F&W Free Preview All You Coastal Living Cooking Light Food and Wine tab Health myRecipes Southern Living Sunset
My F&W
quick save (...)

Fore Street

288 Fore St.
Portland , ME , United States http://www.forestreet.biz
(207) 775-2717

The secret to owner-chef Sam Hayward’s success is his honest, earthbound cooking. And his temple to simply prepared food is Fore Street—a cavernous warehouse space that miraculously manages to feel homey, thanks to old barn wood, worn leather booths, and an all-around lived-in patina. Hayward, whose career has mushroomed in recent years due to a string of prestigious accolades (including a James Beard Award in 2004), avoids fancy menu terms like “sous vide” and teetering architectural presentations. Instead, everything is cooked—real time—for diners in an open, glassed-in kitchen, and often plated naked. It’s a bit of culinary theater, complete with smoke, flames, and wildly delicious scents wafting from the applewood grill. Much of the menu changes daily, but the big crowd-pleasers, like the wood oven–roasted mussels appetizer, are mainstays. Pretty much anything roasted or grilled is aces, and desserts, like house-churned ice cream made with milk and seasonal berries from farms just up the road, are top-notch, too. If there’s one drawback at Fore Street, it’s the acoustics; request a corner table to avoid the din.

Insider Tip: The restaurant keeps a handful of tables available every night for walk-ins.

Last updated Tue Feb 21 23:33:59 UTC 2012
advertisement
The Dish
Receive the latest on food, restaurants and trends 3x per week in this e-newsletter.
The Wine List Weekly pairing plus best bottles to buy.
F&W Daily One sensational dish served fresh every day.
American Express Publishing ("AEP") may use your email address to send you account updates and offers that may interest you. To learn more about the ways we may use your email address and about your privacy choices, read the AEP Privacy Statement.
How we use your email address
advertisement
Harold Dieterle is a passionate fan of the TV series Game of Thrones.
More than 700 all-star recipes for all occasions. Easy-to-use Wine and Beer Pairings and Best New Chef recipes.