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    Clam Bar

    4.2 (51 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Clam Bar Photos

    Business Info

    CLAM BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Clam Bar

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    Outside seating for delicious fare and beers
    Shane L.

    On a Sunday afternoon, the wife and I decided we were going to swing by this little roadside stand and eating area. The experience was surprisingly great and the food was pretty outstanding. I had the clam chowder which was a much different chowder than I've ever had before, as it wasn't cream based, nor was it red sauce, but was delicious riddled with bacon, bits, and many herbs and spices. The clam roll that I had was Hardy and delicious as you could probably see by the photo. My wife had the fried fish sandwich and fries and thought it was great. The staff was wonderful, they were super friendly and they had pretty great looking merchandise that you could buy for the clam roll especially my favorite was a Wu-Tang reference shirt that I wanted to pick up. The ambience is great, although a little noisy right next to many cars going to South Portland and downtown along with the planes flying above every few minutes, but the lights hanging from the sky and the picnic tables and everything is a nice touch for a summertime treat. I definitely recommend this place if you want some fresh seafood at reasonable prices.

    Whole belly FRIED CLAM BASKET
    Eugene G.

    We traveled to Maine for 4 hrs in driving rain only to find it was going to snow where our restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner was located. We checked into our hotel, that served dinner but by reservation on Thanksgiving and we didn't make a reservation, didn't expect we'd need one. Next best thing was to order fried clams and a lobster roll from the Portland clam bar! The fried clams were delicious and crispy along with the fries that had a nice crunch on the outside and were soft and warm on the inside. Cole slaw was tangy, dressing a bit on the vinegary side. The lobster roll was huge, with a perfectly toasted and buttery hot dog bun, loaded with sweet lobster meat. Not a traditional Thanksgiving for sure, but it will do

    FISH & CHIP
    Erin B.

    Super cute place right off the highway. There are picnic tables with umbrellas, a open air tent area that can have roll down windows for inclement weather, and a little beer garden to the side. Service was friendly. Bathrooms are decent. We ordered a clam roll and the fish and chips. The french fries were so good! The clam roll was ok, I just personally prefer straight up breaded, fried clams, where this roll had seasoning which I didnt love. But I'm sure the average person would love it. The fish that came with fish & chips was stunningly beautiful. The batter gave a wonderful crust and the fish was a nice cut and was perfectly cooked. I would definitely go back and try a few other things off their menu.

    Noah F.

    Went here last night for the first time after eating to try it out for so long so we were excited to finally get here. They have such a cool little spot next to the shipyard with so many seating options outside! Service was super friendly and quick. They have such a great spot here and it's perfect for a nice day. We got two beers out of their great summer selection and we enjoyed them a lot. For food we got the smash burger. It was a very good burger and these are the way smash burgers should be. I was surprised with how good it was. The party had crispy edges and was super flavorful and the bun was soft and buttery. With it we had fried with a side of their Mac sauce. The fried are basic but if you get the Mac sauce to dip them in you'll be happy you did! We also got the Jalisco steamers. Streamers in a beef broth with brisket and peppers. It was insanely good! The clams soaked up some of that flavor and tasted so good and you have to dip the bread in as well. We have never had steamers like this and we're not disappointed. Definitely come here in the summer while you can. You will love it. And the prices of the clams here are better than most places as well for how many you get. Would highly recommend this place and we will be back to try some of their other menu items soon!

    Lobster clam and crab roll sampler Lobster, clam and crab sampler platter
    Lauri H.

    What a great atmosphere!! Nice outdoor covered seating looking over the bay. Food was amazing!! And Alyssa was Fantastic. So friendly and helpful. We had the sampler roll platter and a cup of the clam chowder soup. Best I've ever had.

    Massachusetts transplant to Arizona came to Maine on a mission to find a great clam roll. Sweet jeezus! Whole-belly clams on a perfect buttered and fried roll, homemade chips, and super yummy coleslaw with a bit of a kick! The patio and picnic tables are quintessential New England clam shack. This place is awesome!

