Darryl S.
Yelp
Prolog: For all our years living in Maine, we just simply never make it down to Portland (a close to 2 1/2 hour drive) -- we'd driven through (or more like "around") Portland on a number of summer trips from Florida (before we permanently retired here), and only once did we actually park and walk around (for perhaps an hour) before we had to get to the Jetport to catch our flight.
Review: A waitperson at a popular brewery in Brewer we frequent their brewskies and bravura fried Heiwa tofu, and who is also plant-based like us, said her favorite vegan restaurant in Portland was The Green Elephant. (This was well-over a year ago.) Recently, due to an unforeseen rental car cancelation, we found ourselves in Portland (early) to pickup family arriving at the Jetport, so we decided this was our (rare) opportunity to check The Green Elephant out!
The Green Elephant is located in what appears to be a prime downtown location (mere steps from the Portland Modern Museum of Art; across from the State Theater); an area showcasing many of the, ahem, "characters" associated with city living (speaking from experience). ;) But I digress....
The restaurant is a narrow rectangle of a place, judiciously laid-out with a couple of booths on one side, 2-seaters on the opposite, and 4-seaters center and at the windows. We were there at opening (11:30 am), and (after the long drive) were famished!! Inside, the place is modern, clean and light. The host was prompt and inviting; we picked out a table at the window. Our waitperson, Kayla, arrived lickety-split thereafter, and was rarin' to get us goin' since we were time-limited and feeling light-headed from not having our mid-morning meals! ;) Famished and parched, a Singha is a no-brainer starter pour moi! (I was surprised to see it arrive in a can -- in all my years, I've only ever had it in a bottle. Lol!) We started with a shared order of the vegan King Oyster Mushroom Tempura (served with a soy dipping sauce). As an introduction to this restaurant's menu: OMG, this sets the bar and expectation level at a dizzying height! (I'm getting ahead of myself, but we came here with our visiting family several days later and ordered it again: O-M-G STILL amazing! Next time around, I'm ordering this one just for me: No sharing!) ;) For meals: I had the Local Mushroom Rice Bowl (which was very delish and used locally produced Tootie's Tempeh for a protein). My better-half had the Siamese Dream Curry Noodles, which he said was excellent.
As stated, we loved it so much we brought our visiting family there before they needed to catch their flight back to ATL. This time around, on top of the tempura trumpet mushrooms appetizer, we ordered the Thai Ginger Noodles and Veggie Citrus Spare Ribs. Both were excellent, with special kudos to the "spare ribs" soy meat! Even the carnivore in our party said he was truly satisfied with the meal he chose and would order it again.... :)
In wrap-up, I cannot give enough laudatory remarks about The Green Elephant! Without doubt, it is the best vegetarian/vegan restaurant we've eaten at here in Maine, and we can't wait to make the jaunt back very soon...! :D