We have enjoyed the chef's choice many times, but last night, we were underwhelmed to say the least. When two people order a prefix menu, one would think the food would arrive in pairs. However, this time, the food arrived sporadically, often one plate placed in the middle of the table. And the portions were super small. For example, the only real green offered was a so, so arugula salad followed by super salty pork belly, only to be followed by very salty Korean short ribs . The iconic popover was mushy inside with almost no lobster. The redeeming dish was a seared cod on delicious bed of fava beans. One deconstructed cheesecake arrived suddenly, plopped down without any offer for coffee. Sadly this signaled an abrupt end to a very fragmented and expensive series of random plates. I'm sure we will go back because Sur Lie was once a favorite, and we love Gather, the sister restaurant in Yarmouth, but I hope for a more consistent and balanced experience next time.
Ashleigh Tatarcyk
The ambience and service were on point. Lovely big windows, unique painting on the wall, the servers were attentive, listing out everything about the dish, keeping the water full. We enjoyed the staggered plates, the presentation was beautiful and the food tasted lovely. The pasta dish was gorgeous.However, even for tapas it was very small portions for the price. $18 for 2 small chicken skewers, $24 for 2 smaller sized scallops. The 5 plates we ordered equaled probably a good sized meal for one person.Add in 2 drinks and we’re at $167.It’s giving hunger.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Kevin Ashburn
Great service, great drinks, some of the dishes were a hit but portion sizes (even for tapas) are very small for the price. 2 scallops for $18? As with many restaurants post Covid, the value prop favors the venue.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Katharine Rudzitis
As always, Sur Lie certainly was an excellent choice! We went for dinner during restaurant week, and we are actually holding our wedding reception here during the summer. I love how they use different flavors, and every dish I have is always well balanced and delicious. Fabulous cocktails too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
Andreas T
Excellent food. We had the pasta w fennel sausage, the short rib , the smoked scallops, and the lobster popover. Serving sizes are small ( typical for tapas), the prices are however closer to a main course. Quality is great, service exceptional. If you can afford it, this place is awesome.
Kristen Vineis
This was one of the best meals I have EVER had. Get the short rib… beyond amazing. An absolute must for any Portland trip! The food was impeccable & the service was great. 10/10!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
jamie p
My first drink tasted like vinegar. The alternate was not on ice. On the menu unavailable. Bar tender refused to take out food order when he took our drink order. Weird. But he wanted to run around with styled ice cubes and make big shaken drinks dramatically. Never mind the hunger of the patron. So anyways. We get the food. Cold. Covered in olive oil. Why? If you’re going to soak crostini in olive oil, add that to the menu. If I had known I would have just not ordered. Most people lightly dip oil if they want it. I’m not talking a drizzle. It looked like many enjoyed the off vibe here that’s cool.But it was just not our thing. It was odd
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
David S.
So not what I expected. I had really high hopes for this place but it let me down. The atmosphere is a little strange to start with, but we were seated on the weird little ledge in a corner overlooking an ally, we could see into the kitchen at sort of knee level which is never good and our whole experience felt like an afterthought. The food was ok as individual plates, but together as a menu it was really disjointed and all over the place. The cocktails felt forced, like they were trying to be as funky as possible, but in all honestly just were not that good. I will give it a second chance, but they should really get rid of the odd seating.
Molly Phalan
We came in Friday night on our annual mother daughter Portland trip. We originally had a reservation but ended up sitting at the bar. Travis, our bartender, was amazing. From his cocktail creations that were so clearly his expertise to his friendly and personable manner - we enjoyed our time so much. We got the frontage and charcuterie and it was delicious- the perfect amount of of food for 2-3 people and the pairings were amazing. We then ordered the pork belly- we could have got 3 servings!! Definitely recommend Surlie if you’re looking for delicious food and a wonderful night.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mark Nahorney
Great food selection and service. We come a few times a year.
It was good! I liked the spot and the bartender was friendly. Cool dishes, very unique
Amy Wagner
If you want to go to a restaurant that has awful food and hard benches to sit on, this is your place! I ordered a martini to start, and they served what seemed like a thimble full of gin in a tiny glass that looked like it was meant for port. Then we ordered 6 ridiculously expensive and teeny tiny dishes that were pretty to look at, but utterly flavorless. The prices of these plates were obnoxious as well. 2 drinks and 6 small plates later, we were left still hungry but $240 poorer. Never go here! Sooooo disappointed!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Nick (Nick D)
The drinks were great and so was the food. Initially didn't realize it was more of a tapis joint. Scallops were awesome but only got 2.
One of my absolute favorite places for date night or a girl's night. The food is incredible. So good and creative. The atmosphere matches the meals and the staff is always pleasant and knowledgable.
David W.
I'm really conflicted about Sur Lie. The food is so good but so overpriced, most of the small plate dishes between $24 and $31 each. Interesting variety of specialty cocktails but in very small glasses, seem like half cocktails. We had the corn fritters, snap peas, shrimp, scallops, short ribs, and two orders of lobster pastry. All of it was excellent especially the lobster dish and the short ribs. The scallops might've even been the best but they are a perfect example of my conundrum about this review. Two very small scallops perfectly cooked in a wonderful sauce for $24! Maybe reasonable if there were four small scallops but having to settle for a half scallop each was not nearly enough for our party of four. I had to wonder why the restaurant was 3/4 full on a Friday night when everyone else is packed, and I can only conclude that it is the pricing, because the food is top-notch. They recommend two small plates per person and we had seven total for the four of us so just under, plus one cocktail each and with tip ran almost $300. The food is so good that I could be a regular but the value is just not there unfortunately.
