For years, Village Tavern was my favorite restaurant in Southern Maine. That's what makes this…read morereview so difficult to write. If you loved Village Tavern under the previous owners, you should know that the beloved restaurant you remember no longer exists. The name is the same. The esthetic is the same. Some menu items even have the same names. But the experience is not. During our visit, the calamari, salmon, duck, and haddock were all cooked properly, yet each dish was surprisingly bland and forgettable. Many longtime favorites, including the wide selection of side dishes like the broccoli with blue cheese, are gone. This isn't a bad restaurant on its own merits. The problem is that it's trading on the reputation of something that no longer exists. What I find most puzzling is that the new owners kept the Village Tavern name while abandoning so much of what made it successful. When a restaurant has earned decades of loyalty, you would expect new ownership to preserve its strengths. Instead, it feels like they discarded the very things that built its reputation. I left disappointed, but mostly sad. A restaurant I once considered one of the best in Southern Maine is now simply pedestrian and overly priced. Former fans should adjust their expectations accordingly or avoid the disappointment altogether.

I always loved the village tavern. We The ambience was always a draw…read more I especially like the screened in patio. Who doesn't like being outdoors on a beautiful night? Sometimes it can be loud from traffic so it's a crap shoot!. The menu had just changed and the fried buffalo cauliflower was eliminated. The appetizer choices were all seafood . No vegetarian or meat for appetizers. Prices have also increased. A fillet mignon is now 50.00. I was surprised to see many empty tables . We had a large party . Every meal was plated beautifully but very salty. The fried calamari my friend got was so very salty. All of our meals were salty as well. This was always my favorite place but I will not be retuning unless the chef can put down the salt shaker. A good chef does not cover his food with salt. I want to taste my food. I'm wondering if this restaurant is under new management or just a new chef? Our server and host were wonderful though.

Went for an early dinner and everyone was pleased with how the food turned out!…read moreIt didn't seem too busy and we waited for the food for quite some time, but it was all delicious! The tap water did taste a little funny though.. so I didn't drink it. Overall, we were seated immediately, the restaurant wasn't overly loud, and the food was amazing. I'll return for the food!

Food is always delicious! If you slightly enjoy blue cheese dressing, it's an absolute must here!…read moreThey make their own. Relaxed atmosphere, super casual dress. It can be busy here, so you may have to wait for a seat the bar or a table.

Wow! Great experience!…read more Appetizers are awesome, we had the pretzel and bao. There were so many apps we were interested in, we think we may make a meal out of several next time to try them all. I had a brisket grilled cheese with fig. It was really very tasty. My boyfriend had the fried chicken sandwich. It was good, though he felt it was missing something. He would get something else next time (the menu had a lot we were interested in). The fries are awesome - we had the truffle and curry fries. Wait service was excellent. We like that they had parking behind the building. Prices are about $18 up pp on average which is maybe a little high but we discussed that we would rather pay a few bucks more for the quality.

My wife and I were out and about to find a LabCorp and decided to stop for lunch. We found the spot…read moreon Yelp, so very happy we did! Little did we know that there was a 25% off the entire bill on Thursdays if you pay for cash! We sat in the lounge watching people and some of the World Cup game. We opened up with adult beverages and made our meal order. I decided on a Maine Lunch to wash down my Blackened Shrimp Cobb Salad while my wife ordered a Pinot Grigio for her Hancock pizza and garlic Parmesan fries. Our food came out relatively fast and was absolutely amazingly. Good! The Cobb salad was huge and delicious! So many wonderful taste treats! My wife's pizza was perfect! And we truly enjoyed the garlic Parmesan fries! Our waitress was pretty good, we only looked for her a couple of times during our visit, but we did leave her an excess for a tip seeing we had 25% off the bill! If we're back in the area, we will certainly stop in. The restaurant itself was well kept with a lovely decor, and most importantly the bathrooms were clean!

I continue to visit the Tavern. Good drink selection, plenty of pool tables to play, plenty of…read moreplaces to sit and chat, and the service is good when it's not too busy. Sometimes the bar might get backed up when there's only one bartender and there's a rush. I, personally, love it here. Never a bad experience!

Great place to go for a drink, bite to eat, or to play pool!…read more Staff is super friendly and attentive. We came on $5 burger night, and trivia night and both were great. The $5 burger was small, but it was $5! They also do $2 tacos on Wednesdays that I did not get a chance to try. Super fun place to hang out, and the AC is always blasting so it's a great summer spot!

