Lio Restaurant

What an innovative and delicious place this is! We were lucky enough to attend a special wine dinner and tasting menu here featuring Rhône wines from France! They are perfectly set up to do specialty winetasting dinners and I highly suggest you attend one if not all of them! Cara hit it out of the park is one of the most talented chefs in Maine.

The service, atmosphere, and quality of food at Lio were fantastic. That being said, I was sadly disappointed with the tiny portions on small plates that should more aptly be named "bites". I learned from my visit that "ravioli" is a plurale tantum. The dishes were unique and plated nicely, but there are simply so many better options in the area if you're willing to exceed the $50 per person price point... Not considering drinks or dessert, and you'll still have to go out for pizza afterwards if you have a large appetite. My hat is off to the talented chef and staff at Lio, but it's hard to share a plate that's barely two bites and even harder to swallow when you realize it cost you $20. Experience is important, but let's not forget that food is also sustenance!

Terrific new restaurant by Cara Stadler. The atmosphere is terrific and the wine cellar is well-curated. The bar has a great look to go along with good cocktails. The food is very, very good. The staff is friendly and accommodating. Worth a visit.

Beautiful ambience and attentive, professional service augment the creative menu. The fried paneer and Chèvre starters were unique and terrific. Parking nearby was a challenge, but worth the effort.

Yum! This place has great small plates, yummy drinks and a beautiful patio! Highly recommend.

Doing everything right! Brave experimentation on both ends of the restaurant! The wine selection might do with a little enhancement, but I'm really trying to be picky at this point. Wonderful creative dishes. Not all stick the landing, but they are mini adventures that never disappoint and sometimes wow! Service is excellent and oozes from the staff throughout the gorgeous dining room. Honestly, one of the better experiences in all of Portland! Suffering from a little bit of sub-ideal placement, but can't highly recommend the couple-block walk for this spot!

Fabulous atmosphere and great service. The dishes we had were delicious - especially the vegetable based dishes like the corn succotash, eggplant and the goats cheese. Wines are great, and so many nice wines by the glass. Hope that they do really well, love the use of fresh ingredients.

Lio was an amazing experience. We ordered 5 plates and a dessert, and everything was truly delicious. The octopus dish that they had on really surprised us- I would highly recommend it if it's on the menu. The wait staff was great, the space was well-designed, and I really enjoyed my time there. Nothing we ordered was anything less than a treat. The single thing I will say is that the music in there didn't really fit the vibe- it sounded like 90's acid jazz or something. Not going to bump a star off for it, though.