A friend suggested that I go to Sonny’s because, she said, “The new menu is terrific.” My first reaction was how different could it be if the restaurant has remained a basic haunt for Latin-inspired cooking? Was there an invigoration of Cal- España -Latin fusion fresh off the plains?
So we went there for dinner earlier this week—the first time in at least a year. I used to go for lunch often, but the restaurant stopped serving during the day.
Sonny’s is prominenly figured along the Old Port’s restaurant row
The room is basically the same: darkened nooks and crannies with banquettes and tables in this historic space, which 150 years ago was the ornately designed Portland Savings Bank that was built after the fire of 1866. The rear dining room is more spacious and brighter. And the bar, as always, was packed–a popular watering hole for the after-5 office crowd. Millennial Central? To a degree.
The main dining room with its open kitchen
Rear dining room
After several margaritas and craft cocktails, the drinks pairing with the many dishes was a totally cohesive confluence of food and beverage. Cocktails like the smoky Robinson (mezcal, bourbon, maple, lemon and scotch mist) had just enough smoke flavor to enhance the pair of tacos we had with it: Swordfish el pastor is wrapped up with guajillo, pineapple puree, fresh pineapple, onion and chipotle mayo; then an eggplant taco masa-battered and wonderfully puffy and crisp encased the eggplant with chili de arbol, in a salsa of raisins, capers and cucumber. These were two of the best tacos I’ve had anywhere in Maine.
Sonny’s popular bar
The classic margaritas we tried perfectly suited the flavors of ceviche–scallops, shrimp, coconut, cucumber, red onion in a squid-ink broth. The contrast of the glistening white fish floating in the ebony hued sauce was so moderne.
Top, clockwise: smoked squid; corn salad; smoky Robinson cocktail and ceviche
Owner Jay Villani, donning his long apron, was in the kitchen, too, something he does at all his restaurants (Salvage BBQ and Local 188) dropping in as a kind of roving kitchen impresario lauding over his dining empire. His chef de cuisine at Sonny’s is Paul Tuck who is doing a fabulous job, creating dishes that are not only distinctive but beautifully crafted.
Tacos: swordwich and fried eggplant served on house-made flour tortillas
Villani suggested that we try a salad of roasted corn under a dome of grated cotija with radish, scallions jalapeno in a buttermilk dressing. As an intermediate course it was light and inviting, and I’d like to try it again when local corn comes to market.
One of the most intriguing dishes if not a slight departure from the norm was the Maine squid, which is smoked and mixed with tomato, Spanish olives and matchstick cuts of jicama moistened with garlic oil, basil and mint. Your meant to eat the dish with chop sticks, a surprise element in a Latin restaurant. But it made perfect sense to pick up these slivered ingredients so easily with a pair of chop sticks.
Classic flan
The perfect ending to this wonderful meal was a classic flan in a pool of caramel as if to support the gossamer light custard.
Sonny’s, 83 Exchange St., Portland, ME 207-772-7774 www.sonnysportland.com
Rating: 5-star reinterpretation of Latin fare, beautfully prepared
Ambiance: At once old-fashioned in the antbellum architecture of the original buidling yet decidedly contemporary
Service: Great wait staff. They know everyting about the menu and we were sterred to some of the best dishes
Tables: Roomy and well spaced
Noise: The usual but very simpatico
Parking: none except street and garage
Serves dinner served nightly and brunch on weekends
