Portland eats from the working waterfront. Eventide's brown-butter lobster roll, Fore Street's wood-grilled local fish, Twelve's chef-counter tasting menu and Central Provisions' small plates sit on streets where lobster boats still unload at Custom House Wharf. The Old Port has more independent restaurants per block than any New England city, the Munjoy Hill side runs Italian-American sandwich shops and craft bakeries, and breweries from Allagash to Bissell Brothers to Foundation cluster on the Industrial Way and Fox Street stretches. Summer is oysters, lobster and blueberries; winter is chowders, root vegetables and the deepest taproom calendar in the country. The James Beard Foundation has called Portland out repeatedly since the 2010s; Bon Appetit named it Restaurant City of the Year in 2018; the local kitchens keep cooking the same way they did before any of it.

Eat your way through Portland

Browse by price

Cheap Eats Mid-Range Upscale Splurge

Food festivals coming up in Portland

All Portland food festivals
30 Oct to 1 Nov Harvest on the Harbor Maine seafood, oysters, spirits, lobster 1-9 Nov 207 Beer Week Maine craft beer, brewery events 11 Jun 2027 Old Port Festival Street food, Maine beer, summer kickoff 4-8 Aug 2027 Maine Lobster Festival (Rockland) Maine lobster, seafood, Maine craft beer

Book food experiences in Portland

See all 48 bookable experiences in Portland

Map of Portland

Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Portland, pinned. Click a pin for the page.

Where to eat in Portland: editor-picked starting points

5 institutional venues to anchor a Portland food trip

Signature Portland dishes

  • Maine lobster roll - Cold Maine lobster meat (claws, knuckles and tails picked the morning of) tossed with mayo, salt and lemon, piled onto a buttered and griddled top-split New England roll
  • Fried Maine clams - Whole-belly soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), dredged in evaporated milk and corn flour, then deep-fried until crisp
  • Maine Italian sandwich - Soft white roll filled with ham, salami, American cheese, sliced onions, tomato, green olives, sour pickles, sweet peppers, oil, salt and pepper
  • Wild Maine blueberry pie - Double-crust American pie of wild Maine lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium), sugar, lemon and starch
  • Whoopie pie - Two soft round chocolate cakes sandwiched around fluffy white marshmallow-cream filling, traditionally palm-sized

Best Portland neighborhoods for food

  • Old Port - Cobblestone wharves and 19th-century brick warehouses host Portland's flagship dining row: Eventide, The Honey Paw, Fore Street, Scales and the Public Market House
  • Munjoy Hill - The hill east of downtown, anchored by Standard Baking, The Front Room and Rosemont Market on Congress Street
  • West End - Victorian rowhouses and quiet residential streets, home to Chaval on Pine Street, the Bramhall pub and a clutch of corner cafes
  • East Bayside - The city's brewery and warehouse district north of Marginal Way: Bissell Brothers, Lone Pine, Goodfire, Rising Tide and Oxbow Blending and Bottling

Signature dishes in Portland

The plates that define eating in Portland.

Maine lobster roll

Cold Maine lobster meat (claws, knuckles and tails picked the morning of) tossed with mayo, salt and lemon, piled onto a buttered and griddled top-split New England roll. Soft-shell season runs late May to September.

Where: Eventide Oyster Co, Scales, Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room, Bite Into Maine at Allagash

Where to eat Maine lobster roll in Portland →

Fried Maine clams

Whole-belly soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), dredged in evaporated milk and corn flour, then deep-fried until crisp. Maine clam shacks favour whole-belly over strip; the milk-and-corn-flour dredge produces a lacy crust.

Where: Becky's Diner, Scales, Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room, Harbor Fish Market

Where to eat Fried Maine clams in Portland →

Whoopie pie

Two soft round chocolate cakes sandwiched around fluffy white marshmallow-cream filling, traditionally palm-sized. Designated Maine's official state treat in 2011 (the blueberry pie remains the state dessert).

Where: Two Fat Cats Bakery, Rosemont Market Munjoy Hill, Public Market House

Where to eat Whoopie pie in Portland →

Maine fish chowder

Milk-and-cream chowder with white fish (cod, haddock or pollock), potato, onion and rendered salt pork, finished with butter. Distinct from clam chowder; salt pork carries the fat, milk (never boiled) carries the body.

Where: Becky's Diner, Scales, Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room, Fore Street

Where to eat Maine fish chowder in Portland →

Maine potato donut

Yeast-raised donut with mashed Maine potato in the dough, producing a moist, dense, chewy bite distinct from American cake donuts. Leigh Kellis built The Holy Donut in 2012 around Maine Russet, Yukon and sweet potatoes.

Where: The Holy Donut, The Holy Donut Commercial Street

Where to eat Maine potato donut in Portland →

Maine Baked Beans

Slow-baked Yellow Eye or Soldier beans simmered with salt pork, dark molasses, brown sugar and yellow mustard, baked low and slow in a stoneware bean pot until the beans are silky and the surface is mahogany.

Where: Becky's Diner, Hot Suppa, The Front Room, Amato's Original Italian Sandwich

Where to eat Maine Baked Beans in Portland →

Duckfat Belgian Fries

Duckfat's house specialty: hand-cut Maine potato fries fried twice in rendered duck fat, served in a paper cone with one of seven dipping sauces (truffle ketchup, curry mayo, garlic aioli). Maine's most photographed fry.

