15 Best Restaurants in Portland, Maine
"It’s back. After shuttering during the pandemic, the beloved casually cool favorite slinging bright, bold Vietnamese has reopened with an expanded menu—almost all of which is best consumed family style. Settle into one of the mismatched metal chairs at either the high-energy, open kitchen or near the garage doors that open to the sidewalk, and allow the swirl of smells, heat, and laughter around you guide your order. Are those mushrooms on the next table? Indeed. “Mouthwatering mushrooms,” to be exact. With pickled beans sprouts, sesame, cilantro, and a giant kick of chili oil. Fresh purple basil pervades plates, like the shrimp cakes—sweetly fried with carrot, then wrapped in butter lettuce—and servings of velvety twice-cooked eggplant with peanuts, scallion oil, and nước mắm chấm. And don’t bypass the burnt banana coconut tapioca pudding. It may not look like much, but like everything else here, its flavors run deep." - Alexandra Hall
