Reviews of Local 188 (Coffee Shop)

Alli Hargrave

Had a great breakfast here yesterday. Super chill vibes and very tasty breakfast burrito. Order this pastry which looked better than it tasted a the pastry was super dry but the homemade whip cream and strawberries tasted good. Bloody Mary’s are very tasty !

JCar

Great food with lots of interesting ingredients that don't compete with each other. Easy to eat vegetarian here while other people have plenty of delicious meat choices. Fair prices too!

Katie Ferreira

They have the best salmon bagel for brunch, imo. They have a huge selection of in-house infused liquors that are fun to try. One of the best happy hour deals in Portland is their $5 frescas made with the infusion of your choice. Big, pretty space.

Justin Lowe

Can get a little loud inside. The breakfast/brunch paella is awesome. Make sure to get biscuits and homefries as well.

Christine Bernstein

Sit at the counter and watch the kitchen do their thing. A great time and added to the experience.

Jason Trease

Fun atmosphere, fast service, imaginative food. Shrimp app and bread were especially delicious!

Johnny Phantos

Molly was a wonderful server!

Matthew Whitman

Excellent service, great taoas

Lissette Gonzalez

Paella was very disappointing, overcooked, chorizo was burnt :(

Jasmin M

Ricotta fritters were awesome! And the coffee is really good too. We all liked what we had, and if we lived in the area we would come back :-)

just Doughty

Friendly staff, good drinks, prices are higher than I like though. Location is decent. I get the impression that it's too much restaurant for the kitchen from the waiting time for food.

Aaron J. Shay

A friend brought me here during my visit for the PortFringe Festival. Chic yet comfy! Amazing selection of drinks. Duly recommended.

David Allie

Very nice restaurant a little pricey but nice

terry delargy

Best muscles in town!

Ryan Montgomery

Friendly staff, pleasant environment, delicious food, and large portion sizes!

fred rinaldi

Bacon jelly was so good! The staff was nice. Go for the spicy bloody Mary over the garlic.

Layni Pistone

Came for dinner then brunch the next day, both equally tasty and satisfying experiences. Their Bloody Mary will go straight to your dome in the best way possible.

Emily Smith-Kuzma

Beer/spirits selection is top notch, service was okay, but don't expect a refill on your tiny water. The food was good, but not at the price level they ask you to pay. Solid Portland locale.

Chele Parker

Had a delicious brunch there, will definitely be back!

Rachel Chandrasekaran

Always happy with the food and service.

Allegra Kurtz-Rossi

Great food, service and atmosphere. Every time I go to Local 188 I'm impressed.

Wei Ma

Fantastic paella. Our waitress was amazing! We had the seafood paella and the house paella and they were plenty for three hungry people. They are BIG! Loaded with fresh and delicious seafood. 10/10 will come back again! Hint: free parking lot in the back and make a reservation with their online app!

jstbczmusic

Great atmosphere. Great food.

Ethan Kaphammer

Poor service, and they were out of half the menu. Decent vibe and comfortable, but would not recommend for anything more than drinks.

Aaron Daniels

Brunch is not to be missed. Sit and watch the kitchen at work. Fine addition to the Longfellow Square 'downtown for locals' area.

H P

Great food and ambiance, not the most efficient table layout and wait times are ridiculously long.

Steven Buchsbaum

Good paella and tapas. Fun bar and restaurant. Good location in Longfellow Square. New Year's celebration dinner with friends.

Lisa Gundlach

Tried some delicious Spanish food. Fun and relaxing atmosphere.

Sabina Hahn

Drinks were great. Food was ok. Not very authentic though.

Jesse Riggs

Stopped by for Sunday brunch. Waited an hour without getting my order taken. Food looked great, at least?

