Maine restaurants are providing free meals to people in need this Christmas:
Taj will have meals available for pick-up on Christmas at their South Portland restaurant. Email tajholidaymeals@gmail.com to request a meal and for more information.
Crispy Gai in collaboration with Car Hop, The Honey Paw, Regards, Chaval, Mr Tuna, and Bar Futo are delivering meals in the Portland area on Christmas Eve. Fill out this form by 9am on December 22nd to request a meal.
Preparations for the launch of The Send Brewing Company (instagram) are wrapping up. Owner Cole Corbin (linkedin) hopes to open his Knightville brewery and restaurant within the next few weeks.
The Send will have their own IPA, pale ale and stout on tap as well as Sapporo and an additional guest tap—house-made Japanese-style lagers will eventually be added to the tap list. Chef Jayde Miller will be serving a menu of Japanese comfort food including onigiri, fried chicken, curry korokke, gyudon, daikon salad. Miller is a graduate of Johnson & Wales and spent a year living in Japan.
Corbin worked for 8 years at Maine Beer Company initially as a brewer and then as the director of brewing operations and the technical director for the Freeport-based brewery. He’s also worked as a bartender and prep cook at Mast Landing and Knighthawk’s Kitchen. Earlier in his career Corbin was an aerospace engineer at NASA.
The 50-seat space retains the same layout as Foulmouthed Brewing which previously occupied the building. It now features a neon/mural installation co-created by David Johansen (aka Neon Dave) and Jill Perry from Third Bird Creative.
To get caught up on all the new restaurants, bars, breweries, bakeries and other businesses under development visit the Portland Food Map Under Construction List.
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Ocotillo and Mr. Tuna were both cited in the New York Times The 26 Best Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2024 list. Ocotillo was included for their Mushroom Breakfast Taco (taco on the right) which the Times loved as much for the mushrooms, scrambled eggs and potatoes as for “housemade salsa macha, a brick-red drizzle exploding with toasted chiles, nuts and seeds, and sweetened with roasted garlic.” Mr. Tuna was included for their Tuna de Tigre (photo on left) which the Times describes as “cubes of ruby fish are decked out in a tangy-sweet sauce of puréed coconut, lime juice, fish sauce and chiles, and crowned with a tangle of crunchy, golden shallots.”
Mr. Tuna also earned a mention in Food & Wine restaurant editor Raphael Brion’s list of 11 Unforgettable Dishes From 2024. Brion was delighted by the “off-menu special that is the tuna sashimi tasting will knock your socks right off.”
Qi Shen, the owner of Sichuan Kitchen, is working on a second restaurant. Tuan Yuan Hotpot (facebook) will be located at 29 Forest Ave in the former Able Baker space on the first floor of the Portland Stage building. The name of the restaurants means reunion dinner.
Shen launched Sichuan Kitchen in 2017, and had offered hot pot dinners on Wednesday nights prior to 2020. Shen is excited to introduce the Sichuan variation of hot pot dining to her customers and to bring to life a dedicated hot pot restaurant in Portland. She hopes to launch Tuan Yuan by the end of February.
The draft menu for Tuan Yuan includes a variety of broth options like Seafood Kimchee and Chinese Sichuan Spicy and a wide assortment of meats, seafood and vegetables for the hot pot as well as appetizers and desserts (shaved ice and mochi with rice wine).
Tuan Yuan will seat 56 (see the floor plan below). The first floor has a 9-seat bar and seating in booths and tables for an addition 29 people. The mezzanine dining are offers two 6-seat round tables and three small tables.
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Via Sophia by the Sea (website, facebook, instagram) has announced that December 22nd will be the last day in business for the restaurant and its downstairs bar the Rabbit Hole (instagram).
We are looking forward to seeing everyone for our final night of service on Sunday, December 22nd. Thank you to everyone in the community and our wonderful guests for supporting us from the beginning.
