The most amazing food experience in my life! The chef here is a true artist and we are already planning a return visit. Worth ever penny and then some!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lynette Diaz
The food was absolutely exquisite. Service was wonderful. It was a truly memorable dining experience. Every bite from start to finish was delectable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John Casalaspi
I am confused. Why were we given a small price fix menu yesterday? The website show prices a la carte. We were not given that option. We left because we were not going to spend over $350.00 with wine and dinner to sit on the patio which has no ambience and looks at a wrapped up boat. We were not familiar with the restaurant. We had been recommended by friends. We originally had a later reservation at 8:15 that my husband changed to 7 for the patio never expecting the patio to look as it does.
Mary Shea
There is no question this is an exquisite restaurant in a gorgeous location and venue. We loved dining on the patio in high summer season.
But it doesn’t all come together seamlessly. We had a party of 5 and across the board the service, pacing and delivery of drinks and food was slow and generally somewhat off. We had to wait a long time to order drinks and then once ordered a long while for them to be delivered. Same on the food items.
The preparations and presentations of the food were very high quality but the evening dragged on a bit such that by the end we did not have energy for desert.
Again gorgeous setting but IMO it doesn’t stand up to the other three stalwarts in town.
Maybe is a place to go in the off season or not at all.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
KATRINA PERRIMAN
Meal was an absolute pleasure beginning to end
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jan Ingebretson
Exceptional dining experience! The atmosphere, staff, and food were all outstanding. We shared broccolini, salads, eggplant, and gazpacho—each dish was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. The service was attentive from start to finish, with every staff member making us feel welcome. I can’t recommend this restaurant highly enough.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Felicia Sova
Hands down probably the best place I’ve ever eaten! The chefs corner table is a must do if possible! Getting the chance to talk to the chef’s, the service is impeccable, the food is so well thought out and incredible. Each course continued to amaze me. (A special thank you to the couple next to me who truly made an impact as if the restaurant wasn’t already perfect! Happy Birthday Lizy!) Thank you! I can’t wait to come back to Maine just to eat here again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
T Y
Came after a big shower and there was water dripping through the patio tent—unfortunately, none of the staff did anything about it, which wasn’t ideal.
They automatically hand you the $100 set menu, and you only get to see the à la carte if you specifically ask for it. Felt a bit pushy.
As for the food—it was okay. Seems like they’re trying to be overly creative with dishes that are already great on their own. • Lobster roll: Served on a croissant-like bread, which was buttery and flaky, but I could barely taste the lobster. • Mussels: Entire dish tasted like Chinese pickled olive greens from the jar—couldn’t taste the mussels at all. • Beef tartare: It was fine. Nothing particularly memorable. • NY strip: Surprisingly the most impressive dish of the night—but it’s not even from Maine.
Overall, not a bad meal, but didn’t live up to the price. Wouldn’t rush back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Jessica Sanford
The food here is next level! Their staff is very friendly, especially our server (Lee) who went above and beyond to make our experience memorable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Elias Janetis
Firstly- the wait staff and somm were exceptionally professional and did an A+ job.
My disappointment is in the food, seating, and sneaky 3% kitchen surcharge.
We did the four course prefix. The first course was the cucumber salad and it was delicious. I opted for the optional +$20 lobster roll in the second course. The lobster roll was surprisingly mediocre and the portion was smaller than described by the waiter. It was in a puff pastry and I found it lacking any interesting flavor or depth. This is Maine and home of the Lobster Roll so expectations were high and it fell demonstrably short on all counts.
I did order an additional second course which was the zucchini and that was very yummy.
For my main course I chose the strip steak and I found it very average at best.
The dining room was stylish yet lacking a fine dining experience, small cafe tables with a bench seat and a little over 12” between the tables lack all intimacy for a dinner conversation. It felt cramped to be honest.
I have also noticed this new trend in the NE to sneak in a mandatory tip for the kitchen staff. This happened to be 3%.
My issue is it’s not my job to provide additional revenue for your staff. I would assume out of the $400 I spent for dinner for two that there would be enough money to properly pay your kitchen staff.
Over all it was a slightly above average experience at a very high price.
