Bresca, Portland, Maine Restaurant Details

Food:

Every bite is fantastic. Allow plenty of time, do NOT skip dessert or apps. Reserve. Go on a weeknight when there is nothing at the Merrill. In the winter. We have eaten here many times, consistently fantastic. Play it safe and get the first seating so you will have the full menu to choose from!

Food:

You may have to wait for a table, and the service is often slow and the often get behind on reservations and your party will have to wait. All will be forgiven with your first bite. The flavor and complexity of every bite is amazing. True world class cooking with simple, fresh, local ingredients. Bravo chef!

Food:

This rating was based on our second meal at Bresca. Our first meal, in September 2009, I would give 4 stars as we had a completely enjoyable dining experience. Our second meal was in December 2010 and I would give much less. Bresca is a tiny restaurant, although that's no excuse for our table for 6 not being ready for an 8:15 reservation; we had to go to a nearby pub and wait (and spend money there as well) and even when we returned at the time Bresca had directed us to, we still had to wait another half hour in Bresca's "foyer". We weren't seated until after 9 and it wasn't until almost 9:15 that we were asked for a wine/drink order! They were out many of the wines we wanted, server was not attentive, food service was slow, and food itself was uneven on second visit. The value for this meal was just NOT there and definitely not at the cost of $450 for a party of 6! Plus after all this they STILL imposed an 18% gratuity on us. We won't be returning as there are many other excellent places in Portland where we've had better consistency between meals.

Food:

My fiance and I ate here on New Year Eve and it was on of the best meals we have ever had. Everything was amazing and the service was outstanding. Bresca now tops our list of restaurants in Portland. We didn't think anything could top our engagement celebration meal at 555 but this meal did. Our only complaint was the size... we like that it's small and intimate but wish there was a small bar to sit or stand at and have a drink while waiting to be seated. We only had a 10 minute wait for our table but it felt like forever just standing there in the middle of the restaurant. In any other season though this wouldn't really be an issue since you could easily wait outside. We will be back very evry soon!!

Food:

The food at Bresca is great - the duck and the pork hot pot were wonderful and the buttermilk panna cotta in passion fruit broth was one of the best desserts I've ever had. But they need to improve the service. This was our third time there and every time the service to receive drinks, hear about the specials, and get bread on the table was slow. At one point, the restaurant was only half full with two servers and we couldn't figure out what they were doing...