The Kennebunk-based restaurant opened in late June 2022. It was the second location of the Washington DC restaurant Via Sophia and was launched in collaboration with the Kennebunkport Resort Collection which also operates Rosella, Earth at Hidden Pond and 5 other restaurants.
Monday – Bissell Brothers will be holding a (sold out) Feast of the Seven Fishes.
Tuesday – Camp Pennant is serving a 4-course porchetta dinner.
Wednesday – The Maine Real Estate & Development Association is hosting a panel discussion to discuss the recent restaurant closings and the challenges facing the hospitality industry. Josh Miranda (Blyth & Borroughs, Via Vecchia, etc), Jay Villani (Local 188, Salvage, Black Cow) and Richard Pfeffer (Gritty’s) will be members of the panel moderated by Josh Soley. Sacred Profane will be holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes at their location in Biddeford. The Causeway in Spruce Head is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.
Friday – Chaval is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.
December 24 – Via Vecchia is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner. Regards is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.
December 28 – Browne Trading is holding their annual free champagne and caviar tasting.
December 31 – We’ll be building a list of NYE special dinners and food/drink events. Send us a message if you know of one we may have missed.
January 11 – Good Medicine Collective is hosting a dinner in collaboration with chef Felicia Dumont.
January 30 – Community Plate will be holding a potluck dinner at Maine Mechanics Hall.
February 1 – Portland on Tap is taking place.
February 2 – Rafael Zimmerman from Magnus on Water will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.
February 8 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.
February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.
March 2 – Sara Jenkins, Dustin Martin, and Lauren Radel from Nina June will be the guest chefs at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.
May 17 – The Maine Wild Wine Fest is taking place in Freeport.
 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.25-packs of the Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now available on our online store. |
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Apéro (website, instagram) opened for business on Friday night. The Biddeford cocktail bar has been launched by sisters Sophia Normantas and Marie Grasser. Grasser is also the owner of Charcutemarie (instagram).
The ~30-seat establishment serves a menu (see below) of cocktails, mocktails, wine, beer, charcuterie boards and other light bites. Shown above is the For Figs Sake (lemon infused Bimini gin, fig reduction, thyme simple syrup, regatta ginger beer) and the La Petit charcuterie board.
Apero is located at 20 Alfred Street and is open Wednesday/Thursday 4 – 9:30 pm, Friday/Saturday 4 – 11 pm, and Sundays 1 – 7 pm.
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New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:
For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.
Mainebiz has put out a call for nominations for their 2025 leadership awards program. Reading through the categories, each and every one brings to mind people in the food, beverage, farming, fisheries and dining industries in Maine that could be a nominee.
If you have a moment visit the Mainebiz nominations page and submit the name of a Maine business leader who’s work inspires you.
The nine categories are and descriptions of each can be found on the nominations page:
For reference, here’s a list of the 2024 award winners.
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Taco Trio is returning to their original location at 119 Ocean Street (right). The building is currently under renovation and owner Karen Rasmussen hopes to open the new Taco Trio by the end of January.
Rasmussen’s late husband and co-founder of Taco Trio Manuel Peña passed away in October after a long battle with cancer. Peña and Rasmussen had been discussing a return to their original spot for the last few years. They had been able to start on a redesign and the renovations in 2024 with the help of their friends Carlos Guzman and Alejandra Herrera who are the owners of Quiero Cafe. Guzman was a former chef and manager at Taco Trio before opening Quiero Cafe.
One of the original goals of the move to their current larger quarters was to add a bar program and Rasmussen plans to retain that come January. The redesigned space has an open kitchen (left), a 9-seat bar as well as counter and table seating totaling ~27 seats overall. There will also be room for 30+ people in their outdoor seating area during the warmer months. Taco Trio will continue to serve the menu they currently have available.
Taco Trio originally opened in 2011, and moved to 60 Ocean Street in 2021 into the building that had formerly housed Big Babe’s Tavern. Taco Trio had also operated a second location on Forest Ave at one time. The restaurant space at 60 Ocean Street is now available for lease.