Fore Street ★ 4.8
Fore Street has been Portland's flagship wood-fired dining room since 1996, with a wood-burning oven, open hearth and turning spit at the kitchen's heart.
Izakaya Minato is a fine-dining restaurant in Portland.
Izakaya Minato on Washington Avenue, since 2017, from Thomas Takashi Cooke. A small izakaya with binchotan-grilled yakitori, donburi and a sake list.
Address: 54 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Fore Street has been Portland's flagship wood-fired dining room since 1996, with a wood-burning oven, open hearth and turning spit at the kitchen's heart.
Twelve at Portland Foreside, opened 2022 by Prentice Hospitality and now led by Chef Hannah Ryder, runs a Maine tasting menu on Thames Street.
Central Provisions at the top of Fore Street, opened 2014 by Chris and Paige Gould (Beard nominee), with rotating small plates of crudo and pork belly.
Chaval on Pine Street in the West End, since 2017, from the Piccolo team of Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez. Spanish-French cooking around the wood oven.
Leeward on Free Street, since 2020, from Jake and Raquel Stevens, with a chef-driven fresh-pasta program inside a brick-and-tile Italian dining room.
Solo Italiano on Commercial Street, since 2016, from Chef Paolo Laboa. Genovese cooking with house-made pastas, breads and pesto from a stone mortar.