Harry Gonzalez

Good food and service

Bradley Day

The food was good, but expensive. I was in a party of 6. After ordering it took ~50 minutes to get our food. Half the plates were room temperature. it's a shame that service was poor as the food is quite good.

christopher neault

Incredible breakfast and dinner menus. Fast service and reasonable prices

Ashley Maidman

Boyfriend and I live in Waterville so we drove an hour and a half for mediocre, overcooked brunch. The breakfast paella was very dry and lacking flavor, and his breakfast sandwich was extremely salty. While service and wait staff was friendly, the food quality was just sub par for the price.

Jackson Swann

Plenty of space and good pours on drinks. Very fun. Food is good but a little pricey

Andrew Engroff

Delicious mushroom and herb scramble with goat cheese!

Jeremy Binette

Hands down the best cocktails in Portland. Food is good but overpriced.

Patrice Q

This is the first one - star review I've written. From the outside, the place isn't much, and the neighborhood looked a little dicey to us, but the inside was appealing enough that we thought we'd give it a try. But from the moment the haughty, too - hip-by-half "greeter" spoke to me, I was put off. She seemed surprised that we were there for dinner and kept trying to seat us by the window, even though I asked to be seated elsewhere. Window seats are wonderful if you're looking at the mountains or the sea, but not if it's rowdy youth and homeless people outside. Her attitude reminded me of certain New York restaurants where the shtick is to behave as though you, the waiter, is doing the diner a favor by waiting on them. When I looked at the menu, I was surprised by the odd balance of food and drink: three times the drink choices as food choices. And overpriced for what was being offered. I imagine if you're 30 and way cool and love the funky life, this place is fine, but for those of us past this stage, there are other places. I want to be treated well when I eat out, so we went elsewhere.

Myles Roberson

A fun late night spot for great cocktails, wine, and conversation!

Constance Harn

Lively discussions and shared stories with old and new friends. Excellent bartenders, upbeat and knowledgeable waiters. Can get noisy. Fun people to be around.

Anas H

Awesome place! Love the tapas.

Autumn Edwards

Great location and atmosphere. Food was a bit pricey but food was excellent.

Corey Brown

Nice atmosphere, really good Sunday brunch, all around good food and cocktails

Christina Kelly

Great food and wonderful service! The BLT was amazing!

Karen MacLeod

Excellent food, great location

Gayle Hathaway

Seafood Paella was wonderful, drinks are pricey, but typical for in town Portland, AND, they have parking.

Jessica Segal

Decent brunch. I really enjoy the sangria and cocktails!

Nelson Mondale

Food was pretty good but quite expensive

johnny 5

Great food ..great people wonderful environment.... cant stress enough the food was amazing....

M Weiss

Inventive cocktails and tasty tapas. Loud but relaxed friendly vibe. A fun evening.

Peter Eglinton

Tapas, raciones, oh my! Yummy. Nice staff, too. A perfect place for a fall night.

Dave Packard

Great for brunch! It was very busy and the service suffered a bit but the food was very good.

Amy Schindler

Wonderful service from hostess to our server Tom to folks bussing the tables. Tom was helpful and friendly! Superb service on top delicious food makes for perhaps our best meal on our weekend trip! We arrived just early enough for Sunday brunch to avoid the longer wait too!

Devin Cain

Great drinks and brunch

Maya Murphy

Solid menu and cocktail program. Service was attentive but not pushy.

Lori Parent

Oh we loved it! Angela was our server and she was awesome. The place was packed but she did a great job. The mussels were the best I have EVER eaten. The gnocchi was to die for! We walked from The Pomegranate Inn. It's a bit of a walk...but do-able and enjoyable! Really like it.

Thomas Alberico

Excellent brunch. I had the legs and eggs. Very unique and tasty. The chicken leg had a bit too much seasoning, but otherwise spot on. The alcoholic coffee selections are a must. The service was excellent. The atmosphere is very inviting.

Edward Deak

Great bar in downtown Portland. Great cocktail list served up by very knowledgeable staff. Not only did I get exciting drinks, I also learned a lot about the local breweries and distilleries.

