Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Wednesday – It’s the last day of the outdoor Portland Farmers’ Market in Deering Oaks Park. Little Spruce will be holding a pop-up at the Local 188 event space.

Thanksgiving – See the Maine Thanksgiving List for details on 199 options for community meals, restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinners and buffets,  and where you can pre-order turkeys, sides, pies and other dishes to serve at your home meal.

Friday – The VFW on Forest Ave is holding a tequila tasting.

December 3 – En-Noble and SMCC are holding a taste and talk event focused on the food of Papua New Guinea.

December 6 – It’s the first day of the indoor Portland Farmers’ Market at Stevens Square Community Center (631 Stevens Ave). Khao Laeng will be holding a pop-up at Lambs serving khao soi and chicken satay skewers.

December 8 – Cherie is holding a pop-up at the Local 188 event space.

December 9 – Sacred Profane in Biddeford is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.

January 24 – Courntey Loreg from Woodford’s Food & Beverage will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

January 30 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality will be the guest chef at a steakhouse themed Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 8 – Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will be the guest chefs at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner where they’ll celebrate the menu of their former restaurant Piccolo.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta on Deer Isle will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 6 – The Maine Craft Brew Summit is taking place. Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner and President of Russian River Brewing Company, will be the keynote speaker.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.

The Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now for sale in packs of 25 on our online store.

Rambler Cafe Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Rambler Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) recently reopened for business. They’re located at 463 Stevens Ave in the space formerly occupied by Rwanda Bean, and prior to that by the Black Cat Coffee.

Owner Charlee-Ann Charron took over the coffee shop earlier this year and relaunched it last week after a redesign of the cafe. Charron and her team are serving a full line-up of drip and espresso-based coffee drinks utilizing Rwanda Bean coffee including their house special The Brambler Latte which is made with house made blackberry and vanilla syrups (shown above).

The food menu includes croissants, Danish, muffins, bagels from Orchard Ridge Farm in Gorham, and on Sundays pastries from their neighbors at Norimoto Bakery. Shown above is the Za’atar special from this last weekend which was topped with whipped feta, honey, cucumbers and fresh dill.

Billed as Portland’s “Original Flower Cafe” Rambler also sells flowers and bouquets. Charron previously operated a mobile flower truck which she launched in 2022.

Rambler is open Tuesday through Friday, 7 am – 2 pm, and Saturday/Sunday, 8 am – 2 pm.

Maine Food & Dining News: East Machias, Biddeford, Wells, South Berwick, Bethel, Winslow, Kittery, Belfast, Naples, Eastport, Ogunquit, Old Town, Fort Fairfield

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

  • Bold Coast Coffee (website, facebook, instagram) has opened a cafe in East Machias. They’re located at 447 Main Street in a newly renovated space in the building behind their food truck (photo above from late August) and which also served as their roastery.
  • Saco Bay News reports that K-Thai Kitchen has open in Biddeford serving “Thai curries, noodle dishes, fried rice, Thai coffee, mango with sticky rice and other Thai specialties.” They’re located in the former Hamburger Stand building at 138 Elm Street. Meet York County paid K-Thai a visit and has shared some photos of the space and the food.
  • The North Star Cantina (instagram) recently opened in Wells in the building formerly occupied by Fotogo at 1574 Post Road. Eating Through The Seacoast has published video of food, drinks and interior of North Star, and the Portsmouth Herald has written up an article about the business.
  • Hawk’s Nest Kitchen and Bar (website, facebook, instagram) has opened for business in South Berwick serving a menu that includes dishes like mac and cheese, haddock sandwiches, Philly cheesesteak eggrolls, pan seared salmon and vegetable soba noodles.
  • Harding Lee Smith has taken over the former GraceNote Inn in Bethel where he plans to operate an inn and launch a restaurant called The Mayville Union House. As reported in Portland Magazine, Smith plans to serve a menu of scratch made New American comfort food with a special focus on house dry aged steaks. Smith is the owner of The Front Room, The Corner Room and The Grill Room in Portland.
  • The Waterville Sentinel reports that a new restaurant called Rex’s Riverside Grill (website, instagram) has opened in Winslow in the building formerly occupied by Lobster Trap & Steakhouse. Owner Jeffrey Daigneault has launched Rex’s as a takeout restaurant while he continues renovations to the dining room. Watch for the launch of indoor seating in late winter or early spring. Their current hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 am – 8 pm.
  • The Portsmouth Herald has a report on a new raw bar called Salty Spirits (instagram) under construction in Kittery. The business is being launched by Deb and Michael McCluskey who own a number of other restaurants in southern Maine and New Hampshire including Lil’s Cafe.
  • The Pen Bay Pilot reports that a new restaurant called Must Be Nice Lobster (facebook) opened in Belfast earlier this month. Owner Sadie Samuels launched the business as a food truck in 2019 and has now taken the next step of launching a brick and mortar restaurant at the former Dockside Resturant space at 2 Cross Street.
  • Hospitality Maine held their annual summit and awards dinner. Congratulations to Josh Miranda who was named Restaurateur of the Year, and Gil Plaster from The Causeway who was named Chef of the Year, and David Turin for receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • The Lewiston Sun Journal has published an article about Sebagels which launched earlier this year in Naples and just recently added indoor seating.
  • Phoenix Fine Wines in Eastport is holding a Thanksgiving wine dinner this Sunday.
  • Nikanos in Ogunquit is holding a 5-course Bourbon dinner in conjunction with Wild Bevy Distillery this Thursday.
  • The Elizabeth Inn has decided not to reopen their restaurant at their Bethel inn for the 2026 season.
  • The Bangor Daily News has reported on the closure of Yahweh Cafe and Bakery in Old town two months after it launched, and of Boondocks Grille in Fort Fairfield after 16 years in operation. Boondocks last day in business will be December 6th.
  • 180+ businesses and organizations have shared Thanksgiving plans for free community meals, holiday dinners and buffets and takeout options for sides, baked goods and even entire meals. See the Maine Thanksgiving List to find options in your community.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

Best New Restaurant: Luncheonette

| Posted in Reviews

Eater has included Luncheonette in their 2025 list of the Best New Restaurants in America.

