Restaurant & Watering Hole Ideas for Portland

Hi folks,

My wife and I are heading to Portland this weekend for what was once an annual Maine trip to a now semi-annual trip. We live in Saint John, New Brunswick and love the food and shopping that abound.

For this weekend, we already have a few spots we know we are going to be hitting. The first is the Bayou Kitchen x 2 (for breakfast and then lunch the next day). This place is one of my favorite restaurants, well, ever. The atmosphere is not much but the food is just so darn good.

We are a little unsure what to do for Supper/Dinner however. I think we want to stay away from Fore Street as Iheard just as much bad as good. Also, neither of us are lobster lovers. We do really like ethnic food (Thai, Indian) as well as old style BBQ. We also like Italian as well. Basically, anything that is different but very good and good value would be key for us.

Lastly, it would laso be nice to hit someplace where we could have a drink or two. While I love beer (micro brews specifcally) and wine my wife does not (she is more of a coconut rum and pineapple juice gal). Can you recommend any spots that may interest us? I am not looking for a pub or club like atmosphere but somehting very laid back like an eclectic wine bar or lounge. Any live music that is fairly low key would also be a plus.

Based on this criteria, what would you suggest? Thanks.

Restaurant %26amp; Watering Hole Ideas for Portland

I was just in Portland a month ago and ate at Cinque Terre in the Old Port section and would highly recommend it if you%26#39;re looking for Italian.

I also ate at Fore Street and it was outstanding. One of the very best restaurants I%26#39;ve eaten in ever (and I used to live in NYC and ate out a lot). I had rabbit and my husband had venison, both grilled over an open wood fire. The atmosphere is funky too.....in an old industrial building. One negative is that they gave away our table to another couple who said they were us. But they did make up for it my seating us immediatley after that and then offering to buy our appetizers, so I orered the most expensive ones. Mistakes do happen. But once seated, the food and service were first rate.

If you do go to either of these, I would suggest making reservations as soon as possible.

We stayed at the Portland Regency and from reading these forums I learned that they make the best martinis in town. We did sample them in their downstairs bar and I would give it a ';10';. The atmosphere is dark, cozy and pubby. It does not feel like a hotel bar.

Restaurant %26amp; Watering Hole Ideas for Portland

I second sailorgirl%26#39;s remarks (and I%26#39;m one of the ones who recommend the Regency%26#39;s martinis). Fore Street is great for meat-eaters, and it also always has a number of seafood options. We just returned from Portland, where we had dinner at Street %26amp; Company---a seafood restaurant. It was excellent.

On the weekend, reservations are a good idea. I know that Fore Street retains about 15% of their tables for walk-ins; I don%26#39;t know that the policy is at Street %26amp; Co. or Cinque. The latter two, incidentally are almost across the (very narrow) Wharf St. from each other, so you could easily compare menus.

Thanks for the posts folks. The Regency sounds good though I am really not sold on Fore Street or any other upscale fine dining spots just yet. I want to hear about the diamonds in the rough, the holes in the wall, etc. Any other suggestions?

I%26#39;m sure that others will weigh in. Actually, if you simply walk around and browse the Old Port Area, you will find many restaurants. We all have our favorites, for one reason or another. To sum it up, I think that you would have to try very hard to find a bad meal in Portland.

if you want a nice wine bar, i would try the white heart or una. both of them have a great laid back atmosphere and awesome drinks!

there are also a TON of awesome ethnic restaurants in portland, so you%26#39;re lucky. my favorite is actually thai taste in south portland, but i really haven%26#39;t had any bad experiences. valley chines is really good. for italian, try the village cafe or ricetta%26#39;s. ricetta%26#39;s has the BEST pizza too!

Rosies Tavern !!!! Yes, it%26#39;s on Fore Street, but it is of the ';Hole in the Wall'; variety. They brew their own ';Hooker Ales';, have a couple of dart boards and their chicken wings are the best I%26#39;ve ever had - they are HUGE.