The amazing scenery from the tables at Blue, the restaurant in the seasonal Grey Havens Inn, is reason alone to visit. You'll also find fresh seafood, locally sourced ingredients, comfortable and elegant furnishings and a hospitable staff. The cuisine is respectable, but doesn't yet rise up to this memorable setting.
Latin-inspired twists on familiar items - plus ingredients seldom found on Maine menus. Yucca fries, tamarind-rum gel and plantain fritters aren't common items in these northern parts. The restaurant has an intimate, elegant setting in a historic inn in Portland's West End.
Minami offers a value-conscious, if less than authentic, sushi experience convenient to South Portland mall-side shopping. Gauged solely as a buffet, the space is clean, dishes are frequently replenished and the offerings both abundant and unusual.
Classic fried fare as well as items you wouldn't expect at many small-scale seafood shacks -- raw oysters, panko crusted calamari, pan-blackened scallops, lobster egg rolls, homemade potato chips. The menu is surprisingly large, the seafood is ultra fresh, the fryer is well-calibrated, and the homemade love is apparent. The result is delicious casual cuisine at an unassuming food truck sprouting at the edge of an under-used parking lot.
158 has a coffee shop or sidewalk cafe vibe, with lots of reading material and outdoor seating. There are chairs on the street side and picnic tables in the fenced backyard. Plus fresh-baked goods, a funky atmosphere and a great location.
Located in SoPo's Clarks Pond shopping center, Taj offers Indian dishes with heat - but not so hot they'll scare off folks who aren't used to it. And the basket full of hot naan is a bonus to every meal. Hit the weekday lunch buffet for $9.99.
Congress Bar & Grill boasts hearty American fare -- substantial, meaty food with robust sides. The lunch menu tempts with many offerings, including a steak-and-portobello sandwich that I have had many times and absolutely crave; a succulent pastrami sandwich; and sweet pulled pork sandwich.