    CLAM CHOWDER

    Chowder was not creamy but it was still very good! And good seasoning on the fries. Outdoor seating was very nice

    Fried fish sandwich, warm lobster roll, and pot of clams in delicious wine sauce.
    Jacquelyn W.

    Easy to park on street, greeted by a very friendly and attentive young lady -- Food was DELICIOUS!!! We had the fish sandwich, lobster roll, and clams in a pot of wine sauce. The best food we've had on this vacation to Maine. Also, loved the Bob Marley music playing in the courtyard. Excellent vibe.

    LOBSTER ROLL

    Delicious!!!!!. Adorably set up with picnic tables and lights. Chicken sandwich was incredible, homemade chips are a must. Lobster roll and tuna tostadas were also loved.

    Chris G.

    Upscale seafood shack, 10/10 sunset vibes. Cocktails and food on point. Lobster roll on the menu is hot with butter but they didn't scoff at preparing it cold w/mayo to my liking. Fire pits out back, the terraced decks are cool and parking is easy. The staff was hard-working and eager to please. I look forward to coming back with friends.

    a close up of the logo
    Danielle V.

    Have been wanting to try this place since they opened this summer and finally made it a couple days ago. They don't technically have inside seating yet but it seems like they are working on that. They did have a little trailer with space heaters and it was warm. They have lots of picnic tables and cute areas for the summer. This winter it also looked like they were selling trees. The service was great and everyone was super nice. Now for the food it was okay but not the best. I got the fried clams and for being a clam bar I thought they would be better. They had a good flavor. They also had a very small menu. I am excited to see what they do with this place and to come back in the summer!

    The steamed clams and brisket. It had jalapeños in it wow.cold beer on the side
    Chris C.

    Wow, along the side of the road, picnic tables with umbrellas. Standup bars too. What an amazing place. The owners there to explain the steam clams and brisket. Cold beers and other drinks to satisfy everyone who wants to have a drink with their order of excellent food. I drank the broth of clams and brisket, was oh so good. The setting along the road looking at the was good

    fried clams
    Leah J.

    We were in the area and decided to stop by even though it was raining - thankfully they let us sit inside a little shack to stay dry while we enjoyed our food. Clam basket was eh but the crap queso was SO good - would highly recommend. Pretty location overlooking the water and the guys working were very kind and had great recommendations!

    Jalisco steamers with salad

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    8 months ago

    Had the clam roll clams were cooked to death. Not a good experience. Try somewhere else.

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    11 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    8 months ago

    Very disappointed greasy taste as if they used old grease. Not a 4 star place. Not crispy to greasy sorry just not good.

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    1 year ago

    Clam bar rocks, I had the fish and chips and it was crispy and delicious -- beer was appropriately priced and cold!

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    2 years ago

    The food and service were amazing! We will definitely be back! The staff behind the bar was very entertaining.

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    Street & Co. - Mussels with white wine sauce

    Street & Co.

    4.4(1.9k reviews)
    1.3 miOld Port
    $$$

    My understanding is this is a sister restaurant to scales and fore street. Street & co does not…read morehave the water views like scales but is tucked in this cute cobblestone street and you feel like you are walking into an original historic Portland building. I did a similar meal at street & co as I did scales - oysters and scallops. I enjoyed the scallops slightly better at scales but this was still a win. And the octopus! Don't be afraid of that order, it was outstanding. We also sampled desserts and I was blown away. I wish I could go back more often, another phenomenal meal in Portland.

