In response to the review made by my boyfriend and the response the owner provided … no drunk person entered the kitchen, no one was removed from the kitchen. The only intoxicated person was the person working. Blue rooster owner has made no attempt to rectify the situation. No apologizes for charging us for things that were unavailable. No food to otherwise substitute for the money we paid. They were unable to refund us at the point of sale, stating they could not / didn’t know how to refund on the credit card machine and could not get their cash register open. Owner has not even apologized or offered the refund. We will be forced to file a charge back and report this fraud with our bank. I attempted to go back yesterday to see if anyone sober could help us and they didn’t even open. This is so unacceptable and wildly unprofessional. Blue Rooster should NOT be in business. We could be potentially forgiving if the business owner showed any remorse but their response is quite frankly bull. Save your time and money and eat literally anywhere else in Portland. If my boyfriend had not gone back to shut off the fryer - because the 2 line cooked walked out and quit on the spot, and the manager (who is probably the owner, which is the most messed up part of this situation) was too intoxicated to, the place could have burned to the ground. I was not shoved out of the kitchen, I was shoved out of the front door that I was already walking through on my own accord. That is assault and I should have called the police. That worker should be fired. Anyone who knows how to run a business knows they should NEVER touch or shove their customers. If there was a problem, the manager should have called the police on us. Stay far far away from this sketchy place. You still owe us $25.92. *edited to add that there are pics on blue rooster’s Instagram who is the employee(owner?) who was intoxicated*
Jonny Lewis
Worst experience ever at blue rooster. The boss was high as a kite and rang us up for things that were out of stock. He was too high to reimburse me and tried to give me ones out of the tip jar. Meanwhile the 2 line cooks quit on the spot because of the manager being high as a kite. I had to go back into the kitchen and turn off their equipment and take baskets out of the fryer.. We were gonna grab a water that we paid for and he shoved my girlfriend of the way. I had to tell the line of people at the door that they were closed, while the boss asked me who I was after trying to get reimbursed by him in the same minute. DO NOT GIVE THEM BUSINESS
Accounts Receivable
Don't bother. They are almost never open and when they are, they don't pick up the phone.The one time I was lucky enough to get an order placed - the food was amazing. I'd love to be able to keep ordering takeout but it's hard when it's not open.It would at least be nice to post a reason for being closed on the outside of the door or something.Edit to respond:Nice to hear your response, owner! I retract my statement of "Don't bother". The one-time I was able to order the food it was amazing, and worth bothering for!! Darn it, now my mouth is really really watering for some delicious craft hot dogs.I sympathize with the plight of keeping a business open due to staffing difficulties. However, I was getting frustrated by seemingly random and unannounced periods of being closed, with no information posted on the website or the door. This was after multiple attempts over several different days to order food during posted store hours. I work nearby so I walked there several times. Frankly I assumed it might have closed for good.I strongly encourage you to take some efforts to make it clear to prospective customers that unexpected closings might pop up due to pandemic staffing concerns, or something along those lines.And I will honor your last request about giving another chance! The food was DEFINITELY good enough to be worth more tries. I am going to keep trying to get food from this amazingly innovative restaurant, and will no longer complain when you aren't open. Eventually I will get lucky again and you will be open, although it does sound like it'll just be you. Good luck and thank you for the response!
Olesya Gorbunova
Gross food. Don’t come here. Brussels sprouts are just a greasy chewy mess. Plus, ordered the chicken but with no bacon, the guy said ok, and of course the sandwich came loaded with bacon, and the chicken is this weird think nugget type sponge. Not that he was distracted either, we were the only people in the store.
H P.
We love Blue Rooster for kind of 'foodie fast food.' For example Thai Tots and Hot Dogs - delicious with the peanut sauce and such! And lots more. Plus if we want to do takeout but we don't want single use takeout containers or utensils, we can bring our own pyrex - zero waste! Nice guys, yummy food, good menu variety, and fast. We are repeat customers by now. Their hours lately have been mostly around weekend lunches and dinners. Enjoy!
Haley W.
Brussel sprout slaw was amazing! We got the chicken sandwich and pulled pork sandwich and both were excellent. Many folks coming in after us ordered hot dogs, everything looked great. Quick, easy, and delicious!
KC D.
Good s**** lol. Staff cute too. Ha ha Making me write more. Good. Stuffffff!!!!!!!!!!
Arnesh S.
