I paid $82 for a 4-course dinner at Maine's hottest new restaurant and would pay the same price again just for the dessert

Both my husband and I lived in New York City for over a decade, and our three children were born there. But with three little kids, our tiny city apartment was too crowded, and we moved to Portland, Maine in 2020. My husband is from here and we love everything the state has to offer. One of my biggest fears was that the food and drink scene wouldn't compare to New York. While everything closes early here, to the point where we are usually the last diners wherever we go, Portland has an impressive up-and-coming food scene.When I heard about a new restaurant from chef Colyn Wyatt, formerly of Eleven Madison Park, and general manager Daniel Gorlas, formerly of PerSe I was excited, and followed their social accounts closely to find out when I could make a reservation. A month before Twelve's first dining experience in July, reservations opened and all were snatched almost immediately — not a surprise since Vogue called it one of America's most anticipated restaurant openings. I got a reservation for two on their second night. The name of the restaurant comes from the building's history. It was previously known as Building 12: Pattern Storehouse, and train gears were built there. The only way to preserve the 127-year-old building was to take it down brick by brick and move it a few yards to a steel and concrete frame, then rebuild it, according to Boston Magazine. The restaurant has seatings for 85 guests and it is part of the revitalization of the Portland Harbor waterfront. I highly recommend taking a walk before or after dinner along the water. In the dining room, all guests are served the prix fixe menu, while guests at the bar and outdoors can choose from a la carte items. There's an initial small bite, not included in the menu, that comes as a gift from chef Wyatt. It's small but savory.Then every table gets a fresh zucchini preserved in a lemon and rye dish. From there, you get to choose between three appetizers, three mains, and three desserts. You also have the option of adding house rolls with butter for an extra $8. The drinks menu offers a variety of wines, beers, and cocktails, including non-alcoholic options. I chose a chachaça-based drink. Having grown up in Brazil, I appreciated seeing a non-caipirinha-type drink with the liquor. For our dishes, we chose the venison tartare and the tomato tonnato for appetizers. I was surprised by the tonnato, which is a traditional Italian tuna sauce that usually accompanies veal. In this case, it came with sourdough, tomato, and a confit egg.The first bite I took transported me to growing up at home. My dad is Italian and my mom is Spanish, so we regularly ate pan con tomate and vitelo tonnato. This dish mixes both of those things in one, and it's like mixing my two cultures on a plate. The venison was delicious and had more of a smokey flavor. It came adorned with chips that gave it the perfect combination of crunch and smooth. We also get the rolls. They were buttery and the perfect addition to our appetizers. The potato butter didn't taste like potato, which I was looking forward to because it sounded weirdly delicious, and I could've easily eaten eight more rolls because they were so soft and warm. The choice of mains includes a NY strip steak, monkfish and a vegetarian mushroom dish. We chose the steak and fish, and my husband and I could not agree on which one was better. I was more into the monkfish, which has a similar taste to lobster. It came in a buttery broth with peas and fresh chives. The broth was so delicious that I scooped it up by itself, and would've easily eaten an entire bowl had it been an option. The steak was cooked medium rare, which was more of a sear, and came with crispy onions and blue cheese. For our last course, we chose the ice cream bar sandwich and the berries and yogurt. There's a third option to share a DIY chocolate pudding. I was skeptical about the ice cream bar sandwich because it's made of corn macaron instead of cookies, but with my first bite, I knew this was going to be my favorite thing I'd eaten. The texture of the macaron and the ice cream go perfectly together and the flavor is next level. The berries and yogurt were also delicious, but more of a classic dessert. They were the perfect combination of tart and sweet. I was left wanting to try the chocolate pudding as well, and wish it was an option to add on to the prix fixe menu. Overall, the experience was great. While the upfront cost of a prix fixe menu might seem like a lot, we found it to be comparable with what we spend in other restaurants in the area. It's also exciting to have fine dining in Portland, and I can't wait to see what Chef Wyatt has to offer in future menus. We already have another reservation for August and I'm counting the days. While all the food was delicious, the desserts were my favorite part of the meal. I'd go to the restaurant again just for the ice cream. I was shocked to see empty seats during our meal. Our server told us they save some seats for walk-ins and that they had also had some cancellations, so some lucky passersby were able to get in. If you're in the area, don't feel discouraged by the lack of reservations online, since you might be able to just walk in.

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I paid $82 for a 4-course dinner at Maine's hottest new restaurant and would pay the same price again just for the dessert

My husband I got reservations for Twelve almost a month in advance.

It's located in what was part of the Portland Company train manufactory.

We went with a four-course meal for $82 per person.

The plates are small but delicious.

For our mains we chose beef and fish.

The star of the night was the dessert.

We will be dining at Twelve again.