The Alna Store — Restaurant in Alna

Update: back again about 1 year later, too long between visits! Another five-star dining experience with a completely different menu, but same high level of creativity and consistency of excellence from drinks to appetizers to mains to desserts. There was a bit of a kerfuffle with our reservations due to a late arriving wedding party ahead of us, but the staff did an excellent job of dealing with a difficult situation. Multiple members of our party said they had the best dish they have ever had, one was a tomato and melon salad, the other watermelon and yogurt dessert. The cornbread appetizer, oysters with a rhubarb minuett, shrimp and amazingly cheesy grits, a cornbread cake for dessert, the best espresso martini I've ever had, and pretty much everything else served made this a destination dining event not to be missed. If you haven't been, take the time and drive the drive, it's worth it.

We had a fantastic meal for 5 at the Alna Store Saturday evening. Drinks, food, and service were all spectacular, and well worth the 50 minute drive from Phippsburg. Started off with great craft cocktails, including an unusual Peach Absinth Frappe and a perfectly executed gin and tonic. Apps were also fantastic, my favorite was the sour dough and pickle plate with a delicious mustard butter and added house-made caraway fennel chili crisp. Main courses were excellent, I had the best fresh fish plate ever, a whole trout expertly deboned with crisp skin and an amazing sauce with Italian peppers and fingerling potatoes. Scallops, braised pork, and chicken dishes all got rave reviews. Deserts were also outstanding, including delicious sorbet, an awesome crab apple custard with an olive oil shortbread crust, a flourless chocolate cake that was somehow both decadent and light, and an espresso martini that vanished before I could get a taste. Service was friendly and efficient, a great team effort with care taken to deliver the right plates to each diner and help us select the perfect dishes from the unusual choices on the current menu. Only downside (sarcasm here) for me was the store itself, which occupied part of our group for an extra 15 minutes after the meal and added extra $'s to the evening, but that was well worth it the next morning, as we tore into a sourdough baguette that was excellent even though not fresh out of the oven, complimented with some earthquake cheese and birch syrup. Looking at the online menu I thought this might be a restaurant trying to hard to be different to justify high prices, but that concern was 100% unfounded, and I cant wait to return. Definitely worth the trip and the expense if you are anywhere in the...

Everything about this place is amazing! My FIL lives nearby and we challenged ourselves to try new restaurants this summer instead of our mainstays(ha!). I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the only new restaurant we’ve tried that didn’t disappoint us! Our assumption after hearing awesome things was that it would be “good for midcoast” but it was delicious for anywhere not just midcoast.

The cappuccino was fantastic! I’m not really a coffee drinker, but had several in Italy earlier this summer and had been hankering for a good one. This is the first that hit the spot!

We started with a donut to share just to try it and thought it was delicious. However, then we got the rest of our food and realized that it paled in comparison to our actual entrees.

Baby and I enjoyed the ratatouille and it was perfect. She was all smiles eating the squash and polenta, and I was too.

The big kids got blueberry pancakes and proclaimed them the best. They can be dramatically complementary to anything with sugar so the grown ups all tried a bite and agreed they were spectacular.

My husband proclaimed his “August little gem” the best, I maintain the ratatouille was, and my FiL enjoyed the labneh.

Also, FWIW, we’ve paid similar amounts at a variety of restaurants in midcoast this summer, but this meal was less than what we spent at Muscungus Bay Lobster a few weeks ago with 2/5 of us only getting pasta there and not seafood. Prices seemed normal for midcoast without even considering that many of their products come from some of our favorite MOFGA affiliated farms.

Also, service was amazing for midcoast! A waiter that actually checked...

From the moment we stepped in the door, we were welcomed warmly by one of the owners, in spite of them closing soon. With paint stained clothes and plaster dust in our hair, the fact we just came from a full day of home renovating was of no importance. The service we received was stellar…personable and kind, from the knowledgeable staff who shared in our enthusiasm over the otherworldly flavor combinations.

We shared three appetizers, and every dish was a study in extracting maximum flavor from minimal ingredients, respecting the seasonality of the produce. Each dish told a beautiful story, I found myself closing my eyes and sitting in silence to fully appreciate the artistry of the food.

Pictures speak louder than words! We shared a dish featuring spring radishes, also a mushroom dish, and lastly a fish spread with some thick brown bread infused with butter. The latter was the only one that wasn’t out of this world extraordinary. Still very good, but something you might find schmeared on a bagel in NYC rather than brought to you by fairies…the other two dishes were truly magical!

The Alna Store is a haven for a special corner of the world, full of people willing to pay for the experience of eating. The cerebral thrill of it. Yummy food is all over Maine…but food like this? It’s beyond special. The marriage of unbridled imagination and technique, intuitive understanding and sensibility about flavor and chemistry. Mark my words, this place will earn a Michelin star one day! I’ll be proud to say I...