Dara Bistro — Restaurant in Cumberland

Stopped in for the first time while visiting family in Cumberland, ME. I had parked in their lot to watch the local Memorial Day Parade that passed right by. Afterwards, I went in to get a coffee and warm up from the drizzly morning. Unfortunately, temptation overcame mine and my friend's resolutions, and we indulged in a shared sea salted sourdough bagel, an apricot ginger scone, and a chocolate cookie. The coffee was their Cumberland blend, fresh, hot, and delicious. The bagel was delicious. The scone was excellent, both in flavor and texture, and the chocolate cookie was a cross between a crisp cookie on the outside and a chewy brownie on the inside, dark and decadent. They were very busy with parade people coming in, but everyone was congenial and efficient. My only problem was that their were no waitresses. One had to stand in line at the counter, place one's order, then get one's own coffee at the very clean coffee counter. I have ambulatory issues, and it would have been much easier had I been able to sit and be waited on. I'm sure that had I asked for help, they would have been accommodating, but they were so busy that it wasn't fair to ask. All in all, it was a very pleasant first encounter, and I am sure there will be many more. I look forward to having dinner there in the near future. I highly recommend...

Oh boy where to start ? This has to be the most frustrating and confusing experience of my life . We walked in / through a crowd seated outside . Door opened onto people in line. Ok . Make our way back and try to read the blackboard. Limited menu and coffee stuff . It was 11:15 am . Make note of that . We wait 10 minutes , line is moving at a snails pace . A young girl comes over and says “ do you want to sit down to eat ?” Um , ok . We sit . And wait . And wait . 15 minutes later a different girl brings water and a menu . It’s a different selection than what is on the board . We make our choices and wait ……another 15 minutes. Another person comes and takes the order . A bagel with cream cheese , the quiche and an iced coffee . We talk and wait and wait . It’s now 12:20ish. Nothing. I finally see someone and tell them we have an appointment and need to go . They pack it up ( quiche was just coming out of the oven ?) 24 bucks and we leave . I are the quiche in the car , it was delicious. Bagel was fed to a crow because my wife wasn’t in the mood anymore . It had to be the worst run , most unorganized place I have ever been . Not going back . I have a hard time understanding how any place can stay in...

On a pleasant summer evening, I had dinner in the shady outdoor space at Dara Bistro with my daughter and preteen grandsons. We'd been to its previous incarnation as the Food Company in past years for casual outdoor summer lunches or hot cocoa and muffins in winter in the charming old building. But we were delighted to sample the elegant, appealing new dinner menu. We shared two appetizers and each had a different entree from the relatively short but varied menu including steak, cod, and tofu (they have a couple of choices for kids), all of which were perfectly done and accompanied by delicious vegetables. The highlight was the desserts: the boys were entranced by their cloudless chocolate cake with homemade toasted marshmallow, and my daughter and I were equally happy with our toasted rosemary pound cake with raspberry sorbet and the blueberries and lemon curd with a sugar cookie. Everything was beautifully played, and our waitress was incredibly kind and professional. Definitely a Portland-worthy dining experience in the nearby...