Tuesday, September 1, 2026

The Top 68 Places to Eat Near Great Island Inn

  1. Rank 1. Vida Cantina

    Modern Mexican


  2. Rank 2. Row 34

    New England Seafood



  3. Rank 4. Walkers Maine

    Wood-Fired New American


  4. Rank 5. White Barn Inn Restaurant

    New England New American







  5. Rank 11. Ocean Restaurant

    New England Seafood












  6. Rank 22. FIKA

    Bakery


  7. Uni custard with brown butter, red curry hollandaise, and a torch of cinnamon tells you immediately where you stand: somewhere north of Boston that plays by its own rules. Nightshade Noodle Bar in Lynn is a tasting-format noodle restaurant with a kitchen that treats cuisine borders as suggestions. The room is a black box, the playlist is loud, and the team is warm. Rachel Miller was a James Beard semifinalist in 2025, and the Times put it on their Boston list.



  8. Rank 25. Leeward

    Italian

    Warm ochre walls, bookshelves stacked with dried flowers, and handmade pasta that regularly lands a James Beard nomination: this cozy Italian restaurant on Free Street is the kind of neighborhood spot that somehow becomes a national conversation. The chef's shapes and sauces pull from whatever local producers are doing well right now, and the wine program is its own reason to linger. Settle in and watch Portland's Arts District do its thing out the window.



  9. Rank 27. The Dining Room

    New England New American


  10. Rank 28. Ocotillo

    Tex-Mex Mexican



  11. Rank 30. Sur Lie

    New American

    A mahogany bar anchors one end while a giant abstract mural anchors the other, and in between, marina lights hang above wooden booths full of regulars who clearly regard this as their personal dining room. Sur Lie is a tapas-style New American spot where small, eclectic plates rotate through whatever the kitchen finds interesting. A James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality, the warmth here is structural, not performed.



  12. The room seats maybe thirty people and fills up fast, tucked between the West End and Parkside in a spot that looks like a classic neighborhood tavern and then proceeds to serve broiled scallop with caviar and hollandaise. Small plates anchor the menu, the wine list has a point of view, and the cocktails are sharper than the setting lets on. Condé Nast Traveler put it on their Portland list, which surprises no one who's been.


  13. Rank 33. Miyake

    Classic Japanese

    The blonde wood sushi bar is the room's focal point, and the chefs behind it move like they've been doing this forever. Miyake is a classic Japanese restaurant on Fore Street where the kitchen fuses traditional sushi with French and Italian technique and leans hard into Maine seafood. Every seat fills fast, and the counter draws regulars who know exactly what they're ordering before they sit down.












  14. Rank 44. Little Pig

    Street Food Thai



  15. Rank 46. Clam Bar

    Summer-Only Seafood





  16. Rank 50. Bistro Leluco

    Mediterranean








  17. Rank 57. Sichuan Kitchen

    Authentic Sichuan


  18. Rank 58. Friends & Family

    Neapolitan Pizza








  19. Rank 65. Nura

    Middle Eastern





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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

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    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. It runs on the scored places nearby: more good stuff within reach, higher score. If it looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.