Reviews of The Independent Ice Co. (Restaurant)

Celia Mawhinney

Kristal was very friendly and knowledgeable. She also made the best Old Fashioned I've ever had. We were sad to learn this is her last week there. However, we will be back.

Dillon Gillies

We have discovered our new Old Port bar, what a find! Can hardly wait to return and try a bourbon or 2, food looked great, and the bartender was very knowledgeable, host (Gary) is very accommodating. Love this place!

Emily Bradshaw

Lovely food but the air con was too efficient for me! However, the waiter got me a blanket.

Albert Michaud

Bourbon and steak and cheese! Yum.

Joseph Colliton

Do the meatloaf sliders. Ask about their history.

Denise Hodgkins

Amazing food, fantastic atmosphere....the staff was the best they make you want to hang out all night! Did a flight of Maine whiskeys and found a new favorite. It's going to be a regular place for us...

Charles Foss

Beautiful bar. Great ambience. Unnecessarily expensive. Short pours on beer.

Kate Castonguay

I had the bourbon sangria which may have been a special. Food was limited so I didn't eat there. I'm giving this 4/5 because while draft cocktails are some kind of wonderful it takes away from the creativity and wonder of an amazing bartender. However their cocktails are not all on draft. It's w cool thing if you're in a hurry to get your drink on.

Charlene Cullinane

Found this gem while exploring downtown Portland. We were drawn in by the beautiful ambiance and greeted by a friendly host who quickly found us a very comfy booth. (The outside seating looked really nice as well! ) We ordered some delicious cocktails and were promptly brought over waters. We enjoyed a wonderful veggie burger and mouth watering steak and cheese. The fries with house made ketchup were some of the best fries I have ever had as well!! It was such a fun place. One of my highlights of our trip

Paul Bratt

My wife and I stopped in for drinks--we loved the vibe of the place and I loved their extensive bourbon selection.

Lou Butare

Warm and friendly with an amazing staff.

Christopher Sprague

The selection is great and the service was friendly, but the prices were shockingly high across the board, at least for single malt Scotch. Essentially a single dram is 1/3 the retail price of an entire bottle, which is easily over double the going rate at every other bar in Portland. Lagavulin 16 is $26 a dram here, and $12 just a couple of blocks away. You obviously expect a markup over retail when drinking at a bar, but not to this degree - not even close to this degree. This is true for all of the Malts. If you go, I hope you have deep pockets.

Jim Wallace

Comfortable, but classy, bar. Attractive bience and decor.

Mike Bluck

Great selection of beers and spirits. Warm and cosy but make sure you hang your coat on the coat rail!

Will Akin

This is one of my favorite, go-to bars in downtown Portland. They have an impressive collection of whiskeys in addition to signature whiskey-based cocktails (e.g., a chocolate bourbon martini!). They also serve food to order; I wouldn’t call it a full-service kitchen, but the menu will definitely fill you up - not to mention it’s absolutely delicious. I recommend visiting to anyone who will listen.

Noah Dew

Gary is the best. Excellent whiskey bar. Solid beer list. Food is beautiful. A must in Portland. ***Update*** Had wedding after party here. Phenomenal! Be sure to ask them about hosting events, their service is over the top! Thank you for so many wonderful times!

Luka Bulatovic

This place is very good !

Anne Dew

Gary and the crew are amazo. We had our wedding after party here and it was perfect. Such a beautiful location on wharf street and drinks are great. There’s outdoor patio and indoor event area. It was the best day ever for us! Thank you!

Genko Stanilov

If you are looking for a chill place to enjoy the ultimate selection of bourbon styles or for a casual bite before hitting a club (hint the Meatloaf sliders are amazing), the place is The Independent Ice, ask the manager and the story of ice harvesting of New England will be laid for you one anecdote at a time. Worth waiting the line at the door!

Kathy Sylvia

Menu was lite

Sara Kasper

Wonderful outdoor patio seating on Wharf Street surrounded by brick and cobblestones! We made it for happy hour and really enjoyed our bourbon sangrias (on draft) for only $7/glass instead of $14. The food was also quite tasty (meatloaf sliders, fries). Good service too!

Benjamin Crocker

Dark candlelit atmosphere. Cozy and warm; perfect for date night. The meatloaf sliders are delicious. I've been waiting to visit since I saw that a new restaurant was coming to the location. It did not disappoint!

L B

Friendly service. They were very busy but staff made sure to check in on us. I had a burger and it was delicious. They're cocktails were yummy and creative as well. Highly recommend.

Lauren Donahue

Delicious food, fantastic drinks, and very friendly waitstaff! We had a fabulous time and highly recommend it!!

Maximilian Rütten

Super nice bar with hundreds of whiskeys!

Toby Sandys

The Independent Ice Co is an absolute must visit, especially if you like whiskey. I tried a number of local whiskeys and received a thorough education from the staff. Even better, they provided info in what breweries to visit the next day. They also have a great drink selection beyond whiskey, my GF loved the on-tap prosecco! A fantastic experience all around, I cant wait to go back!

Andrew Berdell

Nice place missing a few key whisky's and scotch's other then that pretty nifty

Rie B

If you're into whiskey and you're in Portland, just go. What an amazing place with huge selection of bourbon, so glad a did the Maine bourbon flight to experience the local taste. Service was fantastic as well and the vibe is great.

A. K. Jones

Alex the bartender was awesome. And the food was delish.

