Downtown Lounge

Good bar food, insanely strong drinks, a killer old school jukebox and an angry bartender sweating out the drugs he ingested 36 hours prior.
Win.

We walked in here without knowing what it was (what’s this place called? Eh who cares) and I’m glad. Divey, cheap, and the bathroom has steps in it (not leading too it– you enter THEN take three steps up to the holy pooping Grail).
Actually? Now that I think about it, the bathroom describes the whole place well. Somehow it dresses itself up enough that you don’t realize you’re looking at a toilet.
Maybe that’s the art behind a dive bar– the charm comes from, well, how it charms you, and not how it looks. Not everything can or should be pretty, and you can’t live a life where you expect that.
I’d come back here just for the bathroom, or maybe even with some from away; it’s the right level of where am I and who cares. They can find a hundred nice restaurants and picturesque this and that’s, but maybe, just maybe– all we really want is that one bar with the funky bathroom.

This place is cool. It’s conveniently located and they have good tapas. It can get a bit loud. Not the place to go to have an intimate conversation with someone. And they have lost woods hit sauce! Bonus!

Decent drinks. Don’t ask to watch any type of sports game or change the channel from TMC or risk dirty looks from bartender and patrons all night. Not going back.

If I could give less than a one star I would… This place is a disgrace to being called a decent pub. I went for a scorpion bowl and the first one was great but then when I ordered another, some big burly guy took the order… and from what I could tell, may have been the owner. Needless to say the drink tasted like Kool aid and I was given the worst attitude when I confronted him about it… **hey buddy, if you don’t like customer service then SHUT DOWN!!!**

I’m only speaking on perspective of my bar experiences there. It is insanely busy on Friday and Saturday nights and only two people working. The bartender always seems more focused on his iPod and playing DJ than serving drinks. The other guy taking drinks at tables is really attentive, so that’s why I’m not giving this place 1 star. The bathroom is also at the top of a small staircase and it is the most paranoid pee you will ever take. Another piece of advice — if you want a booth, hover HARD.

good vibe, friendly server, love the red walls. I’d give the bathroom a 2 star review but it’s a funny experience though :) I love the place. Went there twice last night

this little place is awesome. it’s a cozy, friendly dive with well-​priced pitchers (and a good selection of local beers). The nachos were amazing. The music was great. this is a super little find!

4 stars for being what it is — a comfortable place to go to relax, have some drinks, have some good food, maybe watch some tv and listen to some music. They have happy hour everyday, including the weekends and you can get microbrewed pitchers for 10.00 with half price apps. Last time I was in there we sat in the booth for about two hours, sipped beers and cocktails (which are generously strong), had some apps (including the hummus plate which my wife loves) watched Rocky 2 with subtitles and listened to 90s rap = sweet. I used to frequent this place back in the late 90s when I worked State Theater shows and it really hasnt changed much, which is a bonus in my book. Fried Chicken Sandwich, burgers, and tacos are my favorites.

DTL Is one of my favorite spots to hang and have beers. I love the long bar and the red booths. The few beers on tap are always good ones and the half price appetizers can’t be beat during happy hour. You would never guess but they make the best nachos and wings. Not to mention the great music playing on the sound system. Punk, Ska and Rock N Roll.

We found this place by accident and couldn’t be happier! We asked the guy at the front desk of our hotel for a recommendation on where to eat and that we were looking for pub type food. He sent us to a really upscale, fancy food type of place and as soon as we sat down and looked at the menu, we knew it wasn’t for us. As we were getting up to leave, we apologized and explained to the waitress that we were looking for more casual fare and she sent us here.
From the minute we walked in, we knew we found a great place. We were greeted right away and told that the was a bit of a wait and we were offered drinks. The wait wasn’t very long and we were seated at the bar. The bartender was great, the food was great as are the prices and ambiance. We will definitely be back!

I met some friends here for a drink before heading to dinner. The server was great and the drinks hit the spot. Sure, it’s a dive, but that’s what it’s meant to be, and places like this need to exist. They fill a role.
At the table they had Lost Woods Hot Sauce. I’m a big hot sauce fan, so I tried some out just on my finger, and it was incredible! I asked the server about it, and he actually knew enough to talk to me about the people who make it. Very appreciated!
I’d absolutely come back here when I need a dive bar in the area. I’d like to check out their food, too.

