Three Dollar Deweys — Restaurant in Portland

This place is overrated, commercialized and all hype. The food is sub par at best. When we arrived, we were seated right-away and we ordered within 5 minutes. However, we waited over an hour for our food to come out and, when it did, our orders were made wrong, the quality was poor & part of one meal was missing completely, which was supposed to be eaten mixed together with the rest of the dish. This didn't come out for another 20-30 minutes later! They didn't even apologize for their errors nor make it a priority to cook this asap. The waiters just kept bringing out food to people who had arrived long after we did! The food itself was substandard and mediocre. It was not tasty, nor pleasing to the palette. The steak tips were disgusting, made from a cheap, tough cut of meat that contained thick, tough tendons running all throughout. Also, they were supposed to be medium doneness, but they were rare with raw parts. The Avocado Ensalada salad was dismal with soggy lettuce and oxidized avocado. Also, it was supposed to come with shaved parmesan, instead of the goat cheese, but it came loaded with goat cheese and no parmesan. The fish tacos were pathetic. I am not a fan of fast food, but the tacos at Taco Bell would've far exceeded a top notch review by the Phantom Gourmet when compared with Deweys pitiful attempt at a taco. There were only 2 tiny, mini tacos that contained only 2 measly ingredients, fish which was supposed to be fried haddock, but it was impossible to determine, as it was served in tiny, shredded pieces, and unsavory coleslaw, which was about 90% watery dressing and 10% coleslaw. Also, the French Fries and Sweet Potato Tots were not fresh, nor homemade, and were overly fried to where they were dried out, although full of grease, and hard and unpleasantly crunchy. I contribute the array of errors to the Waitress who didn't write anything down nor pay much attention. I contribute the poor food quality to the manager who determines the standard of food to purchase and prepare, which is less than fast-food quality. I contribute the flavor, taste and texture to the faulty handling and storage of the food, as well as to an unskilled, incompetent, untrained, inexperienced chef where cooking is not their forte nor their passion! In any case, we were pleasant and didn't complain and just ate what we were given, as much as we could tolerate, because by this point we were famished and didn't want to wait another 2 hours for them to prepare something else, which we didn't have high hopes would come out any better or more tasteful. Also, we left almost a 30% tip, which was a large amount, as the food was unreasonably overpriced, paying Maserati prices for a Pinto concoction of crud. We appreciate that serving is a tough job that doesn't pay well, and we were more generous in light of the holiday season. However, the waitress was so ungrateful and didn't even thank us. But what really prompted this precise, uncomplimentary, spew of discontentment was the appalling fact that the waitress and/or the staff appallingly added a large extra tip onto our credit cards!! When I realized this, I immediately emailed the manager, to inform them, as well as explain the whole situation, as stated above. His reply was paltry, unsympathetic, nor apologetic. This person just made pitiful, pathetic excuses rather than take accountability and tried stating that "bills got mixed up", which was a crock of lies! Then, the manager didn't even make any attempt to make amends for all that we went through nor offer us any kind of gift certificate, full refund or anything. They were abrupt, cold, uncaring and took it lightheartedly. However, credit card fraud is not something to be taken lightly! Everything about Deweys, from the staff to the manager to the food quality and preparation, to the wait times, order errors, ungratefulness, and poor customer treatment, to the overall attitude and behavior towards their customers was just deplorable, unacceptable...

We were excited that Dewey's was reopening but am now unsure if we will return. I’m not that picky but I’m a realist ... all the people raving have clearly lost their minds

Okay, it was the re-opening weekend and for that we will cut them a little slack but the general consensus is that if they want to stand out and survive they need to, well, one stand out and two up their game.

Waitstaff and atmosphere were welcoming.

The food ... Firstly I wanted to try the bangers & mash but they had run out (at 3pm on a Sunday) which we were not made aware until placing our orders. (Huge pet peeve of mine, I get that kitchens run out of things but let your customers know ahead of time) So I ordered a Ruben because I LOVE a good Ruben. This Ruben ... not so much. Firstly it was sent out on extremely burnt toast ... so much it ruined the flavor. So I ate the insides ... corned beef did not appear to be anything prepared on site as it was cut way too perfect to be anything but pre-bought. Sauerkraut... was not sauerkraut but a "pickled cabbage" which was really just raw cabbage with a hint of vinegar. Thousand island dressing ... the glue of any good Ruben ... MISSING!! The Swiss cheese ... okay. The fries ... frozen.

Beer list - standard but lacking variety in local Maine brews.

The takeaway - nothing special & overpriced for what you get. We were hoping they would have something that would set them apart from the other "Irish Pubs" but it sadly appears they are re-creating every standardized "Irish pub" menu than throwing peas, carrots and corned beef into everything at an attempt at creativity. As "$3 Deweys" there should be something on their menu that is $3 ... a special or beverage or ANYTHING that tips a hat to their namesake.

We're going to give this place some time to settle and let the hype die down...

Upon arriving in Portland, the search for food was on! our first choice was too small, so we crossed the street. Three dollar Dewey's! It was very loud. This is a busy busy sports bar/pub style place. It was very loud.

Our table hadn't been cleaned off at all when we were seated...this was meh. Par for a bar of this type.

The floors were covered in dropped popcorn, napkin pieces and over all a mess, but I felt this would be expected with soooo many people.

Waitress was very kind and attentive as she walked by. This place was slammed with customers. They were out of bacon wrapped scallops 😔.... That's ok, we got a farmhouse burger and the pulled pork Mac and cheese. I opted out of the sauce they put on the burger for the BBQ sauce...awesome! And the bacon on my burger was super crunchy, which I really like! The apple slices were lacking for me on this burger... I would have enjoyed a few more slices. Overall, The food is very good! The root beer is a micro brew type and was very good! Fries were also quite good. The pulled pork Mac and cheese is a huge bowl! It needed a little bit more BBQ sauce so we asked for a bit more- this made it most enjoyable. Really good dish!

Good place, just be ready for a lot of loud audience if you are there during March madness! Prices are reasonable. 2 of us, 1 drink each and a "Maine"...