By Suzanne MacNeille

There’s more to this maritime city than great food: gracious parks, Victorian architecture and a thriving arts scene.

ASIAN LUNCH, MAINE STYLE

The seating is communal, the dishes are mismatched and the menu is irresistible at Honey Paw, from the team behind Eventide Oyster Co. and Hugo’s. Honey Paw’s East-meets-New England approach is evident in recent dishes, including smoked lamb khao soi, with house-made noodles, fermented mustard greens, lime and Burmese coconut curry, and lobsterwon tons with confit mushrooms (lunch, about $40). 

Black-and-white photos of Italian noodle-makers and vintage menus from Hong Kong dim sum parlors decorate the Honey Paw, billed as a “nondenominational” noodle joint and the latest relatably cool restaurant from one of Portland’s most winning chef-restaurateur teams, Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley. Along with their managing partner Arlin Smith, they had already colonized a stretch of Middle Street, near the Old Port, with the critical favorites Hugo’s and Eventide Oyster Co. When the Honey Paw opened next door in April 2015, it quickly delivered on the expectation of success...