A modern Portuguese eatery in Portland is one of the 50 best restaurants in the country according to the food writers at the New York Times.
Douro opened in October 2025 on the Portland waterfront and bills itself as a “seafood-forward restaurant and wine bar … inspired by Portugal and the Atlantic.”
New York Times writer Melissa Clark described the restaurant as having a farm-to-table spirit with “all the tinned fish, grilled octopus and salt cod croquettes of your Iberian beach-vacation dreams,” and just as much attention given to fresh local vegetables.
She noted the roasted asparagus with artichoke aioli, tempura Romano beans, and the Jimmy Nardello peppers used in a “very juicy bone-in pork chop.”
Additionally, Clark shouted out Douro’s non-martini use of vermouth: “part aperitivo, part cocktail nibble, arriving with a flourish of frozen grapes, potato chips, olives and sour gummy candies — a rare chance to try the good stuff.”
The Times’ unranked 2026 “Restaurant List” list was compiled by 16 writers, who traveled the country to eat at promising establishments. Winners from previous years were excluded, and many like Douro are new enough that they couldn’t have been picked before.
Maine, hardly prohibitive for a New Yorker to visit in the summer, often has at least one restaurant on the annual list.
Pilgrim’s Inn in Deer Isle and Sammy’s Deluxe in Rockland were picked for the 2025 list. The Alna Store, a restaurant and market in the Lincoln County town of Alna, was the sole Maine pick in 2024. And Tinder Hearth, a Brooksville bakery and pizza restaurant made the list in 2023.
