Portland, Maine's Popular Golden Lotus Announces Closure

Portland has lost one of its best and most underrated establishments.

After a decade of serving some of the best American Chinese food around, Golden Lotus Restaurant has announced its closure. The joint, which was located at 511 Congress Street, posted on social media to break the news.

So ends the wonderful but way too short run of a very special Portland establishment. Ten tremendous years of delivering great food to a hungry community.

The menu was magical. Delicious American Chinese classics and dim sum were always coming out of that kitchen, typically at a rapid rate. It was consistently tasty, and incredibly addictive. I mean, I'm pretty sure if I was stranded on an island with just Golden Lotus's Shanghai Soup Dumplings or Broccoli Lo mein, I'm not sure I would want to be rescued.

As good as the food was, the service was even more impressive. The entire front of the house was run by just one individual, Jamie. And we are not talking about a small space here. Jamie would take orders, make drinks, clean tables, deal with takeout, as well as handle whatever downtown Portland had to throw her. She was a true MVP of the service game. Any restaurant in the world would be lucky to have her.

Golden Lotus was a perfect combination of delicious food and service, at prices that were very fair. That is not an easy thing to find these days. And that certainly makes it even more difficult to see it go.

I will miss those soup dumplings, the pork buns, the scorpion bowls (woo, those were strong), the Lo mein, the wise-cracking Jamie, the wonderful outings with friends, the never-ending portions, and the little mints on the way out.

Most of all, I will miss the fact that Portland has lost yet another iconic spot that I selfishly was hoping would be around for eternity.

Best of luck to the entire Golden Lotus family. Enjoy the rest and relaxation. You all deserve it mightily. Here's hoping to nothing but success and happiness in your futures.

And, if you want to hook this author up with that soup dumpling recipe, I won't complain.