Restaurant Review

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JAMIE MERCURIO; ELYSE CHILAND TIPTON; COURTESY PHOTO; COURTESY FATHOM COMPANIES Hit the Roof

Taste the breeze with all of Portland at your feet.

BY NANCY ENGLISH

With a kingdom of water and courageous harbor lights spread out before you, flames licking stones in the fireplaces, deep cushions in the sheltering couches, and lap robes for the chill, you may find it hard to leave the sixthfloor patio at Luna Rooftop Bar hotel on Commercial Street. The black window trim and non-gendered bathroom’s bronze tiles (with individual stalls) are a stage set of understated cool, and this restraint is echoed in the cocktail list, where sugar is never the starring ingredient, and jazzy supporting actors like rosemary, coffee, and ground chili get spotlights.

Hades ($14) turns out to be a mound of poppy seed-speckled crushed ice (has Hell frozen over?) cresting the rim of a cup holding chilled rum and lime faintly flavored with banana and tea. More intense and seductive, the smoky Adonis ($16) comes rimmed with spicy ground chili, tequila and mezcal dominating the pineapple, grapefruit, and lime. Two women by the window delight in the Persephone ($14), as if in preparation for some later descent, but we’re all in agreement that the Demeter ($16) stands out in the pantheon for its whiskey, Cocchi Dopo Teatro, clove, and coffee extract locally brewed at Rwanda Bean Coffee. This was the most original drink we tried, but all showcased the same light hand with the simple syrup. Demeter’s roasted marshmallow was the only sugar bomb of the night—a welcome excess.

While some of us are still dithering about shared food, a serving spoon would be welcome with the small plates meant to be shared, along with more toasted bread. Between the whipped goat cheese

S NIE COURTESY FATHOM COMPA with garlicky olives, shrimp in red sauce on polenta, and ricotta gnudi with poached pears and peppery red watercress drizzled with honey ($11–$17), there was more than enough for the three of us. So there was no clear rationale for ordering the mushroom bao ($16)—deep pockets of umami with kimchee and a “sesame soy emulsion” like tangy kewpie mayo—except the server’s justified recommendation. Or to share the ricotta fritters ($10), heavenly crisp, small brown rockets of crunch and tenderness touched with lemon curd and mint. The bar was closed for a week or two in the winter to install a new floor, as the original, new in the summer of 2021, had warped from rain and driven snow. The new diagonal black tiles should better withstand the insane weather of Maine, supporting this welcome, away-from-it-all refuge for the foreseeable future. n