Glen Horner

Highly recommend anybody visiting from out of town or near town, best huevos rancheros I ever had, service was top-notch, I'll go back anytime and every time

John Rider

Fabulous service and food. We had brunch as a group of 23 and loved it

Adam Booker

Great breakfast. Straight forward offerings and specials with some twists on those straight forward options. Pretty well executed. I will be back.

Kat Aste

Wonderful as usual. The only reason there are 4 stars instead of 5 is because it was so hot. They have an inefficient number is air units. Otherwise delish!

John Covell

Best corned beef hash I've had in years at brunch Saturday. Very friendly, cool place.

Nicolette Janelle

Great happy hour drinks!

Sarah Gumlak

Happy hour here is secretly epic. The patatas bravas should just be potatoes... but they're so good! And the house made infusion spritzer happy hour specials are super creative.

Laura N

Food was really good and the space is nice. The host seemed too busy, as if there could been another person up front helping out. Fun and tasty brunch cocktails!

Cillipuddi

Best breakfast burrito you will eat! Great service and really fun atmosphere.

J

The venue of this restaurant has such great potential. With high beautiful ceilings, walls decorated with fine local arts and trinkets, located in the heart of the city, it has a rather warm feeling as you enter. As you walk in you are greeted and offered to sit on a lounge couch as you wait for your table. Once seated, that's when the novelty wears off. If going at night, you are given a menu of rather limited options and need explanation as to what the "meal" offers. Food is over priced, small portioned, and rather disappointing considering how long you wait for it to come. I personally sat and watched my hamburger sit on the counter 5 feet in front of me (open kitchen, customers see everything the kitchen does) for 20 minutes. Dead cold by the time I got it. Not only was it chard and burnt when I asked for rare, it was the wrong type of burger I ordered. When asked to return it, I was told it would take another 40 minutes.

Jonathan D

One of my favorite restaurants in Portland for brunch or dinner. Food is excellent. The paella is my favorite. And the staff are very friendly and helpful.

sam tarbox

Great happy hour specials during the week. I was pleasantly surprised to see deviled eggs on the appetizer list. They were great too!

Cody Doyle

The food is pretty middle of the road, nothing too special. The hostess was very nice, unfortunately our waitress was not good. Checked on us maybe once during the 1.5 hours we sat at the table waiting for our food. Had to wait 45 minutes for a table, so was expecting something worthwhile, but what we got was cold, yet somehow still overcooked food and bad service. The breakfast game in Portland is very strong, and you're gonna have to wait 30 - 40 minutes to get a seat most weekends at most diners here. So if you're gonna do the breakfast thing in Portland, don't waste your time waiting for this. I highly suggest Hot Suppa, Becky's Diner, or Bayside cafe. You will still wait 45 minutes before you get seated at these places, but at least the food and staff will make up for it. Sorry 188, but it's the truth.

Erin Lyons

Nice place!

Gabriel McKusick

Service was great, nice open social atmosphere, and the food's good

Kristen Runci

Amazing foods, fantastic staff, great choices and vibes

Joel Velez

I am a huge fan of this restaurant. Chill vibes, dope menu, great staff. I love the decor and spacious dining room. Brunch on Saturday and Sunday is solid af. Perfect for dinner and drinks with friends. Check it if you want a dope spot that avoids the pretentious wait times in Portland.

Steven Jefairjian

Very trendy, upscale and creative menu. Pricing is high, but the food, service and staff are well worth it. I like sitting at the counter and watching my food being prepared... kinda fun watching the chefs perform their kitchen magic... and chatting with them is always interesting. This is a very good place to meet friends and enjoy a meal... go have brunch and walk around the Downtown and Arts District. There's lots to do and see...

Timothy Morris

Excellent brunch, staff was very friendly.

Nathan Dallas

Well made cocktails have to go back for the food

Stevo Hotrocks

Good food and service...limited menu

Brendan Knights

Awesome food and great service. House paella was fantastic, as was the house red sangria. Highly recommend.