    What an amazing dinner! Everything was perfect from start to finish…read more The space is beautiful. It's down a cobblestone alleyway, and the interior is cozy and rustic. It feels like a secret, but I know it's not a well kept one! Our server Nico (apologies if I've misspelled that!) was wonderful. He was friendly and helpful when we made our dinner choices. The other servers were also always on top of keeping our table clear and our water filled. The food was absolute perfection. We started with a salad and grilled octopus. The salad was bright and acidic which paired perfectly with the best octopus dish I've had. It was so tender and delicious, I've never had octopus that was that tender. The grilled flavor came through immediately, but never overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the octopus. For mains I had sole francaise and my husband had bone in monkfish. The sole was melt in your mouth good. It was lightly breaded and cooked in a pan with brown butter. It was so toasty and nutty and coated the green beans and simple, but perfect, red potatoes it was served with. My husband's monkfish was fresh and perfectly toothsome, served with fluffy Roman gnocchi and romesco sauce. My only regret is not having enough room for dessert because I'm sure it's incredible as well! I can't wait to return the next time we're in Portland. Just to note: this is one of the least accessibility-friendly areas of the city. The old cobblestone road that it's located on is foot traffic only. The closest approach is if you're dropped off at the end of and it you would still have a short distance to travel. There is a brick footpath on the sides of the cobblestone road that is slightly smoother, but still not ideal. Earlier in the day I was able to navigate the street okay on foot so it will depend on your capabilities. That being said, I took my motorized travel chair down there in the evening and Street and co were happy to let me fold it up and store it near the door.

    Photos
    Street & Co. - Inside

    Inside

    Street & Co. - Clam linguine

    Clam linguine

    Street & Co. - Grilled Lobster with Butter and Garlic

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    Grilled Lobster with Butter and Garlic

    Scales - Seafood stew

    Scales

    4.3(1.2k reviews)
    1.5 miOld Port
    $$$

    Scales has really solidifed its place as my favorite restaurant in Portland, and one of my top 10…read morerestaurants of all time. Everything here is just SO good, even across multiple visits over many years. I always love that their menu incorporates seasonal flavors, while keeping their all time favorites. We've tried a number of dishes here over the years, but favorites will always include the cloverleaf rolls, grilled octopus, crab fritters, scallops, and the bavette steak. All are excellent & flavors are well balanced. On a recent trip, we tried the steamers and seafood stew. The steamers are huge and the broth is absolutely delicious. The seafood stew is tasty, rich & bold in flavors, but does get a little heavy and salty after a while. Scallops are a must - the spring pea cream had perfect freshness & earthiness that balanced out the salt from the bacon & scallops. Service here is always really attentive. The restaurant is also beautiful - perfect for a date night, girl's night out, business dinner, or even just a nicer family dinner out.

    Unfortunately Scales did not live up to the hype for us. While we were seated right away at 7pm for…read moreour reservation, the rest of the service during the evening could have been better. Our server described to us the specials for appetizers but never said anything about entree specials (maybe there weren't any?). We ordered the cloverleaf rolls, a cup of clam chowder, a cup of lobster bisque, and the maine mussels before our entrees. Both the clam chowder and the lobster bisque were just ok.. nothing special. The bisque was too sweet and had very little lobster. The mussels were the highlight of the meal. The sauce of cider, mustard and dill was very interesting and had deep flavor. The bread served with the mussels was also delicious. The cloverleaf rolls were great too, but perhaps a little too soggy/greasy from the butter at the bottom of the skillet. For our entrees we had the scallops and the halibut. The scallops were delicious- nicely seared and served with mushrooms and a green pea sauce which was bright and flavorful. The halibut however was not my favorite. The fish itself was cooked very well with a crispy skin, but it was swimming in brown butter and hazelnuts and lacked depth of flavor. It also seemed like an odd choice of flavors for a spring menu. It was served with potatoes that needed a bit more salt. We were too full for dessert and also didn't finish our meals. We sat around for a fairly long time not touching our meals without the server checking on us. Eventually we had to flag them down to get boxes and pay the check. While the ambiance was very nice, for the price and the reputation we expected more. Everything else we have eaten in Portland so far has been fantastic so it was a bit of a letdown.

    Photos
    Scales - Open concept kitchen

    Open concept kitchen

    Scales - Buckwheat brownie

    Buckwheat brownie

    Scales - Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

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    Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

    Bite Into Maine - From left to right, The Maine, Connecticut and Picnic.  The Maine actually beat out my favorite Connecticut.  They were ALL good though.

