Eventide Oyster Co.Oyster bar restaurant · $$$ · Old Port
The brown butter lobster roll on a steamed bao bun is the single most copied dish in New England, and it is still best here. Start with a dozen off the granite slab and the kimchi bloody mary.
86 Middle St, Portland, ME 04101
ScalesSeafood restaurant · $$$$ · Waterfront
The big waterfront seafood room, the grown-up version of a fish house. Whole roasted fish and the fried oysters, then watch the ferries go out.
68 Commercial St, Portland, ME 04101
Street & Co.Seafood restaurant · $$$ · Old Port
Since 1989 in a brick cellar on a cobblestone alley, and it has not changed because it does not need to. Mussels provencal and the sole francaise, and they hold walk-in seats from 4:30.
33 Wharf St, Portland, ME 04101
Highroller Lobster Co.Seafood restaurant · $$ · Old Port
The loud, cheap, genuinely great lobster roll, no reservations and open till 9 every day. Get the Connecticut style with butter plus their lobster ghee, and a lobster tail on a stick.
104 Exchange St, Portland, ME 04101
The Lobster Shack at Two LightsSeafood restaurant · $$ · Cape Elizabeth, 20 min south
The postcard lobster pound experience since the 1920s, on the rocks next to the lighthouse. Lobster dinner or fried clams at a picnic table, and note it is seasonal and closed through the winter.
225 Two Lights Rd, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107
Breakfast in Portland
Palace DinerDiner · $$ · Biddeford, 25 min south
Fifteen stools in a 1927 dining car and a James Beard award on the wall, genuinely one of the best breakfasts in the country. Tuna melt and the buttermilk pancakes, and expect to wait outside.
18 Franklin St, Biddeford, ME 04005
Hot SuppaSouthern restaurant (US) · $$ · West End
The one locals name first, southern leaning and open 8 to 2 every day. Corned beef hash and the shrimp and grits, no reservations so get there before 10.
703 Congress St, Portland, ME 04102
Tandem Coffee + Bakery$ · West End
A converted gas station where Briana Holt's biscuits and buttermilk doughnuts sell out by mid morning. Not a sit-down brunch, more the best 20 minutes of your day, open 8 to 1.
Bayside American CafeBrunch restaurant · $$ · Bayside
Brunch all day, every day, 7 to 2, and it is the workhorse the whole city relies on. Lobster benedict if you want the Maine version, corned beef hash if you want the real order.
98 Portland St, Portland, ME 04101
Becky's DinerDiner · $ · Waterfront
Open 5am to 9pm daily on the working waterfront, full of fishermen at dawn and everyone else by nine. Order the fisherman's breakfast, and it is the only real option if you get out of a show starving.
390 Commercial St, Portland, ME 04101
Steaks in Portland
The Grill Room$$$ · Old Port
Portland's actual steakhouse, and it works because everything hits a wood grill first. Get the bone-in ribeye and sit at the bar if the dining room is booked.
Fore Street$$$$ · Old Port
The most famous kitchen in Maine, built around an open hearth and a turnspit. The wood grilled hanger steak with beef jus is the move, and a third of the tables are held for walk-ins at 5.
Central ProvisionsSmall plates restaurant · $$$ · Old Port
Chris Gould's small plates room in a stone basement, and the Korean BBQ steak is the thing people order twice. Go early or expect a wait, they keep it mostly walk-in.
414 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101
Bruno's Restaurant & TavernDelivery service · $$ · Deering
Zero tourists, open since 1981, and the kind of place where the prime rib comes with a baked potato and nobody apologizes for it. Sit on the tavern side.
33 Allen Ave, Portland, ME 04103
Top Tables in Portland
Fore Street$$$ · Old Port
The wood-fire kitchen that put Portland on the national food map, book the two-month window or work the bar for walk-ins.
Central ProvisionsSmall plates restaurant · $$$ · Old Port
James Beard finalist small plates, about 1,416 reviews, order the tuna crudo and the suckling pig.
414 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101
The Grill Room & BarSteak house · $$$ · Old Port
Old Port special-occasion spot known for wood-oven roasted bone marrow and grilled steaks.
84 Exchange St, Portland, ME 04101
Sandwiches in Portland
DuckfatBelgian restaurant · $$ · Middle St
Belgian frites fried in duck fat, panini pressed to order, and milkshakes that fully justify the line.
43 Middle St, Portland, ME 04101
CERARestaurant · $$ · Monument Square
About 86 reviews, the pastrami and swiss is the best in town and the Chupacabra is the wild card.
1 Monument Sq Ste 103, Portland, ME 04101
Dutch'sBreakfast restaurant · $$ · Old Port
About 396 reviews, breakfast sandwiches all day, the Kale Melt is the one to order.