Maine Dive Bar Guide

Overwhelmed by tourists during the summer months, Maine’s dive bars exist in an uneasy equilibrium that both appreciates the bursts of business and resents the intrusion upon otherwise low-key drinking destinations. Up and down the state’s rocky coast, the best divey drinking is reserved for the depths of winter when the professionals and locals reappear.

But for those of us perhaps not lucky enough to yet explore Maine’s winter wonders, there are certainly destinations worth fighting the shoreline crowds to find. Portland is a rightful pivot point for just such an exploration and Ruski’s Tavern is no doubt the city’s best dive. Yes, they serve a lobster roll and while that may be grounds for dive bar disqualification elsewhere, the menu item fits into the organic charm impossible to escape in Maine.

Blissfully, Maine can get pretty damn remote with a westward drive of even modest duration, creating isolated but largely undisturbed dive bar hunting throughout the state’s interior. Even Bangor, a bustling metropolis in comparison to its surroundings, hosts a handful of great options, the perfect start to a Maine-wide dive bar circuit.

We’ve been lucky to spend time in Maine, most of it centered on Portland, a quirk you’ll see reflected in the recommendations we’ve compiled below.