Gather

this place absolutely bangs. great service and food, is on the pricier side but everything in life is so expensive these days and this was the only time in recent memory i walked away feeling like it was so worth it. my new go to when i need somewhere special.

Gather is an absolute gem...the Peruvian chicken with cilantro jalapeño sauce was possibly the best plate of food I've had in maine ever. Stunningly delicious and unique and perfect. Service was personable and professional, and the cocktails were polished and well made. The one large room on a rainy night was warm and friendly, and while there is a large communal table, 80pct of the seating is normal. A new love!

Atmosphere and wait staff were wonderful!! Drinks were excellent. However, was very disappointed with the meal. The crab dip was very cheesy masking any taste of crab, and barely any crab, the prime rib was dry and hard to chew, the beans were way undercooked. Would love to try again but just not sure…

Love their outdoor seating area… this restaurant is worth driving from Portland every once in a while..this time the Gulf of Maine salmon was amazing, and so was the rum pear cheesecake. Get them if it’s on the menu when you’re there next.

Food was amazing cocktails weren't so great.

First, I am looking forward to going back, but there are a few things to mention. We shared an appetizer - the crab dip, ordered the ribeye steak frite and short rib entrees and had the black forest cake for dessert.. Both entrees were excellent which is why we look forward to going back along with the good vibes and waitstaff. The ribeye came from a local farm and was off the charts tender, flavorful but not loaded with traditional marbled fat. The shortrib was delicious and the grilled escarole was smoky good and the mix of smashed potatoes yummy. I would say the crab dip and cake were disappointing. The dip was made with marscapone and served hot. But there was no crabmeat because the texture was smooth like a cheese melt. The crab flavor seemed like it came from fresh crab liquid that meat comes in. The cake was more like a sugar bomb - way too sweet to taste the flavors put together. The buttercream was grainy and not smooth in texture. The cherries were on top, and not in between the cake layers. The waitstaff were absolutely great, the wine and beer options worked really well too. 5 stars for staff. 5 stars for entrees. 4.5 stars for wine and beer, 3 stars for appetizer and dessert.

I didn't like the food. I'm limited in my choices because I avoid gluten. I tried the spinach and quinoa salad, add chicken. I expected warm chicken. It was cold and yellow - too much turmeric? First time ever I actually sent food back. I opted for the fried brussels sprouts instead (pictured.) I could barely taste them through the balsamic vinegar. The ambiance was nice enough, but I don't plan to return.

This is my home town and I really want to rate Gather with more stars, but unfortunately this was/is my last time here for a long while. I came back after a very disappointing meal with a party of 5 a few months back. The service was slow and the meals were not cooked to our liking i.e. asked for medium rare and got more than well done. We decided to give it another chance and was even further disappointed with the meal and the wait on Memorial Day weekend, Saturday night. After hearing the specials, we were told that they were out and then when we tried to order an appetizer they were out of that too! We then scrambled for a couple apps, the fried bussell sprouts and the mussels. The brussels sprouts were great but the mussels were a huge disappointment. While they were just average tasting, what was completely alarming is that we only got 10, yes that’s right, only 10 measly mussels with our order. See my pics for proof positive. I NEVER complain about portions but this was outrageous!!! Full disclosure, they did take them off the bill when I brought it to theIr attention, and it came with a lame excuse that the chef or someone in his family was getting married so the “normal” kitchen staff was not around. It’s a restaurant, specials should not be out at 6 pm on a Saturday night. It’s too bad because I really like the venue here. There are simply too many better options to consider than dealing with poor service. FYI, was here for 1:45 minutes for 2 app dishes. First time I've left a restaurant feeling hungry & didn't want to order anything further.