Pros- private parking lot, friendly staff, spacious- wasn't any wait to be seated and the red sauce…read morewas not out of a jar. It was the best thing they had going here. Cons- Their website lies and says they make their pasta fresh, in house, daily (see attached pic). The waitress just about laughed in my face when I tried confirming this claim. Charging $35-40 a plate for boxed pasta is criminal! That does not include any complimentary bread and butter or a side salad-nothing! $18 for kids meals, like basic spaghetti and meatball! The stuffed bread had one layer of pepperoni and cheese rolled up in it. It wasn't exactly "stuffed". My Chicken and Broccoli Romano was swimming in soup. They didn't reduce the broth mixture into a sauce at all. I've had better dishes at Applebee's, if I'm being honest. And if you want any Parmesan to top off your dish, you are getting cheese from a shaker. They do not have freshly grated. Even Olive Garden offers that! Do yourself a favor and spend your money elsewhere. You can get much higher quality food for this price (or less) at other local restaurants.

I have heard about Anjon's for years, but never been. Passed by it many times, never stopped. Last…read moreSunday we went out for dinner and wanted to go somewhere sorta special. Tried Bruno's and Oreilly's Cure, both were closed. So we headed down Route 1 and tried Anjon's. We arrived soon after they'd opened and there weren't many other diners. Our waitress was delightful. The restaurant is clean and comfortable. We got the meatballs in sauce appetizer. I had the veal marsala with linguini and my partner had the baked ziti with sausage. I also had a glass of wine and my partner had two espresso martinis. The meatballs were excellent and the red sauce was rich and flavorful. They oughta sell it in jars! (They do) I was unfortunately not impressed with my veal. It was too starchy and too sweet. My partner enjoyed her ziti and sausage a great deal (note, the sausage comes as a side portion). The drinks were fine as well. Everything felt rather overpriced, though. There was a streetside sign advertising a happy hour, but our app and our drinks were all full price. I was confused and disappointed by that. I noted there is a children's menu section - but it's $18 each. Perhaps the most overpriced thing on the entire menu.

FYI: Terra Cotta Pasta on route 1 has gone out of business…read more Sorry to see them gone. I enjoyed a few different dishes throughout the last couple of years.

In the mood for something a bit more unique, we wanted to make lobster Alfredo on our last trip to…read moreMaine. If you are going to make something unique, you want only the freshest of ingredients! If you want the freshest, and the absolute best, you must come to Terra Cotta! Their pasta is amazing, as is their sauce. All different varieties of each; coolers and freezers full of their delicious food! You want wine, bread, dessert? They have that fresh as well! Cannolis filled to order!!! Literally a one stop shop, except for the lobster. It was amazingly cute, and the staff was exceptionally friendly. We will make this a regular stop for our trips from now on!

The bread was amazing this day. Slightly crusty, with a warm soft center. Dipped in olive oil and…read morepepper, mmmm. Bummed about the wagyu crostini is our normal drooling goodness, but today it was different. Crostini was a bit soggy and the sauce didn't do it like it used to. The rest of meal was solid and delicious. Service impeccable as always.

Always delicious food! We typically sit at the bar, great service!…read more Chai Mai Tai Bolognese

My first experience of ordering from them. Amazing and totally unexpected results! This baked…read moremacaroni and cheese ( with slices of fresh tomato under the top layer of CHEESE). I am excited to have leftovers ( it is a large portion!) today! I also tried the blueberry cheesecake. Very creamy. Not to be eaten quickly because you want to enjoy it

Me and my coworkers ordered from the Scarborough location, I got the lasagna and garlic bread,…read morewhich was not only delicious, but it was a huge portion I had enough for lunch and dinner. It tasted like a homemade italian dish. 5 stars for me. We are ordering pizza today!!

