Pilgrim’s Inn makes NYT’s top 50 restaurant list in US

With experimentation mindset, new owners rocket into recognition

By Jenna Lookner

Pilgrim’s Inn owners Bosco Hernandez, left, and Andrew Shapiro. Photo by Jenna Lookner.

DEER ISLE—Built in 1793, the Pilgrim’s Inn has held the distinction of being the island’s oldest inn for centuries, but now it has another distinction after The New York Times included it among the 50 best places to dine in America in 2025. The accolade comes only months after the inn changed hands with new owners.

The Pilgrim’s Inn was purchased by Andrew Shapiro and Bosco Hernandez in early 2025. The couple had a previous connection to Deer Isle, and made the move to Maine from California with their infant son.

“We had a short runway,” Shapiro said of getting the restaurant open for the season. “We really saw the food as our bridge to the community.”  

To compile the list, 14 reporters ate more than 200 meals in 33 states. They made reservations and dined as unannounced, paying patrons. 

The list names only one other Maine restaurant, Sammy’s Deluxe in Rockland.

The inn’s restaurant has been open since May, with head chef Cortney Burns and kitchen manager June Melton overseeing a revolving residency of selected chefs hailing from across the country. Each chef has a unique menu that reflects their style but focuses on utilizing ingredients sourced from the island and peninsula.

A saffron pasta showcases local lobster. Photo courtesy of the Pilgrim’s Inn.

Calling on their design backgrounds and working with Burns, the owners created their “Chef in Residence” model that they have utilized this year. 

“Using a design mindset we thought, ‘Let’s experiment.’” Shapiro said. 

Burns helps design each guest menu. In addition, the Inn offers a tavern menu on a walk-in basis while reservations are recommended for the dining room.

“It was very collaborative with Cortney,” Hernandez said. The owners said they were inspired in part by the programming model at the nearby Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle.

Shapiro and Hernandez said they had anticipated an inaugural year of growth and some trial and error. As such, a recognition of this caliber feels particularly surreal, they said. 

“It was totally unexpected,” Hernandez said. “We had a bit of an inkling, but we thought, ‘these things take years.’ We are incredibly grateful and still a little bit shocked.’” 

Shapiro said that they didn’t want to create pressure for their kitchen team in the first year — particularly since neither of them has restaurant experience and learning the ins and outs of restaurant operations was important to them. 

“The team sees it as a recognition of the hard work everyone has put in,” Shapiro said. “That positive reinforcement that everything you are doing is working is really appreciated.” 

The dining room at the Pilgrim’s Inn. Photo courtesy of the Pilgrim’s Inn.

Speaking with The Rising Tide, an apron-clad Hernandez emerged from the kitchen where he was assisting with breakfast dishes as guests lingered on the deck, sipping coffee in the September sunshine. 

“It’s like an intensive master’s program for us,” Hernandez said of learning restaurant operations. “We’re rolling up our sleeves and doing a bit of everything. You take a turn at each role and you understand each role, you appreciate what everyone does. I think that’s really important.”

Shapiro said that seeing repeat customers, including many locals, has been gratifying. He recalled a visitor to the island that ate dinner at the restaurant five nights a week for the duration of his two-week vacation. 

“When we have people from the community coming in regularly that really feels good,” Shapiro said. “I was recently joking with guests and I said, ‘We thought we were opening an inn, but it really feels like a community hub.’” 

Sustainability has informed their approach to operations. The two said that they have worked closely with Chickadee Compost in Surry to use as many compostable products as possible, graduating from two compost bins to six as they have deliberately reduced their footprint. 

“Bosco has studied all of the materials we use, from the parchment paper in the kitchen to the straws and table covers so that we can compost as much as possible,” Shapiro said. 

‘We really saw the food as our bridge to the community.’

—Andrew Shapiro, co-owner of the Pilgrim’s Inn  

Chef Susan Kim is wrapping up her residency now. The final residency of the season begins on Sept. 18 with chef Krem Miskevich. The restaurant and the inn will close for the season on Oct. 27.

A unique part of the residency model has been that the team experiences the style of different chefs and must learn a new chef and menu every five weeks.

“It is an amazing recognition and it feels great,” Hernandez said of making the NYT list. “There are so many truly great restaurants that are not on that list, and there’s something deeply humbling about that.”