Tucked away down a waterfront side street in the cobbled Old Port area of Portland, the Porthole Pub dates from 1929 and has a checkered history with various renovations and owners, with the latest change of hands being in 2022. Despite the changes, pub’s copper-top bar is still in place and is at least 60 years old.
We were drawn in by the giant vintage ‘Coca-Cola Fountain’ sign outside, but it turned out this was just a relic. Instead we enjoyed cold draft Blue Moons (reasonably priced for these parts) and some respite from the strong summer sunshine which had scorched our necks and arms during our waterside walk.
As we sat at the bar relaxing, enjoying the live music coming in from the outside deck, we eyed up the food orders being served and agreed we couldn’t leave Maine without trying the local “lobstah”.
We ordered:
🦞 Porthole Lobster Roll (5 oz Custom House Wharf lobster, chilled and served with lemon aioli on a roll with lettuce) = $34.00
🍟 +Fries = $5.00
🍺 Draft Blue Moon x 4 = $32.00
😢 Food Tax = $3.12
💰 Total = $74.12
👍 Gratuity = $15.00
Service in the Porthole was friendly and swift, even when our original server ended her shift.
The lobster was well and truly local: it was landed at the Custom House Wharf, a 3 minute walk away from the restaurant! The roll was perfectly toasted and the lobster meat had a delicate flavor, with the claw meat being stronger.
We learnt that the price of lobster could vary and was listed on menus as ‘MP’, or Market Price, but the lobster roll was listed as $34.
We shared the meal, as earlier we had chowed down on Maine’s potato donuts and a whoopie pie, and were satisfied with the portion sizes.
This was a pricey meal, to be fair, but we enjoyed proud food and drinks - and can now say we have tried the famous Maine lobster!
📌 THE PORTHOLE
20 Custom House Wharf, Portland, ME 04101
🌐 portholemaine.com
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