RACHELS L'OSTERIA is located at 496 Woodford Street in a sedate neighborhood in the pretty coastal town of Portland, Maine, merely two miles from Portland’s working waterfront. Just a short distance from her home of many years on Exchange Street, Rachels L'Osteria plans to offer the same riches in this beautiful tree-lined street known as Woodford. The hope is that the homespun feel of the neighborhood will provide some comfort in this fast-paced world in which we all live. The comfort of food and friends can certainly be a welcome breath of fresh air.
RACHELS L'OSTERIA is a quiet, 30-seat restaurant that is owned by Robert and Laura Butler. They have been open since 1996, serving dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. They are a husband-and-wife team as well as a team of chefs. Robert and Laura are loyally committed to the marriage of food and wine. The restaurant seems to live and breathe the words of an Italian winemaker whom they had the pleasure of once meeting . . . "For life there is only food and wine." This passion certainly does come through in their food!
Beyond the 5 years spent at this location, they each have 25 years' experience in the food industry. Laura Butler spent most of her learning years in Providence, Rhode Island, a city very well known for its many fine restaurants. For 6 years, Laura worked with Johanne Killeen and George Germon of the nationally famous Alforno Restaurant. It was with these two generous chefs that Laura recognized her love was indeed food, and the pleasure of creating it was the road her life was to follow. Though her passion for food is stylistically similar to that of Alforno, it is the yearly trips to Italy with her husband Robert that have truly shaped Rachels L'Osteria. Robert has finely tuned his growing love for Italian wine through these annual trips to Italy. It is exhibited in the attention that he has given to the list over the past seven years. The Wine Spectator in its 2001 and 2002 annual Restaurant Awards has recognized the L'Osteria's wine list. The love for life, wine, and cuisine is truly Italian, and is also the core of Rachels L'Osteria. Rachels L'Osteria pays close attention to the little details of dining and hopes that a little of their love for Italy, food, wine, and culture will come through in your evening at Rachels L'Osteria in her lovely new home on Woodford Street.
Rachels L'Osteria has been featured in Down East - The Magazine of Maine.
Click here, or click on the magazine image to view the article!
