Grace - Portland

We were able to get a reservation on New Year's Eve, what a treat! The food was out of this world. 6 Stars would do it justice, Maybe. The service was phenomenal. The atmosphere was the best part. It's an old church, converted into a restaurant. I can't speak highly enough of Grace. Best place to be in Portland, except maybe on the beach in July.

The experience at Grace was so amazing! My sister found her dress, Emilie was so kind and picked up on my sisters vibes so well. She understood exactly what my sister wanted and made the experience so wonderful. Grace has huge individual rooms where we all hung out and she was able to try gowns on in privacy. Absolutely reccomend this experience for any bride.

A perfect mixture of food, atmosphere, history, and charm. Read up on the full history of the church and the board they have inside; really fascinating. The restoration, done inline with historic preservation guidelines, is amazing and they've incorporated fantastic attention to detail with all of their designs. For food, we had a rabbit loin/leg and the halibut; they were both absolutely delicious, uniquely prepared, and presented well. Anyone visiting must eat here or at least have a drink at one of the 2 creative bars.

Three of my friends and I dined at Grace this past Saturday (1/16). First off, the ambiance is wonderful, with the open kitchen where the altar once stood and the circular bar in the middle of the sanctuary. We had 8:30 reservations and had to wait for 15 minutes, but had an enjoyable drink at the bar. Once seated, we started off with the Damariscotta and St. John oysters, the venison meatballs and the baby octopus. I've never had a better oyster, the venison meatballs were superb and the baby octopus was tender and perfectly fried. We were off to a great start. For mains, two of us ordered the lobster pumpkin chowder, one had the steak and the other had scallops. We also shared the green beans as a side. Overall, we were stunned. Everything was delicious, and complex. Each bite contained at least three distinct waves of flavor. The wine (Justin Cabernet Sauvignon) was fruity and full. We ended the meal with chocolate moose cake and a lemon tart. They were both superior desserts. Five bright stars for Grace.

Grace was absolutely fantastic! Such an amazing venue (it’s inside an old Church), has an awe-inspiring bar set up and, the menu nearly killed me from how amazing it was. I’ve never had fried King Oyster mushrooms, nor have I ever had King Oyster mushrooms to begin with and, jeez, was I floored. I had the steak, foie gras and, king oysters. So delicious - and we were the only couple there (due to a blizzard). Please go and treat yourself.

My experience here was in Grace's capacity as an event venue. I attended a wedding. The building, naturally, provided the church aesthetic as the setting for the wedding, but without the actual religious obligations required for a church wedding. It was a beautiful setting. The reception was accommodated downstairs with much better food than is served at most hotel banquets. While we waited for the reception to begin, we enjoyed a cocktail hour around the bar upstairs. The whole setup was perfect. High quality cocktails and food in a beautiful setting made for a very memorable event.

We had our wedding reception here and the staff was beyond fantastic! The food was delicious and presented beautifully. I cannot get over how happy and impressed I am with Grace! Meg Buck was wonderful to work with and plan our event. Thank you for a dinner that will be remembered forever!

This was customer service at its best! Aside from the unique concept behind this restaurant as a whole, the food was exceptionally delicious and the environment upbeat and welcoming. Brett was particularly attentive to us and very helpful in suggesting places of interest for my partner and I. It made for an outstanding first experience in Maine.

We had our rehearsal dinner at Grace, downstairs. It was spectacular - wonderful food, beautiful space, attentive staff. The planners were very helpful and saw to every detail. We've been back several times and have always enjoyed the meals and atmoshphere. FIVE STARS for Grace.

We had our wedding at Grace, and I’m still speechless when I think about it. The venue itself is so unique and absolutely stunning — it truly speaks for itself. But what made the experience even more special was the incredible team behind it. Kate and her staff went above and beyond to accommodate our large wedding and made the entire day smoother and even more beautiful than we could have ever imagined. Every detail was handled with care, and their professionalism and kindness did not go unnoticed — they made us feel supported from start to finish. I honestly wish we could do it all over again. If you're looking for a breathtaking venue with an exceptional team, Grace is the one. Cannot recommend enough!

