Bistro Leluco

What a hidden gem, y'all. Seriously, Bistro Leluco stands up against all the finest spots in Southern Maine. Yes, not just Portland. The entire experience is fantastic from start to finish. The need to knows- small (perfect) space, great eats, small plates & large, perfect cocktails, and service worth writing about tonight. Well done to the entire team.

Best restaurant I’ve been to in a while.
Got cocktails, radicchio salad, steak, gnocchi, olive oil cake.
Everything was good. The gnocchi had a soft cheese that was a little too salty for me but otherwise no complaints.
Radicchio salad was simple but the dressing was good enough to scrape the plate.
Steak was perfectly seasoned and cooked.
Olive oil cake was sweet, salty, and tart. It had a great balance of flavors. I thought one side was slightly over baked but that was easily forgivable.

Excellent meal and completely unexpected how delicious everything was! We were just looking for a casual Wednesday night dinner out, in our usual last minute and unplanned way. Had been here one time before and I remember it being quite good, but tonight it was excellent. I had the chicken and it was one of the best, most delicious and perfectly prepared chicken dishes I have ever had. Hubby had the gnocchi and that was also amazing. Ended our meal with the chocolate torte and it too, was delicious. Atmosphere is cozy but kinda loud. It’s a small place and was pretty full, although we were fortunate to be able to walk right in without a reservation. Probably wouldn’t be able to do this on a weekend night or in the summer. Definitely a place we will return to often!

Had an incredible experience at this local neighborhood eatery that doubles as the perfect date night spot. Upscale look, very friendly vibes and most importantly, great food. The squash toast was exceptional, as were the beats, and the steak was the best, most flavorful steak I’ve had in a long time. Bar selection was good and my fiancé had a great mocktail for all you NAers.

To top it all off, the dessert selection was fantastic. We can’t wait to go back and love having these kind and friendly owners, head chef and staff as a part of our neighborhood.

Just lovely.

The food-splendid, drinks-delicious, atmosphere-perfect.
Created with such precision and love. Our community needed this. Quality to the fullest sense of the word. Thanks for the tasty memories!

Wow! What a great add to the neighborhood. My husband and I went on opening night- owners are so friendly & food is amazing! The STAR of the show was their gnocchi- savory, soft, so flavorful! We will be back again! So happy to have you in the neighborhood! Don’t be afraid to try for a bar spot if they are out of reservations on resy! Great bar!!
- KELLEY & BEN

This place is a win in every category. From the moment we were greeted at the door, we felt like welcomed guests, not just customers. The food was exceptional, and I could rave for paragraphs on that alone - but the extra details on service and atmosphere and the genuine conversations with everyone who was part of the crew there was really what made the night special.

The food….. wow. We ordered a bunch of small plates and they did not disappoint. Flavors, presentation and just a perfectly created dish each time. I can’t pick a favorite (yes I can, it’s the fingerling potatoes, because I really love potatoes - please try the potatoes) but even the cocktails had so many layers of loveliness - truly crafted and thought out - no detail was overlooked.

I so thank Anthony, Stacy, Jack and the rest of the crew working behind the scenes who made our evening one to remember. We look forward to coming back!

I have been to just about every restaurant in the Portland area and Bistro Leluco is hands down my favorite. The food is consistently amazing, drinks are great, friendly staff, and an excellent owner who makes you feel welcomed every time you walk in. I will be a regular for life. If you have not checked them out yet, please do.

Leluco is the finest restaurant in a field of many Portland, S. Portland and Cape Elizabeth restaurants. The food is superb. Try the radicchio salad, the special chicken, gnocchi, halibut. It's all memorable. And the bar tender Jack is a master of his trade.
Don't miss this place where the owners are there to greet you when you arrive and assure everything is to your liking.
Leluco is a favorite neighborhood place we have frequented many times.

Incredible food, good service, and a creative cocktail menu: what more do you need? Every dish was perfectly executed and the atmosphere is like a friendly neighborhood spot, but with fine dining quality food. We will definitely be back.

Outstanding blend of flavors combined for a beautiful presentation. Our server, Kelsey was terrific and super knowledgeable on the food and wine. The owners made us and everyone feel like family. Great spot! Don’t pass up a drink from Jack at the bar. Real craftsman! Will be back on our next visit.

I’m not sure I know enough superlatives to do Bistro Leluco justice. The cocktail list is outstanding, with creative twists on classics and a lot of choice for original creations as well. The bartender is well versed in all things cocktail and could easily shake up anything you can think up. Every single thing we ordered from the short but diverse food menu was perfectly prepared and simply delicious. We wanted to try it all, so we shared several small plates and one entree. The octopus was tender, fresh and flavorful and the chorizo vinaigrette and broccolini added just the right amount of crunch and smoky touch. The steak tartare had such a fun and unique twist on the classic dish with a ramp aioli and garlic scapes and endive leaves instead of bread or crostini. But the perfect cuts of the steak and the balance of the seasonings made this not just a riff, but an enlightened version of the classic. Our excellent server, Kelsey guided us to try the pea toast, even though I’m not a huge pea fan. She told me I’d love it and she was right. The fresh from the farm sweet peas are indeed fabulous, but it is the out of this world cheese that makes this drool worthy. It’s a soft cheese made in house with herbs that give it this great tang that pairs so nicely with the sweet peas and the crunchy toast. Kelsey also helped out with wine selection and make perfect recommendations there as well. The real star of the evening was the mussels. I don’t want to write about how great they are for fear of them running out the next time I am there. I can’t even begin to guess what is in that broth. We forgot our manners and dunked every crumb of bread we could get our hands on in that savory masterpiece and joked about bringing home the left overs. As I sit in my living room thinking about that broth, I’m wishing I had brought it home so I could soak up every last drop in private without worrying I was scaring other diners.

