the neighborhood bakery in Willard Square in 2004.

The bagels quickly (and justly) found a fanatical fan base, inspiring long lines and receiving much national press, including from Food & Wine in 2021, which listed them among “The Best Bagels in America.” “Hands down the best bagels I have ever had!” agreed one of our respondents. But ignore the many other items at this adorable spot at your peril. The unbeatable breads are so distinctive that your knowledgeable foodie friends may be able to identify them from one slice. The homey, whimsical baked goods, such as Nutella Cheesecake, house-made Ring Dings and Graham Crackers, and what may be the best coconut layer cake north of the Mason-Dixon line, are worth every calorie. “The coffee is also excellent.” As one respondent wrote simply, “Scratch never misses.”

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STANDARD BAKING CO.

75 Commercial St., Portland. 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. 207-760-4440. standardbakingco.com

We are living in a golden age of bakeries in Greater Portland, and Standard Baking Co. founders Alison Pray and Matt James led the way. When the couple opened the classic, European-style bakery in Portland way back in 1995, their naturally leavened, whole-grain breads seemed almost revolutionary. “Prepared with care and pride,” Standard’s goods, like their financiers, gibassiers, macaroons, seeded fougasse and “definitely the best baguette west of Paris,” have stood the test of time. Standard (forgive us the unavoidable pun), set the standard. 

Pray, the baker of the pair, was an early adopter of incorporating local grains into her breads, her famous chunky chocolate-rye cookies, her spelt scones and her other “outstanding,” “amazing” baked goods. Over three decades, the surrounding Eastern waterfront neighborhood has been developed almost beyond recognition and for a long time now lines of summer tourists have snaked around Standard’s front door (with its large, lovely grape-bedecked pergola) eager for their morning coffee and croissants. But the never-flashy, never-trendy bakery serenely goes on, as good as it ever was.

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TANDEM COFFEE + BAKERY

742 Congress St., Portland. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. daily. 207-760-4440. tandemcoffee.com

The Loaded Biscuits at Tandem — with jam and butter or pimento cheese — are legendary. Tall and tempting, the interior is all buttery tenderness, the exterior all crackling contrast. The New York Times once named them “The Best Biscuit Outside of the South.” They have their own T-shirt! 

But be sure to look beyond the first-rate coffee and stupendous biscuits at this quirky bakery cafe, which opened in 2014 in a 1960s gas station (best reuse ever!). Baker/co-owner Briana Holt’s creative touch is everywhere, in items like a nectarine-black tea scone, the banana-black sesame cake, and the chocolate-cornmeal fennel cookies. At first glance, the baked goods at Tandem are homey, familiar and irresistible. Take a second look and note the surprise twist that lifts them to extraordinary. Commented one respondent, “Nothing has ever been bad there, ever.” Be forewarned, though: In summer, the lines are also legendary.

Tell us about your favorite spots to grab a beer or cocktail in the comments below or weigh in with other commenters on our entire Best 32 picks here: What are your favorite restaurants? Which did we miss?