Delish food and drinks in downtown portland. We hit this place up before a concert. Service was friendly and helpful to suggest the best dishes. The place reminded me of a restaurant in the french quarter in new orleans. Recommend!! read more

Via Vecchia - Ambiance is like downtown NOLA - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

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LOVE LOVE LOVVVEEE!!! This is my favorite hands down Italian restaurants I have ever had in Maine so far. The presentation, combination of taste for flavors, and quality is out of this world. Our waiter informed us of the specials and suggested getting bread as the duck was kind of oily in order to soak it up to eat. We loved that she was knowledgeable and helping us with this info as it did make it so much better. Inside is was a low dim lighting with dark green for color in seating. We went during winter, so they had beautiful red decorations everywhere to compliment inside for the hoildays. If I could give 100 stars I so would! read more

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So good! Stevie was the best super knowledgeable about wine and Noah was awesome too! Great food, beautiful dining area. Fabulous bar. Great wine selection and all around good vibe. From the moment we were welcomed by the hostess to when we left. Everyone who worked there seemed like they were having a good time and they were all so kind and helpful! read more

Popped in for a late dinner. The servers were accommodating and attentive with requests and recommendations. They never made us feel the need to be rushed. The restaurant is in a beautiful ivy covered brick building with astonishing attention to detail with the interior design. The food was excellent and paired wonderfully with the recommended wine. read more

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My husband and I had one night to explore Portland Maine and Via Vecchia did not disappoint. The lobster ravioli was hands down the best ravioli I have ever had. The burrata salad was delicious but the polpo small plate was just okay. Potato with grilled octopus didn't mesh well to me and my husband. Everything else was fantastic. Great atmosphere and fast service. read more

Via Vecchia - Burrata Salad - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

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This place is incredible!! The service was amazing, the vibes are immaculate, the food is delicious, and such a fun atmosphere! read more

Via Vecchia - Ravioli - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

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While I found the food here very average and not worth the high prices, the service and serene setting is tops. The chicken and mortadella agnolotti was too heavy on chicken and bland inside. Definitely not on the level of other agnolotti I've had. We also got a pizzette, which was much better than the pasta but not amazing (I'm a New Yorker), and the truffle mashed potatoes. What was amazing was the hospitality and wonderful service we got. We came after a big thunderstorm and without reservations and the hostess could not have been more accommodating, drying seats off for us and moving tables outside the patio to make it more comfortable for me in a wheelchair. Accessibility: outdoor dining area has a few street level tables, the restaurant has a few steps and not sure if they have an accessible entrance read more

My wife and I have been here 3 times now, each has been a fantastic experience! We've been for brunch twice, she got the H.R.E.A.M, which is a different take on an eggs Benedict on crisp sourdough and has beef hash inside... So delicious! I got that the 2nd time too. Ask for the hot sauce to go with it, it's different but very good! My first brunch there I got the fettuccine Alfredo which was also very good, not quite as good as the H.R.E.A.M though. If I had to make any criticism I would say that the poached eggs have been very slightly overdone, it would be even better with a runnier yolk. It definitely won't stop me from returning though! Their coffees are excellent too! We came for dinner once also to celebrate buying our first home! My wife got a gnocchi dish which was great, and I got one of the flatbread pizzas which was also very good. We ordered wine too, the Merlot Sodale. Possibly the best merlot I've ever had! Very reasonably priced too! You can't buy it at the stores, they have a wine merchant that buys for them! I'm so glad we're moving here, I can't wait to be back many times in the future! read more

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My family and I tried Via Vecchia on a trip up to Portland recently, and it was fantastic. The food was absolutely incredible - very tasty and very fresh. They had great cocktails and wine too if you want a drink with your meal. The atmosphere was also very cute. We sat outside with our dog (which was also a huge plus), and the views of the city and the pier were great. It was also only a couple of minutes from our hotel, which we loved because the parking situation in Portland isn't great. The staff were super friendly and very nice. They do take reservations, which we also appreciated. read more

Sat at bar. Front doors open. Nice night. Got COLD. Had a nice dinner inside, and FROZE. Sept. 3. Happy they were open on Labor Day. Treated myself to a nice dinner out. A MAJOR treat! So uncomfortable; so cold. Great food, great bar service. I noticed how frequently the servers went in and out of the front door to serve the outdoor clients. Their team seemed comfortable; that's why I said nothing, because I too had been a server my whole life. That's why I said nothing to my bartender, who was great. I should have! I was so uncomfortable throughout my first visit there. Next time I eat at the bar of Via Vecchia I will wear my winter coat and scarf....my bad. Kevin read more

