Great place for a hearty and filling meal, especially on a cold day. We went for a Veggie Ramen and…read morea Tofu Poke Bowl (make your own version). Absolutely loved both. The portions were generous. The vegetarian broth in the bowl was absolutely amazing. The tofu, both versions, were done to perfection. The staff was nice, helpful and friendly. Definitely recommended!

Great gem in Portland, ME! Love how you can build your own poké bowl to your liking. Very…read morereasonable price with bowls starting at $16.50 with only $4 upcharges for extra or premium (lobster / scallops) proteins. Service was friendly and prompt for made to order bowls and drinks. The taro boba was tasty - just on the sweet side even asking for less sweet. That wouldn't stop me from getting it again though. The boba was bouncy and chewy without mush. Well done. Would recommend

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!

Good meal, prices definitely on the high side…read more Vibe: really cohesive, cool, themed decor. Large shared table in the middle flanked by bar seating. Service: Great Food: We started off with soft serve and the seasonal earl gray outshined the house honey. The earl gray had a great flavor topped with an excellent syrup while the honey was mild and the chocolate shell didn't add anything, although the 'honeycomb' bits were delic. Crispy eggplant special - good, very small portion Pork katsu sandwich - pretty solid, interesting pickle Pad mee korat - good, small portion Value: Aside from the soft serve, the portions were very small for ~$17 price point, and the food was good but aside from the earl gray soft serve, didn't amaze to the point of paying a higher price point. Overall I did like this meal but portions were small for prices. I hope they keep the earl gray soft serve around!

Had such a lovely time at Pai Men Miyake in Portland over the weekend. Stopped in because I was…read morecraving ramen and the reviews said great things. We got brussel sprouts and pork gyoza to share: the brussel sprouts were phenomenal and we ate them so fast (lol), the pork gyoza could have used a bit more flavoring for me personally but the meat inside was super tender! I ordered the chicken shio ramen and it was pretty good, but I maybe would've like some more spice in there, so maybe I should've ordered something different! My partner got the beef short rib buns which he loved. The service was pretty fast and we were able to be seated quickly which was great as we were starved! Would definitely go back if I were in the area and craving ramen again!

My wife had a craving for some good ramen and this came up as possibly our best option. Especially…read moreconsidering they had duck ramen as an option. We showed up with a small line waiting to get in/pick up orders. Once inside we waited a little bit for the staff to arrive to greet us, once they did we were told it would be a wait for a table or could sit at the kitchen bar right away. We snagged the two furthest bar seats with a slight peak into the kitchen watching food being prepared. They had QR codes around for you to scan to pull up the menu. Overall it's a small space as well as being a thin and narrow space. Be ready for a possible wait for a spot to open up. To start off we grabbed some cocktails, my wife got their Shiso Lucky (Roku Gin, shiso, lime) and I got Kochi Sunset (Shochu, yuzu, blood orange). Also for a starter we decided to have the Lobster Buns. Cocktails were great and well made. The lobster buns were a fantastic unique way of enjoying lobster. My wife did find the texture of the bun to be not ideal but overall enjoyed it. Entree wise we both decided on the duck ramen. We both enjoyed it very much, my wife could have done without the menma (fermented bamboo shoots). I wish it had more duck in it honestly. The duck was extremely tasty in both the normal meat and meatball. For our return eventually we will both likely try a different ramen to branch out. Overall a pretty solid overall experience. Some small changes could make me change it to a five star from my current four. It certainly fulfilled the ramen craving and I could see this being a no -brainer for stopping at during the brutal winters Maine has.

Last night best night and we ended our trip with dinner at Empire Chinese Kitchen and I'm so glad…read morewe did. We came in on Saturday night knowing we would have to wait so we went to the bar. They had a special cocktail that night and it was so good I wish I could remember what it was called but you have to try whatever their specialty drink of the night is. Since we had a large party we ordered a lot because everything sounds so good so we did a bunch of Dim Sum and a few mans as well. We went with: Empire Eggrolls Lobster Rangoons Char Siu Baos Spicy Pork Belly Buns Pork Potsticks Shanghai Soup Dumplings Shu Mai Curry Udon Kung Pao Chicken Honestly everything was great but the stand outs for me were the Lobster Rangoons, Char Siu Baos, Pork Potsticks, Curry Udon, and the Kung Pao Chicken. First of Lobster Rangoons I mean how do you not. Portland Maine being Lobster Paradise this just makes sense and is a must try staple here. Just takes your normal Chinese Crab Rangoon to the next level. The Char Siu Baos where the best BBQ Pork Bun I have ever had. I know these can be hit or miss sometimes but Empire it doing it right truly the best I have had. The Pork Potsticks were also great. A top 3 dumpling I have had. I honestly wasn't expecting much but these were amazing. The Curry Udon was kind of a funny story. I said we should try this and my friends like me know it was vegan but for once that didn't bother me. This was great and so full of flavor. Plus you can't go wrong with Udon. Kung Pao Chicken is always my go to and this one takes the cake. The Chicken is lighty battered and so full of flavor. One of the best I have ever had. Honestly you can't go wrong with anything we had at Empire Chinese and I would 100% go back and do it all again. I'll end this review the way we started dinner. Lobsta Goooooonnnnsss!

