Tipo

About Tipo

Tipo is the off-peninsula Italian restaurant from Chris and Paige Gould, the couple behind the acclaimed Central Provisions, at 182 Ocean Ave in Portland, Maine. It opened in January 2017 in the former Borealis Bakery space, with the Goulds' friend Mike Smith - once chef de cuisine at Boston's Toro - running the kitchen, and it earned an early four-star review from the Portland Press Herald.

The cooking is modern Italian from a wood oven. For more of the city's Italian and special-occasion tables, compare the Ligurian Solo Italiano, the cosy Piccolo and the Goulds' own Central Provisions. For the wider category, see our Italian dining guide, or plan an easy evening with our first date picks.

The Kitchen

Tipo cooks modern interpretations of classic Italian dishes, with a wood oven at the centre of the kitchen. The menu runs to Neapolitan pizza, handmade pasta, crudo and salads, and signatures have included black pepper tagliatelle en brodo, meatballs and "gravy" spiked with harissa, and a luscious rabbit saltimbocca. Chef de cuisine Mike Smith brings the same care that made Central Provisions a national name, but at a friendlier, neighbourhood price: this is approachable cooking built for repeat visits rather than a once-a-year splurge. The wood-fired pizzas and the rotating pasta are what regulars come back for, with the kitchen leaning on good ingredients and a light, modern hand.

The Room

The room is warm and casual, the kind of off-peninsula neighbourhood osteria that fills with locals rather than tourists. It sits at 182 Ocean Ave, away from the busier downtown peninsula, in a space that was once Borealis Bakery, with easier parking than the waterfront restaurants downtown. The relaxed feel and the shareable, wood-fired menu make it an easy date night, a family dinner or a casual catch-up with friends, and the pizza-and-pasta format keeps it flexible for groups of different sizes. Weekend evenings are busy, so booking ahead is sensible if you want a prime table.