The ambiance is also perfect. It feels a little bit special without being stuffy. Someplace you’d feel like you could dress up a little for, but don’t have to. It’s perfect for an adult date night or gathering with friends. Every single person we met there was beyond friendly and welcoming. This is the kind of place you want to keep coming back to to try every drink and dish on the menu and feel comfortable lingering over that last bit of your drink, not rushed to finish up even though the place is bustling. This is our new favorite restaurant in the Portland area. It’s worth the short drive from downtown and parking is easy.

This is my favorite restaurant in the Portland area right now. (Grew up in Cape Elizabeth now live in NYC)

I first met Antonio in spring, and immediately enjoyed his presence and hospitality. His restaurant is beautiful, with every dish hitting home. I’m now coming back months later to review it as I’m missing the place, and wish I had one down here in BK.

Definitely check this place out

One of the best meals we've had in a while! Every bite of every dish was outstanding. We had the Shrimp Fra Diablo, an amazing asparagus dish, and the gnocchi. Wow! How lucky are we live down the street from this great new spot. We finished our meal off with the Basque cheesecake, which was outstanding. Helpful but not overbearing server, pleasant ambience...everything was fantastic.

We loved everything about Bistro Leluco! The food, drinks, vibe and especially the staff… all fantastic! One of the owners, Antonio, was there the entire evening, and he had his sleeves rolled up helping with everything and everyone, while engaging each and every guest with a huge smile, making sure everything was going well.

The cocktail list is very creative, but not pretentious, and has something for everyone. I had the Naked and Afraid, which was excellent, but there are at least a dozen cocktails on their menu that I’ll need to try on upcoming visits.

I can’t say enough about the food! The chef, Will Durst, really brought his A-game, and he’s not afraid to come out and say hi to the customers in the dining room, which he did and was much appreciated.

As to what we ate, I would highly recommend all of it, which was raw oysters, steak tartare, mussels, octopus, and pea toast. Now that I write it down, it strikes me as an odd mix of food, but they coursed it out at a perfect pace and in a very sensible order. And trust me, I’m not kidding, this was great food.

We also had the opportunity to try the homemade limoncello and orangecello (forgive the spelling… I didn’t even know that was a thing), which were the perfect finish to the evening.

Last but not least, as I mentioned the staff were all fantastic. If you have the good fortune, as we did, to have Kelsey entrusted with your care, you will not be disappointed. She’s a rock star and someone who is not only exceptional at her vocation, but she loves what she does and it shows.

Thanks for a wonderful evening Bistro Leluco! We’ll see you again very soon.

EXCELLENT food! The price point matches David’s 388 but has a small plate/big plate set up rather than a traditional app/entree setup. The style and experience fills a needed hole on the cottage road restaurant scene.

Also, the front of the house experience was a well oiled machine, which is rare to see at restaurants which have been open <2 weeks.

Glad to have a new staple in the neighborhood.

It is a tight space, so I recommend making a reservation.

Lively neighborhood restaurant, yet still intimate and inviting. Service was attentive and friendly. Food exceeded expectations. While everything we ate was amazing, the squash toast, Parisienne gnocchi, and steak were home runs. Will be back for those and more of the raw bar offerings we didn't try this time.

Hands down some of the best food anywhere around. Including the peninsula. Cocktails are imaginative and well executed, service with a smile and comfort, and holy moly the food! From the raw menu to the BIG plates, they just kept getting better and better as I ate my way through the menu. I could ramble for days. What it comes to is that you're doing yourself a disservice to not stop in and see what's happening.

Disclaimer: My price per person was because I had to have everything... It doesn't have to be like that for you, but it's worth it if you want to treat yourself!

My sister and I went to dinner last night for my belated birthday celebration and we were very impressed with the experience. First, there was some problem with my reservation through Resy but they were able to accommodate us (thank you very much for the flexibility and apologies for the issue). The place has a warm, comfortable vibe with a welcoming staff. The service was absolutely perfect- just enough checking in without hovering, tons of information about the menu (the servers obviously chat with the chef and try things to help patrons decide) and helpful advice about cocktails (super creative and delish in their own right). And the food- I must preface this by saying I fancy myself a foodie BUT I am often disappointed with pretentious establishments that simply do not deliver what the menu describes. This is NOT the case here. The menu is really a love letter to food and seasonality. Every dish we had was fantastic and exciting in some way.

A few highlights- Oysters come with a dropper bottle of hot sauce but OF COURSE, this was no ordinary sauce- it was an AMAZING green hot sauce that was so fresh and balanced- we wanted to take it home! The roasted carrots included a complex vadouvan curry and we paused after each bite to identify the layered components. The pea toast was reminding us of the spring in all its sweet green glory with fresh peas, sliced sugar snap peas, and pea shoots, all piled onto perfectly toasted bread with a sharp and nutty housemade cheese. The Parisienne gnocchi were herby, soft and buttery with masterfully cooked maitake mushrooms and a beautiful wedge of brie cheese to send it over the top. Sherry and cherries topped a Basque cheesecake and espresso cream accompanied a delicious chocolate torte (somehow so light and fluffy but still super rich and deep).

I will be back to try different menu items this spring and look forward to future menus from this creative chef. Thank you for giving me a fantastic birthday dinner with my sister. You all obviously care about the experience and I felt it the entire evening.

Love, love, love this unpretentious neighborhood spot. I’ve been coming since it opened and it never fails to leave me feeling incredibly appreciative of the owners who make me feel so welcome. The waitstaff are on the mark without being intrusive and the food is creative, presented beautifully and delicious. I just adore this place!!