Sometimes a night out doesn’t go as planned, but can still be wonderful fun. We headed into Portland on a recent Friday evening intending to go to the Little Tap House but an event at the Cross Insurance Arena made parking in the area unmanageable so instead we ventured to the Old Port to see what we could find. This time we had parking success and, after a brief stop into Sonny’s, where we were unable to find seating at the bar, we wandered over to Timber Steakhouse & Rotisserie.

We were looking for something more casual but decided to have one drink at the bar to check things out. My husband ordered an Allagash Curieux at our bartender’s recommendation, and I went with the Terlano Pinot Grigio which was excellent. We split an order of the hand cut fries with Jalapeño ketchup and truffle parmesan aoili. I’m pretty much a Heinz ketchup girl and was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Jalapeño ketchup. It added just the right touch of extra flavor.

We learned that our bartender had just won the regional Portland, Maine Manhattan Experience competition sponsored by Woodford Reserve and that he would be heading to Kentucky for a tour of the Woodford Reserve Distillery. Congrats!

While we only stayed for one drink, I loved the decor and atmosphere and am looking forward to coming back for a longer visit. For a high end steak house, the atmosphere was not formal or stuffy. It was warm, cozy, and unique. It’s a great vibe and definitely some place fun to spend an evening.

Top 3 Reasons to Return to Timber:

1. The food looks amazing. While we only had the fries during our visit, the couple sitting next to us at the bar ordered steaks and they looked delicious. I love steak and there were some great options on the menu. It’s high end steak, and the prices correlate, so it’s not some place we’d go for a casual, inexpensive meal. But, for a special occasion, it would be the perfect destination.
2. Their Maine Restaurant Week menu listed at $35.00 looks like a great way to get a taste of their offerings. I’m not sure we can get there this year due to some prior commitments but I’ll definitely keep an eye on their future menu offerings during restaurant week and other events. Maine Restaurant Week runs from March 1 to 12, 2016 this year.
3. They have some enticing happy hour deals listed on the menu with $5.00 appetizers and drink specials including options for beer ($4.00), wine ($5.00), and cocktails ($6.00). With the Merrill Auditorium only a block away, I see this as the perfect destination before a show.

While it was only a short visit this time, I was impressed with Timber and am looking forward to our next visit.

Timber Steakhouse & Rotisserie