This is definitely one of the better late night food experiences to be had. Blue Rooster Food Company is conveniently located right near Front Street, which is where a lot of pubs and bars are located in Portland, ME. The service is friendly and atmosphere is vibrant. I tried a few different hot dogs they offer, but the one that I settled on as my favorite was the Das Boot. The open kitchen concept is nice, and you can see how they create each individual hot dog. The Das Boot comes as a bacon dog in a split roll topped with sauerkraut, brown mustard, and celery seed. This recipe was crafted to a science, the sauerkraut provides a good consistency and base of flavor for each bite, while the brown mustard and celery seed pair well to lend a mild heat to the entire affair. The Buffalo Tots are to be thoroughly enjoyed as well, although you can't go wrong with the Tot-tine either. Really great find and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area!
Thaina N.
Called to make sure they were open late at night and got told "have you check the time online" then got hung up on... Clearly AWFUL customer service. But the main reason for this low rating is the fact that they did not have hot dogs when it was CLEARLY advertised on their menu.... Rule of thumb DO NOT advertise something you DO NOT carry. Would give a 0/5 if an option.
Nicole D.
We found this based on previous Yelp reviews and are so happy we made it during our short vacation. We tried the Thai dog and one with BBQ sauce and jalapenos and an order of plain crispy tots. The flavors in the hot dogs are awesome. I especially liked the unique flavors in the Thai dog. Wish we could go back to try out some of those sandwiches. We'll keep it on the list for future visits to Portland.
This place might not be the most visible one while strolling on commercial street in Portland, but make sure you give it a try. With quick service and delicious arugula pesto in made fresh to order falafel wrap, this meal was a win for us. Would highly recommend!
Caleb Pels
One of my favorite Portland spots. Who doesn't love hot dogs? I believe they serve beer as well.
Susan M.
Found this place when I needing something quick to eat before a tour. It was really good! I had a hot dog and these tots. Everything has a cool name to it. I wouldn't have seen or known about it had I not looked at the other places on the block. The other restaurants are more noticeable due to outdoor dining and signs but Blue Rooster Food Company did not disappoint!
Frank Z
They were out of a lot of toppings. No water either. The plain hot dogs were like average hotdogs. The spicy relish was good. Tots were hot and crispy. I wasn't impressed overall. Prices for food was decent, but simple sodas and such were expensive in comparison.
Randy R.
Great food. Had a shaved steak on salad, a chicken blt, and the Thai taste roots. I recommend them all.
In response to the review made by my boyfriend and the response the owner provided … no drunk person entered the kitchen, no one was removed from the kitchen. The only intoxicated person was the person working. Blue rooster owner has made no attempt to rectify the situation. No apologizes for charging us for things that were unavailable. No food to otherwise substitute for the money we paid. They were unable to refund us at the point of sale, stating they could not / didn’t know how to refund on the credit card machine and could not get their cash register open. Owner has not even apologized or offered the refund. We will be forced to file a charge back and report this fraud with our bank. I attempted to go back yesterday to see if anyone sober could help us and they didn’t even open. This is so unacceptable and wildly unprofessional. Blue Rooster should NOT be in business. We could be potentially forgiving if the business owner showed any remorse but their response is quite frankly bull. Save your time and money and eat literally anywhere else in Portland. If my boyfriend had not gone back to shut off the fryer - because the 2 line cooked walked out and quit on the spot, and the manager (who is probably the owner, which is the most messed up part of this situation) was too intoxicated to, the place could have burned to the ground. I was not shoved out of the kitchen, I was shoved out of the front door that I was already walking through on my own accord. That is assault and I should have called the police. That worker should be fired. Anyone who knows how to run a business knows they should NEVER touch or shove their customers. If there was a problem, the manager should have called the police on us. Stay far far away from this sketchy place. You still owe us $25.92. *edited to add that there are pics on blue rooster’s Instagram who is the employee(owner?) who was intoxicated*
Worst experience ever at blue rooster. The boss was high as a kite and rang us up for things that were out of stock. He was too high to reimburse me and tried to give me ones out of the tip jar. Meanwhile the 2 line cooks quit on the spot because of the manager being high as a kite. I had to go back into the kitchen and turn off their equipment and take baskets out of the fryer.. We were gonna grab a water that we paid for and he shoved my girlfriend of the way. I had to tell the line of people at the door that they were closed, while the boss asked me who I was after trying to get reimbursed by him in the same minute. DO NOT GIVE THEM BUSINESS
Don't bother. They are almost never open and when they are, they don't pick up the phone.The one time I was lucky enough to get an order placed - the food was amazing. I'd love to be able to keep ordering takeout but it's hard when it's not open.It would at least be nice to post a reason for being closed on the outside of the door or something.Edit to respond:Nice to hear your response, owner! I retract my statement of "Don't bother". The one-time I was able to order the food it was amazing, and worth bothering for!! Darn it, now my mouth is really really watering for some delicious craft hot dogs.I sympathize with the plight of keeping a business open due to staffing difficulties. However, I was getting frustrated by seemingly random and unannounced periods of being closed, with no information posted on the website or the door. This was after multiple attempts over several different days to order food during posted store hours. I work nearby so I walked there several times. Frankly I assumed it might have closed for good.I strongly encourage you to take some efforts to make it clear to prospective customers that unexpected closings might pop up due to pandemic staffing concerns, or something along those lines.And I will honor your last request about giving another chance! The food was DEFINITELY good enough to be worth more tries. I am going to keep trying to get food from this amazingly innovative restaurant, and will no longer complain when you aren't open. Eventually I will get lucky again and you will be open, although it does sound like it'll just be you. Good luck and thank you for the response!
