The Porthole Restaurant & Pub

We stopped into The Porthole Restaurant & Pub on a rainy Tuesday evening in March. This restaurant is located directly off the waterfront in the wharf. There were only a few others in the restaurant when we arrived. We were greeted and taken to our seats immediately. The restaurant gives off a friendly diner vibe with many booth and table seating options. There is a bar at the front of the restaurant with additional seating.

We ordered the whole lobster and a lazy lobster. The difference between the whole lobster and the lazy lobster is that all of the lobster meat is picked out with the lazy lobster. It's only $5 more for the lazy lobster, so if you don't like picking, it may be worth it for you to go with the lazy lobster.

Overall, we had a good dining experience and our server was very nice. The lobster was fresh and very good. I would recommend this restaurant if you are in Portland, Maine looking for a classic lobster meal at the wharf.

We ordered 2 Porthole Twin lobster and it was good, 1 stuffed lobster was tasty too.
I enjoyed my pink puffin drink.
Our server Kaylee was friendly and attentive she checks on us often to make sure we were okay.

One of the absolute best seafood restaurants I’ve ever been to. Everything we ordered was perfect. Wouldn’t change anything. This area is known for clams and they know how to cook them!

During our visit, the weather made for a great outdoor dining experience. Would highly recommend if it’s a nice day.

In a great location along the waterfront.

It's a local hole in the wall type restaurant and bar. Absolute treasure. The stuffed baked lobster was a brand new experience. I would order it again even though I haven't tried some of the other stuff. We saw a variety of dishes ordered by other customers and everything looked perfect. Happy customers all around.

Great service and a nice deck seating option. Gluten free bun wasn't tasty, but it was really nice to be able to enjoy a lobster roll in Maine :) there were other gluten free items as well which was a pleasant surprise! Wish I had ordered the summer rolls. Next time!

Our server, Mason, made the dining experience more enjoyable!! He was extremely informative and quick. The oysters came from the bay about a minute away from the pier where they served us, and we were extremely fresh! In June, the weather was perfect for dining outside. Everything we ordered that night would be recommended. I don't think they have anything on the menu that wouldn't be delicious. The lobster Mac and cheese was outstanding and there was enough on one plate for 2 people. The Lobster was cooked perfectly. Very relaxed and enjoyable experience.

Great little place! Can't get oysters much more fresh than right on the water. Onion soup was very good, especially on a 20° day in January.

I came here on my last night in Portland and although it was foggy I really enjoyed the look and the feel of the fog. The staff here sat us down with no problem and we’re very pleased to help. I got the fried shrimp and my wife got the fish tacos that were to DIE for and both her and I both agreed the BEST fish tacos we’ve EVER had and to top it off the shrimp tasted very good and fresh. We also had to drinks which were also very good. If I would’ve stood here another night I would’ve came straight back here! The Porthole ROCKS!

Our server, Izzy, was amazing!! She was very attentive and made our morning yesterday for the first stop of our 8th Annual Mom's Day Out. Drinks were accurate and food was hot and delicious. Do not skip this place and I hope you get Izzy as your server.
Thank you Izzy!

Can't say enough about the Porthole Restaurant & Pub. This is our first time ever in Maine and the first restaurant we dicided to eat at and I was certainly NOT disappointed. We we're greeted by Chase who was kind enough to find us a waterfrtont table, supercool and more than hospitable knowing it was our first experience. The bartender was also incredibly cool and kept us entertained and well "hydrated". Our server Izzy however was the best part of our experience along with food. Exceptional food and service and Izzy could not have been any better. Thank you Porthole for the most amazing first experience in Maine. We will never forget today and certainly visit again and again.

Let’s be honest, this bar doesn’t need my review. Their Lobster roll and their clam chowder was PHENOMENAL. It’s on every list of Top 10 restaurants to visit. This review isn’t about their food, it’s about their service. Kate is an amazing bartender and she went above and beyond to give us recommendations of places to go, things to do, and beers to try.

In such a touristy city, on such a touristy time of year, she took the time out of her day to make us feel welcome and give us the best recommendations (that we’ve already tried and they were great recommendations!) she got us in and out quickly because we had reservations to a museum, kept us topped up, and suggested things to do even when we stopped asking questions. Even during stressful lunch time, she kept coming back with new suggestions.

The lobster roll is great (get it Maine Style with aioli), the clam chowder is amazing, but Kate was the real light of our experience. Thank you Kate!

After trying lobster rolls at a couple of restaurants in Maine, this is the best one. It has a generous amount and tasted fresh. The oysters are really fresh as well. Fish taco was good. Great outdoor view of the wharf.

This was fantastic, delicious, and fun! We had lobster rolls, a single lobster (sooo good), the popcorn shrimps (must have). The only item we would skip next time is the lobster spring rolls.

Just try to make reservations as it can get very crowded.

Clam chowder and the seafood linguine was fabulous! I would definitely return! Maine blueberry margarita was refreshing.

What a little jam friendly staff and amazing place. And yes the food amazing…

We went to The Porthole for lunch after reading good reviews about the Fish and Chips. My standards are pretty high for fish and chips so I wasn’t sure. The fish was good. Just a few preference things for me didn’t give it that “great!” I don’t like a lot of extra crispy batter, but other people may love it. They obviously season the batter which is nice, not all places do that! The serving is quite generous. I barely finished the fish and didn’t even get to the fries or slaw. My partner got a delicious looking cup of French onion soup. Other people with us got chowder and chili, both looked incredible! I was impressed with the fish portion for my 7 year old. He absolutely loves fish sticks and he talked about them ALL day (and the next.) normally he doesn’t even think about leftover, but he didn’t even want pizza when we went to Unos for dinner because he still had fish sticks 😬 the guy who greeted us when we got there was so kind and helpful. Our server kept the drinks coming (well soda) without us even having to ask. We sat outside, which was nice but a bit chilly. An after thought for sure because our food cooled off pretty quickly (and let’s be real, fish is better when it’s hot!) I would absolutely download their playlist if they dropped it, we were doing the “good food vibing” shimmies the whole time we were there.
One last thing, I would have liked more relish (or pickle) in the tarter, it seemed very mayo heavy.

We love the Porthole! Friendly and attentive service, super fresh food, and good drinks. Each visit has been great and we always love sitting on the (very spacious) patio to watch the sunset.

On this visit we ordered the haddock and blueberry cake with ice cream. The haddock was delicious - I always love the thin and crispy breading. As for the blueberry cake - I will never be satisfied with another dessert! My god it was good, we can’t stop thinking about it. Definitely worth the $10.

We’ll be back!

A Portland staple! The Porthole has some of the best raw and friend seafood you can find anywhere. I love their drawn butter lobster roll. The lemon aioli and the mayo lobster rolls are also incredible. The oysters on the half shell are massive and delicious. I can easily take down dozens. I love how much outdoor space they have too. The deck is perfect for nice days and there’s also a ton of seating inside.

The lobster mac-n-cheese and the lobster roll were both delicious. Prices are about the same as anywhere else. Great environment sitting over the water and watching the fishing boats. Service was great.

Great lobster and crab omelet at the stroke of opening. I came with dogs and sat out on the deck. They were great about me waiting at the gate upon opening.