RestauRant Review N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 6 7 meaghaN maurice with Rooms’ A ‘Restaurant an exciting new restaurant sparkles in an historic, formerly derelict, Congress Street mansion. By Claire z. Cramer nated as the Francis Hotel after decades of abandonment–is part of the time-machine charm of dining here. The beauty of the re- stored building welcomes you the moment you enter the hotel foyer, with its soaring ceiling and steep staircase. Peek into adja- cent drawing rooms resplendent with tiled fireplaces, stained-glass panels, parquet floors, and honey-golden acres of varnished oak moldings and trim. The hotel’s interior furnishings offer strikingly contemporary contrasts, with modern sofas, chairs, and chandeliers. We share an elaborate appetizer of Duck Confit ($15). Tender, boneless meat is shaped into a cylinder that’s sliced and ar- So is this what it might have felt like in the 1880s, having dinner in your stately Queen-Anne Vic- torian brick mansion designed by Portland’s then-superstar architect, Francis Fassett? We ponder the matter at our table in the dining room of Bolster, Snow & Co. Not exactly. This is nicer, we decide over glasses of Esser Sauvignon Blanc from Monterey ($11) and Sicilian Purato Pinot Grigio ($9) as we munch delicate, crunchy golden Parsnip Chips ($8). And the service is definitely better. The fact this new restaurant is tucked into the former Mellen E. Bolster House on Congress Street–spectacularly reincar-