I really liked when it was a restaurant and I only have been there for my cousin Katie's wedding. She is a very nice person. The restaurant area closed early due to cocktails and appetizers served on the main floor due to the wedding. I had the appetizers and I saw some familiar people. The basement was where the ceremony was and we had dinner down there. We had choices on a special menu and I really enjoyed the duck I ate. The dance floor was awesome. Music came from an iPad that someone brought. The love songs were great and some were modern. I also enjoyed the photo booth and the props. Mallory was the lady with the photo booth rental. I danced with the guitar and the microphone from the photo booth all night for the most part. The ladies' room was very clean and I know that Mallory had to travel the Maine Turnpike to get there. Uncle David, Amanda, Mike, Wendy, Aunt Janet, Uncle Harvey, Katie's brother Danny, my father and I were there. The maid of honor was someone Katie knew and she later had a baby named Sally. I am glad that Aunt Janet helped organize this wedding for her daughter Katie. Also, the theme was the unicorn and this was an unique theme. Also, I went with my father's friend Patty. The parking was ample and glad that it is now an event venue. I loved the venue and the spaces we gathered in for the Harris-Giroux wedding in the basement. My father has some awesome pictures of the wedding on his computer. It was a very nice day to meet Colby's family and Colby was the groom. Katie and Colby are a very nice and awesome couple and they have an intelligent daughter Vada who is 8 years old. I really appreciate Katie and Colby's decision on buying a house in Westbrook and Katie doesn't live in the house she lived in from 1986 to 1995. Katie and Colby were born in 1984.

I can't say enough about how truly stunning and perfect this wedding venue is and how wonderful Kate and her team were to work with throughout the process! I am the mother of the bride and both my daughter, and I are from out of town, so planning from a distance seemed daunting at first. But from the minute my daughter first saw Grace and we met Kate, we both knew it was exactly the right place for the ceremony and reception. Kate was responsive, collaborative, helpful and spot-on in all her suggestions (including for things we didn’t even know to ask like renting parking meters from the city to clear space in front of the venue). Kate’s expertise and thoughtfulness really helped to make the whole day magical. It was seamless having both the ceremony and reception in one location – each space has a different ambiance, which was wonderful. Coming from the intimate and warm white light of the ceremony and entering the reception with its grand cathedral ceiling, dramatic stained glass, stunning bar and balcony seating, made it feel as if we had in fact traveled to another location (but without the logistical fuss and bother). The side rooms for the bridal party to get ready in and the multiple additional bathrooms available on the lower floor and in the vestibule offered the functionality we needed to make everyone comfortable and the day flow beautifully. And the bar crew was incredibly gracious and accommodating and made our guests feel so welcome and cared for. Everyone raved about how gorgeous and singular Grace is, it truly is like no other venue in Portland. We just can’t recommend Grace highly enough, in every way!

We had dinner at Grace last night. The drinks, food, and staff all were amazing. Marley was our waitress and she was very knowledgeable and helpful when helping us pick from the selections. The Halibut was great and my husband enjoyed the Hanger Steak. You can tell that a lot of thought and effort goes into each dish. Thanks for a great meal and dining experience!

Grace is absolutely gorgeous, the wait staff was very attentive and friendly, and the food was phenomenal. It was so lovely that we actually went and had some more wine at the bar downstairs after finishing our meals! Slow service was a reoccurring negative review we kept reading that almost made us not come here, but I'm very glad we didn't listen to them. If you appreciate fine dining, you should know service is always a little slower, but this is so you can enjoy, savor, and experience each course without feeling rushed. It is not poor service. It also gives the kitchen (which you can see into, so I know they were working hard!) time to give each meal the attention it deserves. All of our food was hot and delicious, and our waitress never let our wine glasses go empty. If you want a change of pace to the fine dining experience, Grace has just that.

You are a fool if you do not try this restaurant. Starting with the bar snacks menu, the Grace burger is as tall as it is delicious (I.e. very). The cocktails are awesome (best Old Fashioned in the city, as I was told and confirmed). The entrees are always changing and always delicious. Oh, and did I mention it is built into an old church? Amazing ambiance. Fantastic food. Go now.

Tile fish was wonderfully mild and flakey with a crisp skin. Hanger steak was flavorful and tender, best I've ever tasted. The green beans were out of this world. Love the attentiveness of the staff. On the second floor over looking the chef station. Interesting how they worked in unison and precision making every dish a beautiful master piece. Coffee was the best we have ever had at a restaurant.