My wife and I tried out Traditions this afternoon and were delighted to find a local restaurant…read morewith a great vibe and food to match! Cindy our server was extremely knowledgeable and attentive, she made sure we were taken care of and even gave us recommendations for the rest of our trip in Maine. 10/10 I would definitely recommend

Another outstanding meal at Traditions! The pasta with sausage and peppers is a classic that never…read moregrows old. Yesterday one of the specials was Salmon Lemone. A bright and delicious sauce with fresh lemon slices and capers and perfectly cooked salmon - so good. We also had one of our favorites , the steamed mussels in garlic sauce but this time our server, Cindy, asked if we would like it a little spicy. An outstanding idea! Just the right heat.

This was the perfect restaurant to start our Portland trip off with. We were seated at a lovely…read moretable in the corner. We had a reservation. The ambiance is very moody and sexy. Perfect for a date night! Our server, Hannah, was great. She suggested an excellent bottle of wine that complimented all of our dishes. Customer service was a solid 10/5! This is a place to definitely add to your Portland dining list! To start, all of the dishes were wonderful portions and could easily be shared between two people. Which I absolutely love because I enjoy trying as many things as I possibly can! Arancini: This was a great starter. Absolutely delicious. I have yet to meet an arancini that I don't love. 5/5. Caesar Salad: A perfect dish that is light and necessary before getting into a heavy entree. The salad was crisp, delicious, very fresh, and a must order. 5/5. Scallop Risotto: This was a large position that had scallops in every bite! It wasn't too heavy, was not too salty, and you could taste the freshness in the ingredients. Dessert is not pictured, but it is worth ordering! The entire dessert menu was excellent!

I don't typically write a lot of reviews but when I do, it is about an experience that was either…read morereally impressive or hugely disappointing. So here goes... My daughter had been wanting to go to Via Vecchia for a while but couldn't afford it on a college student's income. So we went during my visit. My hopes were high as we walked in--a beautiful glass enclosure at the entrance that was draped with ceiling to floor ivy; an intimate but lively atmosphere; and an offering of creative cocktails...my enthusiasm quickly vanished when our appetizers arrived. We ordered the focaccia, grilled octopus, and Caesar salad. The focaccia was soggy and flavorless. Even the olive oil that accompanied the bread was flavorless. The grilled octopus was another disappointment--there were more cloves of garlic than pieces of octopus. And what little octopus was there, a third of it was charred to black. Thankfully, the Caesar salad was fresh and fairly tasty. Ironically the focaccia croutons were the highlight of the salad. Then the entrees arrived--chicken Marsala and a spicy shrimp pasta in cream sauce (can't remember the name of the dish). My daughter liked the second dish enjoying the slight kick of whatever pepper/spice was used in the recipe. For me, it was just okay. The biggest disappointment however was the chicken Marsala--the gnocchi was overcooked, the entire dish itself was too salty, and the chicken--overcooked in some parts and fairly tender in others--tasted like it came out of a can. Quite honestly, I don't know what all the hype is about. This restaurant is mediocre at best. Perhaps the cocktails numb everyone's tastebuds to the overly salty but otherwise bland dishes. It was not worth the money and I would never go again. If this is the best that Portland has to offer by way of fine Italian dining, I'd say it's time Portland redefined the meaning of "fine".

Wow. I couldn't even wait to leave the restauraunt to leave a review…read more Food is amazing. Service is amazing. The vibe is also amazing. We got the gnocco fritto, tagliatelle and the halibut. All were amazing. The halibut came on a bed of peas...never in my life have I said "wow, these peas are really good" but I did today.