Gross food. Don’t come here. Brussels sprouts are just a greasy chewy mess. Plus, ordered the chicken but with no bacon, the guy said ok, and of course the sandwich came loaded with bacon, and the chicken is this weird think nugget type sponge. Not that he was distracted either, we were the only people in the store.
We love Blue Rooster for kind of 'foodie fast food.' For example Thai Tots and Hot Dogs - delicious with the peanut sauce and such! And lots more. Plus if we want to do takeout but we don't want single use takeout containers or utensils, we can bring our own pyrex - zero waste! Nice guys, yummy food, good menu variety, and fast. We are repeat customers by now. Their hours lately have been mostly around weekend lunches and dinners. Enjoy!
Brussel sprout slaw was amazing! We got the chicken sandwich and pulled pork sandwich and both were excellent. Many folks coming in after us ordered hot dogs, everything looked great. Quick, easy, and delicious!
Good s**** lol. Staff cute too. Ha ha Making me write more. Good. Stuffffff!!!!!!!!!!
This is definitely one of the better late night food experiences to be had. Blue Rooster Food Company is conveniently located right near Front Street, which is where a lot of pubs and bars are located in Portland, ME. The service is friendly and atmosphere is vibrant. I tried a few different hot dogs they offer, but the one that I settled on as my favorite was the Das Boot. The open kitchen concept is nice, and you can see how they create each individual hot dog. The Das Boot comes as a bacon dog in a split roll topped with sauerkraut, brown mustard, and celery seed. This recipe was crafted to a science, the sauerkraut provides a good consistency and base of flavor for each bite, while the brown mustard and celery seed pair well to lend a mild heat to the entire affair. The Buffalo Tots are to be thoroughly enjoyed as well, although you can't go wrong with the Tot-tine either. Really great find and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area!
Called to make sure they were open late at night and got told "have you check the time online" then got hung up on... Clearly AWFUL customer service. But the main reason for this low rating is the fact that they did not have hot dogs when it was CLEARLY advertised on their menu.... Rule of thumb DO NOT advertise something you DO NOT carry. Would give a 0/5 if an option.
We found this based on previous Yelp reviews and are so happy we made it during our short vacation. We tried the Thai dog and one with BBQ sauce and jalapenos and an order of plain crispy tots. The flavors in the hot dogs are awesome. I especially liked the unique flavors in the Thai dog. Wish we could go back to try out some of those sandwiches. We'll keep it on the list for future visits to Portland.
Restaurantji Recommends
This place might not be the most visible one while strolling on commercial street in Portland, but make sure you give it a try. With quick service and delicious arugula pesto in made fresh to order falafel wrap, this meal was a win for us. Would highly recommend!
One of my favorite Portland spots. Who doesn't love hot dogs? I believe they serve beer as well.
Found this place when I needing something quick to eat before a tour. It was really good! I had a hot dog and these tots. Everything has a cool name to it. I wouldn't have seen or known about it had I not looked at the other places on the block. The other restaurants are more noticeable due to outdoor dining and signs but Blue Rooster Food Company did not disappoint!
They were out of a lot of toppings. No water either. The plain hot dogs were like average hotdogs. The spicy relish was good. Tots were hot and crispy. I wasn't impressed overall. Prices for food was decent, but simple sodas and such were expensive in comparison.
Great food. Had a shaved steak on salad, a chicken blt, and the Thai taste roots. I recommend them all.