"It's a cozy, unpretentious restaurant
serving what might best be described as upscale comfort food, with a
menu that changes daily. "
-
Washingtonpost.com
As far as I could tell after having just one meal there (and I plan to go as often as I can), it’s really a menu of comfort food so deliciously and thoughtfully prepared, it’s worthy of opening a chain of them throughout the state so everyone can get a chance to go.
As a neighborhood restaurant it’s nearly perfect.
The juicy thick hamburger ($12.95), robed in cheese and bacon, set on thick, browned toast, is so very good, so juicy, so savory and rich, we heard four orders within close proximity of our table. Its homemade tater tots are as big as little eggs, and cloaked, like the oysters, in a perfect crunchy shell. Inside is utterly smooth creamy potato sprinkled with dill that takes kindly to the red pepper mayonnaise or ketchup on the plate.
- MaineToday.com - Singing the praises of Caiola's, a neighborhood gem
With its old brick-lined, curving streets, the West End is Portland’s quaintest neighborhood, and Caiola’s is the West End’s quintessential neighborhood restaurant. Housed on a leafy section of little Pine Street, it feels out of the way without actually being hard to get to (it’s walkable from downtown). Chef Abby Harmon became known for her topnotch seafood at Street and Co., and the fish at Caiola’s is always spot-on (try the scallops in saffron sauce when they’re available). But it is also nice to see what Harmon can do with terrestrial ingredients (nearly all of them obtained locally).
- Gayot.com - The Guide to the Good Life
