Izakaya Minato

15 Best Restaurants in Portland, Maine

"At Izakaya Minato the first thing you may notice is owner Elaine Alden's megawatt smile as you line up to put your name on the waitlist. Just a few steps beyond is a small open kitchen where Alden's husband, chef Thomas Takashi Cooke, and his merry band of cooks welcome you with the traditional Japanese greeting: "Irasshaimase!" A half step to your left is a snug, lively bar, and to the right, a large communal table. The denlike front room connects to a quieter, more spacious dining room with table seating, where you can post up for a reliably delicious menu with favorites like okonomiyaki (cabbage pancake) studded with chunks of bacon or local wild mushrooms; crab sunomono (a cold salad of crab, cucumber, and wakame seaweed tossed with Minato ranch dressing); gindara kasuzuke (broiled black cod marinated in sake lees); and mochi bacon (bacon-wrapped mochi with sweet soy)." - Alexandra Hall