Restaurants in Portland

Piles of chopped wood rest below the brick pizza ovens at Siano’s, waiting to feed the flames that crisp hand-tossed dough, fresh-cut veggies, and meaty toppings sourced from local butchers and markets. The brick façade extends to Siano’s walls, which absorb the soft overhead lights that illuminate wooden tables and booths laden with seafood risottos, soups and chowders, and tomato-sauce-covered chicken. Scrawled in multicolored chalk across a blackboard expanse, the day’s Italian-inspired specials pair with delicious pours from the bar, which range from frosty local brews to European imports and extraterrestrial drafts.

After bringing their family across the pond from Milano to Maine, restaurateurs Fabiana de Savino and Enrico Barbiero wasted no time in opening Paciarino. There, pasta made daily by Barbiero "raises the bar for pasta," according to the New York Times. “His tender ravioli are stuffed with sweet local shrimp and haddock, and his spaghetti is hand-stretched and perfectly cooked,” the reporter continued. The chef draws from a palette of imported Taggiasche olives, garlic from Sicily, and peppers, mozzarella, and salamis from around Italy. When possible, the produce is sourced from organic farms, and the selection of seafood, like a neighbor’s level of anger at your Halloween display, depends on the season.

Paciarino's airy interior keeps the mood light and focused on the cuisine, which is complemented by red and white wine. “You can hear a surprising amount of Italian language among the diners,” said a writer for The Boston Globe after a visit, “ and everyone seems a little more cheerful than they did when they walked in."

Instead of heading out to play after school as a kid, Ron Stephan spent afternoons in his mother's kitchen, rolling chicken cordon bleu for the catering business she ran from their home. Today, Ron continues his family tradition of freshness at his own restaurant, Ricetta's, where every dish is made from scratch daily. "I guarantee you my freezer is smaller than your freezer at home," Ron says with a laugh, "unless you have a really small freezer."

The restaurant’s accolades speak for themselves. Since it opened in 1989, Ricetta's has won the Maine Sunday Telegram's readers' poll for best pizza a whopping 20 years in a row, as well as earning a spot on USA Today's 51 great pizza parlors in 2010. At its current location, which it has occupied since 2000, two hand-built brick ovens fire up each pizza, giving the crust a crisp outside and a soft, pillowy center.

Though the food is crafted with care, the lifeblood of Ricetta's, according to Ron, is its employees, many of whom have been with him for over 10 years. They have helped create all of the menu's dishes, including the Bolto pizza, loaded with pesto, roasted chicken, and broccoli, and named after the manager who would make it for himself for lunch every day. Ricetta's first employee, Skip, lends his name to the popular linguini Scipollo, which he fashioned from chicken, sometimes shrimp, with prosciutto and tomatoes in lemon-cream sauce. To show his gratitude, Ron celebrates each staff member's anniversary by printing a mention in the newsletter and cooking them a pizza with monogrammed pepperoni slices.

Chefs and mixologists at Plush West End pair a diverse assortment of ever-changing small plates with fine wines and specialty drinks. Like a hug from a princess, the atmosphere feels both elegant and welcoming, and the Portland Press Herald’s Elisa Doucette remarked that the "cushioned leather couches in the lounge area and deep-red walls create a dark, seductive setting that compels you to stay for hours." The restaurant shows its commitment to Maine-based merchants in a variety of ways such as the Angus beef sliders topped with locally sourced cheddar. Cocktail connoisseurs mix signature specialty drinks at the bar’s glass chilling station illuminated by fiery red under-lighting, and a VIP section calls to diners seeking privacy for a special proposal or a rendezvous with international spies.

At The Falmouth Sea Grill, chefs lavish seafood with inventive seasonings as patrons drink in sweeping views of Casco Bay and Handy Boat marina. Culinary artisans layer truffle oil and walnut-pesto mayonnaise on a variety of fishy fare, from ichthyoids such as flounder to crustaceans such as Maine lobster. Generously portioned entrees including kaiser and sourdough sandwiches team up with wilted chard and hand-cut fries to please patient bellies.

The Falmouth Sea Grill's patio seating and outdoor fire pit let the breeze tickle open-air diners, and the recently renovated multilevel interior dining area massages the senses with sapphire walls, blonde wood, and photographs of ships that escaped their native bottles. A reviewer for MaineToday.com praises the upstairs dining room’s “cozy fireplace” and “beautifully crafted wooden bar,” where tipplers can sip foam from draft brews crafted by local Mainer moose, postprandial ports, and cordials.

The chefs at Seasons Grille and Bar fry up early-morning egg dishes and sear steaks in the evening, drawing on fresh local ingredients to create an inventive menu of signature dishes. Early risers brandish forks at three-egg omelets and host mock United Nations meet-and-greets with french toast. Dinnertime diners coax taste buds into deep-sea diving with the seafood celebration's scallops, Maine shrimp, and mussels sautéed in a garlic vermouth broth, or the haddock provencal crisped up in sundried tomato olive tapenade. Pan-fried boneless chicken hides beneath a blanket of bubbly mozzarella, clutching linguini and tomato for security on the parmesan plate, and shrimp scampi flatbread pizza fuels conversation about news on a flat-screen TV. As patrons chow down, an exposed stone fireplace warms bodies and hearts simultaneously by using Chicken Soup for the Soul as kindling.