Creative and delicious! You can take advantage of both the bar and regular dining menu when you sit at the bar. The $5 Grace burger(bar menu) is small but filling. The drinks are great , and the atmosphere is amazing. Great for an impressive 1st date or girls night.

This truly is an amazing place. What they have been able to do with this church is unbelievable. Hip, romantic, open yet intimate. It is a three course destination, and worth every cent. The pan-seared squid as a starter, off the charts. The Veal sweetbread, amazing. For main courses, I ordered Maine Fluke and my husband ordered Rabbit Sausage. Both of them absolutely divine. The multitude of flavors accented each bite. There was no end in the perfectly orchestrated taste of the dishes. We had other arrangements for our dessert. However, the menu looked to offer perfect delicacies. Whether you are in a group or on a quiet date with your loved one, you cannot go wrong with spending time here.

Bring your sense of food adventure to this place. The menu choices can seem unusual but I promise you that the star of each item will be the accompanying sides. The chef has a talent for pairing sides with the main dish. I found myself loving each bite. Open your horizons for choices. You will be rewarded with happy taste buds.

Lovely environment and waitstaff. Very relaxing. It felt like we were the most important table in the place. Wine, oyster, and entrees were delicious! I have told everyone to dine here! We'll most certainly return.

The staff was amazing and very polite, they were always ready to refill water glasses, and clean off used plates and silverware. The food was as good and I've had anywhere. Can't say enough good things about the place. Keep up the good work.

My husband and I went here on an east coast vacation. Grace was a unique and friendly dining experience. All staff was knowledgable about the history of the church and extremely helpful when it came down to selecting menu items. The strawberry French toast was one of the best deserts I've tasted. Overall this was a wonderful experience. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Portland, Maine.

The food was amazing and the wine was excellent! Just make sure you check the year on your bottle of wine. We ordered a 2015 and they came back with a 2017. Lukily I caught it and they adjusted the price accordingly. Too bad they will go to catering only in a few months. 3 people cost around $200 but we were not worried about prices. It can get expensive but the atmosphere and service is very good. I highly recommend the bread and the meat board as appetizer, both are delicious.

LOVE this place. Best meat and cheese plate I've had locally. The educated staff is very helpful navigating their items, also the chicken and short ribs are amazing! We are regulars and have returned 10+ times!

Just had our third straight fantastic meal at Grace. The wait staff was wonderful, the atmosphere fantastic, and the food absolutely top-notch. All in all an excellent experience. I know there are many restaurants in Portland, and we have been to many of them, but Grace consistently exceeds our expectations, Thank you: we will be back.

Drinks at the bar with only a snack of ham and brie. Wine list good and drinks decent. Cavernous but superstylish interior. Central bar downstairs and smaller one upstairs. Could be where organ might have been. Service not attentive enough considering it wasn't jammed. They had many servers, kitchen help and bartenders.

It’s worth it to go here just because of the building! It was an incredible experience to dine in a beautiful church. I loved the atmosphere! I don’t recommend to eat oyster there, they didn’t taste very fresh, they serve them on piles of salt and the oyster weren’t even cold. Other food was very good and unique. I’m in love with their onion soup, truffle oil makes it pure magic! Would love to go there again to try other good sounding dishes and the soup...again.

The food was amazing and the atmosphere devine. The service was ok, but what was really disappointing was the waitress dropped our drinks splashing my white jacket and shattering glass around us. Although she was apologetic we were not comped for the trouble and sticky mess her mistake made all over us.

I really came here for the setting and unique conversion. I enjoyed the atmosphere which really is the backbone for the food - without this spine, I think the food experience would completely paralyze. The food was decent. I had a menu item that sounded good and looked okay but the texture combination of hard chunky green honey dew melon and small tiny raw fish did not really work. The two flavors did not go well with each other.

my first experience at grace was amazing, the sliders and cocktails are truly top tier and unbeatable! the menu and food choice was great too... second time i went here i had a mediocre experience, the menu seemed downgraded with none of the choices i loved and it is still expensive! and now reading through the comments here, and the owners response to them, it seems like the owner now has some issue with peaceful people carrying arms for self/public defense purposes? i respect the owners right to private property rights and to make free choices about who they choose to serve or not for any reason at all but as a customer i prefer to support businesses that dont make their customers easy targets for violent criminals by banning weapons, concealed carry is there for a good reason. most mass murders and random shootings are carried out in states with higher gun control regulations or far more commonly areas where guns are entirely banned like schools, if you dont like peaceful people being shot supporting the right to own and carry a gun for the average peaceful citizen is a good way to combat that problem.

