The Independent Ice Co. — Restaurant in Portland

A Chilling Experience at Independent Ice

My dining experience at Independent Ice in Portland, Maine, was not just disappointing, but distressingly inadequate. With high hopes for a pleasant evening, my expectations were frozen solid and then shattered by the unpleasant realities of this establishment.

The waiting time for food here was excruciatingly long, a slow-motion movie where the climax never comes. Our stomachs began to mimic the barren Arctic landscape in their logo, aching for the sustenance that was promised but never arrived in a reasonable time frame.

Our waitress seemed lost in her own world, her actions lacking the attentiveness and sharpness one would expect in the service industry. Her detached demeanor and lackadaisical performance suggested a preoccupation with matters decidedly non-culinary, casting a further shadow on our dining experience.

Their audacious pricing for beverages was another serious misstep. Paying an astounding $4 for a 7-ounce Diet Coke felt akin to a highway robbery. This, coupled with the mediocre service, left a bitter aftertaste even before the food arrived.

When our meals finally made their appearance, I wished they hadn't. The food was not just underwhelming, but borderline inedible. A restaurant's raison d'être is to serve enjoyable food, a mission that seems to have been forgotten at Independent Ice.

In summary, our visit to Independent Ice was a chilling ordeal rather than a delightful escape. A culinary establishment this disappointing serves not only its patrons poorly, but also tarnishes the reputation of Portland's otherwise...

Anyone who reviews this place and complains about food is missing the point. Don't get me wrong: the food is good (not excellent, I'll admit) and perhaps overpriced even by Portland standards (and that's debatable). But if you come here you come for the brown spirits, and any food offerings are an ancillary item. And as for the brown spirits... Never have I found a place with more variety, depth of knowledge, depth of flavor, etc. Not only do they have hundreds of whiskey brands on hand, they also have many different varieties of all those same brands--they have the straight version you can get at the store, but then they have the 20-yr aged or the single-cask 30-yr aged etc.--there'll be a variant where the distiller issued only 40-50 bottles (TOTAL!) and they'll have one. Of course, these various choices are not inexpensive, and you should not go to Independent Ice looking to drink on a budget. But for someone who has tasted many bourbons or other whiskeys, it is an amazing place to explore new brands and find new favorites that you could never find on your own. The bartenders are amazingly well-informed about the whiskeys, and offer excellent...

Looking for a meal with a group of seven without any reservation but lucked out just having to wait 10-15 minutes for a group to finish up and leave. The host/waiter was working like crazy in every direction but stayed friendly the entire time and appeared to take his time to help out any table that needed something. Best service I have had anywhere in quite some time. If you are a big fan of bourbon/whiskey then this is a no brainer for you to stop in. Also fans of cocktails the bartenders made great drinks, especially recommend the maple syrup mule (so good!) Considering we had a group of seven the food came out in a quick manner and it was tasty. I went with the southern fried chicken sandwich. It was very tasty, but maybe not my favorite fried chicken sandwich of Portland but I would have tried everything else that my table got because it all looked tasty. Fries again were not the best of the area but still tasty. Very impressed with our dinner here from the awesome service to some good food, will be...