It took a long time for the The Front Room to get back to normal after Covid-era dining upheavals. It’s not yet open 7 days per week but enough of the days (Wednesday to Saturday, dinner only) to make it a steady neighborhood hot spot for dining. The food is well prepared, peppered with plenty of home-grown ingredients to deem it locally sourced.
The room, however, is not much different. Tables are not as close together as before but still packed into the room. I’m not aware that when the restaurant was “closed for renovation” that it included one of those new air filtration systems. I’d have liked to see tables spaced farther apart, and until Portland requires vaccination (x3) cards for entry in all restaurants (and public spaces) as in New York City, I’ll still remain wary of dining-in at places that I’d love to return to. But any regulations regarding masks, vax cards or otherwise are met by the inane political divide that shrouds our pandemic ideology. Ultimately the mask rule here and elsewhere is useless without more stringent controls like proof of vaccination in your back pocket. Today the City Council voted to repeal the mask mandate, another misstep by an out-of-step council.
Beyond all that, the Front Room’s roast chicken is still the best one in the city. It’s a local bird–not sure of its provenance since the answer from our waitress when I asked was unintelligible because the noise level is still pretty high in the restaurant. But it is from a local farm and is simply prepared with lemon and herbs, roasted beautifully with crisp skin and luscious meat underneath It’s served over a bed of potato puree. The other dish we had was pan-seared scallops, served over potato puree and cooked perfectly–well seared with just the right under-done texture. A touch of spinach on the side was good–strong flavor and presumably from a local farm.
Starters were less successful. I had something called liver toasts, a pile of chopped duck liver on two slices of toast that was way too much for one person to eat. I only finished half the portion and had no interest in taking the rest home. Besides being way too rich it had a strange taste that was unpleasantly sour.
We didn’t ask for dessert and our bill was $97 before tip, an amount for two that is typical at many restaurants in town these days. Entrees, though, are relatively well priced at $20 to $25. Starters are $10 to $16. The appetizer menu has always been on the rich side, and except for the deviled eggs there are barely choices that are just incidental dishes. I suppose the restaurant feels that their diners want to order multiple apps to fill up on and save money too instead of the usual first course and entrée combination.
There are only a handful of restaurants on Munjoy Hill, which has become the most coveted and expensive neighborhood in Portland, a Mecca for millennials indeed. Though the age level at the restaurant on a Friday night was decidedly older than the average millennial grouping. The Blue Spoon, the Front Room and Jing Yan (the old Lolita) are also excellent choices. Some down the hill like Kuno and Otto’s are other choices before getting to the crowded dining corridors of Middle Street and Washington Ave.
I’m glad the Front Room, a neighborhood restaurant for me, is back in fine form. And when I covet a good roast chicken I’ll go there again. If only the restaurant’s burger platter included French fries. The kitchen is against having a fryolator, a course that is unfortunate for any restaurant who dares to proclaim their burger is the best. What, still no fries?
The Front Room, 73 Congress St., www.thefrontroomrestaurant.com
Rating: Still good
Ambiance: Lively local crowd
Service: Excellent
Price: Moderately expensive
Parking: On street
Reservations: Yes
Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, all day dining some days of week