    Bite Into Maine

    4.7(114 reviews)
    1.8 miEast Bayside
    $$

    We have a Bite into Maine in Scarborough but they're not open yet. Decided to go to Diamond st,…read morePortland location to have a flight of three lobster rolls. Maine with mayo & chives Connecticut with just butter Picnic with coleslaw, butter, celery salt. Sensational lobster rolls- love them all Extremely fresh & 4.5z seems to be plenty for me. I couldn't finish the 3rd one so I'll be eating it later. Served with cape cod potato chips. I believe that cape cod chips will be no longer. The question is what company will replace the chips?? (BTW) I didn't catch her name but the young lady who took my order was a spot on employee!! The only bad news was, I asked for a taste of the lobster bisque & sorry to say I didn't like it at all. Will I be back- damn sure about that. I'm taking one of my flights home with me to eat it later. Damn I'm in heaven. I hope Bite into Maine will add lobster ghee to their menu. HighRoller lobster ghee is the most incredible add on. Figure out how to come up with a clone.

    Had a fine but not amazing experience here. Split a large lobster roll, mac and cheese, and the…read moreclam chowder. The Maine lobster roll (mayo-based) was good with a slightly lemony flavor maybe but expensive at $41 - maybe that's the going rate but it seemed slightly high. They have a three smaller lobster roll flight but I am pretty sure it's the same price as just buying three small lobster rolls. The mac and cheese was disappointing. It had a slightly slimy texture and the pasta was mushy. The clam chowder was fine but tasted like it had been reheated and not made all that recently. I had a lobster roll from their food truck a few years ago that I ate outside on a summer day and it felt special. This visit did not feel that way and instead more of a perfunctory meal. I think more attention to detail on the sides and no lobster rolls in the 40 dollar range for what feels like a casual establishment would be improvements.

    Photos
    Bite Into Maine
    Bite Into Maine - Maine Lobster Roll (4.5-oz)

    Maine Lobster Roll (4.5-oz)

    Bite Into Maine

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    Gilbert's Chowder House

    Gilbert's Chowder House

    4.0(1.2k reviews)
    1.4 miOld Port
    $$

    Came all the way to Maine to have amazing clam chowder and lobster and this place did not…read moredisappoint! We ordered the super seafood large chowder and it genuinely had seafood in every bite. The chowder is definitely the best I've had coming from the west coast. We also ordered the Maine lobster dinner and the lobster was amazing- perfectly cooked, plenty of meat, and juicy. It came with a side of fries and coleslaw and the fries were also sooo good. Our server was really nice and food did not take long to come out! Plenty of seats inside even for our party of 10. Loved this place, definitely recommend!

    We're Mainers who are forced to live elsewhere for our jobs/family and so when we get back to visit…read morewe are excited to eat good, Maine seafood. Boy we messed up picking Gilbert's Chowder house for lunch! I ordered the mussels. They were supposed to come in a broth with butter, white wine, onions and garlic. They came in what could best be described as lemon dish water. Zero taste. It was a shame because the mussels were big and gorgeous. The onion sat on top still basically raw. It was horrible. My parter had the fish chowder which was just ok. I hesitated to complain to the staff as they were busy behind the bar bitching about a customer who had walked in while we were there to complain about his carry out meal from the night before. They dismissed him with barely an apology. They were beyond rude. There are sooooo many batter options in Portlands Old Port to get fantastic seafood. Skip this place. (And skip Portland Lobster Co. unless you want an overpriced, under stuffed lobster roll in a restaurant with a jimmy buffet spring break vibe. So not Maine.)

    Photos
    Gilbert's Chowder House
    Gilbert's Chowder House - Haddock chowder in a bread bowl

    Haddock chowder in a bread bowl

    Gilbert's Chowder House - Super casual outside seating.

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    Super casual outside seating.

    Clam Bar - seafood - Updated May 2026

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