For our full list of Best 75 places to eat and drink in Greater Portland, click here. To check out a map of our full list, click here.
Belleville
Known for their laminated, mostly French pastries — think croissants, pains aux raisin and sticky kouign-amanns — this Munjoy Hill bakery’s superb Roman-style pizzas are also sensational. Belleville opened an offsite production bakery on Forest Avenue to boost their capacity. Morning buns for everyone!
1 North St.
Portland
(207) 536-7463
blvl.me
Friends & Family
Think of this Arts District restaurant as a wine bar, a snack shop, a speakeasy or a pizzeria – it makes no difference. You’ll be happy regardless. Friends & Family’s vibe is casual and friendly, and that goes double for Monday evening pizza nights, where the restaurant’s naturally leavened, thick-crusted Grandma slices are joined by thin-crusted round pies. Choose any bottle from the panoramic wall-o’-wine to go with dinner, and maybe an extra to take home as well. Read the review.
593 Congress St.
Portland
(207) 536-4022
friendsandfamilymaine.com
Il Leone
You can get there from here, but you’ll need to take a ferry to Peaks Island where for a few warm months each year, this fully outdoor Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant becomes one of the region’s finest pizzerias. Naturally leavened dough, high quality toppings and a team committed to learning and improving during the off-season make Il Leone a seasonal must-visit. Read the review.
2 Garden Place
Peaks Island (Portland)
(207) 370-1471
illeone.me
Lazzari
Start with meatballs and a serving of whatever wood-grilled vegetables (delicata, Brussels sprouts) are on the menu, then grab a blistered, oniony Amatriciana pizza, slipped from the glinting copper Le Panyol oven at the rear of the restaurant. Cocktails are also excellent here, which is why the space fills up late at night on weekends. Read the review.
618 Congress St.
Portland
(207) 536-0368
lazzariportland.com
Monte’s Fine Foods
Half-market, half-Roman pizzeria, owner and chef Steve Quatrucci’s latest local venture is the kind of place that would be mobbed from open to close if it were in a bigger city. Fortunately for you, Portland leaves some breathing room for visitors to sample the superlative “pinsa” pies that range from traditional Margherita to wickedly tasty sopressata with hot honey (and, if you’re lucky enough to read this in the late summer, an heirloom tomato pizza worthy of a picnic in nearby Payson Park).
788 Washington Ave.
Portland
(207) 613-9873
montesportland.com
Otto
Imaginative pies with flavors that actually work well together – jalapeno with ricotta and bacon, roasted pear with arugula and bleu cheese – are the secret to this local pizza empire’s great success. With nine locations now in Maine alone, Otto keeps chugging along, pandemic or no. And that’s no bad thing.
Several locations in Greater Portland and beyond.
ottoportland.com
Radici
Imagine how tough it would be to open a restaurant four months into a global pandemic. That’s what Ally and Randy Forrester did, when they relocated their award-winning, hand-stretched and naturally leavened pizza restaurant to Portland in 2020. Three years later, diners can finally devour one of their char-stippled pies in Radici’s mid-century modern dining room. When in doubt, go for a Stracciatella-topped pie and, if you’re in the mood, add anchovy bagna cauda for extra umami. Hours are still in flux, so check the website before making plans.
52 Washington Ave.
Portland
(207) 835-6012
radiciportland.com
Slab Sicilian Street Food
One thing is guaranteed at Slab: You won’t go hungry. Offering Brobdingnagian wedges of puffy-crusted Sicilian-style pies, this downtown pizzeria has evolved into a Southern Italian crowd-pleaser with outdoor music and a terrific bar. Slices weigh in at a pound apiece, so order carefully.
25 Preble St.
Portland
(207) 245-3088
slabportland.com
Tipo
Airy and contemporary with a bar wallpapered in overlapping license plates from around the country, Tipo is the secret getaway for Portlanders who want to escape the throngs of tourists on the peninsula without settling for a second-tier meal. Brick-oven pizzas, roasted vegetables and house-made rye cavatelli are evergreen winners.
182 Ocean Ave.
Portland
(207) 358-7970
tiporestaurant.com
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