This is such a vibrant and welcoming spot. It has a modern feel with communal tables, individual…read morewindow seats, a bar, and outdoor seating. The food is great for sharing if you're on a little foodie adventure and hopping around to different spots, and they also have full meals. We really like the food here, and they have specials too. One thing we still haven't tried are the cocktails. Do not pass up the seasonal soft serve! I also remember their T-shirts being super cute. I'll probably stop by again the next time I'm up in Portland. Parking can be tricky with street parking, though there are paid lots. Overall Service: I don't think I've had a bad experience here. The last few times, our servers have been upbeat, and even the host was welcoming.

I had a great dinner experience here last night with my partner. We love love love the honey paw!…read more For starters, it's a great location. Close to more bars for extra drinks, easy to run into other friends. Also, it's a beautiful spot with outdoor seating in the warmer months. We opted to sit outside and enjoyed khao soi, katsu pork sandwich, and the honey soft serve. The portions are generous, as we were able to share and have leftovers. Each plate had so many great textures and flavors. We did experience a long wait between ordering, getting food, and receiving the check. It was a busy summer night so I wasn't upset, but do not plan on having a quick meal here. Get cozy, get an extra drinks and enjoy your time here. Apologies, but phone did not eat first this time-no pics!

Very charming restaurant in an old house with a nice outdoor patio. Made reservations to celebrate…read moremy boyfriend's birthday while vacationing in Maine and we had a great experience. What we ordered: -Cornbread: 3/5, great portion to share with the table and piping hot which I loved but wish it was moister and had more honey on top. -Caesar salad: 5/5, incredibly fresh, dressing was delicious and evenly spread among the whole salad, fresh anchovies on top were a nice touch -Crabcakes: 4.8/5, only comes with 2 but the cakes were very fresh and flavorful. The corn on top was very boring I wish they spiced it up a bit but it did not take away from the flavor of the cakes so I kept the score high. -Lobster Pappardelle: 5/5, one of my favorite meals we ate on vacation!! Generous lobster portion with perfectly cooked pappardelle in a very tasty sauce. I already miss it and wish I could eat it again. -Braised Short Rib: 3.8/5, beautiful presentation and everything tasted great but very small polenta/carrot portions and I wish the meat was more tender. It wasn't bad, it just didn't blow my socks off. -Espresso crème brûlée: 4.5/5, was the perfect birthday dessert for my boyfriend and he absolutely loved it. Quality espresso flavor, wish it was a little crispier on top. Food was ~4/5 but our overall experience was 5/5. Our server, Pedro, was so friendly and helped us with dish recommendations. When I told him we were celebrating a birthday, he brought the crème brûlée out with a candle and two other staff members to sing to him which was so sweet. We will definitely come back here next time we're in town!

We took our small family to an early dinner at crooked pine. We made a reservation for 4:30 (one of…read morethe few times they had available on this rainy day). We sat at a table by the window on the first floor. We overheard that there is an upstairs bar, not sure if they also seat folks for dinner there. We were able to place an order right after getting settled. We enjoyed the Sun mocktail, charred beet salad, mac and cheese, fried codd sandwich, steak frites, and corn ravioli (without the pancetta). My spouse is gluten free and I am vegetarian so we are always looking for restaurants that can accommodate both. The charred beet salad was good but I think dressed a bit too heavily. I thought the corn ravioli and sun mocktail were both great. The kids (ages 1.5 and 5) liked the Mac and cheese and fried cod sandwich. They did not have any appropriate booster seats for the 1.5 year old so my spouse held him. My spouse loved the steak frites but I think wished had a few more "frites" given the amount of interest from the younger crowd. Our waiter was wonderful and also brought some orange slices from the bar for the kids. We were very grateful. We decided to go nearby for ice cream after dinner, but I heard there is a dessert menu.

