fore street

The show of watching the kitchen and service is really entertaining. The food and drinks are fantastic and this is one of the must stops during your Portland stay.

I'm not sure I could count them all. Wonderful old buildings, some funky looking shops (it was late, so they were closed) and several great restaurants and bars. We did stop in several of those and they were all great!

Extensive and creative menu of farm fresh, local fare. You'll be hard pressed to order just one appetizer. I even ordered desert (which I rarely do) because the choices were so interesting.

The food is ALWAYS superb and our server was terrific! A few notes for anyone who hasn't been yet. A reservation really is a requirement. If you don't have one your chances of getting in are slim and none. The more experienced of the two hostesses that night could have been kinder to those who didn't know it bangs out most every night. Pretty snippy. Kindness would have been better. This is also not a great choice for a 'romantic' meal in that its open, and open to the kitchen, so it is L-O-U-D. But it will be one of the best meals you'll ever have.

I liked all the small shops and restaurants in the area, but there were a ton of sketchy people. Everything from homeless begging for food and money to people following way too close in lines. It did not feel safe and it was in the middle of the day.

Wanted to eat here in September when we came by boat but could not get in. Made reservations for 8PM earliest available but this place also has a policy of keeping some table open for walkups and we decided to get there at 7:30. Was seated within 15 minutes.Very nice open bar area to wait for table.Food was superb. We both had seafood for entree, monkfish and char and it was perfectly done. Bread that comes with dinner is from bakery right below. This bakery was actually one of the reasons we came to Portland by I digress. Waitress super friendly and helpful.Only wish the wine list had a house selection or at least some in the mid to high $20's.Will be back

We have been to Fore Street several times. It is the go to place for localsand from people far and wide as it is rated one of the best in the country.Based on this comment, our visit last month left much to be desired.Our appetizers did not arrive in an efficient manner.Three of our party of four ordered the lamb When our meals arrived,they were lukewarm. One person commented thathis meat had a 'day old' taste. Another member of our party becameseverely ill a few hours after the meal. After this, we realized that weshould have sent our meals back. However, no one wants to be 'oneof those' types of guests. Since the cost of four meals was more thansome people make in one-more paycheck, Fore Street will hopefully keepthis in mind and strive to live up to what we felt was a deserved reputation.

Fore Street is always fun the restaurants, bars, unique shops. Walking around the architecture is fund to look at as you visit many unique shops don't miss the homemade donut place but get there early.

Absolutely love the Old Port area. The area is most definitely designed for the tourists, but also enjoyable to return to time and time again. It's always enjoyable to walk through the different stores and take in the general ambiance of the area.

Fore St. restaurant and candy store. Excellent food and a large variety of candy, and they also sell Moxie.

The food, top notch, with loads of choices. The ambiance is industrial/romantic (if that makes any sense). The service is friendly, but extremely efficient. I had mentioned that it was our 20th Anniversary, and there was a hand-written card waiting at our table (the best in the house) upon our arrival. There were 4 of us, and we must have ordered at least half the menu. Everything was very good to awesome. I don't often eat pre-meal bread, but Fore Street makes its own, and it is impossible to resist. I know I should add more details, but it would take all day. Suffice to say that I was brought back to San Francisco with the farm-to-table produce and locally (when possible) sourced ingredients. If only someone figured out how to do this in Boston...

went here for first time, had to wait for table and we did have reservation but like all restaurants with bars they make you wait so you can buy drinks, i did not, my wife did how ever , ordered the 'mussels' which were very good great sauce and liked them a lot, how ever we order the 'liver with toast ports' for 13.00 and they served 3 tiny pieces, liver is cheap ! and so was the portion by the restaurant we were very surpised by the portion and was bad on there part for serving it, for dinner i had the fish' 'monkfish' once again 2 small pieces and for what the price was not a good portion, my bigger complaint is my fish was Raw in side, and when i asked the waiter about it , his comment to us 'was thats how our chef perpares it' i was not asked by the waiter if thats how i wanted it or our waiter did not say by the way our chef serves the fish med/rare, when i order duck they say all the time this is how our chef cooks it 'mr' our waiter did not say that, i take it by saying this after the fact this is how they get away from taking it off the bill or taking it back and cooking it more, if i order sushi fine but when i order cooked fish it better be cooked all the way thru , im sorry but there is no excuse for uncooked fish, maybe enstead of standing around laughing as i saw the chefs do seeing it is a open kitchen pay more attention to the food, uncooked food , small portions , not a place i will be returning to, our waiter was ok at best, very disappointed

You walk up to another old building, and find a great restaurant with excellent food and service inside. Highly recommended!

My husband and I dined at Fore Street in late February (no reservations available for Valentine's Day). My meal was excellent - Artic Char with small amount of pickled onions and potatoes. I love that the chef plans all menus around foods that are available locally. We were a little disappointed that our server did not explain that the entrees do not include sides - just garnish. My husband's steak was served with very little garnish. I was thankful I had enjoyed a salad so I had some vegetables! The noise level is a little high. It was fun to watch the chefs cook with a brick oven - but also felt quite hot sitting close to the kitchen. My desert was topped with the most delicious Snickerdoodle cookie I have ever had. I asked if the restaurant sold the cookies but was advised they are only baked to pair with deserts. Oh well. My husband and I have chosen this place to celebrate very special occasions for years. It's very pricey so not on the top of our list for a regular night out.

Took a group visiting to Maine for the first time, great experience. Arrived at 4pm to get on the list early, only waited about 1/2 hour to be seated. The wine was fabulous, and everyone enjoyed their meals. The mussels were delicious!