Dirigo Public House

Great find. Fish and chips was crisp and flaky. Roasted lemon butter chicken was moist. Great onion rings. A must try.

NO CONTEST — this is, without question, the best burger in Maine. Homemade potato buns, meat ground by hand — daily, hand-​cut fries and onion rings crisped to perfection, and the Dirigo sauce — Holy SH!!! Do yourself a favor and request an extra side. All for $ 12, these guys could charge $ 25 and I would gladly empty my pockets. A lot of people comment on the wait for food, but when you watch the kitchen staff (which is comprised of 2 and only 2 people) working their magic behind the line, you know the wait is well worth it. If you’re famished, put in a order of wings while you wait, it doesn’t matter which sauce, because they are all delicious. Sit back and enjoy a beer from their generous craft only list (–although, I will say, warm pint glasses are a bummer, but the bartender was a sweetheart and she explained their high turnover for glassware, and offered to shake mine with some ice water to chill it for me, it’s the little things-​), and enjoy the wait for that hunk-​O greasy, juicy deliciousness that is coming your way. So much love for this gem tucked away in a weird little strip mall setting. I live in Cape, but I’d gladly make the drive even if I lived in Calais — that’s how worth it that burger is. Keep on doing what you’re doing, dudes!

Tasty food, very friendly service and reasonable prices. The atmosphere was missing something for me, but not sure what. The duck tacos were extremely good. We will be back!

Yes sir. We stopped in for a first time visit and it was a kick ass choice. The beer list had a lot of variety and making a choice between an old favorite and something new was difficult. I ate the shrimp po boy and it was unique and fecking delicious. Knocked back some O rings with it. My son had the fish and chips. He said it was super fresh and maybe the best he’s had, even finished his slaw. First time I’ve ever seen a teenager eat all of the slaw. Great place. Looking forward to making it a regular post golf stop this summer.

Dirigo is a nice little gem in Yarmouth. I love the industrial interior of the restaurant. It took me awhile to even go to Dirigo though because for the longest time I didn’t realize it was a restaurant (on the outside). I drove by many times without knowing what it was. The advertising is a little understated, but it’s a fantastic restaurant. Menu is somewhat small/​limited, but all of their offerings are nice. The owners seem like they truly care about providing a great dining experience for their customers. They also seem down-​to-​earth which is cool. The food is excellent. The burgers are so juicy and fresh and their fish and chips are to die for. I wasn’t a huge fan of the wings the first time I tried them (they tasted burnt), but the second time they were cooked perfectly and were delicious. The onion rings… well…what everyone says is true. They’re awesome! The only downfall is the service is slow. My husband and I have been there twice and service was VERY slow for both times. The first time we went, we waited almost an hour for an appetizer. The second time, we received our appetizer fairly quickly but it took about an hour to receive our meal (we timed the wait). I think they could improve on the wait times, but other than that it’s a nice restaurant with a tasty menu. Also, they are very affordable without compromising quality. Totally worth a visit if you aren’t too impatient with waiting :)

We had a great meal here last night, we got crab cakes, honey glazed wings, and a scotch egg as our appetizers. They were all amazing, the aioli for the crab cakes was tangy with a hint of heat. For entrees I got the fish n’ chips they were wonderfully cooked with hand cut fries. Hubby got the shrimp po boy which was delicious, next time we go back I’m getting that. Our other guests had a burger and fish n’ chips which they loved. The beer selection is amazing, the staff is very knowledgeable on the selections of beer. The owner really knows his beer, he even gave us a sample of an upcoming beer!

My experience there wasn’t a good one. Our wait time for our food was ridiculously long. Wouldn’t eat there again.

The service was great, the space is great but that’s where it ended for me. The water tasted bad, we got fresh water but still bad. The food was nothing exciting, I hope they can figure it out. This place has much potential.

This is an awesome little place, with a fantastic beer selection and some thoughtful menu items.
If you’re looking for a casual place to grab dinner, you can’t go wrong here.
As others have said, the burgers are top notch. The shrimp po’boy was delicious, and the roast chicken (apparently their specialty?) was super clever.
Note: the map on Unilocal is wrong. The place is actually about 4 miles north of the Falmouth Spur (on Rt 1), in Yarmouth. Worth the extra few minutes if you’re coming from Portland.

I was happy to come back and experience Dirigo. The place was packed, food and drinks were flying out the pass. It’s great to see this place do so well.
Service was quick despite the busy night. We ordered sliders and a few drinks. The crab cake slider was brilliant. Cooked perfectly, and everything was fresh and delicious. The Dirigo burger is moist and obviously high quality.
I asked for a side of Dirigo Sauce to further accentuate the meal and I wasn’t disappointed. With the first experience of the house sauce, I was a tiny bit deflated. I’m not sure if it was an off batch, or my own taste buds the first time around, but this time it was different. The sauce was killer. It had the slight tang I was looking for the first time around.
Dirigo is a gem, lying in the central part of eastern Maine. Don’t hesitate to stop by and enjoy its unique take on pub food.