My wife, two sons (20 yrs, 18 yrs), and I enjoyed a celebratory dinner at Leeward on the last night…read moreof our July 2026 visit to Portland. With an 8pm reservation for Wednesday, we were seated promptly at 7:50pm. This lovely restaurant has a young, welcoming vibe. It's a mix of high-end dining (Italian) with a somewhat casual atmosphere (blue jeans). If you seek a formal "suit and tie" dining establishment, Leeward is not ideal. Although it is pricey, Leeward has many pluses. First, the service here is outstanding. Second, the wood floors, cork decorated walls, open space, and candles provide a nice ambience. Third, the food is delicious and ideal for sharing appetizers. We ordered several items, including focaccia (the olive oil is wonderful), and the Maine Bluefin Tuna Carpaccio (our favorite!). The Gnocchi Fritto with prosciutto is a must-order appetizer for groups. We then each ordered a pasta dish. I devoured the tagliatelle, which had fava beans. My wife enjoyed the radiatore (with pine nuts). My sons both ordered the rigatoni (but one disliked the heavy Bolognese sauce). Glad we were able to enjoy a celebratory dinner in Portland! Leeward contributes to the strong "foodie" reputation of the city.

This restaurant is a must visit in Portland. From the ambiance to the service and the flavors…read more Absolutely worth it! Our waitress perfectly described the wine list so we could find the one that was best for us and she was spot on! The food was seriously delicious! The presentation on the pesto pasta left some to be desired, but the texture and flavors more than made up for it. The portion was small for the price on the pesto pasta. The ravioli with the truffles - holy yum! That was actually a big portion for ravioli. The only thing that wasn't incredible was the tiramisu because it tasted just a little dry. It's certainly not terrible, but compared to everything else it just didn't level up. Go here. It's incredibly delicious and the service is phenomenal. The only thing that bothered me was that the receipt listed the server as Pool H. I'm assuming that means the servers all pool their tips together which is not ok. Our waitress was so great and I would hate to not see her benefit. I also didn't love the surcharge for health insurance and bread service - it seemed like an odd combination.

I have walked past Solo Italiano many times over the years and just kept on walking. In a city…read morewith so many great restaurants, Solo Italiano "looked" too tourist-y, too mundane. But my spouse won last year's Oscar predictions and he picked so - Solo Italiano we went. You know what? This is a serious restaurant churning out some very good and inventive Italian dishes. I was 100% wrong when I wrote it off as tourist-y. There, I can admit it. We started off with appetizers of beet salad and Bangs Island Mussels. The beat salad was solid. The Mussels were a true reflection of great Italian cooking - simple ingredients, prepared perfectly and presented beautifully. The Mussel sauce was white wine and butter and delicious. Text book prepared and text book good. It hit the mark. My main course was the Za-atar rubbed lamb chops and they were out of this world. Medium rare and very flavorful. My spouse got the scallops. Beautifully done but the portion size was too small for the price. I felt the same way about my lamb chops. The dining room was just okay, nothing more. In fact, the atmosphere is a bit too casual for the prices of the food. There was mandatory charge on our bill for "health insurance and bread service." It is an odd combination, right? Those 2 things simply do not go together. Generally, I hate when restaurants add this sort of service charge to my bill and this one is no different. Just increase your prices to provide employee benefits. But this combination of health insurance for the workers with the bread service was really hard to swallow. For dessert, we got the cookie sampler and the shortbread is among the best I have ever had. This restaurant is a bit of a contradiction to me. Some really good points, some bad points. Will I go back - do I recommend it? Probably not. Solo Italiano just does not stack up well to the other great restaurants in Portland.

So so so good! This spot feels exactly like my Italians grandma kitchen in the best way. They have…read morethe best focaccia bread I've ever had. The service was lovely, the people were amazing! Such a hidden great staple everyone in Portland so go to!

We really liked the vibe of Ribollita! The cozy ambiance made it feel like an authentic Italian…read morerestaurant, and everyone around us seemed to be having a good time. I would definitely recommend a reservation though due to its size! Our food was great. We loved all of the options and had a hard time choosing, but then a few of us got the specials because those were also appealing (sometimes specials can really throw you for a loop, but not here). The service was a *tad* slow, but we were told they were short someone- not sure if they meant in the kitchen or waitstaff, but either way it took a while for us to be seen once we were seated. Either way, though, this was a yummy pre-race meal in Portland, and I would definitely recommend for date nights, celebrations, or carbing up before a half marathon!