restaurant review: eventide in portland, maine

Eventide Oysters.

Portland has been getting a lot of love in the food world. Portland, Oregon, that is.

And, that's great. Portland, OR is a great eating city. But, I have to argue that Portland, Maine is just as great, if not better.

The Scene

Eventide is a small seafood restaurant on the outskirts of downtown Portland near the port. Although, Portland is so small that being on the outskirt is not really all that far. When we stopped in for brunch, most tables and the bar area were full. Luckily, we found a great spot near the oysters at the bar.


The Food


Speaking of Oysters, the offerings at Eventide were so fresh! I loved them all but Winter Point was very tasty. The oysters were perfectly briny. The oysters came with ice sauces (ice crystal versions of vinegar or hot sauce or horseradish, etc.) that were more interesting than anything. But, they did the job.


The Littleneck Clams were also very fresh and tasty. In fact, they were so good that Mr. Sazy Rock had them again for dessert.

Picture by Mr. Sazy Rock.
Littleneck Clams, Tuna Crudo, Yellow Crudo.

The Tuna Crudo was fresh and firm but the scallions, chilis and ponzu overpowered the fish a bit.

The Yellowtail Crudo, on the other hand, was perfectly and simply paired with radish and ponzu.

The Fried Hake was crunchy and we found out that the batter was made of yeast and AP flour. The batter perfectly steamed the fish inside.

The Lobster Roll, one of their more famous dishes, was a bit of a disappointment because of the bread. The roll came soft, untoasted and very doughy. The warm buttery lobster was tasty, however. But, it felt weird to not have that crunch on the bread.

The Whoopie Pie, which was allegedly invented in Maine, was cakey and tasty.

Our desserts: the clams were Mr. SR's and the whoopie pie was mine.

The Service

The service was great and friendly. The staff helpfully gave great recommendations, which I will review later. Our only complaint was that the food came out quickly and could have been spaced out a little bit.

The Verdict

I would definitely return to Eventide and highly recommend it. And, I am so glad that there are two Portlands in both coasts that are great for eating.