Bar Futo - Portland, Maine

Miranda Z.

First time eating here and I was very impressed! I started with the Fun Police, very delicious but not too sweet, and ate the fries tofu and side fries. My husband got the Ramen and our friend the fish and chips, all which was excellent! We will be returning!

Vicki S.

A fabulous dinner, made for foodies. Service was really slow in the beginning (when the restaurant wasn't even really busy yet), but it got much better. The cocktails were yummy, but the food was excellent. Everything so unique and full of so much flavor! Foodie paradise.

Peggy J.

Best izakaya/yakitori place I’ve ever been to and I’ve lived in NYC and Hong Kong — we stumbled upon this place on our quick trip to Portland and we were blown away by the quality of the food and service.

We got the chilled tofu, and a few yakitori items: chicken thighs (so juicy and tender - amazing!), koji cured denver steak (great quality meat, paired very well with the sauce), grilled mushroom yakitori (very juicy and cooked perfectly), tsukune, and pork belly.

We ended our meal with the blueberry breakfast kakigori which was also perfect.

Overall, this is one of the best meals I’ve had this year and had to come on here to share my review! Loved it and will definitely take a trip to Portland to come back here.

Christian H.

I initially heard of Bar Futo when the James Beard award list was released. A Japanese-inspired restaurant with yakitori/binchotan grilling wasn't something that I could find easily and had to visit. I sat at the chefs counter, which gave you a full view of the kitchen, dinner and a show. The menu had a lot of options, from the skewers to raw dishes, to noodles and bowls. The cocktails and drinks were also fun and inventive. They even have a Toki highball machine which made the absolute best highball I've ever had! All the skewers I tried were delicious and really filled you up. At the end, the kakigori (Shaved ice) was also monstrous and such a treat. Overall, loved everything about the place and would certainly return.

Sasha V.

A wonderful experience! The chef here semifinal'ed in the James Beard awards, leading us to find out about the place and stop by since we were already going to Portland. We got the chef's counter experience and got to see the action in the kitchen, which was cool. The small plate concept is not new but quite refreshing the way it's done here! We enjoyed all of the food, especially the Denver steak. Bravo, team!

Chad K.

Delicious! The menu was diverse. The focus is their yakitori (skewers) and their sake offerings. Tanuki hour (happy hour) was nice, with a few well-priced sakes (I had a great glass of cold sake) and small plates on offer (the umami fries were tasty).

I tried a mix of their yakitori, getting 3x and making it a bento (added pickles, rice and soy egg for $6 extra). The tsukune (chicken meatballs) and grilled mushrooms were great, the grilled fish was decent but not my favorite.

They have some sneaky good ramen offerings - the futo shio was totally awesome.

We sat at the chef's counter, and thus got to see a lot of other great-looking plates going out that we didn't have room to try.

We finished with the kakigori (shaved ice) which was a treat for the eyes and taste both - the small/half portion is definitely enough for two people to split, and based on the size of that, I am sure the large/full portion is pretty huge!

The vibes were great (music and atmosphere), and service was friendly. Would definitely return.

Susie S.

Skewers were decent (the special tiger beef was good) and the overall concept was good as well but everything was too salty especially the mains.

Carbonara was rich but super salty and the duck over rice was also salty and the rice was undercooked.

Appreciated the service staff and this place definitely has good atmosphere.

Tara K.

So much fun! 🍢🍡 This is a great place to try new things. We started with the chips and dip; the chips had a perfect dusting of flavor. We opted for the bento box that allowed us to try 3 skewer options complemented by rice and pickled veggies. The Big Mac and tsukune (chicken meatball) were our favorites, with the pork belly coming in a closer third. The drinks are a great refreshing touch. Add one on! This is a must-visit place for a unique meal while in the Old Port. 🛳️🍽️