While Florida’s beaches lure many travelers seeking a seaside vacation, in recent years, East Coasters in particular have increasingly been making summer pilgrimages to Portland, Maine, for its impressive, seafood-focused dining scene.
Yes, you can still find charming shacks serving freshly shucked oysters on the half shell and juicy Maine lobster rolls dressed with mayo, as well as some of the area’s finest craft beers. But a new generation of fine dining is picking up steam as great chefs, including Colin Wyatt, put down roots in the Forest City. After a decade on the line at some of New York’s most celebrated restaurants—including Wine Spectator Grand Award winners Daniel and Eleven Madison Park—Wyatt returned to Portland in 2021 to open Twelve, a “modern New England” waterfront spot that earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2023.
Twelve is housed in the rebuilt 150-year-old brick Portland Co. train construction complex, formerly known as Building 12: Pattern House. Coincidentally, 12 is Wyatt’s lucky number. General manager David Albright (formerly of Best of Award of Excellence winner Restaurant Marc Forgione) oversees the airy, 85-seat dining room, which offers views of Wyatt’s open kitchen and is decorated with reclaimed-wood accents.
Pairing Portland’s Bounty with an Award-Winning Wine List
Wyatt focuses on local ingredients for his frequently changing menus of American cuisine, which he offers à la carte and prix-fixe ($90 for four courses, plus an optional $60 for house wine pairings and $80 for reserve pairings). Portland’s bounty is on display in dishes like spring-dug parsnips (left in the ground through the winter to produce a sweeter bite) dressed with grilled sorrels, almond puree and horseradish or dry-aged duck leg confit with juniper and a sticky beet jus. This being Maine, much of the kitchen’s focus is on seafood dishes like fluke crudo accented with rhubarb, basil and cucumber and gray-scaled tautog aromatized with Herbsaint (an anise-flavored liqueur from New Orleans) and served with Jonah crab and a carrot bisque. A lobster roll is served Connecticut-style, warm with melted butter, on a hand-laminated croissant.
Sommelier Jenn Forge, a veteran of Portland’s restaurant scene, curates the growing 220-label list, which has doubled in size over the past year. The first page is Forge’s sommelier selections, including gems like Krug Brut Rosé Champagne NV, Clos Apalta Le Petit Clos Apalta 2019 and Corison St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Most of the selections hail from California, France and Italy, with big names like Brunello’s Argiano, Sonoma’s Peter Michael and Bandol’s Domaine Tempier, as well as smaller producers from the Basque region, Germany, Veneto and beyond.
