Little Tap House — Restaurant in Portland

Went here with my wife on a trip around Maine. it was kind of a weird experience. We got smash burger, lobster roll, and fried shishito peppers. The peppers were the only thing that wasn’t either aggressively mid—-as the young people say— or gross.

The bad: the lobster roll was bland and tiny and 40 bucks. It was only slightly tastier than the kind you would get at a cheaper touristy place but not 15-20 dollars better. The burger: She asked for raw onion and a slice of tomato on her burger and was informed that it couldn’t be done because it didn’t fit the “menu concept” of the burger. If they didn’t have onions or tomatoes in the kitchen that is one thing, but Jesus Christ saying that you cannot put a tomato on a burger on conceptual grounds is ridiculous.

To Little Tap House owners, our waiter, and probably head chef: none of you are Marco Pierre White. You are making smash burgers in Maine. To tell someone they cannot have tomato on their burger because it doesn’t fit the “menu concept” makes you and your server look incredibly provincial in the sense that you think that your culinary innovations in making dishes like hamburgers, humus, and grilled salmon (this is all to point out just how incredibly pedestrian and commonplace your menu offerings actually are) are above addressing customer requests.

Also, they charged extra for hot sauce without telling us.

Finally, the cherry on top: the bathroom smelled like sewage and the water was fecal matter brown in the toilet even after flushing.

Stay away from this place. The one redeeming thing was that the waitress/serving person with the black hair and hat seemed to not buy into the inflated self promotion of...

Weird experience here. Still not sure how to rate it.

I arrived and it was pretty dead save for a large group which left shortly after I arrived. I ordered the shepherd's pie. It was really good (a bit runny, though) but the price was not acceptable. $21. Last shep (cottage) pie I had was I think Madison Brew in Bennington VT and it is $12 and it was equitable. I can get two for one in a state with a comparable cost of living. Portland has a way of ripping people off hard for some reason, I've noticed.

The service started out par for the course - I ordered a house old fashioned and it was very good. However, the second time I ordered, the barkeep (can't recall if it was the same one) poured me a drink that was HALF the size of the first. What? The glass was literally half-full. Nuts.

She was yammering to some guy at the bar and so I patiently waited for attention. Not a good barkeep if you don't look alive. Took me five minutes to get her attention and I swear she was avoiding me. VERY weird. I asked for the rest of my glass and she said, "I'll fix it" with NO apology. You poured me half a cocktail! And then, when she finished fixing it, there was still about 15% missing off the top. Wha?

Never going back, don't recommend, really odd. I've only had a few experiences like this in all my travels and I still cannot figure out if the crack made it into the bar.

Also, the pie took a long time to arrive. Too long. I would have chalked it up to the type of food but the folks arriving after me next to me ordered a salmon which seemingly took just as long,...

Visiting Portland for the first time and overwhelmed by all the delicious dining choices, we decided to "restaurant hop" and check out a smattering of brunch/lunch/dinner places in Portland, splitting small entrees and notable dishes each leg of the journey. The Maine crab cake sandwich is what brought us here!

Despite a slow-ish Monday afternoon (Columbus Day), our server Daniel was all smiles, eager to discuss the menu and even talk travel with us too! He informed us that the beef and lamb used in their burgers are house-ground and that they source all their ingredients from local farms and companies...neat!

My friend and I split the aforementioned Maine crab cake sandwich, swapping in sweet potato fries for their standard ones at no additional cost (thanks!) The crab cake was scrumptious, lettuce crisp, challah bread pillowy soft, and the remoulade was the perfect sauce to bring the whole sandwich together. We had to wait a few minutes extra for our sweet potato fries, but they were well worth it...perfectly crisp and absolutely delicious. Daniel was even nice enough to split the sandwich and fries evenly, divvying everything up on two...