Hal Incandenza

Awesome whiskey selection. Friendly staff and cool atmosphere. Food is good too.

Jeff H

Don't have all whiskey/whisky but what they do have is excellent. Be sure to ask how the name of the bar came about.

Sean Banks

The food was very good. It was a fairly small menu but what they did was top notch. The drinks were good. Fine selection and great atmosphere. Our server was probably one of the best I've ever had. Fantastic service. Really no criticisms I can think of!

Inna Z

We sat outside. They have a cute patio area. We enjoyed our nice simmer drinks and upscale bar food. Service was good and I liked my wine. My lobster roll had a lot of lobster but unfortunately, it was cold. My husband enjoyed his steak sandwich.

Karen Schiavo

The service was great! The drinks were good! Food was phenomenal! Highly recommended. Larry the owner was very friendly

David Wilkins

We sat outside and absolutely loved the atmosphere! Our waitress, Rachel, was amazing and helped us make choices as tourists. She was very friendly, and made us want to come back again ASAP. We look forward to dining here again whenever we come back to Portland!

Zach Houdek

Stumbled upon this Old Port restaurant on a Saturday night, and we couldn't be more pleased with the experience. It really is an experience. From the moment you walk in the door, you are welcomed by a staff that makes you feel as if you are a regular. The whiskey and bourbon wall is immaculate for even the most selective, while craft beer drinkers have an appropriate selection. We ordered the cutting board (charcuterie), split a burger and side of fries. Gary, who recommended the cutting board, did state it was the best charcuterie board in Portland... Hard for us to argue that one. Burger.. we'd vote the best in Portland when compared to the handful we've had in the city. Atmosphere 5 stars. Service 5+ stars. Food 5 stars. We have been transplanted to Portland for the past 3 months, and I can tell you that we will certainly be back with some friends and family when they visit.

terri hallenbeck

Tight space but awesome place

Christine Baptista

Great drinks ambiance and wonderful, simple menu offerings. Plentiful portions and they have a really great patio seating area which is fun for people watching.

Joel Sherman

Good drinks. Good location

Doug Lauver

Great whiskey bar in old Port!

tom hedge

Best bourbon selection in Portland.

Joseph Kuzma

Simply amazing. This is going to be a wallet-devastating discovery for me

Alexandre Giroux

Tourist trap

Alan Anacki

The staff was superb! The best ever!

Sarah Dee

Yummy drinks!! Very upscale. The owners were very friendly and down to earth.

Christopher Dugan

Amazing bar! Gary, the General Manager, is amazing and makes quality drinks. 10/10 would recommend!

Mathieu Tremblay

Great ambiance! Nice folks! good service. Burger was great. But the lobster rool wasn't fresh.

Benjamin D. Cohen

Shouldn’t need to wait over 2 hours for a meal. Nothing said to us about this delay when we sat down. Nobody around us has food either - if you can’t cook food, then don’t seat people. We ended up leaving after 1 hour and 25 min of waiting for our food. We never got it. The manager who came over and told us what was going on said he would check and bring back waters - he never came back. Won’t ever be back.

Chris

Perfect place to go for for light food and great drinks. Best list of whiskey and scotches in Portland and all at a great price.

Adrian Kessler

Extremely knowledgeable staff. The apple cider mule is unbelievable. They have knob creek as the base. Soo good.

David Carr

Great spot for cocktails and craft beer, management is very hands-on and working to improve the area.

Jerry close

The decor is very nice. The whiskey list is above average hut average for a whiskey bar. The house cocktails were uninspired.

Brad Doyle

Great cocktails. Nice bar. Good service.

Dylan Agosta

I don't really drink, but this place has a great atmosphere (and cool ice!)

Deirdre Burns

The GM Gary was so accommodating and helpful. Our server Lindsey was attentive and offered to split our check without us even asking. Such a beautiful place to sit outside, I felt like I was in Europe.

joel simons

A Fantastic Whisk(e)y bar. Intimate atmosphere and great fries. Went there for my birthday party.

Bettina Pearson

Classy, extensive inventory and priced as such. Great event space too.

brian belliveau

Huge selection and nice beer list too. A little dark in there but very bice otherwise.

Skip Lang

By far the best place in the Old Port for a drink and a bite. Food was fantastic, best lobster rolls we have had with loads of lobster meat. Prices were more than reasonable. Happy hour drinks were a bonus and our server Rasha was excellent, friendly and fun.

Allyson Wyand

The fries are delicious and they have great happy hour deals!

Scott Payson

Ridiculously great selection of top-shelf whiskeys and awesome, knowledgeable service.

Brayden apple

Amazing selection and friendly staff. Best old fashioned in town

Robert Guy

Great shaved steak and bourbon sangria

Todd Sigley

Wide-ranging whiskey selection, friendly staff, excellent service, delightfully comfortable space, cozy ambience, superb cocktails, and delicious fries.

Andrew Shortill

I am not a "bar" kind of guy. This place was pretty much perfect. It's not too big but not cramped either. It's also not too loud and I did not have to shout to have a pleasant conversation with someone next to me. The bar stuff was knowledgeable and friendly, but also knew when to leave us alone so we could enjoy our drinks and company. We had burgers and fries, both of which were very good. I like that it is a bar with some food and not a restaurant with some alcohol. Finally, I went for the whiskey. I have a fairly advanced whiskey pallette and I found drams from all over the world and from less than $10 to over $130. They had bottles I'd never heard of and many I had. This is a place I will return to.