Bryan Martins

House infused liquors are amazing. Food is tasty and fresh. Service is amazing with great suggestions. Good happy hour. Will return

Home Xoom

Food tasted great. Huge portions. Atrocious wait time! Friendly staff.

Kevin Wilder

Didn't have ice coffee

Sean Flukey

Food was okay, drink was weird. Waitress was awesome

Ben Goff

Food was great, service was terrible. Not only slow but hadn't taken a shower in days and smelled. Pretty gross when your waitress has bo

Christine McHale

The experience was perfect

Todd Demmons

Great brunch a always!

Piner Markovchick

I don't know... It is hit or miss, as of lately it has been on the miss side of things. It seems like the winning path is to forgo dinner and have a seat on one of the funky couches and enjoy a drink or two... Just don't be upset if it turns into a miss... Walk in with a big bullseye mindset and you will be sure to be on target.

Camille Martel

Amazing place. We traveled to Boston from New Brunswick this summer and it was so good that we stopped there again on our way back. We never heard of it before and just googled a place for brunch as we were driving through the city on a sunday morning. The atmosphere, the decor and the food is incredible. The staff is super friendly and attentive. The brunch menu is pretty typical but every plate has a nice touch that makes it different from everything you ate before. Also portions are big enough but not too big as other brunch restaurants do so no waste of food.The other next best thing is that it's pretty cheap. Impossible to be disappointed! Would go back again and again but sadly I don't live in Portland ;)

Jared Hulstine

Tapas, paella, and great drinks. Fun trivia on Mondays @ 10. Happy hour late is great way to save on drinks and bottles.

Chloe Black

Love the food here.

Misty Crawford

Extremely friendly environment, with multiple seating. Kitchen is open and work as a whole unit. It was very entertaining to watch them work and there detail on the presentation was phenomenal. Food was very delicious. Absolutley go out of my way again to come here

Rachel Perkins

Get the gnocci! And the risotto. The food we ate was all delicious! The bartender knows the craft. And make sure to save room for dessert. The baked apple churro dessert was amazing!

Danielle St. Pierre

The anchovies tapas was our favorite item of the night. We both tried a cocktail which was balanced and complex. The gnocchi was the perfect consistency, albeit a little sweet for our taste. The service was friendly. Altogether, a great place to try for some unique and flavorful food.

Jeremiah

Love the atmosphere in Local 188. Great staff, wonderful menu, great brunch.

Katya Danilova

Great food and service! Good portions and wide variety of cocktail choices, and the prices are fair.

Brian Walsh

Awesome!

Debbie Booker

Amazing food and service!

Gregory Panarese

The food and service are consistently excellent. I've been coming here for years and it's always an A+ experience. I truly love this place.

Jessica Simpson

Brunch was delicious. Yummy, fresh, local ingredients for a reasonable price.

Alvin Fleming

Great relaxed vibe , great service and wonderful creative food.

emre biyikli

Good: colorful, cozy ambiance; taste. Suggestion: potatos bravas, sushito pepper (if on the menu), seafood paella, peach cobbler.

Richard Brown

This place always serves amazing tasting food! Highly recommend for breakfast or dinner.

David Lovejoy

My favorite brunch spot in Portland, and one of the best bars in town! Try one of the infused drinks - the ginger bloody Mary was amazing, never would have thought it would work together, but it did!

John Fagan

Fantastic tapas, exciting and appropriate wines, friendly knowledgeable staff.

Carlo Lombardo

Reviewing while eating, absolutely delicious. If youre an avid steak consumer such as myself, you'll know that good steak is a key to life. This steak, is so delicious and rich that it will stop you in your tracks. This place knows how to turn out a good steak.