Great spot for cocktails. We didn't eat dinner here but we loved our experience. They have lots of seating including a beautiful outdoor seating area, a beautiful dining room with gorgeous decor and two bars. We opted for the bar since we were not indulging in food and had great service. Our bartender was friendly but not overly. Gave us space while we were chatting but was always around when we needed another round. She even gave us great recommendations for other stops around Portland. Would come back for dinner on our next trip! read more

Via Vecchia - Spritz Carrara - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

Love sitting outside. We got seated quickly and just looking for a small bite and great drinks on this food adventure. This was on my husbands "list" . The thin pizzas WOW and fresh flavorful caprice salad read more

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Went for just drinks but it was really good. The atmosphere of this place is absolutely stunning. We got drinks (I got a signature tequila/citrus drink) which was fabulous and so light. The flavor was great. Really sad we weren't able to eat here but it was amazing. read more

Via Vecchia - EXPRESSO martini and tequila drink - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

Very nice ambience and delicious dishes. The Lumache (chili braised pork) was phenomenal! Great service! read more

Everything is true. The food and service is amazing. I don't care what you pick, I promise, you'll enjoy every bite. The thought of using various bottles to display and use for bitters in this way is down right sexy. There isn't a better way to describe it. The whole vibe is thoughtful. I'm on the bandwagon with everyone else. This place is fantastic! Go see my Laguna girl, Megan (sp?). She's the badass behind the bar. read more

Via Vecchia - A fantastic way to display the bitters. - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

I loved Via Vecchia! The ambiance is beautiful! From the outside to inside, the decor, architecture and music sets the vibe. Our drinks and food were great. We ordered the bread for an appetizer and I ordered a white pizza for dinner. 10/10 would recommend if you're in Portland! read more

Via Vecchia - Outside - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

The dishes didn't have as much flavor as I hoped. Our group had the lamb, pizza, and squid ink pasta, and we thought all the dishes were mid. However, the restaurant was busy with a lot of people enjoying it. read more

This was really hyped up to us as an amazing place to eat and visit. We got a hotel close by just to go. Both my wife and I were very disappointed. The food just felt like they took good ideas and tried way too hard to make it fancy and special and missed the target by a long shot. Drinks felt very over priced, small food portions. I left hungry after spending close to 200 for 2 people. I enjoyed the wait staff as they were personable and friendly. Nothing else about this place was worth it. Felt like just another over priced place in Portland. read more

An absolutely amazing experience! The ambiance, waitstaff, food was simply magnificent. We went during the Christmas season and the decor was like something you would see in the movies. We were a party of 7 and the restaurant was bustling with many other guests....the service was spot on! Our creative cocktails, apps and dinner were served without a hitch! Thank you from all of us, J, R, K, R, B, K and J read more

Love the upscale feel and warmth of this place. Terrific happy hour. As if last week they still had outdoor seating. The service was impeccable. My daughter and I are going to make this our "go to" hang out. read more

Via Vecchia - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

We were walking around Portland and came across this gem of a restaurant. The style of the restaurant is swanky feeling with its rich old world Italian/European styling but not pretentious in any way. The staff are warm and welcoming. The bar is nice and that was where we were headed after peeking through the window. We were glad we did and will be back again soon. The drinks are unique and inventive. My husband had the Dark Passenger which to look at might give you pause but this deep rich drink with black mole cordial was the perfect drink for anyone who enjoys tequila based drinks. All you margarita fans out there need to try it! I got the Social Club which was good, but just didn't provide a punch of flavor I was expecting. The notes of grapefruit were very light, however it did remind me of a drink I would have in Italy or Southern France in the warm summer months. The carbonation was nicely refreshing. With quality craft cocktails, it is about trying different flavors so I would have no problem sampling the menu for additional offerings when we come back again in the future. Last thing about the drinks -- I love their tongue-in-cheek sassiness with the Fauci's Cure-All on the menu - it made me smile. It was nice of the house to offer us a complimentary tasting of their cheeses and meats, which was terrific, but the star on that tasting board was their Baba Ganoush - absolutely great flavor and had the right fluffy texture, it was so yummy I emptied the ramekin. There were also pickled vegetables that were nicely house made to snack on as well. Thank you! As far as the food, we had a pretty big lunch so wanted some lighter options which the menu gave us the perfect opportunity to try a small plate offering. The portion of mussels was large - the mussels were fresh and the broth accompanying them have the delicious ocean notes from the mussels and the white wine. The grilled sour dough croutons mixed throughout added nice texture and soaked up some of the delicious broth. We also got a Central Street Pizzette which based on my limited Italian is a mini pizza. :) Although this was smaller than a full round pizza, the size of the pizzette was larger than I expected. The tastes of the Italian sausage and the pickled hot peppers were nicely balanced out by the whipped ricotta. My only feedback is that the center of the pizzette could have been cooked just a bit more to add a little crispness to it. Overall, the staff were attentive and we can't wait to come back for a full meal. We like to scope out restaurants to bring friends to when they visit in the summer and this will be a place we come back to. read more

