Food was amazing and wonderfully creative versions of classic French taste. The coq au vin is a must try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Corey Gray
I enjoyed the tavern style lighting. The staff is really cheerful and friendly, which is appreciated. The menu is more complex than average. The food is rich with game options and local seasonal components. I found the items to be an interesting fusion of Spanish, French, Italian, and English fare. Hospitality is excellent, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, very team oriented as we were served and assisted by a number of folks. We enjoyed a drink on the special menu to start, and my guest also had a glass of Italian Cabernet that was very well rounded. The dining spaces are narrow but comfortable. The noise level was cheerfully grande, which made it difficult to catch all the details but added an element of confidentiality to the conversation. It was a fine dining experience in Portland, Maine and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a well above average meal!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Con Tomate, Patatas Bravas, Date Night, Grilled Steak Frites
Wendy Huber
Great place for dinner. Small and cozy with superb food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Spencer Coplan
Awesome food! Great service! Fun vibes
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nicholas Herold
We had a very nice dinner at Chaval! Compared with the prices at several high-end restaurants in town, Chaval was also moderate. We will be happy to return. Highlights were the deviled eggs (****), the scallop special (****), the grilled shishito peppers (****), the autumn salad (***), and the cocktails, particularly Good Night and Good Luck (****). The moments we got to interact with Charles added greatly to our experience. There were a couple of misses. When we made the reservation, we mentioned it was for a special occasion. That was evidently not communicated to our server. We sat in the nice back room, which is quieter than the front room, but service to the back patio was through the outside door which conveyed quite chilly air into the space—I never took off my jacket. All in all a good experience, and the pluses were greater than the misses. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
MaiseyB
The food was unique and deliciously prepared. Many things on the menu were easily made vegan. We found a lot of options that we don’t usually find at a non-vegan restaurant. Our server was vegan so she was able to help us choose best options. The staff was friendly, but professional. Can’t say anything but good things about this restaurant.
Megan Sheehan-Dean
I don’t typically write reviews, but our evening at Chaval was memorable. Visiting Portland for a few days and our host recommended Chaval which was in walking distance. From the moment we walked in the door we felt welcome. All of the staff were friendly, and the atmosphere was relaxed and stylish. I had trouble selecting a signature cocktail and the waiter patiently explained the nuances of the three I was considering. My husband was pleased with the outstanding selection of vermouth. And that was just the beginning. The kitchen executed perfectly a range of delicious and creative food. And the wait staff are kind, knowledgeable. We highly recommend Chaval. Portland is lucky to have it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
matt coulter
Simply outstanding!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jordan Naliwajka
Atmosphere was fair but it is a really loud restaurant. It was nearly half empty, yet everyone was sat side by side in close proximity. Not my favorite. Food here was on the good side of average. My husband and I got the olives, pan con tomate, beets, and split the steak. Beets were great, best thing we ordered, steak was well seasoned. The service was honestly pretty terrible. It was a slow night, our server never came by and I finally asked another server for water service because we didn’t have any through our apps and didn’t want to go through mains without it too. Never saw our server till almost the end and he gave us a thumbs up, it was kind of awkward. Lots of good places around here, will skip Chavel in the future.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Lori K
Service is good, food here is just OK. Would have appreciated if the restaurant had added a total fee on the menu for the paella rather than listing a per person fee (seems the most logical thing to do if you’re going to charge one person for the price of a portion sized for two people?….)
Brought zeta(our pup) to hang in the backyard after a long week. Everything was lovely. Our server was amazing! I'm always impressed with the food.
Conor Laughlin
This is quite the artful experience through and through. From the three course meal, drinks, deserts, serving experience, all of this is absolutely tantalizing. 100% recommend this sensory and cultural experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mona Daneshi
Cheval offers more than just a meal—it’s a genuinely pleasant dining experience. The food is both delicious and unique, but what truly sets it apart is the service: friendly, open, and welcoming. A place where you feel as comfortable as you do impressed. Thank you!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wesley Rogers
Meal was delicious (of special note the steak frites in XO sauce). Really great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maggie Osumi
We stopped in for dinner at the bar and had a great time! The food and drinks were absolutely delicious but the service was what we were really impressed by. Asher and the rest of the team were knowledgeable, friendly and had great attention to the detail.
