Is This Really Maine’s Most Expensive Restaurant?

Maine has put itself on the map for being a culinary destination with its unique, local, and fresh cuisine but especially so here in Portland.

When walking around the cobblestone streets of the Old Port, you are always within reach of a renowned restaurant with top-rated reviews and special menus.

While I would love to try every restaurant Portland has to offer, they unfortunately are not in my budget.

In this world, you pay for what you get and Portland’s restaurants are so heavenly, we have to pay a pretty penny to dine.

Expensive Restaurants in Portland, Maine

I recently took a friend out to dinner at Wayside Tavern on Congress Street and I knew I would have to cough up some dough to dine there.

A couple of rounds of drinks, appetizers, and two meals hit us at $225, which is actually pretty standard for Portland’s nice restaurants.

Wealthy people around the country are starting to take over the scene and buy their second, third, and fourth homes in our state and our culinary scene is starting to match their budgets.

So if that price is fairly standard, then where is the most expensive place to eat in Maine?

The Most Expensive Restaurant in Maine

As of December 2021, Maine’s most expensive restaurant is nestled inside one of our many gorgeous hotels in Portland.

UNION Restaurant sits inside The Press Hotel serving seasonal New American cuisine for a little more than you would spend elsewhere. The foodie website Love Food listed UNION as Maine’s most expensive restaurant on a list of The Most Expensive Restaurants in Every State.

But here’s the thing: The list was put together in 2021 and we just said hello to 2023, so is this still accurate? I don’t actually think so.

UNION Restaurant in Portland, Maine

If you take a peek at their fancy website, you’ll see first courses ranging from $13-23, which is reasonable given the fancy shmancy atmosphere. Then, you take a look at the main dishes and the most expensive thing that's not a market price is the Maine Raised Duck for $37. Again, not bad if you’re talking about really nice restaurants.

Lucky for those who can afford it, Portland restaurants average these prices and this really isn’t that shocking.

TWELVE in Portland, Maine

While I personally haven’t dined in either place, I think one of Maine’s newest restaurants, TWELVE, may be more expensive than UNION.

Just taking one quick gander at their menu, I’m seeing chips & dip for $16 (absurd) and a lobster roll fo $48.

It may be difficult to figure out what actually is Maine’s most expensive restaurant because all our prices are getting pretty freaking crazy.