Rails

Best drinks in the area! I loved the atmosphere and the service was great. I’ll definitely be back for ladies night!

Great service, great eats, great drinks. Highly recommend! Our table ordered a wide array of locally sourced seasonal items and everyone was super pleased. Great chatting with the restaurant manager and were also impressed with the look and feel of this historic location turned restaurant.

The interior and location are both pretty neat, being the old train station. The drinks were good and the beers on tap were all local and interesting. They also serve local spirits.
Its a great place to go for a drink, and the chocolate mousse was good, but they need a better chef back there. The menu ideas are good, but the execution is mediocre. Maybe the lamb burger might have been good?
If you are the owner and you want to succeed, you need to review your kitchen staff. Is their training and skill appropriate for what you are trying to achieve?
I LOVE L/​A and grew up here. I want all of these new downtown spots to thrive.

Wow. So disappointed. Went on a soft (not busy) Memorial Day weekend Friday night. Server was very sweet, but she totally missed the service mark. With only two tables to work, she was more absorbed in conversation at the bar or cleaning the dumb waiter. I had to keep flagging her for simple things. Again, she was very nice, but IMHO, she lacked any real training in the art of food service.
The Moscow Mule and specialty sangria were very nice, well-​made. The special barbecue fries app was excellent. Sadly, it was downhill thereafter.
My lamb shank was fair — not cooked long enough, and pretty chewy (and did not fall off the bone). It was small, but that’s forgivable. Veggies were nice, fresh and well-​presented.
My wife had the mussels. Meh. They were actually kinda’ dried-​out, and the broth lacked any character. And no bread to sop up the broth. What? Her dinner in terms of actual substance, may have weighed-​in at 2 ounces, plus a small cone of French fries.
At almost $ 80, we were both really disappointed. I had high hopes for this place, but on an evening where they could and should have shone, they fizzled out.

I’ve lived in L/​A my whole life (brief exodus for college and a stint in south Fla); great night tonight at Rails. I had the locally sourced rabbit — seasoned nicely and served in a pulled fashion with a raspberry vinaigrette. A little goat cheese and some spinach and goat cheese finished the dish. All this in LTown! Fall off the bone ribs for my hubby that was served over corn and couscous. All-​in-​all, great food in an outside setting! Who could ask for more in L/​A?

Fine creative dishes and a great atmosphere. The micro brews are a melody on your pallet.

I am so pleased the Lewiston Auburn area has yet another fine dining experience. Locally sourced food, attention to the details, an ever changing seasonal menu and a nicely educated staff are all such a treat. By far Rails has become my favorite casual and formal go to restaurant in Lewiston/​Auburn. I too appreciate the history of the migration they have carefully kept in tact.

I’ve been to Rails twice since it opened, and I can only hope that my experience is due to the newness of still working out the kinks. First, the pluses: parking is easy, there is plenty of seating in the dining room or bar, and it has a cute atmosphere. The building history is well represented.
During my first visit, for a work lunch, we were seated immediately and the staff was friendly. There were plenty of open tables, but we were placed next to one of two doors to the outside. We didn’t realize this at first, because the actual entrance was not labeled. I tried the Brussels sprouts chips and french onion soup. The sprouts were heavily doused in oil, and I couldn’t finish them. The soup was much too sweet, and had an oily texture.
I came back again for lunch a month later, trying one of the open faced lunch sandwiches. The bread was tough, and the fries soggy and cold. My dinning companions had similar experiences. The menu looks promising, but I am consistently disappointed in the execution.

I felt a lot of pressure writing this review, being one of the first can really bring up or down a restaurant’s rating. I am always super excited when new restaurants open up in LA. Which is why 2 stars comes with an enormous amount of guilt — because I loved certain things about this place. The inside was beautiful, parking easy, and the owners (I assume) were busy checking on tables and making sure everything was running smoothly, which I totally appreciate!
However (you knew this was coming right?) —
My husband and I both thought our meals were lackluster, and our waitress, although very sweet (and obviously VERY green) needed a few waitress pointers.
We were seated quickly and with a smile — waitress came over to take drink orders. My husband asked a couple questions about a specialty drink (what was it made of?) and she said she didn’t know because she can’t drink yet. This made me laugh of course, just wanted to know what was in it, not necessarily if you’ve «slogged a few» (to steal the phrase from my husband).
Anyways, after drink orders were placed we ordered our food. Also was proceeded to be told several times she didn’t know if items were good because she’d never had them or wasn’t sure what was in them… we hadn’t necessarily asked, but got this info anyways. (At least she’s honest?) Again, she was sweet so it didn’t necessarily bother us I just thought it was weird.
For an appetizer, we ordered the poutine with cheddar curds. We received poutine with goat cheese. For what it’s worth, it was still good, I do like goat cheese, so we didn’t send it back or anything. We enjoyed the poutine, with the caveat that we thought the fries needed to be cooked longer — they weren’t crispy.
For meals, my husband had the chicken and waffles. It was supposed to come with bacon butter — which it did, though he said it was a miniscule amount. He said the blueberry sauce had been reduced too far, so it had congealed into more of a jelly vs. a blueberry sauce/​syrup. His chicken was too salty and his waffles had obviously been ready well before the rest of his meal as they weren’t fresh. I do run into this problem anywhere I get waffles — cook them LAST in the order!
My meal was bacon wrapped pork with mushroom risotto. It was okay. Pork was cooked well. Risotto was good. Also came with some roasted veggies. Rut risotto + pork + roasted veggies made for kind of a bland meal, needed something a little extra.
Overall, I think the Unilocal designation of «meh» suits our experience. I know this place is new so perhaps they’re working out kinks, but we likely won’t return so figured I would put my 2 cents in.

This place is an amazing treat 40 mins from Portland Me. Chef Paul Lively is an artist bringing the freshest local food to the table. I went in with 3 friends on their opening night Dec 10^th. The location had ample parking and a very cool vibe combining new concepts to an old historical building. Keeping parts of the old structure involved in the décor. Each Appetizer was better than the last combining sweet and sultry bites. I enjoy bites of different flavors but the quantity matched the quality for the responsible price, hands down. The waiter paired wines to match the selection of food we chose. My meal came out with a smoking dome over the top to seal in the flavors. Presentation was just simply amazing. Then dessert… one single long board of many different delights. Caramelized nuts and sorbets with swipes of raspberry and of course truffles. Hand made free trade truffles. Hands down one of the best places I’ve eaten in ME and I frequent Portland for the food often. I highly suggest trying Rails. They also have delicious lunch choices which I can’t wait to try the next time I’m in town.