Food was amazing and wonderfully creative versions of classic French taste. The coq au vin is a must try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I enjoyed the tavern style lighting. The staff is really cheerful and friendly, which is appreciated. The menu is more complex than average. The food is rich with game options and local seasonal components. I found the items to be an interesting fusion of Spanish, French, Italian, and English fare. Hospitality is excellent, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, very team oriented as we were served and assisted by a number of folks. We enjoyed a drink on the special menu to start, and my guest also had a glass of Italian Cabernet that was very well rounded. The dining spaces are narrow but comfortable. The noise level was cheerfully grande, which made it difficult to catch all the details but added an element of confidentiality to the conversation. It was a fine dining experience in Portland, Maine and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a well above average meal!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Con Tomate, Patatas Bravas, Date Night, Grilled Steak Frites
Great place for dinner. Small and cozy with superb food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Awesome food! Great service! Fun vibes
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had a very nice dinner at Chaval! Compared with the prices at several high-end restaurants in town, Chaval was also moderate. We will be happy to return.
Highlights were the deviled eggs (****), the scallop special (****), the grilled shishito peppers (****), the autumn salad (***), and the cocktails, particularly Good Night and Good Luck (****). The moments we got to interact with Charles added greatly to our experience.
There were a couple of misses. When we made the reservation, we mentioned it was for a special occasion. That was evidently not communicated to our server. We sat in the nice back room, which is quieter than the front room, but service to the back patio was through the outside door which conveyed quite chilly air into the space—I never took off my jacket.
All in all a good experience, and the pluses were greater than the misses. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
The food was unique and deliciously prepared. Many things on the menu were easily made vegan. We found a lot of options that we don’t usually find at a non-vegan restaurant. Our server was vegan so she was able to help us choose best options. The staff was friendly, but professional. Can’t say anything but good things about this restaurant.
I don’t typically write reviews, but our evening at Chaval was memorable. Visiting Portland for a few days and our host recommended Chaval which was in walking distance. From the moment we walked in the door we felt welcome. All of the staff were friendly, and the atmosphere was relaxed and stylish. I had trouble selecting a signature cocktail and the waiter patiently explained the nuances of the three I was considering. My husband was pleased with the outstanding selection of vermouth. And that was just the beginning. The kitchen executed perfectly a range of delicious and creative food. And the wait staff are kind, knowledgeable. We highly recommend Chaval. Portland is lucky to have it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Simply outstanding!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere was fair but it is a really loud restaurant. It was nearly half empty, yet everyone was sat side by side in close proximity. Not my favorite.
Food here was on the good side of average. My husband and I got the olives, pan con tomate, beets, and split the steak. Beets were great, best thing we ordered, steak was well seasoned.
The service was honestly pretty terrible. It was a slow night, our server never came by and I finally asked another server for water service because we didn’t have any through our apps and didn’t want to go through mains without it too. Never saw our server till almost the end and he gave us a thumbs up, it was kind of awkward.
Lots of good places around here, will skip Chavel in the future.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Service is good, food here is just OK. Would have appreciated if the restaurant had added a total fee on the menu for the paella rather than listing a per person fee (seems the most logical thing to do if you’re going to charge one person for the price of a portion sized for two people?….)
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Brought zeta(our pup) to hang in the backyard after a long week. Everything was lovely. Our server was amazing! I'm always impressed with the food.
This is quite the artful experience through and through. From the three course meal, drinks, deserts, serving experience, all of this is absolutely tantalizing. 100% recommend this sensory and cultural experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cheval offers more than just a meal—it’s a genuinely pleasant dining experience. The food is both delicious and unique, but what truly sets it apart is the service: friendly, open, and welcoming. A place where you feel as comfortable as you do impressed. Thank you!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Meal was delicious (of special note the steak frites in XO sauce).
Really great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We stopped in for dinner at the bar and had a great time! The food and drinks were absolutely delicious but the service was what we were really impressed by. Asher and the rest of the team were knowledgeable, friendly and had great attention to the detail.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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