Arrived Friday evening, 10/12/12 with no reservation. Sat upstairs at lounge table. The server was pleasant and timely. The Squash Soup was yummy and good on a cold night. However, my gnocchi with mushrooms was full of grit. Someone neglected to clean or wash the mushrooms and each bite was a very unpleasant experience. And, for $8.00, the dessert (bananas) could have been a bit more substantial. I'm not sure I would want to go back.

I give this place 3 stars for friendly staff and just plain having a cool restaurant, but they lost 2 stars out of the gate because for the first time in my life I was served something that was so distasteful I couldn't eat it. The meal was a green pea risotto base and as near as I could tell, they just blended up RAW peas and poured it over the risotto. Some people like the taste of raw peas, but I hate raw peas. Add to that the weird combination of peanuts and artichoke hearts, and I can only determine that the chef has overstepped the bounds of creativity and landed in the territory of "what were you thinking." To top it off that digusting dish cost me almost $40. What a crock!

Food was fine, but didn’t blow us away. Has a lot of potential, but the menu needs to be more exciting. The former church space is kind of cool, but needs more warmth. Dimmer lighting and lots of lit candles everywhere would go a long way in making the space more warm and romantic.

Beautiful place! Absolutely gorgeous inside and out. However the menu is too "gourmet," if you will. Also, our bartender was visibly shaking and spilled both of our drinks. He said he had too much coffee and laughed.

The ambience was peaceful and enjoyable. The waitress was attentive, but not intrusive. The mango eclair was excellent with the nice kick. Would love to know what chili spice was used. The creme brulee was very good. The bread was outstanding; wished you sold loafs. The green salad was bland, no dressing till the bottom; the red potato did nothing for it. The rabbit entree without the rabbit was excellent. The vegan risotto was so bland that there was too much lemon which overpowered the risotto. Too many greens and too large a mushroom. Adding salt and pepper did not help. Very disappointed. No attempt was made to have other vegan options. Few vegetarian sides as there were no vegetarian entrees other than the vegan risotto. With 3 people needing these options they were disappointed. When reservations were made I was told that there were options, one is not plural. We came at 5 and there were not that many people there so something might have been done? The bar was accommodating in making a new drink. This was our first time to Grace and would come back IF there were more vegetarian/vegan options. Would love to have had the piano going while there. The bathroom door opening was a distraction during dinner. Perhaps having the door open towards the street might help, so you don't see right in.

We recently dined at Grace with a party of four. The wait staff was fine but the food was not! We felt it was overpriced and under valued and will not be going back. It's too bad because it could be a great place with better management in place,another thing is its in a section of the city that we did not feel comfortable going to at night and could not park close to the entrance. I don't want to be robbed both inside and outside.

The food was cold. It didn't take long to get to us, so not sure why. I expected more from a "fine dining" establishment. Great architecture. Staff was okay, but most of them stood around not doing much of anything. The food was too heavily spiced in my opinion. Felt like I could have had a better meal in one of the pubs. Very glad we went to Duckfat for lunch earlier.

I will never come back here. The place was nice but the waiter was not attentive. The appetizers were good but by the time I revived the main course, the food was not hot by the time it got to the table, and I think it should be addressed.

The first experience was very good. The wait staff was wonderful and food was quite good, as expected. My first experience would have been a 5 star rating. My second experience was a zero because of their publicized policy of refusing to serve me and other customers based on our beliefs. We take our business elsewhere now.

I would give this place no stars if I could ! The atmosphere was wonderful and my Wait staff was terrific ! The food is less than mediocre and the fish I had was so over cooked . I sent it back and it took forever to have my meal to return to the disgusting dried up mess it was before . My table felt that there meal was a just ok . Spoke with a woman who was quite rude and to find out she was the owner ....dear god get out of the business ! Now I had a run in with her before years ago from foreside tavern about the decor ......good god don't waste your time or money .....there are many great restaurants I regularly dine in ! Not this one or the other !