J Cwikla

Clam stew incredible, ask for a little heat. Tapas muscles also a must. Enough for one person as a dish

Kryston Lemay

They were very accommodating for my special requests. I ordered the potato gnocchi and it was excellent. I would definitely recommend it. The service was great. Emma was friendly, helpful, and attentive.

Ahtoy Juliana

Ended up here after a very frustrating day fighting crowds in Old Port at all the notable restaurants. I wish I came here first instead. It’s worth the drive out of the tourist spots. The atmosphere was chill, the staff were friendly, and the food was locally sourced and super fresh. Lots of small places to share is the way to go here. Nice short list of wines, too. Underrated gem.

Rory Benjamin

Sunday Brunch at Local 188 is something you really need to experience at some point in your visit to Portland or while living in this area. The breakfast paella (rice, eggs, bacon, chicken) is fantastic. Washing down this sublime meal was a Yeasayer cocktail was equally sublime. Off-street parking in a large lot is an added bonus.

Lauren Manera

I like the bar and some apps. Brunch was just okay, but we showed up 1/2 hour before closing. Bartender much better than floor server in my opinion. Worth trying, good music and people watching. Youngish crowd.

emerson hunt

Great spot, went here for breakfast and no complaints everything was perfect

Jane T.

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Consistently good food and fun uniquely crafted cocktails

Russ Nappi

Excellent brunch, killer cinnamon rolls.

Bettina Pearson

Salad and deviled eggs were ok, mushroom appetizer extra browned on the ouside but still good inside. Had paella there before that was dry and lacked flavor, but we gave it a another try. It was burned, seafood to dry to eat. We sent it back. Our marvelous waiter provided great service and comped us fortunately. The drink list and live music may draw us in another time, but no thanks to the food.

Takuya Ichikawa

Great place for a date or a get-together with friends. Good food with unique vibe.

Kevin Smith

First class service with food that absolutely amazes. Get in here.

Jonathan C. Fenton

Love their drinks, their food is well-prepared. But I was hoping to have a red meat option. Terrific atmosphere and service.

Jo Johnson

Warm atmosphere, friendly service and great food!

Ashley Abbott

Great tapas menu and nice drinks. Menus are successfully limited yet varied. Especially enjoyed the salad, tartare, and risotto. The price could be prohibitive depending on your budget but is on par for most downtown Portland food spots of its class.

Philip Ferreira

The food is great, the problem is the staff like to stand around and chat when the place is slammed causing the already large wait times to grow to well beyond unacceptable. This was illustrated by 4 empty tables that had not been bussed sitting there for 25 minutes while a line was out the door during brunch. When we did finally get seated we waited an additional 45 minutes for breakfast. Impossible to get refills on coffee and beverages. You know any one of those things could be overlooked but not all 3. We left there and had to go to 7 eleven because we were thirsty and then CBD for more coffee. The kicker we were just a party of 2. The larger groups had it worse.

Benny Blanco

Bartenders in this establishment are uppity and rude, cut my girlfriend off mid sentence when she asked if they had any similar drinks that were not spicy, and because the bartender didn’t agree with her request she just mouthed off in a side conversation with another bartender about how that’s her favorite Drink then proceeded to ignore my girlfriends request. But other then that the heroin addicts outside were a nice touch to the sophistication that is local 188.

Josh S

Waited 5 minutes just to be acknowledged despite many empty tables. When we finally got our name in for seating for 2, told it would be a ten minute wait. Over the next 20 minutes, watched multiple people walk in and get seated before us while other tables sat empty the whole time. We are all set with this place.

Tasha Vargas

This place is absolutely amazing!! The staff was phenomenal and very helpful when it came to questions about the menu. I loved the open kitchen and getting to see all of the delicious dishes being prepared. It all looked so delicious!! I got the breakfast paella and would highly suggest it. And the biscuit with honey butter was out of this world. Again, the open kitchen makes it such a neat and unforgettable experience. Just do yourself a favor and treat yourself to this amazing place. You will not regret it.

