City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Address: 617 Congress St.
62. Pepperclub
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 772-0531
Address: 78 Middle St.
Description: When you’ve had your fill of lobster rolls and fried clams, head over to this beloved eatery, just a few blocks from the Old Port across the Franklin Arterial. Readers of the local alternative weekly have tabbed the restaurant as the place with the best food for under $10 in years past, but prices have gone up a bit. The fare is still indisputably good, though. It’s a smorgasbord of cosmopolitan, nouvelle flavors inspired by eats from all over the globe, and you order off a chalkboard covered with colors. You might find on any given night Moroccan chicken, sesame vegetable spring rolls, curried organic beef pie, or lamb in phyllo with Greek salad. Everything comes recommended, and the knowledgeable staff will help you sort things out.
63. Portland Flatbread Co.
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 772-8777
Address: 72 Commerical St.
Description: This isn’t your grandfather’s pizza place. This Commercial Street pizza house serves up all-natural pizzas baked in “primitive,” wood-fired clay ovens, using flatbreads of organic wheat. Part of a small chain, the eatery has a nice spot on the Portland waterfront, and there are views of the harbor visible from its wooden booths. One of these pies is large enough to feed two people. Choose from the nitrate-free pepperoni; the Casco Bay community flatbread, which comes with caramelized onions, organic mushrooms, cheeses, and herbs (exactly like the Amesbury community flatbread, in Amesbury, Massachusetts); or the vegan, which has caramelized onions, kalamata olives, garlic oil, and herbs. Portlanders seem to be into this joint, and there can be a wait.
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Address: 72 Commercial St.
65. The Roma Cafe
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 773-9873
Address: 769 Congress St.
Description: With its chandeliers, heavy drapes, and white linens, this Congress Street favorite has a decidedly old-school feel, and it is, in a classic sort of way. The Roma has been feeding Portlanders since 1924 with fine Italian-accented continental fare. It’s the sort of restaurant where you take that special someone on that special occasion, when a little romance is required. (Roma puts the roma in romance—it’s been voted Portland’s most romantic restaurant several years running.) The 1887 Rhines mansion serves as the setting, the service is known for being impeccable, and the fare is prepared with supreme care. You won’t soon forget the Roma seafood lasagna, the chicken and Maine shrimp fettuccine, or the roast pork tenderloin.
66. Scratch Baking Co.
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 799-0668
Address: 416 Preble St.
Description: Bob Johnson, Allison Reid, and Sonja Swanberg opened One Fifty Ate Willard Square, a place where people in their Portland neighborhood could grab a bagel or a cookie (try the chocolate chip hooray), and it didn’t take long for them to outgrow the place or the name. They’ve expanded and changed their name but the whimsical spirit and delicious homemade breads and bagels and brownies and blondies and biscotti and bearclaws, and blueberry bran muffinettes haven’t changed. Which is good for Portland.
67. Silly’S
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 772-0360
Address: 40 Washington Ave.
Description: Silly’s enjoyed its 15 minutes of fame a few years back when famed pranksters the Jerky Boyz called the little restaurant up to ask them what was going on there that was so silly. Portlanders already know the answer. The funky eatery has become known for a “silly” array of items—the place’s burgers are called the city’s best by some. Others hail the jerk chicken, the pizza, and the milk shakes. It’s also famous for vegetarian options. The atmosphere is kooky, the staff fun, and everything is inexpensive. As the slogan goes: EAT AT SILLY’S.
68. Street And Company
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 775-0887
Address: 33 Wharf St.
Description: Along with Fore Street, this place has been setting the standard in Portland since 1989, and it’s surprisingly informal. The specialty is grilled seafood, and nobody does it better. Entrees come right out of the kitchen and onto your table, often in the skillet they were cooked in. Specialties include lobster diavolo and scallops in Pernod and cream, but everything is excellent. Space has always been a concern—the restaurant is so popular, there’s often a wait. Expanded seating and outdoor dining have been added, but it’s still best to make a reservation.
City: Portland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Address: 15 Exchange St.