Where: Duckfat, Duckfat Frites Shack, Bite Into Maine at Allagash

Where to eat Duckfat Belgian Fries in Portland →

Moxie

Maine's bitter-sweet brown soda flavoured with gentian root, the only state-recognised soft drink in America. Tastes like root beer crossed with cough syrup; Mainers either swear by it or have never tried it.

Where: Becky's Diner

Where to eat Moxie in Portland →

Needham

A Maine confection: sweetened mashed potato fondant centre flavoured with vanilla and shredded coconut, hand-dipped in dark chocolate. Looks like a chocolate truffle, tastes nothing like any.

Where to eat Needham in Portland →

All Portland signature dishes →

Restaurants to know in Portland

A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Portland.

Fore Street

New American$$$$288 Fore Street, Portland, ME 04101

Fore Street opened 1996 in a converted Old Port warehouse and built modern New England cooking around a wood oven, open hearth and turning spit.

Signature: Wood-grilled local fish, Roasted Maine mussels, Wood-fired pork loin

More about Fore Street →

Eventide Oyster Co

Seafood$$$86 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101

Eventide Oyster Co on Middle Street opened 2012 from Big Tree Hospitality, rebuilding the Maine oyster bar around a brown-butter lobster roll on a bao.

Signature: Brown butter lobster roll, Oysters on the half shell, Smoked bluefish pate

More about Eventide Oyster Co →

The Honey Paw

Pan-asian Noodles$$$78 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101

The Honey Paw on Middle Street opened 2015, the Big Tree Hospitality pan-Asian noodle counter from Andrew Taylor, Mike Wiley and Arlin Smith next to Eventide.

Signature: Hand-pulled noodles, Coconut curry mussels, Fried rice with house kimchi

More about The Honey Paw →

Twelve

New American$$$$115 Thames Street, Portland, ME 04101

Twelve at Portland Foreside since 2022, now led by Chef Hannah Ryder, runs a Maine-ingredient tasting menu around an open kitchen on Thames Street.

Signature: Multi-course chef tasting, Hyper-seasonal fish course, Bread course

More about Twelve →

Chaval

French fine dining$$$58 Pine Street, Portland, ME 04102

Chaval on Pine Street in the West End opened 2017 from Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez of Piccolo, with a Spanish-French menu around the wood oven and bar.

Signature: Spanish tortilla, Steak frites, Wood oven pizza

More about Chaval →

Solo Italiano

Italian$$$$100 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101

Solo Italiano on Commercial Street opened 2016 from Chef Paolo Laboa, with Ligurian cooking, hand-cut trofie pesto and house bread from a Genovese-style oven.

Signature: Hand-cut trofie al pesto, House-made trenette, Whole roasted fish

More about Solo Italiano →

See every restaurant in Portland →

Where to eat by neighborhood

Old Port

Cobblestone wharves and 19th-century brick warehouses host Portland's flagship dining row: Eventide, The Honey Paw, Fore Street, Scales and the Public Market House.

Best for: Lobster rolls, Oysters, Fine dining, Wine bars

Munjoy Hill

The hill east of downtown, anchored by Standard Baking, The Front Room and Rosemont Market on Congress Street. Walking distance to the Eastern Promenade and Fort Allen Park views.

Best for: Bakeries, Brunch, Italian-American, Neighborhood spots

West End

Victorian rowhouses and quiet residential streets, home to Chaval on Pine Street, the Bramhall pub and a clutch of corner cafes. Quieter dining than the Old Port crowd.

Best for: Fine dining, Italian, Neighborhood spots

East Bayside

The city's brewery and warehouse district north of Marginal Way: Bissell Brothers, Lone Pine, Goodfire, Rising Tide and Oxbow Blending and Bottling. Industrial blocks turned taproom row.

Best for: Breweries, Taprooms, Casual food

Also: bayside

Arts District

The Congress Street corridor between High Street and Monument Square, home to the Portland Museum of Art, the State Theatre and rooms like Boda, Leeward and Bayside Bowl.

Best for: Cocktails, Cafes, Thai, Pre-show dinner

India Street

The eastern Old Port blocks, anchored by Eventide, The Honey Paw, Duckfat, Via Vecchia and Izakaya Minato. James Beard Award-winning kitchens in two square blocks.

Best for: Oysters, Asian-influenced, Wine bars, Sandwiches

When to come hungry in Portland

Peak food season: May through October for the working lobster season, oysters and farmers market produce. September and early October are the editor's window: shoulder weather, full menus, no summer crowds.

Local dining hours: Lunch 11:30-14:00, dinner 17:30-21:30. Many kitchens close Monday or Tuesday. Last seatings push back to 20:30 in winter.

Tipping: Tip 20 percent on the pre-tax total for sit-down meals; round up at counters and breweries. A small number of rooms have moved to a service-included model and say so on the menu.

Portland food, FAQ

What food is Portland known for?

Portland's signature dishes include Maine lobster roll, Fried Maine clams, Maine Italian sandwich, Wild Maine blueberry pie, Whoopie pie. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.

What are the best food neighborhoods in Portland?

TableJourney editors map Portland by district. Old Port, Munjoy Hill, West End, East Bayside are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.

Where should I eat fine dining in Portland?

Editor picks in Portland include Fore Street, Twelve, Central Provisions, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.

Are there food tours in Portland?

TableJourney covers 6 editor-picked food tours in Portland, with what each shows you and how much to budget.

Does Portland have good vegetarian or vegan food?

TableJourney's Portland dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.