Oysters, lobster rolls and the country's deepest small-city kitchen bench.
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.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Portland, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
The plates that define eating in Portland.
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
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
Soft white roll filled with ham, salami, American cheese, sliced onions, tomato, green olives, sour pickles, sweet peppers, oil, salt and pepper.
Where: Amato's Original Italian Sandwich, Rosemont Market Munjoy Hill
Double-crust American pie of wild Maine lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium), sugar, lemon and starch. The lowbush berry is smaller and more intense than the highbush; peak is late July through August.
Where: Two Fat Cats Bakery, Becky's Diner, Standard Baking Co
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
Cold-water Maine oysters (Glidden Point, Pemaquid, Bagaduce, Nonesuch) shucked to order and served on crushed ice with mignonette, lemon and cocktail sauce.
Where: Eventide Oyster Co, Scales, Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room, Harbor Fish Market
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
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
A velvety cream soup built from a roasted lobster-shell stock, sweet Maine lobster meat, sherry, brandy, butter and cream, finished with a swirl of tarragon oil and chunks of claw meat.
Where: Fore Street, Scales, Eventide Oyster Co, Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room
Soft-shell longneck Maine clams steamed in their own briny liquor with white wine, butter and garlic, served in a bucket with a small pot of melted butter, a cup of broth for rinsing and a wedge of lemon.
Where: Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room, Eventide Oyster Co, Fore Street, Scales
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
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
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
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.
A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Portland.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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'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.
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.
Editor picks in Portland include Fore Street, Twelve, Central Provisions, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 6 editor-picked food tours in Portland, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Portland dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.