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Fancy Italian restaurant downtown. Excellent bartenders with specialized wine and cocktail menu. Food is upscale aka smaller portions. It's beautiful inside. Good vegetarian options but expect to pay a lot for what you want. The bread is homemade and delicious. Great date spot. read more

Via Vecchia - you are amazing! The atmosphere and ambiance have got to be one of the best restaurants I've been to in a long time! It's funny how we stumbled upon this gem. On a trip with a few friends in the Portland area - we had about an hour to kill and their outdoor patio looked cute and safe. Turns out they didn't have any tables available right away but they did a great job with distancing inside so we took a table inside. We all ordered cocktails and got the polenta fries, which the table loved - and since we were then in a hurry to make our other dinner reservations - we decided to make reservations for Via Vecchia later on in the week. One of our best dinners we had in the 12 nights we were in Maine! This time we decided to get a bottle of wine for the table. We started with the sourdough bread with the 2 house butters, so delicious, I could have made a meal out of just bread and wine ;) Next the Fennel and Apple salad - one of the best salads I've had, the mixture of fruit with nuts with the balsamic vinaigrette, perfect! I personally had the PAPPARDELLE pasta and I loved it! I order the half portion and it was a perfect portion. I enjoyed every last bite, I highly recommend this! The AGNOLOTTI was also ordered at the table and highly recommended as well. We ordered the apple tartlett for dessert - I loved the mixture of apples, caramel and ice cream - I'll have to say though it was the least liked item ordered at the table. We ended with an espresso martini - amazing!! Love this place. The service was great and the prices were totally worth what you get. During these times of Covid, I am very happy to see a restaurant like this just all around be fantastic. I'll be back, Via Vecchia, ciao! read more

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I wish I could eat here everyday. From the decor to the music to the service and of course the food, this was a great experience. All of the food was scrumptious and they had a great selection of different menu items. Also they had a fantastic wine selection. I would suggest making a reservation because even when we went at 9:30pm on a Friday it was still packed and had many people waiting for a table. Service was fast and everyone was so friendly. I would definitely recommend eating here! read more

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The decor is very nice but unfortunately the food does not comport with the atmosphere. The menu seemed to consist of throwing a ton of spices and sauces onto a plate with everyday items; regardless of whether the spices and sauces complimented the dish or not. I'm not quite sure what the restaurant wants to be, but it isn't fine dining. read more

Very cool restaurant and the vibe it exudes! The food was very yummy, staff was friendly. We made reservations and we're sat right away. 10/10 recommend! read more

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Great ambiance, good food/drinks and beautiful décor. We got the bruschetta and hot & dirty martinis and were not disappointed! read more

Via Vecchia - Hot and dirty martini - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

Great ambience but the food was not really memorable. Would come back just for cocktails and maybe dessert.

Superb. Stellar. Do not miss this gem if you get anywhere near Portland. The mussels in light cream sauce with pancetta, wine and garlic - perhaps the best version I've tasted in 50 years of ordering them everywhere. The main was an agnolotti stuffed with lamb, ricotta and other ingredients served with roasted grape tomato's and artichoke. Fantastic meal. read more

Tasty rich food , amazing drinks and ambiance very stylish and homely. The staff are great and friendly Perfect for date nights and special occasions read more

Very mediocre food with the exception of the ravioli! Flavors of the bucatini were ok and I wouldn't recommend getting the lumache.

Restaurant is beautiful if but a little warm in summer. Service was decent. Food is overpriced, $30 for (6) ricotta ravioli but decent tasting. Not exceptional food by any means. Pizza was fine. Meatballs were fine. I wish the food was exceptional because the atmosphere is quite nice. read more

Talented staff, menu is well executed. Atmosphere is nice. Not like "Oh that's nice" but "Yeah, that's was n i c e nice" Maybe the music could have a better weave in, Rick James type dance funk was not hitting the spot. Maybe Thelonious Monk, along those lines would compliment. We really like the place. read more

This place just opened 2 days ago!! From the moment we walked in we felt welcome! We didn't have a reservation but they found a spot outside (so pretty)!! We started with some drinks, watermelon garibaldi and Negroni frappe both were so delicious! Coley our server was amazing and had great suggestions which we took(we literally ordered everything) definitely sets the bar as far as servers!! Now onto the food!! Excellent definitely unique flavors I haven't tried, even in Italy. We will be back for our next date night for sure! Do not pass by this spot, there none like it around! read more