I went by Downtown Lounge recently and noticed that the sign no longer claims they have tapas. This should have been done long ago, since — as my last review mentioned — they do not have tapas and I’m not sure they ever did. I have to give them credit for fixing the false advertising. This does seem like a decent bar so check it out.

After reading the other reviews I regret not eating here. The food was so good that the guy next to me ordered two dinners. Since I already ate, I just stopped in for a few drinks. The bartender poured me two stiff gin and tonics which sent me out into the Maine night with a smile on my face. She was also more than happy to charge my phone for me, which was a nice touch. I will definitely be returning if I’m ever back in Portland.

What a great bar — a great dive bar. This place needs to be featured on Triple D on Food Network!
The Nachos in the platter are made there. The Buffalo ribs were super. Just enough heat to be interesting but allowing the full flavor of the ribs to shine through. My daughter had the burger and what a burger — hand formed and juicy, nice crust and full of good beef flavor.
The beer is cold, the wine is priced right, the service is better than super and it’s all about being laid back and enjoying the moment.

Portlands best dive bar… good food, cheap prices and awesome staff!

This is by far the best dive bar in Portland maine — if not all of New England. Not only are the drinks strong and cheap, they even serve Maine Root ginger brew. The service is excellent and Leia (spelling?) is one of the loveliest bartenders I’ve ever met. The location is great, right in the middle of downtown near the artsy fartsy sector. Cool crowd, open late, very cool décor.
Unlike almost every other bar in New England, they have a couple TV’s — but I don’t recall ever seeing a stupid ball game on either of them. In fact, every time I’ve been there they had AMC on all the time. And just when it can’t get any better, I tried the food and I was simply stunned. It was cheap and I didn’t expect much, figured it would be pretty basic pub food. But it was outstanding! Everything I tried was absolutely delicious.
I wish the world could be more like the Downtown Lounge.

Pleasantly dicey atmosphere with good micros on tap, retro tunes and decent pub food

Really only 8 reviews?
Why did I only give this place1 star? Let me tell you: We came in on a Thursday night. Had a pitcher and a few entrees. We were well behaved and generally not high maintenance. We had a few rounds of drinks after the pitcher. When we were ready to leave (at about 10 pm) we left a decent tip (about 30%…of a $ 55 bill, it was not to hard to deal with) and headed on our way.
Half our party left the bar and was outside smoking, the rest were collecting our bags the bartender accosted us and asked what the problem was. We were confused and asked what the issue was and he insisted we only tipped 10%. This was an outright lie! I said I was not the bill payer and that I would ask what the problem was. The bar tender got in our faces. We are a mild mannered local group so we were taken aback… he was abrasive and rude. I said «the way you are coming at us is inappropriate» (and yes that is an exact quote) and he then informed us that” I don’t care if its inappropriate”. wow. that says it all. We were basically chased out for no reason.
On our way out another patron mentioned that he had been treated the same way and that he would never be going back… Neither will we and neither should you. I have NEVER been treated this way, and I think it is a disgrace for such a prominent place in Portland to treat their patrons this way.
The waitress was awesome and we have no complaints. we left her an appropriate tip and did not expect to be harassed on the way out.
There are many more worthy places to spend your money in Portland.
Avoid DTL hit up ruskis or mesa verde or amigos or gritty’s or a plethora of other places instead.

I would never have found this place had it not been for the 20 minute wait to be seated for dinner next door. We popped in quickly for a beer before dinner, so we did not stay long.
On a Saturday night at 9:00 pm, it was certainly not an empty bar, but not full or overly loud either. If you want to get drinks and hang out in Portland on a weekend night but don’t want to fight the crowds and shout to your date, this seems to be a good bet.
The bartenders were friendly, the service was fast, and the staff more or less left us alone to chat with one another. Given the body language of the people at the bar and seated along the back wall, I’d say they have a large contingent of «regulars» who call this place home.
As I am not so keen on screaming my face off to talk to my friends while simultaneously fending off the sloppy advances of inappropriately aged men, this was a nice oasis in what is otherwise a lively weekend-​scene area.