Twelve is DEF on my top 5 list of best meals of the year. Absolute treat! I’ve been wanting to try Twelve for a long time and am so glad it finally happened. The staff is exactly what you would hope in an upscale dining experience. Incredibly warm, engaging, attentive and knowledgeable without being overbearing or snotty. I would be proud to have any of the staff on my team. Then comes the food - absolutely lovely courses, and wonderful combination of flavors. The only issue it was tough to choose a plate…. Started with the mussels, lobster roll and we ordered an extra zucchini. All delicious! Mains were the cod and the steak. Both incredible too. Desert was the floating island and the ice cream sandwich. I opted for the 60$ wine paring and loved the flavor compliment to each dish. It was well executed. The cocktails were great as well. I always love when a restaurant gives you the Wine pairing list as a take away. Twelve does a great job of really showcasing the best that Portland has to offer. I can’t wait to come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jason Kim
Nyc visitors.
Service was above and beyond. I counted how many seconds before my wine glass was refilled (as a joke i counted, but it was literally 10 seconds). The most efficient straight fwd service i have received ever…while being polite. Really really really liked it. Never had such efficient recommendations in my life 😂.
Food - a la carte. Had beef tartare, mussels, bread, and tuna crudo. And then cod(halibut that night) and swordfish. And rasperry something for dessert.
Everything was really really good - seasoning, flavoring, presentation everything. Favs were mussels and tartare. Swordfish sauce/soup was really good. Bread was really good as others have mentioned.
Cod dish was a little overcooked (not terrible but because everything else was so incredibly good, had to be mentioned) Dessert was mediocre (shocking tbh)
Had a martini and a rum drink. Expensive for portland but miles above the other cocktails we tried in the city (spoiled nyc palate).
Gotta say - read the reviews and thought it was odd to see so many amazing perf reviews, but will say its def an incredible spot, even if it was in manhattan. Highly recommended. Great value as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alexander Garbutt
This was a special dining experience from beginning to end. Our waiter was incredibly knowledgeable and provided a deep understanding of the food and drinks menu paired with a fantastic attitude, he really wanted to make sure we were enjoying every item. The ambiance was incredible, the seating was intimate the lighting was everything. The food itself was sublime, the mussels, steak, lobster roll, rills and desserts (sundae and ice cream sandwich) were particularly incredible each offering deep flavors and a perfect cook. I’ll be dreaming about this meal for a long time, it was surely worth every penny
The most amazing food experience in my life! The chef here is a true artist and we are already planning a return visit. Worth ever penny and then some!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was absolutely exquisite. Service was wonderful. It was a truly memorable dining experience. Every bite from start to finish was delectable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I am confused. Why were we given a small price fix menu yesterday? The website show prices a la carte. We were not given that option. We left because we were not going to spend over $350.00 with wine and dinner to sit on the patio which has no ambience and looks at a wrapped up boat. We were not familiar with the restaurant. We had been recommended by friends. We originally had a later reservation at 8:15 that my husband changed to 7 for the patio never expecting the patio to look as it does.
There is no question this is an exquisite restaurant in a gorgeous location and venue. We loved dining on the patio in high summer season.
But it doesn’t all come together seamlessly. We had a party of 5 and across the board the service, pacing and delivery of drinks and food was slow and generally somewhat off. We had to wait a long time to order drinks and then once ordered a long while for them to be delivered. Same on the food items.
The preparations and presentations of the food were very high quality but the evening dragged on a bit such that by the end we did not have energy for desert.
Again gorgeous setting but IMO it doesn’t stand up to the other three stalwarts in town.
Maybe is a place to go in the off season or not at all.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Meal was an absolute pleasure beginning to end
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Exceptional dining experience! The atmosphere, staff, and food were all outstanding. We shared broccolini, salads, eggplant, and gazpacho—each dish was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. The service was attentive from start to finish, with every staff member making us feel welcome. I can’t recommend this restaurant highly enough.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hands down probably the best place I’ve ever eaten! The chefs corner table is a must do if possible! Getting the chance to talk to the chef’s, the service is impeccable, the food is so well thought out and incredible. Each course continued to amaze me. (A special thank you to the couple next to me who truly made an impact as if the restaurant wasn’t already perfect! Happy Birthday Lizy!) Thank you! I can’t wait to come back to Maine just to eat here again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came after a big shower and there was water dripping through the patio tent—unfortunately, none of the staff did anything about it, which wasn’t ideal.
They automatically hand you the $100 set menu, and you only get to see the à la carte if you specifically ask for it. Felt a bit pushy.
