33 cheap eats places in Portland, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Portland: the places editors actually return to. All Portland food.
Standard Baking Co ★ 4.8
old-port · 75 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101
Standard Baking on Commercial Street, since 1995 from Alison Pray and Matt James, is Portland's artisan bakery for levain breads and laminated pastries.
Tip: Open 07:30 daily; the cinnamon-walnut morning bun lot sells out by 11:00, the country sourdough boules around 14:00.
The Holy Donut Commercial Street ★ 4.8
old-port · 177 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101
The Holy Donut on Commercial Street is the Portland waterfront takeout counter for Leigh Kellis's Maine potato donuts in rotating seasonal flavours.
Tip: Sells out by mid-afternoon. Take to the wharves for an Old Port walk.
Forage Market Bagel ★ 4.8
east-bayside · 123 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Forage Market on Washington Avenue runs wood-fired Montreal-style bagels and bagel sandwiches under twelve dollars from the East Bayside counter.
Tip: Closes 13:00; bagels often sell out by noon weekends. Cash and card both fine; counter only, no seating.
Two Fat Cats Bakery ★ 4.7
east-bayside · 195 Lancaster Street, Portland, ME 04101
Two Fat Cats on Lancaster Street, founded 2005 by the Fore Street team and bought 2012 by Stacy Begin, runs whoopie pies, fruit pies and cakes.
Tip: Open Monday to Saturday. Pre-order whole pies 48 hours ahead via the operator site.
Tandem Coffee Roasters Anderson Street ★ 4.7
east-bayside · 122 Anderson Street, Portland, ME 04101
Tandem Coffee Roasters on Anderson Street, since 2012 from Will and Kathleen Pratt, is the working East Bayside roastery and cafe with espresso and filter.
Tip: Monday to Saturday 07:00-13:00. The Congress Street cafe handles weekends and full-day brunch.
Tandem Coffee + Bakery Congress Street ★ 4.7
west-end · 742 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04102
Tandem Coffee + Bakery on Congress Street in the West End is the brunch sibling to the Anderson Street roastery, with buttermilk biscuits and pour-overs.
Tip: Open daily 08:00-13:00. Online ordering for collection 07:45-10:15.
Tu Casa Pupusas ★ 4.7
east-bayside · 70 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Tu Casa on Washington Avenue runs Salvadoran pupusas, baleadas and full plates from a small East Bayside counter for under fifteen dollars apiece.
Tip: Closed Mondays. The pupusa revuelta with curtido is the easy first order.
Scratch Baking Co ★ 4.6
west-end · 416 Preble Street, South Portland, ME 04106
Scratch Baking Co in South Portland's Willard Square, five minutes from downtown, runs sourdough bagels that draw a Sunday morning queue around the corner.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Sunday queues form before 08:00; pre-order via the website is the fast lane.
Bard Coffee ★ 4.6
old-port · 185 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101
Bard Coffee on Middle Street, since 2009, was Portland's first dedicated third-wave cafe, pouring espresso flights and pour-overs from rotating roasters.
Tip: Mon-Sat 07:00-17:00; Sun 08:00-17:00. Pours coffee from rotating roasters, not just one house program.
Speckled Ax ★ 4.6
arts-district · 567 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Speckled Ax on Congress Street, since 2012 from Matt Bolinder (roasting since 2007), is Portland's wood-fired coffee roaster with house-roasted beans.
Tip: Daily 07:00-17:00. The wood-roast lineup rotates seasonally; ask for the latest single origin.
Duckfat Frites Shack ★ 4.6
east-bayside · 43 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Duckfat Frites Shack on Washington Avenue is the takeout sibling to Duckfat, serving duck fat fries, fried snacks, milkshakes and beer at a shared patio.
Tip: Seasonal April through October. The picnic-table patio is shared with Oxbow Brewing taproom next door.
The Holy Donut ★ 4.6
old-port · 177 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101
The Holy Donut on Commercial Street runs Leigh Kellis's Maine potato donuts under five dollars apiece, in rotating seasonal flavours including wild blueberry.
Tip: Sells out by mid afternoon. Pair with a Tandem espresso for under ten dollars.
Tandem Coffee + Bakery ★ 4.5
west-end · 742 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04102
Tandem Coffee + Bakery on Congress Street, since 2014 from Will and Kathleen Pratt, runs buttermilk biscuits, scones and laminated pastries with house coffee.
Tip: Daily 08:00-13:00. The Anderson Street roastery cafe handles weekday workdays.
Coffee By Design Diamond Street ★ 4.5
east-bayside · 1 Diamond Street, Portland, ME 04101
Coffee By Design on Diamond Street is Portland's flagship coffeehouse and roastery, since 1994 from Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear. Tours by appointment.
Tip: Daily 07:00-18:00. The Diamond Street site is the working roastery; tours by appointment.
Forage Market ★ 4.5
east-bayside · 123 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Forage Market on Washington Avenue in East Bayside, a wood-fired bagel cafe with all-day Speckled Ax-roasted coffee, schmears and brunch sandwiches daily.
Tip: Mon-Fri 07:00-13:00; Sat-Sun 08:00-13:00. Bagels sell out by early lunch; arrive before 11:00 on weekends.
Moonday Coffee ★ 4.5
east-bayside · 93 Washington Avenue, Unit 1, Portland, ME 04101
Moonday Coffee at the Black Box on Washington Ave in East Bayside, a shipping-container roastery cafe pulling Speckled Ax and pouring scratch-made masala.
Tip: Thursday to Sunday 09:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00. Counter and standing only, no laptops.
