Portland Food Map

09/16/2026

A fast casual cafe called Oat Mode is under construction at 25 Pearl Street in the space that a few years ago had been home to a Subway sandwich shop.

Owners Kevin MacDonald and Brie O’Malley plan to serve a menu of oatmeal and yogurt bowls, and smoothies all of which can be customized with a wide variety of mix-ins like blackberries, kale, dates, almonds, mint, honey, cacao nibs, flaxseeds and granola.

The ~30-seat cafe is under construction. O’Malley and MacDonald hope to launch Oat Mode sometime in November. When they do, it will be open Monday through Friday 7 am – 2 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays 8 am – 1 pm.

09/15/2026

The New York Times has included Douro Portland in their 2026 Restaurant List of their “50 favorite places in America right now.”

Our 50 favorite places in America right now.

09/15/2026

This week’s Maine Food & Dining Report includes word on the launch of Down Town Market by Swell in S**o, a NY Times travel article with recommendations on dining in the Midcoast, Rosemont Market and Bakery’s plans to move their Yarmouth store to a larger space, Emma Lou’s Bakery food truck, the new owners of the Lake Road Grocery in New Canada, the closure of Bandaloop in Arundel (stay tuned for news on what’s coming there next) and the R&M IGA in Eastport, several upcoming food events, as well as other news from Wiscasset, Blue Hill, Searsport, Falmouth, Windham, Camden, Waterville, Lewiston, Biddeford, South Portland. Visit our website (link in profile) to read the article for all the details.

09/12/2026

A new fast casual cafe called Paak opened for business today at 650 Congress Street near Longfellow Square. The word paak means vegetable in the Thai language.

Praewpran Yiamjanya and Patrick Udomsay, the owners of the Sook Thai Mobile Kitchen food truck, are serving a menu (see below) of bowls and smoothies. There are five house designed bowls and the option to build your own by choosing greens or rice for a base, proteins like grilled chicken or tofu, a selection of 27 different toppings (mango, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, hummus, etc), and a dressing.

The smoothies (named for the days of the week but all available each day) include options like the Tuesday made with pitaya, strawberry, banana, agave nectar, Greek yogurt and oat milk. Paak also has a refrigerator case of grab and go canned and bottled drinks.

Paak has a small counter in the front window with seating for 4 as well as a pair of benches. The entire menu is available to go for customers that want to bring a meal back to their home or desk. Paak will be open Thursday through Monday 10 am – 7 pm.

09/08/2026

Sai Guntaka and business partner Jim Baldi have leased a space in South Portland where they plan to open a Italian restaurant called Il Forno (IL FORNO). It will be located at 333 Clarks Pond Parkway a few doors down from Taj.

Chefs Jim Fitzgerald and Ron Medlock and pasta chef Ruth Connelly will serve a menu of appetizers like baked polenta with gorgonzola, sage and honey, fresh pasta🍝 dishes like cacio e pepe and rigatoni alla vodka, pizzas🍕, salads and entrees like grilled strip steak. Nick Shanley will be managing the bar which will serve cocktails, local draft beers🍻 and wines by the bottle and glass.

Guntaka and Baldi have worked with Woodhull on the design (see the renderings below) and construction of 50-seat restaurant. An outdoor deck will provide room for another 15-20 guests during warmer months. The buildout is well underway and Il Forno is expected to launch in October.

Guntaka is the owner of Taj and Cobblestones in South Portland and co-owner with Baldi of Silver Street by Taj in the Old Port, and co-owner with Obul Reddy of Rasa in Bangor. Medlock was the chef at Bar Publica, Fitzgerald worked at the Regency Hotel, Connelly has worked at Evo, Via Vecchia and Papi, and Shannon comes from the bar team at Evo.

09/08/2026

Food & Wine magazine has featured Victor Vasquez—a staff member at Mr. Tuna and at Boda—in their Hospitality Heros set of articles. “He slips out shortly after [Mr. Tuna] open[s] and goes home to rest and freshen up. Then, it’s off to his second job at Boda, a Thai restaurant one mile away from Mr. Tuna. There, he works as the kitchen manager there for the same number of hours. He does these double shifts five times a week.”

Victor Vasquez, a 2026 Food & Wine Hospitality Hero, is a prep cook at Mister Tuna and the kitchen manager at Boda in Portland, Maine. He’s one of the hardest-working employees at both restaurants, but his work goes mostly unseen.

09/04/2026

Magnus on Water has earned a second pin from The Pinnacle Guide. The Biddeford bar and restaurant is one of just 61 establishments worldwide in the Outstanding double pin category along with peers in London, Paris, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Athens, Los Angeles, New York and other cities.

Pinnacle is a rigorous international program that evaluates and rates cocktails bars. They send anonymous reviewers to bars to recertify and rate bars each year. The program evaluates them on hospitality, drinks program, interior design, staff management, back office operations and engagement with community. As stated on their website,

“The Pinnacle Guide…recognition system that is based on a thorough self-application process, rigorous assessment modules, followed by a series of spot check interviews and anonymous in-bar reviews. Fair and visible processes lie at the core of The Pinnacle Guide, which promises every deserving establishment, regardless of size or location, a clear path to recognition. As well as recognising excellence in drinks, ambience and hospitality, The Pinnacle Guide will be rewarding operators that make a positive social impact.”

09/02/2026

This week’s Maine Food & Dining Report includes word of the launch of Brill’s Bakery🍞🧁 in Wiscasset this Saturday, the Snug coffee shop and market under construction in Coopers Mills, the meatball Meat Brawl chef competition taking place October 3rd, the new Plant Shoppe wine bar and cafe in Castine, 4 additions to the Maine Food Map dining guide as well as other news from Yarmouth, Stonington, Biddeford, and Lewiston. Visit our website (link on profile page) to read the article for all the details.
Photos below are of Bet’s Fish Fry🐟 in Boothbay and Color Field Coffee☕️ in East Boothbay.

09/01/2026

September is the start of the Maine apple and cider season. See our guides to heirloom apples, orchards, Maine cider producers, and other apple-related events and resources to plan your Fall road-trips.

Today is the first day of September and the unofficial start of the apple season. Fall is the perfect time to plan a Maine road-trip. See the guides below to find great orchards and heirloom apple varieties, Maine’s cider tasting rooms, apple events, and other pomological resources to help you enj...

08/31/2026

A new restaurant called Culture House is under construction at 683 Forest Ave in Woodfords Corner.

Martin Beavers and Esperance Yende plans to serve a menu of soul food and Ethiopian cuisine with dishes like catfish, deviled eggs, fried okra, jerk chicken sandwiches, oxtail fries, and brown butter beignets. Yende is Ethiopian and on the weekends Culture House will offer a growing set of Ethiopian options like doro wat chicken with injera and an Ethiopian coffee ceremony service. (You can see the full menu on the Culture House Instagram account.)

Beavers and Yende hopes to launch Culture House on September 4th with an extended two week soft opening period. The ~50 seat restaurant will be open Thursday through Sunday, noon – 9:30 pm. The restaurant has six dedicated parking spaces located behind the building.

Beavers formerly operated Soul Food Paradise which began as a pop-up and then transitioned into a space at the Maine Mall food court.