As for the food—it was okay. Seems like they’re trying to be overly creative with dishes that are already great on their own.
• Lobster roll: Served on a croissant-like bread, which was buttery and flaky, but I could barely taste the lobster.
• Mussels: Entire dish tasted like Chinese pickled olive greens from the jar—couldn’t taste the mussels at all.
• Beef tartare: It was fine. Nothing particularly memorable.
• NY strip: Surprisingly the most impressive dish of the night—but it’s not even from Maine.
Overall, not a bad meal, but didn’t live up to the price. Wouldn’t rush back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
The food here is next level! Their staff is very friendly, especially our server (Lee) who went above and beyond to make our experience memorable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Firstly- the wait staff and somm were exceptionally professional and did an A+ job.
My disappointment is in the food, seating, and sneaky 3% kitchen surcharge.
We did the four course prefix. The first course was the cucumber salad and it was delicious.
I opted for the optional +$20 lobster roll in the second course. The lobster roll was surprisingly mediocre and the portion was smaller than described by the waiter. It was in a puff pastry and I found it lacking any interesting flavor or depth. This is Maine and home of the Lobster Roll so expectations were high and it fell demonstrably short on all counts.
I did order an additional second course which was the zucchini and that was very yummy.
For my main course I chose the strip steak and I found it very average at best.
The dining room was stylish yet lacking a fine dining experience, small cafe tables with a bench seat and a little over 12” between the tables lack all intimacy for a dinner conversation. It felt cramped to be honest.
I have also noticed this new trend in the NE to sneak in a mandatory tip for the kitchen staff. This happened to be 3%.
My issue is it’s not my job to provide additional revenue for your staff. I would assume out of the $400 I spent for dinner for two that there would be enough money to properly pay your kitchen staff.
Over all it was a slightly above average experience at a very high price.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Best restaurant on eastern seaboard.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Twelve is DEF on my top 5 list of best meals of the year. Absolute treat! I’ve been wanting to try Twelve for a long time and am so glad it finally happened.
The staff is exactly what you would hope in an upscale dining experience. Incredibly warm, engaging, attentive and knowledgeable without being overbearing or snotty. I would be proud to have any of the staff on my team.
Then comes the food - absolutely lovely courses, and wonderful combination of flavors. The only issue it was tough to choose a plate….
Started with the mussels, lobster roll and we ordered an extra zucchini. All delicious!
Mains were the cod and the steak. Both incredible too.
Desert was the floating island and the ice cream sandwich.
I opted for the 60$ wine paring and loved the flavor compliment to each dish. It was well executed.
The cocktails were great as well.
I always love when a restaurant gives you the
Wine pairing list as a take away.
Twelve does a great job of really showcasing the best that Portland has to offer.
I can’t wait to come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nyc visitors.
Service was above and beyond. I counted how many seconds before my wine glass was refilled (as a joke i counted, but it was literally 10 seconds). The most efficient straight fwd service i have received ever…while being polite. Really really really liked it. Never had such efficient recommendations in my life 😂.
Food - a la carte. Had beef tartare, mussels, bread, and tuna crudo. And then cod(halibut that night) and swordfish. And rasperry something for dessert.
Everything was really really good - seasoning, flavoring, presentation everything. Favs were mussels and tartare. Swordfish sauce/soup was really good. Bread was really good as others have mentioned.
Cod dish was a little overcooked (not terrible but because everything else was so incredibly good, had to be mentioned)
Dessert was mediocre (shocking tbh)
Had a martini and a rum drink. Expensive for portland but miles above the other cocktails we tried in the city (spoiled nyc palate).
Gotta say - read the reviews and thought it was odd to see so many amazing perf reviews, but will say its def an incredible spot, even if it was in manhattan. Highly recommended. Great value as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was a special dining experience from beginning to end. Our waiter was incredibly knowledgeable and provided a deep understanding of the food and drinks menu paired with a fantastic attitude, he really wanted to make sure we were enjoying every item. The ambiance was incredible, the seating was intimate the lighting was everything. The food itself was sublime, the mussels, steak, lobster roll, rills and desserts (sundae and ice cream sandwich) were particularly incredible each offering deep flavors and a perfect cook. I’ll be dreaming about this meal for a long time, it was surely worth every penny
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food, great cocktails, amazing service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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