After reading the other reviews I regret not eating here. The food was so good that the guy next to me ordered two dinners. Â Since I already ate, I just stopped in for a few drinks. The bartender poured me two stiff gin and tonics which sent me out into the Maine night with a smile on my face. Â She was also more than happy to charge my phone for me, which was a nice touch. I will definitely be returning if I'm ever back in Portland.
Review Source:What a great bar - a great dive bar. Â This place needs to be featured on Triple D on Food Network!
The Nachos in the platter are made there. Â The Buffalo ribs were super. Â Just enough heat to be interesting but allowing the full flavor of the ribs to shine through. Â My daughter had the burger and what a burger - hand formed and juicy, nice crust and full of good beef flavor.
The beer is cold, the wine is priced right, the service is better than super and it's all about being laid back and enjoying the moment.
Great room & good, affordable drinks. However the service is consistently horrible. Years ago this was one of my favorite spots in portland. Me & friends have tried and tried to give it another chance but to no avail. The owner really needs to get this under control because there are so many other great options in town these days...
Review Source:This is by far the best dive bar in Portland maine - if not all of New England. Not only are the drinks strong and cheap, they even serve Maine Root ginger brew. The service is excellent and Leia (spelling?) is one of the loveliest bartenders I've ever met. The location is great, right in the middle of downtown near the artsy fartsy sector. Cool crowd, open late, very cool decor.
Unlike almost every other bar in New England, they have a couple TV's - but I don't recall ever seeing a stupid ball game on either of them. In fact, every time I've been there they had AMC on all the time. Â And just when it can't get any better, I tried the food and I was simply stunned. It was cheap and I didn't expect much, figured it would be pretty basic pub food. But it was outstanding! Everything I tried was absolutely delicious.
I wish the world could be more like the Downtown Lounge.
Really only 8 reviews?
Why did I only give this place1 star? Let me tell you: We came in on a Thursday night. Had a pitcher and a few entrees. We were well behaved and generally not high maintenance. We had a few rounds of drinks after the pitcher. When we were ready to leave (at about 10 pm) we left a decent tip (about 30%...of a $55 bill, it was not to hard to deal with) and headed on our way.
Half our party left the bar and was outside smoking, the rest were collecting our bags the bartender accosted us and asked what the problem was. We were confused and asked what the issue was and he insisted we only tipped 10%. This was an outright lie! I said I was not the bill payer and that I would ask what the problem was. The bar tender got in our faces. We are a mild mannered local group so we were taken aback...he was abrasive and rude. I said "the way you are coming at us is inappropriate" (and yes that is an exact quote) and he then informed us that" I don't care if its inappropriate". wow. that says it all. We were basically chased out for no reason.
On our way out another patron mentioned that he had been treated the same way and that he would never be going back... Neither will we and neither should you. I have NEVER been treated this way, and I think it is a disgrace for such a prominent place in Portland to treat their patrons this way.
The waitress was awesome and we have no complaints. we left her an appropriate tip and did not expect to be harassed on the way out.
There are many more worthy places to spend your money in Portland.
Avoid DTL hit up ruskis or mesa verde or amigos or gritty's or a plethora of other places instead.
Probably only walked in because it was raining, but definitely glad I did. Â Classic dive bar, and I love dive bars. Â Everything is reasonably priced. Â The bill for two, that included two sandwiches, fries, and two large pitchers of some local ale was less than $25. Â If associating with the local degenerates is something you don't like, then go to TGIF's, but if you like to hang with real people, listen to some bizzare music, and be waited on by tatooed freeks, this is the place for you. Â I loved it!
Review Source:I would never have found this place had it not been for the 20 minute wait to be seated for dinner next door. Â We popped in quickly for a beer before dinner, so we did not stay long.
On a Saturday night at 9:00 pm, it was certainly not an empty bar, but not full or overly loud either. Â If you want to get drinks and hang out in Portland on a weekend night but don't want to fight the crowds and shout to your date, this seems to be a good bet. Â
The bartenders were friendly, the service was fast, and the staff more or less left us alone to chat with one another. Â Given the body language of the people at the bar and seated along the back wall, I'd say they have a large contingent of "regulars" who call this place home.
