There sits Congress Bar and Grill, unassuming, you might walk right by it before you know you're there. However, it is not to be missed. A great variety of beers, and our fantastic waitress brought samples for the hubby to try before he made a choice. Food was delicious, fresh and affordable...especially their hand-cut fries and the lobster stew (holy delicious!). I felt the calamari left something to be desired, but that was literally the only blip on an excellent evening. We sat outside and the people watching on Congress cannot be beat. I wish I remembered our waitress' name, because she was the nicest person on the planet and we loved her. We'll be back.
Review Source:If you love mussels and well food in general this is the place to go. Â The prices are perfect, the atmosphere laid back with outdoor seating for people watching in the summer. Â I have ordered the $10.00 mussels every time I have been here, which is a ton, and they have been perfect every time. Â Try the sweet potato fries with honey mustard. Â The staff is terrific, and it is my go to restaurant!
Review Source:I found myself sitting in my car downtown on a Saturday afternoon pining for a tasty burger and a cold adult beverage. Â I opted to pull out my trusty phone and fire up Yelp to see if I could find something new to explore. Â I was surprised to see all the positive reviews for Congress Bar and Grill given that I drive by it often and admittedly had never really noticed it or heard other people mention it. Â That being said, I called my wife who wanted to meet for lunch and instructed her on where to find me. Â
I am pleased to report that as suggested via Yelp they did indeed produce a very solid burger accompanied by equally tasty french fries. Â I am always amazed at how many placed put out crappy fries. This is not a problem at Congress Bar and Grill. Â My wife had a veggie goat cheese turnover, that isn't really my go to, but was tasty and more importantly she loved it. Â Last but not least the chocolate cake we shared for dessert was sensational. Â For me to talk about cake it needs to be oozing with goodness. Â Â
One final note. Â Our server was fantastic throughout our meal. Â Wish I could remember her name. Â Maybe next time.
Had lunch there today because it was within walking distance of the Portland Museum of Art. Â Ordered the Greek Salad with fried calamari. Â Excellent choice-fresh and served quickly. Â Other orders at the table were the vegetarian sweet potato chili (bowl for $5) and pastrami sandwich on rye. Â Excellent brewed iced tea, unsweetened. Â Great choice and will go back again!
Review Source:Ended up here on a whim and didn't regret it. It's a great place to hang out with the local crowd and have some tasty food.
I was still craving a steak from a few days prior and looking to get that sorted out. So I started with a drink and ended with a steak. One of the specials of the day was served with a corn salad. Corn is the best so I had my steak with that instead of zucchini. The bleu cheese butter on top was very tasty. Even though the steak wasn't the best I've ever had it was still pretty great. A little chewy but cooked to a perfect medium rare.
We had a nice time chatting up some people near our table. And that drink they poured me was strong; I asked CP to drive us home. This place hit the spot for us. It was fun and tasty, what more do you want from a bar?
I can't get enough of the casual vibe here! The kind where you walk in, wave at the one of 3 very familiar faces behind the bar, they smile and say 'hey' right as one of the other very familiar faced waiters walks out of the kitchen and tells you to sit anywhere. I can't get enough of their drinks in pint glasses! I can't get enough of the heavy-handed bartenders! I love this place. I could never imagine myself as a 'regular' at any one given bar until Congress. It's just the perfect spot to roll up on the bar, or grab a booth and settle in for a while. Order the Thai wings, they're amazing. The salads all rock. The burgers are killer (get them with fries!!! Trust me!), the fish and chips are the best I've ever had...EVER (and although I won't eat it anywhere else, their homemade tartar sauce is to die for!!!) Straight up: Congress is great. Perfect mix of local flavor and new faces. I dig that! The music is great (16 Clumsy and Shy by The Smiths is one of my favorites!) Go take a load off and have some fun!!!!
Review Source:I had to create a account on yelp just so I could rave about this place. Â Me and my fiance traveled to Maine from Mass for the Morrissey show at State Theater this week and wanted some lunch so after walking around the local shops, we stopped here to eat. Â The servers were very inviting / attentive and talkative. Â The best part was the sweet potato fries, they are the best we've ever had! Â Would love to visit here again.
Review Source:We were originally going else where for dinner but the menu there proved to not be appealing for a couple in the group. Â So I quickly pulled out the Yelp app and found that this place was only a block away and came with fantastic reviews, thus we ended up here.
Walked in at 530pm on a Sunday and got a table right away. Â The server who greeted us was cool and easy-going and alerted us to the specials written on chalk boards hung high on the wall. Â We quickly pick drinks and entrees because we were all starving (walking all over Old Port for the day will do that to you). Â They have one of my favorite beers, Allagash White, on tap which is a local brewery so you can find it at pretty much at every restaurant in Portland (it's much much harder to find back home in DC). Â The service was quick and our food came out hot and delicious!
My mom and I ordered the Lamb kabobs. Â Oh man! They were delicious but huge! We definitely could have and should have shared one. Â My sister got the stuffed zucchini special, crammed with lamb, rice, and cheese. Â She loved it. Â My dad had the haddock which he very much enjoyed. Â
So glad we ended up here for dinner! Â We plan on making this a regular spot for us whenever we are in Portland.
Stopped in here pretty much accidentally, which ended up being a fortunate accident because I was afforded the opportunity to drink sangria outside & eat a cheesy quesadilla. I'm not too picky; these things are all I really ask for out of life. What I loved was the wait staff, because they were hilarious. I laughed until cheese came out my nose. While that statement may or may not be hyperbole, I love a good outdoor meal and I love a good sense of humor. Truth and truth.
Review Source:Stopped in for a martini before having dinner at Nosh. Glad we did! The bartender was friendly and knew his way around a cocktail shaker. My extra dirty martini was perfectly dirty, with just the right amount of briny olive goodness. Filled to the brim, this martini was an affordable $9. I chased it with a Hendricks & tonic, served in a pint glass. Excellent!
Review Source:While never known for exceptional service, Â the service has gotten worse and you can tell that Norm is no longer overseeing things in the kitchen. Â On a recent night, we waited over an hour for dinner. Â No apology. Â No acknowledgement that we had waited and waited. Â One can do better in Portland. Â It's too bad, because the predecessor restaurant - Norm's - was a spot to which you wanted to return.
Review Source:Congress Bar & Grill (or the bar formally known as Norm's, as I like to long windedly call it) is the perfect neighborhood bar. The menu offers something for everybody without being overwhelmingly large, and everything I've had is great. My personal favs are the lamb salad and the hummus plate, and if you're in the mood for something a little less good for you, the wings and fries are awesome . The staff is great, always a perfect balance of quick, friendly and attentive, and the martini's are HUGE. I'm talking the big glasses, filled all the way up.
Review Source:
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