Bite Into Maine at Allagash ★ 4.5
north-deering · 50 Industrial Way, Portland, ME 04103
Bite Into Maine runs its lobster-roll truck and counter at the Allagash Brewing taproom on Industrial Way, Connecticut-style warm butter on a top-split bun.
Tip: Seasonal April through October. Original Bite Into Maine truck is at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth.
Duckfat Frites Shack ★ 4.5
east-bayside · 43 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Duckfat Frites Shack on Washington Avenue is the takeout window with frites, fried snacks, milkshakes and beer under fifteen dollars, picnic-table seating.
Tip: Seasonal April to October; cash and card both fine. Shared patio with Oxbow Blending next door, picnic-table seating only.
Amato's Italian Sandwich ★ 4.4
india-street · 71 India Street, Portland, ME 04101
Amato's on India Street is the original 1902 Portland sandwich counter where Giovanni Amato invented the Maine Italian sandwich, served under ten dollars.
Tip: The original 1902 location is the canonical one; the Maine Italian sandwich is the order.
Rose Foods Bagels ★ 4.4
woodfords-deering · 428 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Rose Foods on Forest Avenue runs hand-rolled bagels, lox bagels, pastrami sandwiches and matzo ball soup under fifteen dollars from Chad Conley's deli.
Tip: Daily 07:30-14:00; online ordering saves the queue at peak weekend brunch. Cash and card both fine.
The Purple House ★ 4.3
woodfords-deering · 378 Walnut Hill Road, North Yarmouth, ME 04097
The Purple House in North Yarmouth, 20 minutes from Portland, runs Krista Desjarlais's Montreal-style wood-fired bagels from a converted Cape Cod house.
Tip: Friday to Sunday only. Open 08:00, closes when bagels run out (often by early afternoon).
Higher Grounds Fair Trade Coffee ★ 4.3
arts-district · 45 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Higher Grounds Coffee on Forest Avenue, since 2002, runs Fair Trade Federation single-origin coffees from a longstanding Portland third-wave cafe.
Tip: Daily 07:00-17:00. Wholesale beans available retail at the cafe.
Arabica Coffee House ★ 4.3
old-port · 2 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101
Arabica Coffee House on Free Street has run since 2001 as Portland's bohemian third-wave room, with house-roasted espresso, lattes and a summer patio.
Tip: Daily 07:00-18:00. The room is small but the patio opens in summer.
Mami ★ 4.3
old-port · 339 Fore Street, Portland, ME 04101
Mami on Fore Street, from chef Austin Miller and Hana Tamaki (food truck 2015, brick-and-mortar 2017), runs onigiri, broth bowls and izakaya snacks.
Tip: Closed Sunday to Tuesday. The salmon onigiri is the easy first order.
Becky's Diner Breakfast ★ 4.3
old-port · 390 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101
Becky's Diner on Commercial Street runs the cheapest waterfront breakfast in Portland, opening 05:00 daily for fishing crews and the line behind them.
Tip: Daily 05:00-21:00. Cash and card both fine; queues longest 09:00-11:00 weekends.
Forage Market ★ 4.2
east-bayside · 123 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Forage Market on Washington Avenue, the Portland branch of Allen Smith's 2013 Lewiston bakery, runs hearth-baked Montreal-style bagels in East Bayside.
Tip: Closes 13:00 daily; bagels often sell out by noon on weekends.
Tu Casa Restaurant ★ 4.2
east-bayside · 70 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Tu Casa on Washington Avenue runs a Salvadoran kitchen with pupusas, baleadas, fried plantains, yuca and pollo encebollado in a tight East Bayside room.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Cash and card both fine; the pupusa revuelta with curtido is the easy first order.
Green Elephant Lunch ★ 4.2
arts-district · 608 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Green Elephant on Congress Street runs vegetarian Thai lunches under twenty dollars: vegan coconut soup, mango curry and pad thai across from State Theatre.
Tip: Lunch Tuesday to Saturday 11:30-14:30; dinner from 17:00 nightly except Monday.
The Holy Donut ★ 4.1
old-port · 177 Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101
The Holy Donut on Commercial Street is the waterfront branch of Leigh Kellis's Maine potato donut program (Park Avenue original 2012), in rotating flavours.
Tip: Sells out by mid afternoon. The Park Avenue location and Scarborough have the same product, longer queues here.
OTTO Pizza Slice Counter ★ 4.1
arts-district · 576 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
OTTO Pizza on Congress Street runs Portland's slice counter with unconventional pies (mashed potato bacon scallion, pulled pork mango) and classic margherita.
Tip: Open daily 11:00-22:00. Slice walks in; whole pies via phone.
Rose Foods ★ 4.0
woodfords-deering · 428 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Rose Foods on Forest Avenue, since 2017 from Chad Conley, runs hand-rolled, hand-shaped bagels, rugelach, babka and challah from a small storefront.
Tip: Daily 07:30-14:00. Counter ordering; weekend brunch fills fast.
Amato's Original Italian Sandwich ★ 4.0
india-street · 71 India Street, Portland, ME 04101
Amato's on India Street, since 1902 from Giovanni Amato, is the original Maine Italian sandwich shop: ham, cheese, olives, onions and tomatoes on a soft roll.
Tip: Open daily 09:00-21:00. The original 1902 storefront is the canonical first stop.
Public Market House Vendors ★ 4.0
arts-district · 28 Monument Square, Portland, ME 04101
Public Market House on Monument Square runs seven food vendors under one roof, with Vietnamese, Mediterranean, Latin and soup counters around twelve dollars.
Tip: Daily 11:00-20:00. Counter order at each vendor; shared central seating.