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THE BEST RESTAURANT IN PORTLAND!!! Everything about this place is a 10. The ambiance, the decor, the food, the drinks, the staff - Ariel who was our waitress was fantastic. We started the evening with the meatballs, which were melt in your mouth good. Next the lobster burrata, which was light, fresh & delicious. We then had the basic pizza, which was good. Super thin crust, topped with fresh ingredients, wasn't heavy at all. We ended the evening with the lobster gnocchi, which I honestly thought would be mind blowing but it didn't live up to my expectations, although, was still enjoyable. We had a few different specialty cocktails throughout the night (two of which you will see in the photo), perfectly made. I am beyond satisfied with my experience and if I lived in Portland, would come here as often as possible. BEYOND GOOD. read more

Via Vecchia - Italian Near Me - Portland, Maine

Okay let me just say that we were so lucky to stumble upon this place on our road trip. We didn't see Via Vechhia on Yelp at all but while waiting for Street & Co. right across the street, we saw this beautiful restaurant and luckily was able to get a table right away. First of all, the place looks BEAUTIFUL. The exposed brick wall outside is covered in green leaves with a small patio deck and two tables set up outside that really resemble the French cafes. But the inside surprised me even more. I didn't expect to find such a place in Portland. It's dark and swanky like an overpriced chic NYC bar. The bar looks gorgeous with golden hints and marbled counter. I'm in love with the emerald green velvet booth chairs as well. My friends and I were led to the back of the restaurant and seated at a long table, which was adorned with a statement-making, gothic-vibe candle tree. One would expect the food here to be underwhelmed but it's actually delicious. I won't get into details here but all the dishes we tried (see pics below) were delicious and sophisticated. From reading the reviews here, the restaurant must be newly opened and I felt so lucky to have a chance to try it. Highly recommended for date nights! read more

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A really trendy spot for a date or a birthday, we came in for a last minute dinner and were seated within 20 minutes. We enjoyed the pomodoro salad with the mozzarella, the multiple tomatoes had a great flavor. I think charging $6 for bread is a bit lame and we ended up passing because of it. We ended up with the pasta with pork shoulder and the campanella pasta- both together were great and we really enjoyed the flavors. The bar service was a bit shaky, our main bartender wouldn't come back for refills but the male bartender ended up filling in. We loved the pistachio gelato and affogoto. I would definitely come back- not the best pasta in the world but a cute spot and good food. read more

Not typically one to write a review but was unfortunately underwhelmed! Called a week before to get a table for two at any time on a Sat night in November. Was told it was fully booked but could come and put name on waitlist. Walked over at 5:45 and was put on the waitlist with estimated wait time of 1:15. We got a text an hour 45 later and seated at a counter top in the corner. I asked if we could be seated at one of the open regular tables and was declined. Sitting at counter in the corner definitely took away from the experience and I feel like that should have been made clear when I was put on the waitlist. The burata app was really good and had tons of flavor. Our entrees were good too. The portions for the ravioli was on the smaller side. I was also disappointed with the service unfortunately. Our server never came over after our food arrived. My husband wanted Parmesan cheese for his entree and by the time the server came over I was already done with my meal. I would've expected the server to come over after our food was brought over by another staff. We also had to wait a long time for our bill. We were in town for the weekend and was really looking forward to coming here! The food was really great but the overall experience was sadly underwhelming. read more

Terrible service. Had to go into restaurant 3 times to make a reservation as they do not put res. In for groups over 6 before hand. Waited over 3 hours for a table, got seated, denied a bigger table, denied ability to order food at the table we were seated at, quote of staff "oh you want food at this table? It's too small". Mocked by staff and costumers sitting near us. Have never felt so disrespected in a restaurant. Disgusted. Should have listened to those telling us not to go there. Never again. read more

Our small plates-feast from Via Vecchia was perhaps the best meal of our trip, and that's saying a lot because we ate SO MUCH and everywhere while in Southern Maine. You can't beat dining in a historic building in the heart of the Old Port. The moss-covered facade and moody interior ooze style and old world glamour. But it wasn't just the ambiance and aesthetics. Definitely not all looks no substance. Quite contrary. Via Vecchia is the whole package. Our small plates of octopus, endive salad, lamb skewers, and fried artichokes all had vibrant, harmonious flavors with the right balance of sweet, salty, and sour. The chef excellently highlighted the quality of undoubtedly local produce. I was beyond pleased. My husband agreed. Service was warm and helpful. The hosts and our server were both friendly and seemingly approachable. Diners have choice of bar, outside, or main dining area seating. And despite being such a fancy-feeling venue, this restaurant was actually quite kid-friendly. Whether you come solo, in a group, adults only, or with kids in tow, you will be happy. read more