Portland, Maine | Restaurants & Eateries Guide

As Portland’s culinary reputation continues to grow, we’re often asked to share a quick roundup of some of our favorite Portland, Maine, restaurants and eateries. Whether you’re interested in a homestyle breakfast, gourmet donut, creative small plates, to-die-for lobster rolls, fresh oysters, Belgian-style frites, Sicilian pizza…the list goes on and on…Portland has you covered. Here’s a roundup of some of our picks for the best restaurants in Portland, Maine. Come hungry!

Where to Eat in Portland, Maine | Restaurants & Eateries Guide

Central Provisions

An always-packed restaurant/bar in a 19th-century former storehouse in the Old Port neighborhood, Central Provisions brings small-plate dining to delicious new levels. Our best advice is to order a few plates at a time, retain a menu on the table, and keep going until you can’t eat another bite. Also, don’t arrive too hungry. Central Provisions doesn’t accept reservations and waits can be long, but are well worth it.

Miyake

The flagship of Masa Miyake’s mini-empire (including the noodle-centered Pai-Men Miyake, a farm, and a catering operation) offers not only some of the best sushi in New England, but also some of the most affordable.

Hot Suppa

Scratch-made breakfast specialties—such as rave-worthy corned-beef hash, biscuits and sausage gravy, French-style omelets, and burritos—draw the faithful to this venerable brick Victorian in the city’s West End.

Eventide Oyster Co.

Lobster shack classics (the rolls, the stews, chowders) are all given a creative spin with Asian and Middle Eastern accents at this nationally acclaimed seafood haven, and one of our all-time favorite Portland, Maine, restaurants. We’re especially fond of their brown-butter lobster roll. You can also sample Maine’s growing roster of oyster varieties from the raw bar. 

Holy Donut

All twenty-odd flavors at this Portland icon use Maine-grown potatoes in the dough, producing a dunker so light and moist, you’ll wonder why anyone makes donuts without them. See which Holy Donut variety made it onto our list of 3 Favorite New England Gourmet Donuts. 

Rose Foods

The Back Cove location doesn’t deter those with a jones for authentic New York deli fare. Rose does a booming lunch business with corned beef or egg salad on house-baked caraway-seeded rye, while couples often gravitate to the “Fishermen’s Feast for 2,” which gathers all the house-cured fishes (including lox cured with pastrami spices) onto a single platter with pickles, onions, capers, cream cheese, and fresh golden bagels.

Piccolo

Step out of Portland and into the Italian countryside at Piccolo, a pocket eatery on the edge of the Old Port, where chef Damian Sansonetti draws on the food of his childhood. The small, ever-changing menu emphasizes the rustic cuisine of the Calabria and Abruzzi regions with entrées—such as the signature house-made cavatelli pasta with lamb’s-neck ragu—created from a conscientious mix of ingredients sourced from Italy and Maine.

Duckfat

One of the most popular Portland, Maine, restaurants for those in search of gourmet comfort food, Duckfat does it all. Here you’ll find excellent renditions of panini, salads, charcuterie, soup, and milkshakes, but you’re really there for the Belgian-style frites that are fried in the flavorful fat that give the restaurant its name. 

Slab

Stephen Lanzalotta’s thick Sicilian pizzas are made with an oil-enriched crust so tender and lofty, you may never go back to thin-crust Neapolitan-style pies again.

Want more Portland? See our Yankee Magazine Editors’ Choice picks for the Best of Portland, Maine, or come with us on a Maine Lobster Boat Tour with Portland’s Lucky Catch cruises.

Where are your favorite Portland, Maine, restaurants and eateries? Let us know below.

This post was first published in 2017 and has been updated.

See More:
Where to Find the Best Seafood in Portland, Maine
5 Favorite Portland, Maine, Bakery Destinations
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