Mike Thomsen

We had a number of tapas, all good, and enjoyed a very relaxing evening.

Bill B

West End institution. Tasty, sophisticated cocktails. Flavor-packed dishes from snack portions to feast-sized meals. Great staff. Comfortable art and kitsch-filled space. Not cheap by any means but worth it.

Jim Munsie

I haven't had much to eat here, though I have seen a lot of the dishes. The food is well prepared in an open kitchen that seems efficient and clean. It's a great spot for groups to come and sit around in the lounge style seating. Great small plates and sharing dishes. The thing that always draws me here is the bar menu. They have excellent house cocktails and their bartenders are professionals. Every drink is exceptional.

Ralph Valente

Fantastic food. The small plates were all highly flavorful and inventive.

ryan shay

Got the worst steak of my life here and paid more than thirty dollars for my meal. Drinks are mediocre (stiff, overly sugary and no balanced flavor) compared to the rest of the joints in Portland. I have been three times and the service was par and the waitstaff was friendly and accommodating. I will probably never go again because Portland has so many great places to choose from.

margaret reimer

Intriguing local foods I portions designed for sharing. Wait staff was quick and friendly. We will be going back to try more of the menu.

Timothy Karu

A consistently solid player and old standard of the Portland food scene. I've never had a meal there that I'd define as 'incredible' and I've never had one I'd say was bad. It's always really good. Love the tapas menu. I go here often to meet friends for a drink, and end up having one or two plates every time. It's always bustling inside but they always seem to have a table, if no immediately, then relatively quickly

John Thompson

We had a wonderful meal here with great service.

Eric Belschner

Brunch paella is one of my favorite things. This place kills it. Usually a wait, but it's worth it.

Cheryl Anderson

Wonderful chicken risotto with mushrooms!

Matt Modaff

Great food, great drinks, friendly attentive staff. Will definitely be back!

Alexandria Kavanagh

Stumbled upon Local 188 after the place down the block said there was a 45 min wait. I am really happy I did! The ambiance was really nice and the food and beverages were phenomenal! I love that they support local farmers and produce markets. I recommend the corn beef hash, pancake, or the mushroom goat cheese omelet you won't be disappointed. I can't wait to visit from NJ again.

Steven P Taylor

Tapas tapas tapas! Excellent variety and excellent service! Highly recommended if you ever visit Portland, ME! Even more so, if you live anywhere near the place!

Christopher Kimball

Great food!! Not sure why I had not tried it earlier!! Will most definitely be back!!

burrito KONG

Absolutely the best brunch in portland.

Susan Stemper

Good shared plates. We tried the house paella, and it delivered! Server was very good - just the right amount of attention and checking in with us. She also made sure we didn't over-order. Kudos to her.

Vetty TV

188 is one of my face places to visit when I am back in Portland. The unique cocktails are fun and delicious. Their tapas plates are varied. I particularly love sitting at the counter seating and watching the "show" as I am eating.

Eric Steed

Good food, but don't park there. They share a lot with a medical marijuana store, and the patrons tend to bump your car. The medical marijuana store has cameras in the lot, but will not share footage.

Ivan Schmidt-Vitale

Absolutely incredible tapas and cocktails. The seafood paella takes 30ish minutes to cook, so order it right away if it's on your mind, it is 100% worth it.

Andy Zagajeski

Fun tapas spot. With Great staff. Thanks for a Phun dinner.

Ryan Gay

Excellent cocktails, decent beer list. The food is really good but a tad limited and expensive service ranges from nice to pretentious hipster.

Nate Hoy

Lovely friendly service, amazing food.

Matt Werner

My wife and I came in on Sunday and were able to be seated right away. Easy going atmosphere with an open kitchen that is entertaining to watch. Excellent cocktail menu and a few beers on tap. Appetizers were very tasty and dinner was also good. Best part of the meal was the blueberry cobbler, a must try! Good restaurant, but there are others in town I would try before coming back