2x here. Another no-​hitter pitched. Put the County nachos on list. Got the heat, cheese, and the crunch. No jungle gyms and crayons for the KidZ here folks. (YES). Its great beer followed by a glorious dirigo Burger w/​singularly breaded, beautifully fried onion rings… service is great too. But I can get past shaky service. What I can’t get past is that dirigo Burger tho. Mouthwatering… Go here

Update: had the best service, the food was quick and delicious! Lots of gluten free options.
Great place. Good food. Nice and friendly waitstaff. The service is too slow. I have been there when it’s busy and when we were the only people there… it didn’t matter, still super slow coming out of the kitchen. It won’t keep me away, I just have to plan accordingly (and bring snacks for the kids to eat while we wait)

Awesome spot! Great atmosphere, unique beers, and quality food. To top it all of, it’s affordable! Live in Portland, but will definitely be making the trip to come back! YUM!

Great to have a good pub like restaurant option near home! Sometimes you just want a quick meal without going to Portland. Burger was very good — maybe a tad salty. Fries and onion rings were also very good. Menu promises more reasons to return.
Nice wait staff and we always like an open kitchen. A bit slow, but not ridiculous.
The atmosphere seemed a little too open, more so due to the high ceilings It would benefit from some partitions or other devices to break up the space.
Overall a lot to like.

While its great to have another option in the Yarmouth area, I doubt we will be back as it wasn’t really worth it.
To start, the staff are very friendly and accommodating, so points there, but the service itself was wayyyyyy too slow. My mother and I ordered before my father arrived in hopes that the chicken wings and drinks would be out before he got there. Ten minutes later, my father arrives, another fifteen minutes and the wings finally come out. 25 minutes for wings? The waitress blamed it on being a Friday night, but the restaurant is very small, so an order of wings shouldn’t take that long. Most of the other tables had their food anyway.
Our entrees were actually pretty decent, and definitely priced well. The Shrimp Po Boy was flavorful and the shrimp were huge! My mother enjoyed her crabcakes as well.
On a personal note, which I suppose we can’t hold against the restaurant, when asked what type of dressing he wanted on his salad, my father requested olive oil as he cannot stomach any type of vinegar. The waitress says they don’t have any because nothing on their menu requires olive oil. Ok, not the craziest thing, but how many restaurants don’t have olive oil? I believe even McDonald’s has some form of it in a packet! She did her best to accommodate my father, but did have a little bit of an attitude about it.
Lastly, I had to practically beg for water. This is a fairly standard part of a dining establishment, if your water glass is empty, it should be filled up. I had to ask multiple times to have it filled before it happened. The restaurant wasn’t too busy either, I watched our waitress stand around drinking her own beverage far longer than it would take to just fill up a few water glasses.
Honestly, I don’t see this restaurant lasting too long. While its another option, the sparse décor and overly tiny menu don’t make it a priority.

I’m so glad to be writing a nice review… I met up with some friends over at the Dirigo Public House this evening… I left full and totally satisfied. We ordered the county nachos with chicken and cheese… They are more like potato chips and not so much nachos but they were so good !! We also ordered some whiskey cider brined wings… WOW!!! Soo good! My main meal was the grilled chicken sandwich and onion rings… Everything was so fresh and soo gooooood!!! If you order what I ordered… You will not be disappointed!!!
The environment was very clean and not loud… The waitress was very pleasant and attentive… The chef himself came over to see if we enjoyed the food which is always a nice touch… My friends were very happy to go there since they have 47 different beers to choose from… I went with some soda (I like my bud).
I told my friends if they ever want to meet there again… I would travel all the way from Old Orchard Beach for more wings and onion rings!!!
This was a very enjoyable and tasty experience!!!
5 stars!!!

Best freaking burger I’ve ever had in my life… for the past 5 times I’ve been there. I keep wanting to try something else, but I keep having dreams about the burger. And now I feel like if I tried something else I’d be cheating on my juicy, tender burger opportunity. But it’s worked out okay so far because every burger I’ve had at Dirigo has been even better than the one before.
And the onion rings — don’t even get me started on those things. Let’s just say I’d be more content to have a guy slip one of those babies on my finger than a diamond. I don’t know what they batter those perfectly crispy halos in, but there has to be some sort of illegal drug involved. I mean, they’re so good, you don’t even want ketchup. I’ve never eaten onion rings without ketchup before Dirigo. If someone even tried to offer ketchup to me while at Dirigo, I’m afraid I would smack the bottle right out of that poor person’s hand and send it flying across the room!
Oh, the on-​tap beer selection is also excellent. Compliments wonderfully with my burger infatuation.

My wife and I were hungry after getting back into the area from being out of town on a Sunday night, and Dirigo was open at the time. I’m VERY glad they were. We ordered a couple of burgers and a salad to split. The burgers were ground in-​house and were incredible. The bread tasted great, the meat very flavorful, and even the fries were hand-​cut and great! The beer selection was also very good, as was the service from the waiter. After we finished eating, the owner came over and we had a wonderful 30 minute conversation with him. I know we’ll definitely be back and become regulars!

This place is a welcome addition to the Yarmouth scene and should also draw from surrounding areas once word gets out about the awesome food at reasonable prices. After experiencing the previous two restaurants that occupied this sight, both very good, I think the style of Dirigo nails it. The service is great, the food superb (ridiculous burger– on of the best around– potato buns!) the beer list is vast. My only suggestion would be to offer a few more local brews on tap. We have a short list of go to places and Dirigo is now on it!

Great new addition to Yarmouth! Good prices and even better food. We both tried the burgers and they were juicy, fresh, and delicious. Large selection of beers too. Excited to try the other menu options. Service was quick and very pleasant as well. Will be coming back for sure!