The husband and I walked in while waiting for a performance at One Longfellow Square. It's been…read moreover 10 years since either of us had been to Empire, and we were blown away by the service, ambiance, and food! As a bariatric patient I can't eat too much in one go, so we opted to go with dumplings and drinks, and it was totally the way to go. Drinks: * Strawberry Mojito: sweet, flavorful, and not over powering on the mint. 10/10 from the husband. * Margarita: sour, strong, and they were so wonderful to make it a passion fruit one for me as well. Just a bit small for me. 9/10 Food: * Shanghai soup dumplings: soft and flavorful. Full of filling, but lacking in soup base so it didn't really hit the spot. 7/10 * Steamed pork dumplings: large and in charge! The rice wrapper was a lovely texture but too delicate, resulting in completely falling apart. 8/10 * Garlic bok choy: Converted my husband to actually enjoying bok choy instead of questioning it at every turn. Only wishing it was more garlic forward! 8/10 Go to Empire Chinese Kitchen for a lovely evening out for food or drink! You won't be disappointed.

Jing Yan is a small, stylish restaurant. I like that they have a long bar--you can sit and eat…read morecomfortably even if you're dining alone. I looked up their menu online ahead of time, but when we arrived, they told us they didn't have duck that day. So unfortunately, I couldn't try the duck ramen or duck bun. We ordered the smashed cucumber and wood ear as our appetizer. This is a common summer dish in some parts of Asia, and I really enjoyed it--it was probably my favorite of everything we ordered. For mains, we had the beef bowl with rice and the beef kimchi ramen. The beef bowl looked similar to Japanese gyudon, but the flavor was different. The beef in the ramen was tender, but the broth was very light--not like the typical rich ramen broth. That said, both dishes were fine. Overall, it's a nice spot for a casual bite.

We stopped into Jing Yan after getting drinks across the street at Lowkey. I have to say that we…read morewere smart for making this decision! Jing Yan has limited seating and we had a short wait for bar seats to open up but we eventually enjoyed a delicious raw tuna taco trio and some delicious ramen! The music playing in the background was not what I expected but I found myself humming along to some true classics... we're coming back to try the full menu in the future!

The Hat trick and Jaded Lady are my favorite rolls and a must get every time you visit. The staff…read moreis always very friendly as well which is nice to see. There is a reason this place is always busy.

Sit at the sushi bar and enjoy the talent of the chefs! Service was good. Ambience at the sushi bar…read morewas excellent. There were 5 sushi chefs lined up and working fast and meticulously. We all had fun and ate some beautiful fish!

Amazing fresh fish! We sat a the sushi bar and it was fun to watch them make all the different…read moresushi and dishes. My favorite was the tuna roll and Hamayaki. The Hamayaki was such an interesting dish and something I would go back for. The service was very attentive. The flavors and fish were so great in every dish. Worth a spot for a fancier and pricier sushi place!

We only came here for the lobster sushi roll but it did not disappoint!! Very tasty and fresh!…read moreWould love to come back here and try their other sushi rolls!

Yet another local spot my wife and I have considered an absolute favorite that we have visited for…read moreour last time. By the time you read this review they are likely already closed. Their last day of service is 8/31/25 announced recently on their social media accounts. My wife and I knew we needed to make one more trip here and glad to say we got one more visit in! The vibes have been similar over the past couple years during our visits. They have a tropical/island vibe with Asian inspired menu items along with some late night bites. They also do a phenomenal job with cocktails, and I would add mocktails as well which my wife and I each tried one tonight. Looks wise you would not even be able to tell it was non-alcoholic and the flavors were great too. I got their Platonic Best Friend which had a good spice to it, while my wife got the Lack of Meow that she loved. Food wise we each got a Double Patty Burger and split an order of the house fries. Both were just as good as all our other visits and the fries were even more seasoned than normal. We will miss both burgers and fries and especially the dipping sauce that comes with the fries. Lastly we had never tried their dessert and the Maine Blueberry Cake they had sounded so tempting, my wife's favorite fruit is blueberries. Every bite was amazing and my wife even said it was the fastest she has ever eaten a dessert. Was the perfect end cap to our final visit to Paper Tiger! We will miss this being a late night spot for us to grab a burger while people watching the madness of Fore Street bars closing. Service was fantastic with no complaints. The only negative I could mention is that talking to our server about being sad about them closing and they let us know the staff only found out about it one day before the social media post went out. Leaving them with minimal time to find another job. Hope they all can find a new job right away. If you have the chance before they close get over here for one last drink or bite!

Fun, innovative little joint in downtown Portland. It's been on our radar for so long, we were…read morehankering for a burger, and I've heard that Paper Tiger makes a good one, so we wandered in on a quiet Wednesday afternoon to check the place out. They lean heavy into the Tiger theme here. The place is totally decked out in knick knacks, artwork, and more. It's cozy but chic, with huge booths on the other side of the bar, good for big drunken outings I imagine, considering how they are known for their late night scene. We chose the small but comfy wicker chairs at the bar and got glasses of wine - $2 off on happy hour! Our bartender was super sweet and helped us with our order. We got the double smash burger and Szechuan wings with Thai chili sauce on the side. Food came out hella quick. The wings were little but they were so *crispy* and the Szechuan seasoning was tasty and not too overpowering. It was rated as 3 chili peppers on the menu but I didn't really detect any spice. Thai chili was sweet, tangy, solid. Our burger was good. I imagine it's modeled after a Big Mac - had all similar ingredients - just better beef, pickles, etc. It went down easy. I think I was just missing more flavor, maybe a little greasier, something cravable. But hey, if you've been out drinking and you need a late night snack, I guarantee that puppy will hit the spot. Their cocktail menu is an attraction in and of itself. The more you read through it, the more hilarious and charming it is. We will definitely be back to try some of them, especially one of their "party" bowls meant for multiple guests. Love the innovation and playfulness here! Can't wait to return!