White Cap Grille Is 'Meh'; Excellence At Eventide

In a city chock full of distinctive dining options, White Cap Grille on Middle Street is, well, stuck in the middle. Not great .. not terrible, says The Portland Press Herald's Shonna Milliken Humphrey in her three-star review. She tries hard to be positive; the restaurant "does offer a diverse menu -- each accessible to a timid palate. Nothing feels overly foreign or highly spiced." Most of the food is "not nearly as attractive as the menu description," offering mussels as an example:

They tasted fine though -- and consistently representative of the other White Cap Grille menu items. Not memorable, not terrible, not exceptional, not too salty, not too bland -- just belly-filling fine and as vanilla as the ice cream served alongside the Bumbleberry Crisp for dessert.

Diane Hudson of Portland Monthly magazine climbs aboard the love boat for Eventide Oyster Co., hands down the hottest restaurant in Portland. She finds not only"the best oysters we've had," but also "some of the best fried fish I've tasted since my college days in London," a "showstopper" of "battered Gulf of Maine hake."

·: White Cap For Tourists And The Old Port Office Crowd [PPH]
· Eventide Oyster Co. Ups The Ante For The Rest Of The Bed [PM]

[Photo: Maine Restaurant Week]