Bandaloop is a very inviting place. Having made reservations for the first floor, we ended up…read moreupstairs. About anywhere you sit would have been wonderful. Unfortunately, no outdoor dining before Memorial Day. Great knowledgeable and attentive service with Paul. Upstairs was busy but not crowded. Food was fantastic. Wild mushroom soup was delicious. A tasting of sunchokes, pan seared mousam bakery mushrooms and shishito peppers made a meal for one of the party and still had leftovers. Best was the entree, Maine style palusami was a complex flavor concoction that was a home run. Finished with black forest cake. Hope to return again from the West Coast. They can certainly compete with any restaurant in any big city

I have been wanting to try this place for soooo long, and was happy to finally have the…read moreopportunity. The menu (as far as I could tell) changes frequently, and it features several vegetarian dishes and small plates, in addition to other mains. The drink menu had some really fun offerings, and both cocktails were got were delicious. The food was very good as well, but nothing that blew us away. We were disappointed that they sat us in a different part of the restaurant than we reserved, which felt odd considering we specifically had to choose which area we were reserving a table in and it wasn't a busy night, but it was no big deal at all. All around was a great experience and we will return.

Wow! Wow! Wow! A friend recommended we eat at Shain's of Main while we were vacationing in Wells…read more Shain's of Main was a 15-20 minutes drive from our Motel and I and so happy we went. My husband had the fried whole belly clam dinner, a bowl of chowder and I had a lobster roll and a cup of chowder. We ordered at the counter and ate at a booth inside. You can dine outside at one of their many tables if you like. I picked up our order from the counter. My husband's meal was hot with plenty of whole belly clams, fries and coleslaw. My lobster roll was a solid 4 ounces with claw meat and the bun was toasted, too. Their clam chowder is packed with clams. I am a big water drinker so I loved the water fountain they have and the cup dispenser. My husband had a bottle of diet soda. The food was amazing and as much as we wanted to have some of their delicious ice cream, we were too full. The total for our bill was less than forty dollars! The food was delicious and the place was packed. I love the Americana vibe of Shain's. The family that owns this place truly cares about their customers. Absolutely a fabulous place! We will return for ice cream before we head home.

This is a long standing family run seafood and ice cream diner style restaurant…read more The sign is a little deceiving, no mention of anything but ice cream so don't be fooled, plenty of seafood options in the menu. Cute retro feeling inside, friendly staff. The prices are very reasonable for the food, but you do get what you pay for, we had lobster rolls, full of meat but not necessarily the freshest.

12/10!! We came here while in ME on a mini honeymoon, and we will absolutely come here again…read more The menu is diverse and definitely has a lot of options, super unique and flavorful. The owner Jay is amazing! Beyond helpful and will tell you exactly what to get if you don't know or can't decide. Find another restaurant owner that has their business tattooed on them. He and the chef are so so nice. We're from MA so it was cool to see the Worcester cans. So cool that they brew their own beer! Say hi to Saki, the pup, if he comes out of the back--friendly but shy.

I don't even know where to start! I saw a TikTok about Food for Thought, specifically their…read moreCogdon's doughnut grilled cheese which caught my attention. So I looked them up and saw the adult happy meal on the menu and knew I had to try them. An hour and half drive was 100000% worth it!!! The entire building is small but feels very inviting and comfortable. The atmosphere is iconic with out of this world 90s cartoons painted on the walls. Even the bathroom had a touch of this nostalgia and whimsy (trust me look in the bathroom mirror for an amazing little touch). The staff were equally amazing and truly wonderful. I am currently pregnant and being very careful about what I eat so my husband asked the bartender/waiter if the feta is pasteurized. Most people would have simply said I don't know and moved on but this fellow went and asked the kitchen if the feta is pasteurized (it is). It's little things like that that make us want to go back. Now on to the star the food and drink! We had the soft pretzel which comes with beer cheese and stone ground honey mustard and the fried feta. The pretzel was great and the beer cheese was also great but the feta was indescribable. Every aspect of the feta was perfect and a true umami experience. I got the adult happy meal (a smash burger, chicken nuggets, and fries). It also comes with a toy which is just cherry on top status. The burger was fantastic BUT the fries and nuggets were crazy good. My husband got Flo's Double Burger and he had eaten half of it before I got mine out of the box. He would have eaten two of them if he wasn't so full! He also got the I gotta say... today was a good day sour ale. He loved it and enjoyed it enough we left with a four pack! This is the perfect Maine hidden gem and we will be back soon!

Great food. Ordered the egg and steak. Nice big chunks of beef cooked to perfection. It was tender…read moreand delicious. Also ordered the fried pickles. They were good. Needed more ranch however. Busy spot. Might have to wait.

Best Breakfast In Town the waitresses are hit or miss but most of them are okay some are clearly…read morebetter than others (especially for such a small venue) and they are kinda VERY stingy with the creamers for the coffee that's my biggest complaint all the food is usually great and consistent and the service for the most part is the same definitely a Sanford Favorite