Angela Lee had a vision for a meze-style restaurant that could serve dishes and flavors from all over the world. She had broad experience in New York to pull from, having built her pastry credentials at Petee’s Pie Company and worked as a whole-animal butcher and as a fish butcher at the Meat Hook and Osakana, respectively. Her husband, Alex LeBlanc, had worked as a sous chef at Sailor and a chef de cuisine at Gus’s in Brooklyn. The couple returned to LeBlanc’s hometown of Portland, Maine, introducing a charming, expansive menu that reflects their experiences…

LeBlanc and Lee launched Luncheonette in June. The pocket-sized eatery is located at 147 Cumberland Ave in the space formerly occupied by Union Bagel Company. Reached this afternoon, they shared “We love Luncheonette so much and can’t quite believe that other people are seeing it the way that we do. We never expected to be on any sort of list and are so appreciative of being featured in Eater in such a big way!”

Luncheonette was one of 15 restaurants in the 2025 Best New list including businesses in Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and the District of Columbia. Elda was included in Eater’s Best New list in 2018 when it was in its original Biddeford location.

Photos: Bibimbap, Tomato Pie, Lee and LeBlanc plating food at a recent Korean dinner held at Luncheonette, Roast Pork with apples and mustard.

Hospitality and Housing

| Posted in General News

The Maine Monitor has explored the connection between housing costs and staffing challenges for restaurants.

Honey’s Fried Chicken Palace was an expansion of Bedell’s first fried chicken restaurant, Ancho Honey, which opened in Tenants Harbor in 2019. With five years under his belt and two finalist awards for best burger and best fried chicken in the state, Bedell started to expand, with the hope of starting a Maine-based chain.

Instead, just one year after he opened his new counter-service restaurant, Bedell made the decision to shut down Ancho Honey — a choice that was fueled in large part by problems finding staff.

And he’s not alone.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – Pulutan is holding a Filipino pop-up at the Big Tree Event space at the former Local 188. Chefs Nathan Steinauer and Sydney Boulanger are holding a pop-up dinner called Sleepy Fish.

Wednesday-Saturday – Goodfire Brewing in Freeport will be serving a set of Wabanaki-inspired dishes developed in collaboration with Penobscot chef Joseph Robbins.

Friday – Members of the public and industry professionals have until midnight on Friday to submit a recommendation to the James Beard Foundation for the 2026 Awards. Asia House Kitchen and Bar (instagram) is scheduled to open in South Portland. Angoor Wine Bar is holding a 3-course wine dinner.

Saturday – Onggi will be serving a kelp noodle lunch featuring noodles from the Mar Mar Noodle Company (instagram).

November 24 – Wow India (website, instagram) is scheduled to open. They’re located at 649 Congress Street and hours on Monday are 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, and 4 – 10 pm. You can see their menu on their website, and read more about Wow India in this article published in October.

November 26 – It’s the last day of the outdoor Portland Farmers’ Market in Deering Oaks Park. Little Spruce will be holding a pop-up at the former Local 188.

Thanksgiving – See the Maine Thanksgiving List for details on 170+ options for community meals, restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinners and buffets,  and where you can pre-order turkeys, sides, pies and other dishes to serve at your home meal.

November 28 – The VFW on Forest Ave is holding a tequila tasting.

December 3 – En-Noble and SMCC are holding a taste and talk event focused on the food of Papua New Guinea.

December 6 – It’s the first day of the indoor Portland Farmers’ Market at Stevens Square Community Center (631 Stevens Ave).

December 8 – Cherie is holding a pop-up at Big Tree’s Local 188 event space.

January 24 – Courntey Loreg from Woodford’s Food & Beverage will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

January 30 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality will be the guest chef at a steakhouse themed Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 8 – Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will be the guest chefs at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner where they’ll celebrate the menu of their former restaurant Piccolo.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta on Deer Isle will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 6 – The Maine Craft Brew Summit is taking place.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.

The Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now for sale in packs of 25 on our online store.

Best Bakeries

| Posted in Reviews

Eater has named Not a Bakery in their 2025 shortlist of Best Bakeries.

Georgia Macon found a sweet home when she moved to Portland, Maine, from St. Louis during the pandemic. The pastry chef quickly rose through the ranks within Prentice Hospitality Group, which includes restaurants like the Good Table and Twelve. After creating a local following for baked goods at the latter, Macon and other pastry chefs from the lauded restaurant launched a food truck — not a bakery — near the restaurant, offering a range of pastries inspired by Macon’s time in France, memories of her grandmother, a reverence for Southern cooking, and a love for the baking traditions of her newfound New England home.

Macon recently left her position at the Prentice Hospitality Group, but you can experience her baked good by placing a pre-order with her directly for sweet potato pie, apple butter stack cake, or dinner roles to enjoy for Thanksgiving.