As I am not so keen on screaming my face off to talk to my friends while simultaneously fending off the sloppy advances of inappropriately aged men, this was a nice oasis in what is otherwise a lively weekend-scene area.
We went here early Saturday evening for something light, having read the menu online. Â Immediately upon walking through the door, it was clear that we, upbeat and nicely dressed, were not welcome, based upon the sarcastic reception we received from the sickly-looking and heavily tattooed staff. Â Three grimy patrons sat at the bar, nursing beers and blurting out obscenties.
Being the only diners, we had our pick of tables. Â Upon selecting a booth, we were informed by literally the nastiest waitress I've ever encountered that the dinner specials were half price until 8, which was a good deal because they were regularly only $10. Â Although no one else was ordering food, our meals somehow took about twenty minutes to be plated.
If you enjoy being heckled by your bartender and having your drink coasters literally thrown at you by your waitress, I'd recommend the Lounge. Â Otherwise, despite the reasonably good food and portion sizes, I'd probably recommend that you go somewhere else.
The big sign outside of Downtown Lounge advertises that they have tapas. Please note, they DO NOT have tapas.
My girlfriend and I were looking for a good place to eat in Portland, some place we hadn't yet tried, when we were there in early April. Driving down the street, we saw the sign proclaiming "Tapas!" and got excited.
So we struggled our way in the door. A note to disabled people: this place is really not handicapped accessible. There is a big incline from the street to get in the door. There is a bar with a line of stools and a line of booths across the aisle from that. Only the booth at the front window is really accessible with a wheelchair. The waitress was really nice and got people who were sitting in that booth to move so we could use it.
We ordered a couple sodas and looked over the menu, which was very brief and had only standard burgers, wings, and things of that nature. There are absolutely no tapas here.
When the waitress came over to take our order, I asked if that was the entire menu, and she confirmed that it was. I didn't bother to ask where they didn't actually have tapas.
She didn't charge us for the sodas, so I left her a few dollars for a tip, since she'd been so nice to us. Again, this is probably a great bar, but it sure doesn't have tapas. My girlfriend and I left and went next door to The Green Elephant, which turned out to be one of the best dining experiences of my life.
But I still didn't get tapas.
Ah, the DTL. I have to say, when I'm in the mood to drink on school nights and be a part of a spontaneous, bar-wide dance party to Michael Jackson in the front window, the DTL is where I go. Beers run you under four bucks, mixed drinks come in pint glasses and could take the paint off your house (I mean, if that's your thing), all served by attractive bartenders who can somehow manage to hear your order over the booming music. One of my favorite spots in Portland, surprisingly - definitely worth checking out. But don't spread the word too much, it's a local gem......
Review Source:Was up in Portland last weekend. Â The girl at the coffee shop said we should go here cuz there was a "hot whore" who worked the bar. Â She was right, but that's not why this place gets 5 stars. Â The drink selection was good and the Jameson was poured deep. Â The menu was brief but the food was cheap and delicious. Â I had a fried chicken sandwich and it wasn't at all greasy. Â The fries they have are cut really thin, something i'd never seen before. Â I love when you're introduced to a new take on fries. Â Awesome. Â The biggest bonus... they had BET on the tv and we were all enjoying a screening of Scarface. Â Oh and FYI for any executives of BET reading this: Â Scarface has zero black people in it.
Review Source:This may come as a surprise, but this has to be one of the most fun bars in Portland. Really! It's small, a little divey, and doesn't appear to be much, but man, this place can party.
For starters, beers are $3.50, and mixed drinks are served in pint glasses, super strong, for $5-7. The bartenders are all super hot and on point, which is of course a nice touch. And I had heard the food is very good, so although I haven't yet eaten here, I plan to return for the hummus platter.
Best of all, the music ROCKS. From Skee-Lo's "Wish" to Coolio's "Gansta's Paradise," I had all the 90s rap I could handle. Even sitting in a booth, I couldn't sit still. A born performer, I spent a good 30 minutes rapping everything from Warren G's "Regulate" to "Baby Got Back." FUNN!!!
I was sad to leave... my friends pretty much had to drag me out. I will be back.
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