We have enjoyed the chef's choice many times, but last night, we were underwhelmed to say the least. When two people order a prefix menu, one would think the food would arrive in pairs. However, this time, the food arrived sporadically, often one plate placed in the middle of the table. And the portions were super small. For example, the only real green offered was a so, so arugula salad followed by super salty pork belly, only to be followed by very salty Korean short ribs . The iconic popover was mushy inside with almost no lobster. The redeeming dish was a seared cod on delicious bed of fava beans. One deconstructed cheesecake arrived suddenly, plopped down without any offer for coffee. Sadly this signaled an abrupt end to a very fragmented and expensive series of random plates. I'm sure we will go back because Sur Lie was once a favorite, and we love Gather, the sister restaurant in Yarmouth, but I hope for a more consistent and balanced experience next time.
The ambience and service were on point. Lovely big windows, unique painting on the wall, the servers were attentive, listing out everything about the dish, keeping the water full. We enjoyed the staggered plates, the presentation was beautiful and the food tasted lovely. The pasta dish was gorgeous.However, even for tapas it was very small portions for the price. $18 for 2 small chicken skewers, $24 for 2 smaller sized scallops. The 5 plates we ordered equaled probably a good sized meal for one person.Add in 2 drinks and we’re at $167.It’s giving hunger.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Great service, great drinks, some of the dishes were a hit but portion sizes (even for tapas) are very small for the price. 2 scallops for $18? As with many restaurants post Covid, the value prop favors the venue.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
As always, Sur Lie certainly was an excellent choice! We went for dinner during restaurant week, and we are actually holding our wedding reception here during the summer. I love how they use different flavors, and every dish I have is always well balanced and delicious. Fabulous cocktails too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
Excellent food. We had the pasta w fennel sausage, the short rib , the smoked scallops, and the lobster popover. Serving sizes are small ( typical for tapas), the prices are however closer to a main course. Quality is great, service exceptional. If you can afford it, this place is awesome.
This was one of the best meals I have EVER had. Get the short rib… beyond amazing. An absolute must for any Portland trip! The food was impeccable & the service was great. 10/10!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My first drink tasted like vinegar. The alternate was not on ice. On the menu unavailable. Bar tender refused to take out food order when he took our drink order. Weird. But he wanted to run around with styled ice cubes and make big shaken drinks dramatically. Never mind the hunger of the patron. So anyways. We get the food. Cold. Covered in olive oil. Why? If you’re going to soak crostini in olive oil, add that to the menu. If I had known I would have just not ordered. Most people lightly dip oil if they want it. I’m not talking a drizzle. It looked like many enjoyed the off vibe here that’s cool.But it was just not our thing. It was odd
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
So not what I expected. I had really high hopes for this place but it let me down. The atmosphere is a little strange to start with, but we were seated on the weird little ledge in a corner overlooking an ally, we could see into the kitchen at sort of knee level which is never good and our whole experience felt like an afterthought. The food was ok as individual plates, but together as a menu it was really disjointed and all over the place. The cocktails felt forced, like they were trying to be as funky as possible, but in all honestly just were not that good. I will give it a second chance, but they should really get rid of the odd seating.
We came in Friday night on our annual mother daughter Portland trip. We originally had a reservation but ended up sitting at the bar. Travis, our bartender, was amazing. From his cocktail creations that were so clearly his expertise to his friendly and personable manner - we enjoyed our time so much. We got the frontage and charcuterie and it was delicious- the perfect amount of of food for 2-3 people and the pairings were amazing. We then ordered the pork belly- we could have got 3 servings!! Definitely recommend Surlie if you’re looking for delicious food and a wonderful night.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food selection and service. We come a few times a year.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Skewers, Crab Dip
Restaurantji Recommends
It was good! I liked the spot and the bartender was friendly. Cool dishes, very unique
If you want to go to a restaurant that has awful food and hard benches to sit on, this is your place! I ordered a martini to start, and they served what seemed like a thimble full of gin in a tiny glass that looked like it was meant for port. Then we ordered 6 ridiculously expensive and teeny tiny dishes that were pretty to look at, but utterly flavorless. The prices of these plates were obnoxious as well. 2 drinks and 6 small plates later, we were left still hungry but $240 poorer. Never go here! Sooooo disappointed!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
The drinks were great and so was the food. Initially didn't realize it was more of a tapis joint. Scallops were awesome but only got 2.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Skewers, Seared Scallops, Crab Dip
One of my absolute favorite places for date night or a girl's night. The food is incredible. So good and creative. The atmosphere matches the meals and the staff is always pleasant and knowledgable.
I'm really conflicted about Sur Lie. The food is so good but so overpriced, most of the small plate dishes between $24 and $31 each. Interesting variety of specialty cocktails but in very small glasses, seem like half cocktails. We had the corn fritters, snap peas, shrimp, scallops, short ribs, and two orders of lobster pastry. All of it was excellent especially the lobster dish and the short ribs. The scallops might've even been the best but they are a perfect example of my conundrum about this review. Two very small scallops perfectly cooked in a wonderful sauce for $24! Maybe reasonable if there were four small scallops but having to settle for a half scallop each was not nearly enough for our party of four. I had to wonder why the restaurant was 3/4 full on a Friday night when everyone else is packed, and I can only conclude that it is the pricing, because the food is top-notch. They recommend two small plates per person and we had seven total for the four of us so just under, plus one cocktail each and with tip ran almost $300. The food is so good that I could be a regular but the value is just not there unfortunately.